Steven Demerest, a safety engineer at Luna City, a colony on the Moon, visits Earth and takes a trip by bathyscape to Ocean-Deep, an experimental colony at the base of the Puerto Rico Trench, where he meets its chief, John Bergen, and his wife Annette.

Ostensibly on a visit to exchange views on safety issues, Demerest is in fact planning to destroy Ocean-Deep. He reasons that if the project is found to be unsafe and thereby abandoned, more funding will be directed by the Planetary Project Commission (PPC) to the lunar colonies and space exploration.

When he finds that Annette is pregnant, he has his first pang of guilt. Nevertheless, he proceeds with his objective and overrides the safety systems that control the airlocks, whilst holding the Bergens hostage with a low-power laser.

The Bergens try to talk him out of his object, and feed him a not-entirely-untrue story that Ocean-Deep is in fact an experimental precursor to colonizing Jupiter and other planets. Demerest, realizing that his planned destruction will have the opposite effect to what he intends, surrenders.

Betty is at her desk working on an expense report for Daniel when Henry comes by and asks her if she's making her Christmas list. He spots mistletoe on her desk. She says it's just holly, but he kisses her anyway and tells her she's the girl he's been looking for. But it looks like this was all a fantasy as Betty wakes up in shock and glares at the photo of Walter by her bed before throwing the sheets over her face.

Back at Daniel's place, Sofia wakes up beside Daniel. Worried that she will miss her flight, she says that they need a breather so they can see if what they have is real. Daniel insists he loves her, but Sofia says it's just hormones and sex. If this is real, he should see other women while she's gone. If he doesn't get sweaty palms with them, maybe he does love her. He says that this is crazy but Sofia says this will convince her Daniel really feels this only for her.

Back at the Suarez's, Betty tells Hilda her dream, but Hilda says dreams don't mean anything and tells her sister to avoid Henry and everything will be fine. Meanwhile, Ignacio, who was arrested by Immigration a few days ago but was let go, comes down and Betty gives him his pills. He has a caseworker coming to work with him next month. Hilda gets in a fight with their neighbor Gina after she runs over her Christmas tree while it's sitting in the street.

Meanwhile, in Wilhelmina's office, Marc, who now knows the truth of his boss' intentions, is bringing Wilhelmina her breakfast and asking if Nico is coming home. He lithely snatches her whole wheat bagel causing her to almost bite his head off before he reminds her that they're 'sharing things' now that he knows her little secret.

Over at an office meeting in the conference room, Daniel announces that Betty has been offered a job and she will be accepting resumes for her position. The news brings a round of applause for Miss Suarez. Amanda and Marc wonder if they need to invite her to her own leaving party. Betty is surprised he's announced this, but he says that her going to work with Sofia is what's best for her. Amanda is already confident that she's the best one to take the job. Daniel then takes Betty into his office to tell her Sofia wants him to have an affair while she's away. He's through with being a bachelor and places half a dozen rings across his desk to try to pick out which will be perfect.

After leaving Daniel's office, Betty goes to her desk and opens a gift waiting for her, which turns out to be a notebook. She assumes this is from Daniel and gives him the thumbs up but he doesn't know what she's doing, since it didn't come from him. She walks down the hall to Amanda who tells her flatly that she is the right person to replace her and she'll prove it: She'll help Betty plan the Christmas party. Betty reluctantly accepts the offer. A bundle of fake snow arrives and Betty walks it into Henry, spilling it over both of them. He bashfully tries to pull some out of her hair as they shyly glance at each other. Henry then makes a series of unintentional double-entendres while Betty tries to hide her excitement when he says he will be 'on top of her' for the next few days overseeing the party budget.

Meanwhile, half a dozen lingerie models arrive to pose the new collection for Daniel. They include Aerin, Daniel's first supermodel girlfriend. Betty leaves to try to sort through resumes before she rushes in again to stop Daniel from easy temptation and announces that the photographer is ready for the models.

Across town later that day, Betty and Walter are at his store's Christmas party. They have their photo taken with Walter's boss and his wife. The wife of Walter's boss tells Betty that she used to work in Manhattan too, but they're "Queens girls" and this is where they belong. Betty stares at Walter and his boss with a less than enthusiastic feeling. Betty asks the woman when she knew that her husband was the one. She just knew; when did Betty know Walter was? She's not sure yet.

Upset that Marc wants in on her secret, Wilhelmina gets a call from her mysterious friend who's concerned about having Marc silenced. Wilhelmina states he will be permanently silenced very soon. She adjusts the Christmas tree ornaments and walks out revealing Marc hiding behind the tree. He's terrified and takes a breath of his inhaler.

In another part of the ''MODE'' building, it's late in the office and Amanda is still there, rummaging through Daniel's desk and trying on the rings he bought for Sofia. Her feelings for Daniel aren't exactly as simple as she wishes they were. One ring gets stuck on her finger.

Also later on in another location at the Meade Building, Bradford is being visited by Mr. Greene. He's managed to find proof that Fey Sommers is really dead after visiting the coroner at the cemetery, which leads to new questions over who the mystery woman really is, now that a relative has claimed Fey's remains.

The following morning, a worried Marc brings Wilhelmina her whole wheat. She asks him for his home address; she's sending a special delivery his way. He panics and takes another hit off his inhaler.

Amanda updates Betty on all the elaborate party preparations that she's done. Betty says she appreciates the help, but it doesn't erase her history with Daniel; she's not right for the job. Betty goes to her desk when Henry appears with ornaments. She tries to ignore him, but he tells her that he never saw snow until he moved to New York and she's so charmed that she can't stop staring at him. They begin to chat and she starts to fantasize about him before freezing up and telling him she has to get back to work.

Betty is pushing ornaments into Amanda's arms when she sees one of Daniel's rings on her fingers. Betty chases her around the office before they try to get it off together. Betty spits on an appalled Amanda's finger and starts to pull while Amanda claims she doesn't feel anything for Daniel anymore. Betty falls over pulling and Amanda walks off.

Marc arrives at the party. At first, he's stuck in an elevator with a man who seems to be a hitman. He rushes past him and asks Amanda if she has a gun. Amanda says that no one would sell guns to anyone at the party. Marc rushes off to hide from the wrath of Wilhelmina and Amanda goes to stand by Betty to pester her about the job. Betty thinks Daniel needs someone who can look after him. Amanda says she'll run interference between Daniel and the models just to prove she can fill Betty's shoes. After glancing at Betty's clogs, she takes a swig and stomps off. Betty is left alone while Henry stands across the room flirting with her.

Christina is drunk on Santa's lap and slurs out a wish list of presents for her co-workers, "A heart for Wilhelmina, courage for Marc and brains for Amanda." Marc runs by while Betty moves around the room and under desks while trying to hide from Henry. She bangs her head and her painful yelp brings her to Henry's attention. He helps her up with a string of condoms in her hand but he was only there for a corkscrew. Christina walks by them dragging Santa into the bathroom as an appalled Marc runs out. Wilhelmina and the 'hitman' spot him and call him into her office. They take Marc to the parking garage and, just when he thinks they're going to kill him, they flip on a light to reveal a Hummer, delivered to him by the 'hitman', who happens to be an auto dealer. Marc is relieved to see they're just trying to buy his silence.

Daniel goes into his office followed by Aerin, who starts making out with him. Amanda promptly interrupts and reminds him that he's supposed to be engaged. Daniel agrees, telling Aerin he's in love with someone else. When Aerin thinks it's Amanda, she suggests a threesome (and possibly a ménage à trois), but Daniel explains that's not what he meant. Aerin then leaves.

Afterwards, Betty tells Daniel the only person she's seen who she could leave to look after him is Amanda. Betty said if Daniel was serious about her going, this was goodbye. Daniel gives Betty a silver business card holder and says he's proud of her; she's destined for bigger things. She hugs him and tries not to cry. Before she leaves, she asks him if the other gifts she's been receiving were from him. They weren't. Daniel calls Sofia to say he loves her and his heart doesn't race for anyone else. Betty walks out to her desk and looks at Henry. They exchange waves before Aerin walks by and kisses Henry, but he pushes her away. Betty is crushed at the sight and rushes away to the elevator while Henry runs after her. The ring falls off Amanda's finger.

Back in Queens, Hilda is going through Justin's gift list when they look out the window and see Gina obscenely defaming their Christmas lawn ornaments. By evening, Hilda returns with a decapitated glowing reindeer just before the lights go out. Hilda walks out to find Gina collapsed on the porch. They've been competing since they were teenagers and Gina always loses. After Gina admits her parents are away and she is spending Christmas alone, Hilda takes pity on her and invites her in for eggnog and brandy. It looks like they buried the hatchet for now.

Later on at ''MODE'', Amanda is trying to clear up after the party. Daniel tells her Betty thinks she should be his new assistant, but can she do it? They promise to be professionals. Meanwhile, Ted the Texan walks in on Wilhelmina as she's about to leave and her heart starts to race.

Betty gets home and wonders if she's doing what's best with her life. She shows Hilda the photo of her with Walter. Hilda says she should appreciate Walter more. Within moments, Walter arrives with her last present (a Manhattan calendar); he was using Daniel to sneak her presents at work. Henry calls to ask if Betty wants to come over and watch "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" on TV, but Hilda says Betty is busy, takes a message and promptly throws it away. Walter tells Betty that he's trying to understand her life in Manhattan, but she feels cold and it becomes clear to her that she doesn't love him.

The novel opens in 1863 and covers about 10 years. Ten-year-old Pauline's parents have died, and she comes to live with the Chanteaus, relatives on her father's side, in the seaside village of Bonneville, some 10 kilometers from Arromanches-les-Bains in Normandy. Zola contrasts Pauline's optimism and open-heartedness with the illness, resentment, and depression prevalent in the Chanteau household. In particular, the 19-year-old son Lazare, a student of the writings of Schopenhauer, is convinced of life's futility and infused with pessimism and nihilism, which he attempts to express in an unfinished Symphony of Sorrow.

Over the course of several years, a series of financial setbacks causes Mme. Chanteau to "borrow" from Pauline's inheritance. Lazare's investment in a factory to extract minerals from seaweed and his project to build a series of jetties and breakwaters to protect Bonneville from the pounding waves — and the subsequent failure of both these enterprises — reduce Pauline's fortune even further. Through it all, Pauline retains her optimistic outlook and love for Lazare and his parents. Eventually, that love extends to the entire town as Pauline provides money, food, and support to Bonneville's poor, despite their evident greed and degeneracy.

Gradually, Mme. Chanteau grows to resent Pauline, blaming her for the family's bad luck and accusing her of being miserly, ungrateful, and selfish. Even on her deathbed, Mme. Chanteau is unable to get past her resentment, and accuses Pauline of poisoning her when she attempts to nurse her. Though Lazare and Pauline are tacitly engaged, Pauline releases him so that he may marry Louise Thibaudier, a rich banker's daughter who spends her vacations with the Chanteaus. Their marriage is an unhappy one, as his obsessive-compulsive behaviors escalate and he infects her with his fear of death. His inability to maintain gainful employment and his palpable apathy add to their unhappiness.

Louise gives birth to a stillborn baby boy, but Pauline saves his life by breathing air into his lungs. The novel ends 18 months later. The baby, Paul, is healthy and growing, though Louise and Lazare maintain a tense relationship. Bonneville is all but destroyed by the waves. The suicide of the family servant brings the novel to a close, with M. Chanteau, wracked with gout and in constant agony, railing against suicide and praising the joys inherent in the ongoing fight for life in the face of sorrow and unhappiness.

The play's plot generally follows that of the original story, focusing on a young 19th century Parisian girl being groomed for a career as a courtesan. Gigi lives with her mother and grandmother, and takes lessons at the home of her aunt. Her lessons include social manners, conversation, and personal relationships. The family has significant social connections, and have been great friends with the rich playboy Gaston. Gaston is bored with his life, and his only joy seems to be in the company of Gigi and her family.

Aunt Alicia decides that the time is right for Gigi's entry into society. After dressing her up, she is presented to Gaston as a young woman. He is, at first, dismayed at the change. Gradually he realizes that he is attracted to Gigi, and takes her out on the town. As the night progresses, Gaston sees the emptiness of his life and wants something more. He proposes marriage to Gigi, and she gladly accepts.

A human starship intercepts a mysterious signal and tracks it back to Carina 4269, a star system 212 light years from Earth. Two elite scouts, Adam Reith and Paul Waunder, are dispatched in a small scout-boat to investigate the planet whence it came. Seconds later, a missile destroys their mothership. The two survivors nurse the severely damaged scout-boat to the planet before ejecting into a forest.

The crash site is first discovered by a band of technologically primitive humans who wear special, personality altering emblems. Reith is amazed to find men on a heretofore unknown, distant planet. One of them casually kills Waunder; Reith remains undetected. A second party approaches in a large sky-raft, sending the humans scurrying into hiding. It is manned (as Reith later learns) by massive, alien Blue Chasch and their human Chaschmen servants. Their investigation of the wreckage is interrupted by a third group, belonging to the Dirdir. The Chasch ambush the tall, pale Dirdir and their human Dirdirmen, driving them off. The Chasch then haul the scout-boat away.

Injured and helpless, Reith cannot avoid being taken captive by Traz Onmale, the grave, mature boy-chieftain of the Kruthe, the Emblem-wearing tribe which killed Waunder. While his wounds heal, Reith incurs the wrath of the "magicians" who are actually in charge, by showing kindness and affection to a slave girl, a grave violation of tribal social norms. Before he can be castrated to make him more docile, he escapes, taking Traz with him. The teen is not unwilling to go, since he would be expected to sacrifice himself to the gods in the near future due to the misfortunes the tribe has faced.

On their trek, Reith rescues an outcast Dirdirman, Ankhe at afram Anacho, from a Phung, an extremely dangerous native. With no plans of his own, he joins them. From Anacho's explanation of Dirdirman theology, Reith deduces that the Dirdir were responsible for bringing humans to Tschai tens of thousands of years ago. His mission is now clear - he must alert Earth to the possible threat of the Dirdir.

The mismatched trio join a trade caravan. Among the other passengers is a group of priestesses, taking a beautiful female captive, Ylin-Ylan, home to participate in an important rite. Reith frees her, but on the lawless steppes, the woman is stolen by the caravan's scouts and returned to the priestesses. Reith rescues her from the seminary and learns that the mysterious signal originated from her people.

The caravan is attacked by Green Chasch just outside the run-down city of Pera, but Reith's group manages to reach safety. The town is ruled by Naga Goho and his brigands. Ylin-Ylan attracts his attention; she and Traz are taken prisoner, forcing Reith to organize a revolt to overthrow the tyrant. Naga Goho is publicly hung.

Reith's locator indicates his scout-boat is in the nearby Blue Chasch city of Dadiche. He sneaks in and finds his ship, apparently intact, but is spotted before he can make a closer inspection. He barely escapes with his life. When he returns to Pera, he finds to his chagrin that he has been elected the new chief of the city. He begins trying to bring civilization to it by organizing a form of government and, importantly on the Steppes, an army. At first the army is a sad sight, but Reith uses his experience as a soldier to guide them into something resembling a coherent force.

A group of Blue Chasch arrives in Pera, demanding Reith's surrender. When he refuses, a battle erupts, which the newly organized humans win thanks to the element of surprise; the Chasch did not think advanced tactics possible from humans. The Blue Chasch then send their entire armed might, but Reith arranges for the Green Chasch, the mortal enemies of the Blue Chasch, to ambush and wipe them out.

With Dadiche now defenseless, Reith and the men of Pera take charge. While their training made them good fighters, it failed to instill true discipline. The army goes on a revenge fueled rampage that, despite his best efforts, Reith is unable to control and the Blue Chasch and any Chaschmen who move to resist are slaughtered. He frees the surviving Chaschmen and gives them the city, after revealing that they had been duped. The Chaschmen had been told they were transformed at death into Chasch. Baby Chasch were implanted in their corpses in secret, to emerge before Chaschmen witnesses.

When Reith checks his scout-boat, he discovers to his dismay that it has been gutted. Ylin-Ylan convinces him to take her back to technologically advanced Cath, where he might be able to build a ship with the backing of her wealthy father.

After his starship and crewmates are blown up, Adam Reith is marooned on a planet inhabited by four advanced, mutually hostile, alien species, the Chasch, Wankh, Dirdir and native Pnume, as well as various groups of humans. In his quest to return home, he acquires three human companions (as detailed in ''City of the Chasch''): Traz Onmale, a taciturn teenage barbarian chieftain, Ankhe at afram Anacho, a flamboyant, fugitive Dirdirman, and Ylin-Ylan, a beautiful young Yao woman whom he rescued from a man-hating religious sect.

Ylin-Ylan persuades Reith, her lover, into taking her back to Cath. With her wealthy father's backing, Reith hopes to be able to build a spaceship. As time passes, however, their relationship cools. Anacho explains that Yao society is extremely status conscious, and the closer they get to her homeland, the more Ylin-Ylan dreads being associated with (to her) gauche, uncouth companions. Her inner conflict is exacerbated when they meet Dordolio, a Yao cavalier, who accompanies them on the sea voyage to Cath. Her attempts to distance herself from them, with Dordolio's assistance, all fail disastrously. Finally, unable to bear the shame any longer, she takes refuge in ''awaile'', a murderous rampage not uncommon among her people, which ends with her throwing herself into the sea.

Reith and his friends continue on to Cath and notify Ylin-Ylan's father of her demise. They are coolly received, but are eventually given 50,000 sequins (the universal currency of Tschai) as a reward.

Unimpressed with Yao engineering, Reith recruits a crew from those who had worked for the Wankh, to try to steal a Wankh spaceship. The attempt almost succeeds, but the ship is damaged and sets down on a lake due to their unfamiliarity with the controls. They are captured by human Wankhmen, who handle all communication between their Wankh masters and the rest of Tschai's inhabitants.

About to be executed out of hand, the would-be thieves are reprieved when a high Wankh leader, who had been aboard the stolen ship, decides to investigate further. Reith is able to tell it what he has surmised. The Wankhmen have been deliberately misleading the Wankh; the Dirdir have not been a threat to them for centuries, but have been made to appear so in order to safeguard the Wankhmen's comfortable status quo. Furthermore, they destroyed Reith's ship for the same reason. As a result of these revelations, the Wankhmen are expelled from the Wankh cities. Reith and his party creep away unnoticed.

Adam Reith is stranded on Tschai, a distant planet shared by four alien, mutually hostile, advanced species (the Chasch, Wankh, Dirdir and native Pnume). On his quest to get home, he acquires two human companions, Traz Onmale, a teenage barbarian chieftain, and Ankhe at afram Anacho, an outcast Dirdirman.

Reith has failed twice to acquire a spaceship (as recounted in ''City of the Chasch'' and ''Servants of the Wankh''). His exploits bring him to the unwanted attention of the Dirdir. As Anacho explains, his former masters are rarely subtle: they want to question and then kill him. Reith manages to wipe out the first "Initiative" sent after him, but sooner or later, there will be a second.

He decides to build a ship from scratch, a task requiring vast amounts of sequins, the universal currency of Tschai. The only way to raise that much quickly is to brave the Carabas, the Dirdir hunting preserve, where sequins grow as crystalline nodes. Men prospect for the nodes, while the Dirdir hunt the men. Those they catch, they eat.

Reith turns the tables on the Dirdir. He ambushes their hunting parties and takes the sequins they acquired from their victims. When the Dirdir finally take notice, Reith and his friends barely manage to escape, but they have amassed a fortune; in fact, they have so many sequins, they are forced to leave behind a substantial hidden cache.

They journey to the cosmopolitan city of Sivishe, where there are shipyards. They find that they must deal with Aila Woudiver, an enormously obese man with monstrous appetites. The construction of the spaceship progresses satisfactorily, but Woudiver demands ever more money, threatening to turn them over to the Dirdir if he is not paid. Finally, Reith has no choice but to go back to the Carabas to retrieve the hidden sequins, leaving Traz and Anacho to keep watch.

When he returns however, he finds that Woudiver, who desires above all else to be a Dirdirman, has betrayed Anacho to the Dirdir. Reith risks his life rescuing Anacho. Then he goes to confront Woudiver, but the arch-criminal is too clever for him and all three are handed over to the Dirdir.

However, Reith demands arbitration, invoking a tradition too strong for the Dirdir to ignore, even from a "subman". When the judgment goes against him, he challenges the Dirdirman arbitrator. By Dirdir custom, the victor of hand-to-hand combat wins the case. Reith dispatches his foe, only to face a second set of charges. This time, he has to fight a Dirdir. When he forces the creature to concede, Reith and his friends are absolved of all crimes and freed. Needing Woudiver to complete the ship, they do not kill him, but take him captive.

After many false starts and real tribulations, Adam Reith has nearly finished building a spaceship to take him home. He and his two trusted companions had been betrayed by Aila Woudiver, the underworld kingpin who had provided the necessary men and equipment in return for an extortionate amount of money. However, Reith was able to turn the tables and take Woudiver captive (as described in ''The Dirdir'').

Even as a prisoner though, Woudiver is a dangerous enemy. Somehow, he manages to interest the Pnume in Reith. The Pnume are the sentient native race of Tschai. Driven underground by three separate alien invasions (by the Chasch, Wankh and Dirdir), they view the other species as welcome additions to the pageantry unfolding on their world stage. In the same light, they are intrigued by the Earthman, abducting him to become a specimen in their museum.

Reith is lowered into the vast Pnume underground. He manages to free himself and hide before he can be taken by human Pnumekin, servants of the Pnume, to the Museum of Foreverness. Perplexed at finding an empty bag, they summon a Pnume Sector Warden, who consults its Master Charts, detailing all the various tunnels and hidden adits. Determining that there is one possible escape route, they leave to check it. Before it departs, the Sector Warden hides its maps in a secret compartment, but Reith is a witness. He steals them, but is unable to decipher their contents.

He kidnaps a young Pnumekin woman to interpret for him. Once Reith forces her to look at the Master Charts, she realizes her life is now forfeit if she is captured, so she cooperates. Upon questioning, Reith learns that she has no name; she simply belongs to the Zith group in the Athan area of the Pagaz zone, with a rank of 210, so he names her Zap 210.

After a journey of indeterminate length, mostly spent on a barge, they finally escape to the surface. They make their way toward the city of Sivishe, where the spaceship is being built. As their trek continues, Zap 210's colorless personality begins to change, free of the peculiar constraints of Pnumekin society and the ''diko'' she had been fed to keep her body from developing normally. Eventually, she and Reith become lovers.

When they reach the city, Reith finds Anacho waiting for him. He learns that, shortly after Reith's abduction, Woudiver had been taken to be prey for a Dirdir hunt. The ship had been seen, so Traz moved it to a location known only to Reith. However, when they prepare to leave, they find Zap 210 missing, captured by the Pnume.

Despite Anacho's protestations, Reith gives himself up to the Pnume (after making certain preparations). He bargains with them, threatening to give copies of the Master Charts to the Dirdir unless they release Zap 210. He also demands that they free all the Pnumekin from their freakish existence. The Pnume have no choice; they agree to his terms. Reith and Zap 210 return to the surface, link up with Anacho and Traz, and finally depart for Earth.

''Stopping at Slowyear'' tells the story of an interstellar cargo vessel which runs between out-of-the-way worlds, as it visits a planet called ''Slowyear'' after its 19-year-long revolution around its star.

The crew explore the local culture and find several odd customs. Among these is of a sort of death lottery as a punishment for crimes. If someone commits a crime, they are sentenced to take a pill, which depending on the severity of the infraction will have a different probability of being lethal poison.

Slowyear's principal industry is raising sheep. During their isolation, their sheep have developed a form of scrapie which is lethal to humans without immunity.

''Stopping at Slowyear'' addressed prion diseases years before public awareness of mad cow disease was widespread.

Living in a gang-ridden part of London, 16-year-old Tom Harvey struggles to get by. His best friend Danny gets him a new phone and encourages him to romantically pursue his longtime friend and neighbor Lucy. Lucy asks Tom to help her study for exams, to which he happily agrees. Arriving at her flat that night, Tom sees Lucy's brother unconscious and a group of masked thugs exiting Lucy's room, having raped her and recorded the event. Tom flees and attempts to call the police, but he is shot in the head and rendered unconscious.

Tom awakens days later. His doctor informs him that shrapnel from his phone is embedded in his head. Later that day, Tom begins to hear phone transmissions and can visualize digital signals. Using his newfound abilities, Tom realizes who attacked Lucy. He begins to take revenge on the attackers, one by one. Meanwhile, Lucy has become a shut-in, and Tom is her only source of hope. They enjoy a meal together outside for the first time since the incident. After a confrontation, Tom's vengeance grows and he tracks down those who gave the orders to hurt Lucy. He raids their leader's home, damaging their electronics and stealing their cache of cocaine which Tom plants on the attackers before tipping off the police.

Furthering his vigilantism, Tom adopts the alias "iBoy." He texts Lucy that he intends to set things right for her. He posts his acts online and working his way to take out more drugs that are coming in. During another raid, Tom gets trapped by the gang and is beaten severely, barely managing to escape. He stumbles his way home, but passes out in a park on the way, missing his exams and breaking a promise to Lucy. When he goes home, Tom's grandmother is held at gunpoint and the crime boss known as Ellman he's been attempting to thwart demands Tom give back the money he stole in exchange for Lucy and his grandmother's safety. Tom reluctantly agrees and begins to use his powers for both Ellman and to track and help Lucy, who's been kidnapped by those who assaulted her before.

Tom is driven to the kidnapping site, where he is able to call the police, but they are unable to find anything there. Lucy is able to get a gun away from the kidnappers, but is unable to escape before Tom and Ellman arrives. Though his powers were diminished due to his beating, Tom is able to overload everyone's cell phones to explode, however, Ellman threw his away and flees outside. Tom attempts to subdue him with help from Lucy, but both are unable to do so until Tom unleashes a pulse from his brain; knocking all of them out. Tom awakens later in the hospital with his grandmother by his side.

Returning home, Tom sees Danny (who betrayed him to Ellman). Danny says he wants to repay Tom for his mistreatment of Tom. Tom rebuffs him, saying he never took down the person who recorded Lucy's attack, suggesting it was Danny. Tom meets Lucy on the roof of their building, who has made a picnic for the two of them. They share a kiss while looking out to the skyline and without resolving whether Tom's pulse removed his powers.

Medicine

The episode begins with House eating his lunch next to "vegetative state guy" and watching television. As he and Wilson talk, the son of the comatose man walks into the room. House tries an experiment on the boy: he flashes the lights on and off, then throws a bag of chips at the boy, and walks over to him, but the boy does not see the chips or House. House diagnoses him as being akinetopsic, unable to see things in motion, a condition which is often accompanied by seizures. The boy suddenly starts to have convulsions, and is admitted to the hospital (much to House's delight).

The team learns that the boy's name is Kyle, but they cannot tell what caused his seizure. They find multiple wine bottles in Kyle's backpack, so the team suspects liver failure. However, House shoots down all of their guesses, claiming that the condition is genetic. Kyle has no living relatives, except one: "Vegetative State Guy", his father whose name is Gabe. House proceeds to wake Gabe up using a large dose of L-Dopa and amphetamines. Cuddy and the rest of the team try to stop him, but he proceeds nonetheless. He cites a South African study that shows that comatose patients may be woken up for hours at a time, but Cuddy does not believe him. Nonetheless, Gabe wakes up.

When Gabe is informed that he only has one day until he lapses back into his coma, he decides that he wants to drive to Atlantic City to get a hoagie from a specific deli. House agrees to go along with him, and asks Wilson if they can go in his car. Wilson decides to come along to make sure nothing bad happens. House asks Gabe many questions along the way.

Meanwhile, House finds that Gabe used to make boats finished with mildew-resistant paint. House concludes that Kyle, as a child, was around the painting without a facemask and got mercury poisoning from the paint. House calls the team, and they begin the test. Gabe, annoyed that House's questions are becoming more personal, establishes a quid pro quo style of questioning that forces House to answer a question every time he asks one.

House, Gabe, and Wilson arrive at Atlantic City, but they cannot locate the hoagie shop. Gabe wants to go to a casino instead, so House and Wilson get a nearby hotel for the night. House continues the questioning at the hotel, ordering Gabe to give a total recap of how his family members died. During Gabe's explanation, House notices a common theme with the deaths, and that Gabe blames Kyle for his mother's death in a house fire (which was when Gabe entered his vegetative state). House diagnoses this as MERRF syndrome and calls Foreman to run the test. Foreman informs him that even if they cure ragged red fibers (MERRF), Kyle has a fatal cardiomyopathy.

Gabe says he wants to donate his heart to Kyle, given that he will fall into a vegetative state soon anyway. Wilson opposes this, but House agrees, so he calls Cuddy to schedule the transplant. Cuddy flatly refuses the transplant, since it will equate to murdering Gabe. House asks Wilson to leave the room, saying, "You have lied to the cops enough for me." House then lays out to Gabe ways to kill oneself that would keep the heart intact. While Wilson creates an alibi for himself and House in the casino, Gabe kills himself by hanging after overdosing on aspirin to help protect his heart. Kyle then successfully undergoes heart transplant surgery.

House

In the hotel, House had promised Gabe that he would answer one humiliating question after he had finished questioning Gabe about his family. Gabe asks why House became a doctor. Reluctantly, House reveals that while his family was living in Japan, he saw a man who was from the buraku, a Japanese social class traditionally looked down on. His appearance caused House to mistake him for a janitor, but he was consulted about difficult cases, because no matter his background and social stature, the other doctors listened to him because he was right.

Tritter

In the beginning of the episode, Wilson walks in and confronts House over the fact that House stole one of his prescription pads and faked his signature in order to get more Vicodin, and tells House he's been questioned by Detective Tritter.

Later in the episode, Detective Tritter questions Cameron about how much Vicodin House takes, and Cameron says around six pills a day, which is an extreme understatement, and Tritter is about to ask her more questions when she gets paged by Chase and Foreman. They saw her with Tritter, and decide to tell the same story, but not to tell House about it. Later, both of them are also interviewed by Tritter.

In the final scene, while House and Wilson talk, Wilson tries to withdraw money from his ATM and learns that his account has been frozen as a part of the ongoing police investigation into House's drug use. House seems ashamed by the trouble he's put Wilson in, but is still confident that the case will not escalate.

It is May 1915, and Hudson is reading out reports about German spies and horrific atrocities to the other servants. Later, while helping Rose, Daisy and Mrs Bridges pack some items for the Front, Hazel finds a magazine belonging to Hudson called ''The Beastly Hun''. Hazel is disgusted by what she reads, and orders Hudson to stop spreading these "stories". One story Hazel mentions is a true historical event from 1914: that of nurse Grace Hume's supposed torture and murder in Belgium, revealed later as a hoax. Hudson is forced to give in, but clearly his views have not changed on "those pigs, the Huns". He cites two cases of German spies. Soon after, Hudson reads out to the other servants the news report of the ''Lusitania'' being sunk by a German submarine. The anti-German feeling in Britain increases. This prompts Hudson into going and volunteering for the Army. However, he is turned away because of poor eyesight and given an exemption certificate. Mrs Bridges then suggests that he become a special constable. He gets permission from Richard, leading to an argument with Hazel who is annoyed that Richard did not ask her first. Within days Hudson has his first shift.

Following the sacking of Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty, Bonar Law and Arthur Balfour come round to Eaton Place and Richard is offered the post of Civil Lord of the Admiralty. This makes him part of the Government. Also, Lt. Dennis Kemp, who had fallen in love with Georgina, is killed days after arriving at the Front. When Hazel tells Georgina this, she doesn't react, telling Hazel she refuses to "fall in love with any of them" because she doesn't "want to mourn them". She tells Hazel her friends take a similar attitude towards the young officers.

On the evening of Hudson's first shift, guard duty at a power station, the Bellamy's local baker, Albert Schoenfeld and his wife, second-generation British citizens, and his British-born son come to the servants' hall asking for refuge. Their house and shop have been attacked and vandalised because of their German surname. Mrs Bridges, Rose, Ruby and Daisy, for whom the Schoenfelds had baked a special birthday cake days before, invite them in, but when Hudson returns he goes straight up to Mr Bellamy. He says that they may stay the night, but must go to the police first thing in the morning. However, Maria Schoenfeld, aware of Hudson's feeling towards them, insists they go that evening. Mrs Schoenfeld points out that she had heard something else about the Lusitania sinking: far from the official story, Canadian soldiers and armaments were being transported on the ship secretly. After the Schoenfelds leave, Hudson is left visibly upset, confused and alone.

Miss Jane Hathaway is an astute pillar of a quaint coastal community, where her house sets atop a hill. She has long overcome the scandal created by her elder sister's elopement, though the sister died without her forgiveness. She's also aware of a child, although she's never met her niece. When she receives a letter from Ruth Thorne, her 34-year-old niece, suggesting an invitation to visit, she accepts, but leaves before Ruth arrives.

At Miss Hathaway's house, Ruth is given a mysterious letter. The letter, from Aunt Jane, does not explain her sudden trip abroad, but instructs Ruth to light an oil lamp in the attic each night.

In the attic, Ruth stumbles upon some mementos and keepsakes in an old trunk. Among the items is her aunt's wedding dress, made long ago and never worn. There's also some newspaper clippings; an announcement of marriage between Mr. Charles G. Winfield, captain of the schooner ''Mary'', and Miss Abigail Weatherby. Ruth imagines that perhaps he was the man to whom her aunt's wedding dress was intended. Later, she finds a death notice of Mrs. Abigail Winfield, aged 22. Ruth feels ashamed and puts everything back, forcing it from her mind.

In the village, Ruth notices a young man, but does not make his acquaintance. Instead, she visits her aunt's childhood friend, Mary Ainslie, whom the locals call "peculiar", because she never leaves her house. Ruth is immediately taken with Miss Ainslie's saintly demeanor and quickly forms a friendship with her.

Ruth, who has resisted the urge to pillage her aunt's love letters, unwittingly stumbles onto a partial letter, which states, "At Gibraltar for some time, keeping a shop, but will probably be found now in some small town on the coast of Italy. Very truly yours". The signature has been torn.

Ruth's solitude is broken by Carl Winfield, a fellow journalist, who is staying in town at the suggestion of their mutual boss. She recognizes him as the young man she noticed earlier and finds him roguishly young and handsome; a great match for her.

Mr. Winfield suffers from an ocular ailment and must abstain from reading and writing. He's lodging at the Pendletons', and confides to Ruth that Joseph Pendleton and Hepsey, her aunt's maid, are courting. He asks Ruth to read the newspapers to him, and she agrees. Their time is well spent and on one of their many walks, they fall in love.

Mr. Winfield is also curious about Miss Ainslie, though Ruth is uncertain to introduce them. She inquires first and, out of curiosity for his surname, Miss Ainslie agrees to meet him.

Carl Winfield is transformed by Miss Ainslie and confides that his own mother died when he was young. Although he does not remember her, he's been told awful stories about her vices, mainly alcoholism. Despite that Miss Ainslie is unmarried and has no children, he believes she's the vision of a perfect mother.

Mr. Winfield proposes to Ruth, and she accepts, although no date is set, then Joseph Pendleton proposes to Hepsey, and she accepts. With this much excitement, it's difficult to imagine the surprise when Aunt Jane returns, a married woman! Not trusting the "heathen laws" with which she was married, Aunt Jane rushes to put forth a Christian union with one priest and two witnesses, Ruth and Carl. The bridegroom, James Ball, is anything but thrilled. He has lived a long sailor's life and enjoyed his bachelor days no end. He also fancies younger women – like Ruth and Hepsey! To his credit, he is there upon his word, having proposed to Miss Hathaway 30 years ago! It turns out that he was the purpose of her trip to Italy.

When Aunt Jane, now Mrs. Ball, discovers her husband's roving eye, she fires Hepsey and sends Ruth away, using her honeymoon as an excuse. Hepsey's and Joe's wedding is immediately put forth. Ruth, on the other hand, isn't ready to rush into marriage. She heads for Miss Ainslie's house instead. There, she knows, she will be comfortable for the duration of her holiday. Linens, china, and furniture make up the wedding gifts.

While Ruth is staying with Miss Ainslie, the woman makes changes to her will, leaving everything to Ruth and Carl. Both insist they would rather have her, Carl especially. Strangely, Miss Ainslie and Carl share a dream about Carl's father. They confide it to Ruth, but she is unwilling to believe it is anything more than a coincidence. Nonetheless, it has changed Miss Ainslie and she has lost her will to live.

In the end, Ruth and Carl discover the truth: that Mary Ainslie was engaged to Charles G. Winfield, captain of the schooner ''Mary'', but that he married Carl's mother, Abigail Weatherby, instead. After his wife died, he was too proud to come forward with his son, so he stayed away all those years. And all those years, Miss Ainslie was waiting for him. Her friend, Jane, knew this, but hadn't the heart to tell her. Instead, she lit the lamp in her attic for hers and Miss Ainslie's sailors to make their way back to them.

The series premiere begins at Sunnydale High School, where a boy (Carmine Giovinazzo) breaks into the school during the night with a seemingly reluctant girl (Julie Benz), promising her mischief and therefore fun. Nervous and on edge, the girl says she thinks she heard something and fears someone is in the school, other than the two of them. The boy calls out but gets no response, leading him to assure her that they "are alone". The relieved girl then turns to face the boy, revealing her facial morph into her true identity: a vampire. She then bites the boy's neck.

Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) has a nightmare the morning of her first day at school. Her mother, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland), drives her to the school and encourages her to think positive. Inside the building, Principal Bob Flutie (Ken Lerner) sees on Buffy's permanent record that she burned down her previous school's gym; she nearly lets it slip that she did so because there were vampires, but she rapidly changes the end of her statement to "asbestos".

Buffy exits the office and bumps into a male student, spilling the contents of her handbag on the floor. Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon) sees this and helps Buffy repack, mainly to introduce himself to her. She unknowingly leaves her stake, which Xander pockets after he unsuccessfully calls out to her. In history class, Buffy is helped by popular girl Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), who afterwards tests her "coolness factor", skipping the written as Buffy had just moved to Sunnydale, California from Los Angeles. To Buffy's horror, Cordelia humiliates an awkward Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) at the water fountain. Inside the library, new librarian Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) places a book titled ''Vampyr'' in front of Buffy after recognizing who she is. A stunned Buffy makes a hasty exit.

Buffy, Willow, Jesse McNally (Eric Balfour), and Xander meet during a break, and Xander returns the stake. Buffy claims it is standard self-defense in Los Angeles. Cordelia appears and tells Buffy that gym is cancelled due to the "extreme dead guy" in one student's gym locker. Buffy asks whether there were marks on the body, freaking out Cordelia. Buffy forces her way into the locker room, examines the body, and finds the characteristic puncture wounds of a vampire on the neck. Buffy returns to the library and confronts Giles, who informs her that he is her Watcher. Buffy refuses to accept her calling as a Slayer, since it had gotten her kicked out of her previous school and robbed her of a social life. After they leave the library, Xander emerges from behind the shelves, having overheard the strange conversation.

That night, en route to her first visit to The Bronze, the cool hangout in Sunnydale, Buffy meets a mysterious, handsome stranger (David Boreanaz), who warns her that she is living on a Hellmouth that is about to open, and that "The Harvest" is coming. He also gives her a large silver cross pendant. In The Bronze, Buffy meets Willow and encourages her to seize the moment. She finds Giles and tells him about the stranger. Giles tells her to learn to hone her skills to sense vampires anywhere. Buffy uses her fashion sense to pick out a vampire (J. Patrick Lawlor) in the club and is alarmed to see Willow leave with him. She loses them and is surprised by Cordelia, nearly staking her and scaring her off. While Buffy looks for Willow, Jesse chats up the vampire girl, Darla, at The Bronze. Buffy is stopped by Xander, whom she convinces to help search for Willow.

Meanwhile, under the streets of Sunnydale, the Master (Mark Metcalf), an ancient and powerful vampire king, is woken by lesser vampires from a long sleep to prepare for the Harvest. He sends Luke (Brian Thompson) to fetch young blood. Willow's new acquaintance takes her to a crypt in a cemetery, where they are joined by Darla and Jesse, whom she has bitten. Buffy and Xander arrive. Buffy kills Willow's vampire. Xander and Willow help the weakened Jesse to flee. Luke takes Darla's place in the fight so she can help catch the kids. Luke throws Buffy in a stone coffin and is about to move in for the kill.Holder, p. 54

Frank and Joe, with their best bud Chet Morton, investigate when a princess's pet snow leopard goes missing from the Bayport Zoo. They become embroiled in a more dangerous case when the princess herself is kidnapped.

The story begins in 1647 when King Charles I has been defeated in the civil war and has fled from London towards the New Forest. Parliamentary soldiers have been sent to search the forest and decide to burn Arnwood, the house of Colonel Beverley, a Cavalier officer killed at the Battle of Naseby. The four orphan children of the house, Edward, Humphrey, Alice and Edith, are believed to have died in the flames. However, they are saved by Jacob Armitage, a local verderer, who hides them in his isolated cottage and disguises them as his grandchildren.

Under Armitage's guidance, the children adapt from an aristocratic lifestyle to that of simple foresters. After Armitage's death, Edward takes charge and the children develop and expand the farmstead, aided by the entrepreneurial spirit of the younger brother Humphrey. They are assisted by a gypsy boy, Pablo, whom they rescue from a pitfall trap. A sub-plot involves a hostile Puritan gamekeeper named Corbould who seeks to harm Edward and his family. Edward also encounters the sympathetic Puritan, Heatherstone, placed in charge of the Royal land in the New Forest, and rescues his daughter, Patience, in a house-fire. Edward leaves the cottage and works as a secretary for Heatherstone, but Edward maintains the pretence that he is the grandson of Jacob Armitage.

Edward eventually joins the army of the future King Charles II, but after the Royalist defeat at the Battle of Worcester, he returns to the New Forest where he learns that Heatherstone has been awarded the old Arnwood estate. Disillusioned by this, and by Patience's apparent rejection of his declarations of love, Edward flees to France. His sisters are sent away to be brought up as aristocratic ladies and his brother continues to live in the New Forest. Edward learns that Patience does, in fact, love him, and that Heatherstone had acquired the Arnwood estate for Edward, but he works as a mercenary soldier in exile until the Restoration when they are reunited.

Two teenage boys, Kerry (Arjay Smith) and Justin (Branden Nadon), are bored at Justin's house. The two are best friends and spend a lot of time together since Justin's mother, Carolyn and little sister Lisa (''Silent Hill'''s Jodelle Ferland) are away for the weekend. Justin tells Kerry that he resents his father since his recent divorce from his mother and how he is never there when he needs him. Later, the two decide to break into an old mortuary for thrills.

When they arrive at the mysterious funeral home, Justin's cousin James, who works there, does not respond to their knocks on the front door. After noticing that the door is unlocked, the two teenage boys look around, but find the place deserted. Soon, they find James and the entire funeral staff dead. Suddenly, a strange man (Michael Ironside), a vampire, attacks them, tearing into and biting Kerry's neck while Justin is forced to flee.

Justin returns home and tries to phone his mother, but cannot get through. He tries calling his father, but his father brushes him off. Justin is about to call the police, but he thinks twice when he imagines they'll hang up on him, for Justin apparently has a history of making prank phone calls. After pleading with Justin to be let in, Kerry stumbles into the house with a ghastly neck wound, claiming to have gotten away from the vampire. When Justin tries to call for an ambulance, Kerry drinks every milk carton and water bottle in the refrigerator, claiming to be "thirsty" before suddenly attacking and biting Justin.

Justin wakes up the next morning, feeling dizzy and finds that he is unable to stand bright lights. Carolyn and Lisa return home, and when Kerry's mother calls, asking of her son's whereabouts since he apparently did not come home last night, Carolyn asks Justin where Kerry is. Justin denies knowing Kerry's whereabouts. As night falls again, Justin becomes aware that he has transformed into a vampire, but tries to restrain himself and confines himself to his bedroom. After a while, he goes over to his father's house, where he meets Kerry who tries to persuade Justin to kill his father for the years of neglect. However, Justin refuses. Frustrated, Kerry kills Justin's father himself by cutting his throat with a shard from a broken mirror.

Kerry and Justin then meet the vampire who attacked them the previous night. Justin identifies him as Mr. Chaney, a former teacher of theirs. Chaney tells them that he recently became a vampire and wants to spread his newfound powers to his former students. They go back to the mortuary, where Justin discovers that Chaney had kidnapped Lisa and has her tied up. He wants Justin to kill her and embrace his new life as a vampire, but Justin instead attacks Chaney. He and Kerry kill Chaney, and Justin frees Lisa. Justin realizes that he and Kerry are now doomed to walk the earth as bloodthirsty killers and makes the devastating choice to kill himself rather than feed on the blood of the innocent, while Kerry wants to experiment with his new life. After bidding each other goodbye, Kerry leaves while Justin remains behind. As dawn breaks, Lisa returns home to her mother, while Justin allows the sunlight to hit him and burn him to death.

The following night, Kerry is on a bus to New York City, where he talks to a fellow passenger. The passenger tells Kerry he is hungry, to which Kerry responds that he is also getting hungry.

Maggie (Joanne Nail) transfers from across town to a new high school that is essentially run by the Silver Daggers, a rough, hierarchical male gang, and their female counterparts, the Dagger Debs. A confrontation between the Dagger Debs and a repo man gets all the female members — and Maggie — arrested. Because Maggie is new, a lecherous lesbian warden at the juvenile detention center (Kate Murtagh) threatens to physically abuse her. Maggie fights back and eventually the Dagger Debs join her. Subsequently, Dagger Deb leader Lace (Robbie Lee) decides she likes Maggie and entrusts her with running errands while she serves a brief sentence in juvenile hall. One such errand – delivering a love note to Lace's boyfriend, Dominic (Asher Brauner) – ends in Dominic following Maggie home and raping her. Maggie's close friendship with Lace upsets Lace's closest friend, Patch, who lost one of her eyes in service to the gang and now sees herself as second-in-command.

Lace is released from juvenile hall and reunites with Dominic, telling him that she discovered she was pregnant during her incarceration. Dominic disavows fatherhood and refuses to help Lace care for the child, encouraging her to undergo an abortion. Meanwhile, the Silver Daggers have to contend with the arrival of a new gang, led by the villainous Crabs (Chase Newhart), at the high school. After Crabs shoots Dominic's brother and orchestrates the gang rape of one of the Debs, Maggie devises an ambush on Crabs's men at a local roller rink. The effort proves disastrous when Crabs' men show up armed with rifles, kill Dominic, and brutally assault Lace, causing her to miscarry. While Lace recuperates in the hospital, Maggie assumes leadership of the gang, expels the men and changes its name to The Jezebels. She teams up with Muff (Marlene Clark) and her gang of African-American militants from across town to ambush Crabs. All the while, Maggie suspects that someone in her group tipped Crabs off to their plans at the roller rink, not knowing that Patch has already uncovered the real traitor: Lace, who organized the ambush to get Maggie killed in revenge for her stealing Dom and for assuming the role of leader of the Dagger Debs. Patch agrees to cover for Lace and, after the ambush proves successful, she shoots Crabs before he can confess to Maggie.

Back at the Jezebels' hideout, Lace and Patch attempt to convince the gang that Maggie was the traitor. The members refuse to believe Lace's assertions, and a knife fight ensues between Lace and Maggie. Maggie fatally stabs Lace in the throat, prompting a police strike force that had been surrounding the building to storm in and arrest everyone. The various members of the gang proudly proclaim themselves as members of the Jezebels, but when Patch attempts to identify herself as part of the gang to the police, the remaining members disavow any knowledge of her. The blood-soaked Maggie becomes hysterical as she and the rest of the gang are loaded into the back of a police van, screaming threats that the Jezebels will one day return.

An old man named Gaspar is attacked by muggers in a cemetery. As one of the muggers takes his pocket watch, it burns the mugger's hand and floats through the air back to Gaspar. A man named Billy fends off the muggers. Gaspar and Billy go to Billy's apartment. Gaspar tells him he was at the cemetery to visit his wife Minna. Billy leaves for work but allows Gaspar to stay and rest. Despite their solitary lifestyles, the two men become friends. Billy discovers that Gaspar is homeless and dying, and offers to let him stay at his apartment.

As they watch the news, Billy worries that the world is close to a nuclear war, but Gaspar tells him it is not possible because his watch shows it is only 11 o'clock. Billy tells him about his experiences in the Vietnam War and explains that the man he visits in the cemetery sacrificed himself to save his life. Billy has been racked with guilt ever since.

While Gaspar is asleep, Billy tries to look at the pocket watch but it floats away and returns to Gaspar, who upon awakening says he wants Billy to accompany him to the cemetery the next day because he believes he is going to die.

At the cemetery, Gaspar tells Billy that when the world adopted the Gregorian calendar, which advanced time by eleven days, their calculations were off by one hour. Gaspar is the latest of the "paladins of the lost hour", who are tasked with preserving that one hour and preventing the end of time. If Gaspar dies before passing the watch on, the watch will begin to tick. Gaspar offers the watch to Billy, but Billy says he doesn't want the responsibility. Gaspar then asks Billy to use the watch to call back Minna and give Gaspar one minute with her, but Billy says this would be wrong. Gaspar tells Billy that his response was correct and that he passed the test. As a reward, Gaspar lets the watch tick for one minute. A Marine in full dress uniform appears. The Marine tells Billy he never knew he saved Billy's life, but nevertheless is happy his death served a purpose. Gaspar gives Billy the watch and dies. Finally released from his guilt, Billy leaves the cemetery as the newest paladin.

Stan and Ollie are mousetrap salesmen hoping for better business in Switzerland, with Stan's theory that because there is more cheese in Switzerland, there should be more mice.

While visiting one village, they find the villagers unresponsive. On top of that, a cheese shop owner (Charles Judels) cons them out of their wares with a bogus banknote. Despite having no money, they order a meal at a nearby hotel, and are forced to work as dishwasher when they can't pay. They antagonize and insult the chef (Adia Kuznetzoff), who tells them that for each dish they break they must work another day.

Meanwhile Victor Albert (Walter Woolf King), a composer – along with his assistant, Edward (Eric Blore) – is residing in the hotel to work on his next opera, which he intends to have staged without his opera star wife, Anna (Della Lind), who gets better reviews – and more notice – than his music does. Anna comes to see him but he tells her to go away. Pouting in the lobby, she meets Stan and Ollie, who tell her how they came to work there. Anna decides to use the same method to get a job as a chambermaid and stay close to her husband, in order to convince him to let her star in his new opera.

Stan gets drunk on a St. Bernard's keg of brandy, so that when he and Ollie are told to move the composer's piano to a treehouse where he can work in peace, Stan is not much help, especially when they have to cross a narrow rope bridge over a deep ravine to get there. While they are crossing, they have a confrontation with a local street musician's gorilla. The struggle ends with the bridge breaking and the piano and the gorilla plunging into the abyss.

The smashing of the piano obliges the composer to use the large organ in the hotel lobby until a replacement piano is delivered. Assigned to wash the stairs, the boys inadvertently dump soap water into the organ pipes and this causes the music to be accompanied by bubbles as the composer works.

While talking with Anna, and not knowing who she actually is, Ollie falls in love with her, and he and Stan go to serenade her. Before they can start she comes to the window, and Ollie invites her to the next day's Alpen Fest. She tells them she has a special plan for the Fest and will see them the next day. Realizing that they never serenaded her, Ollie sings "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" accompanied by Stan playing a tuba. This wakes up the chef, who lives upstairs. He is also in love with Anna, and warns Ollie that she is his girl. He douses Ollie with a pitcher of water and then threatens the boys with dire consequences if they go to the Fest.

The next day, Anna, Ollie and Stan go to the festival dressed as gypsies, and Anna sings, knowing that Victor, her composer husband, will be listening. Victor recognizes her and tells his assistant to bring her to his room. Stan and Ollie wait for her outside, but the chef appears and a wild chase ensues. The boys overpower the chef and then force their way into Victor's room, only to discover that Anna is the wife of the composer.

As they leave the hotel and village, they are confronted by the vengeful gorilla, bandaged and on crutches, who hurls his crutch at them before they depart, running.

Owen asks Buffy out on a date at The Bronze. Giles has found out about a prophecy from the symbol on a ring they found in the cemetery. He is convinced that the Anointed One will rise that night, and so despite Buffy's protests, they spend hours sitting on graves waiting for a vampire to rise. None does and though Giles is certain that his calculations are correct, he calls their stake-out quits. Buffy rushes to The Bronze, only to see Owen dancing with Cordelia.

At the same time, in a bus on the way to Sunnydale, a man stands up and begins to lecture the other passengers on God's judgment, quoting prophecies. Suddenly, a vampire walks in front of the bus, causing it to crash. Other vampires swarm the wreck, attacking the passengers, including the religious fanatic.

The next morning, Owen asks Buffy out on another date and even gives her a pocket-watch so that she does not miss it this time. When evening comes, Giles shows up at Buffy's house, waving a newspaper that shows five people died when the bus crashed, among them the suspected murderer Andrew Borba, the man who was quoting prophecies. Buffy insists on going to the Bronze so Giles decides to check the Sunnydale funeral home himself. Unfortunately, there are vampires present to get the Anointed One, and they trap Giles in a room. Xander and Willow have followed him, though, and run back to The Bronze to get Buffy.

There, first Cordelia, then Angel tries to come in between Buffy and Owen. Finally, Xander and Willow managed to get her to come to the funeral home by pretending to be a couple that wants to do something daring on a double date. When Buffy figures out what has happened, she tries to ditch Owen, but unfortunately, he tags along. Even worse, he is present in the funeral home when Borba rises as a vampire. In the fight, Owen is knocked unconscious. Buffy kills Borba by sliding him into the lit furnace.

The next morning, Owen is excited about the thrill of the action, but Buffy turns him down, realizing that there is no way that she can have a relationship with him without putting him in danger. Giles tries to comfort her by telling her what a burden it was for him as a ten-year-old to find out his destiny was to be a watcher when he wanted a more fun career. Both agree that at least the Master will be unhappy, too, because the Anointed One was destroyed.

But in his underground lair, the Master is overjoyed as he welcomes the real Anointed One—not Borba after all, but a young boy who was on the bus with him.

Despite Giles' (Anthony Stewart Head) misgivings, Buffy decides to try out for the cheerleading team in order to reclaim some of the happy, normal social life she enjoyed back in LA. During trials, the hands of a girl named Amber spontaneously combust. An unknown person is shown to be using Barbie dolls dressed as cheerleaders in a voodoo-like ritual over a cauldron. The next day, Cordelia is struck blind during her drivers ed class, and is saved from wandering into traffic in the nick of time by Buffy. According to Giles, blinding enemies is a favorite trick amongst witches.

Amy Madison (Elizabeth Anne Allen), another contender, seems to be under intense pressure to compete from her domineering mother (Robin Riker), a star cheerleader in her day, and is crushed when she only makes the substitute list after Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) and Buffy. Believing Amy to be a witch, Buffy, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) collect some of Amy's hair during science class, to prove that she cast the spells. Amy goes home and orders her mother to do her homework, while she goes upstairs with a bracelet she stole from Buffy during class.

The next morning Buffy is behaving in a somewhat unstable manner. She blows her chance at the cheerleading squad when she tosses the head cheerleader, Joy, through the room, ceding her place to Amy. Buffy turns out to have something more than just a mood disorder: a bloodstone vengeance spell has destroyed her immune system, giving her only about three hours to live. The only way to cure her and break the other spells is to get the witch's spell book and reverse the magic. The ailing Buffy and Giles confront Amy's mother, Catherine, and find out that Catherine switched bodies with her daughter months before, saying that Amy was wasting her youth, so she took it for herself. Giles finds the witch's book and takes Amy and Buffy back to the school to break the spells.

Amy/Catherine is cheering Sunnydale's basketball team when she starts getting flashes of what Giles is trying to do. Xander and Willow are unable to stop her from storming into the science lab with an axe but buy enough time for Giles to break the spells: Amy and Catherine are restored to their own bodies, and Buffy feels well enough to fight. However, Amy's mother's power is too great, and it is only by reflecting her last spell back onto her that Buffy saves the day. Catherine vanishes with a scream.

After her mother’s disappearance, Amy’s father is delighted to have her live with him, and she tells Buffy she is really happy to finally have a normal parent/child relationship. As the two girls walk through the school hall together, they pass by the trophy collection where the cheerleading trophy of "Catherine the Great" stands. While both girls wonder where Amy's mother ended up, the camera pulls close to the statue's face, revealing the mother's eyes and a muffled voice pleading for help.

The Master sends a trio of armoured warrior vampires after Buffy. They ambush her, but Angel arrives to help her. Angel is injured during the fight and Buffy invites him back to her house. When Angel takes his shirt off, Buffy notices a tattoo and asks him if he was stalking her, because she felt his presence at the Bronze. He shrugs it off. Buffy asks Angel why he fights vampires and he reveals that his family was killed by vampires.

The next morning, Giles informs the group that the vampire trio were known as The Three, warrior vampires controlled by the Master. The Master allows Darla to kill The Three, as a lesson in the use of power for Collin, the Anointed One.

The next day, Buffy returns to Angel. She notices her diary askew and tries to explain away entries that reveal fantasies about "A". Angel assures her that he did not read the diary. He then confesses his attraction towards her, but says he cannot be around her as he is older than her. They kiss. Suddenly, Angel pulls back with a snarl of distress, showing his vampire face. Buffy screams in shock and he dives out the window.

Giles researches Angel's history and notices the peculiarity that, although he was previously infamous as the sadistic killer known as Angelus, Angel has shunned the company of other vampires since coming to America and apparently has completely stopped preying on humans.

Darla cons Buffy's mother into inviting her in and bites her. Angel hears Joyce's cry and rushes in. Darla shoves the now-unconscious Joyce into Angel's arms and escapes out the back door. Angel resists the impulse to drink, but Buffy sees him and is horrified. At the hospital, Joyce's last memory is of inviting Buffy's "study friend" inside. Buffy misunderstands, thinking Joyce means Angel rather than Darla, and storms out to kill him.

Giles talks further with Joyce and learns that it was Darla, not Angel, who bit Joyce. With Xander and Willow in tow, he rushes to find Buffy to warn her of the trap. Buffy tracks Angel to the deserted Bronze and demands an explanation; Angel tells how he was cursed by Gypsies who restored his human soul so that he would be eternally tormented with the guilt of his past sins. He denies biting Joyce, yet confesses wanting to, as well as wanting to kill Buffy. The Slayer lays aside her crossbow and slowly offers her throat to him. Suddenly, Darla emerges from the shadows with a pair of pistols. Hearing gunfire, Giles, Willow and Xander rush in and distract Darla. Looming up from behind, Angel stakes Darla through the heart.

In their Hellmouth lair, Collin consoles the Master for his loss of Darla at Angel's hands. Spying Angel across the crowded room at the Bronze, Buffy goes to thank him and they agree not to get involved as it could be dangerous for the both of them. As they deeply kiss one last time, Buffy does not notice that the cross she is wearing — the one Angel gave her weeks ago at their first meeting — is scorching his chest.

Buffy and her Sunnydale High classmates are on a field trip to the zoo. A gang of four bullies named Kyle, Tor, Rhonda and Heidi taunts and terrorizes other students, and when one boy, Lance Lincoln, does not have the courage to tell Principal Flutie what they have done to him, they "reward" him by taking him with them to the Hyena House even though it is under quarantine. Xander follows to help him, whereas Willow and Buffy are stopped by a warden. In the Hyena House, the hyenas' eyes flash as they look at the gang of four and Xander. Their eyes flash in return.

Xander is now part of the gang, and his behavior has changed; he becomes insulting and cruel, especially to Willow. Even more ominous, the school's new mascot piglet Herbert tries to flee when he smells Xander. Giles does not initially believe anything is wrong with Xander since he is a 16-year-old boy until the missing Herbert is found dead - and eaten. After checking his books, Giles warns that they could be dealing with a case of possession. Buffy runs to find Xander, and finds the piglet's cage demolished. Xander jumps Buffy, pins her to the floor and tries to rape her, Buffy knocks him unconscious with a desk and locks him in the book cage in the library. When Flutie finds the mascot dead, he knows that the original gang of four are involved and calls them into his office. There, they start encircling him, close in and finally attack, kill and eat the terrified Flutie.

Returning from a teacher's meeting to the library, Giles tells Willow and Buffy about what happened to Flutie. Giles and Buffy go see the zoo warden who tells them that he is not surprised by the possession and knows about the magic involved, but is not sure how the students were affected: he has not been able to figure out the ritual. Giles supplies the missing information: a predatory act is required, like when the original four students tormented the boy.

Buffy offers herself as bait to lure them back to the Hyena House where the warden, now in full Maasai ritual attire, is supposed to perform a reverse of the possession spell with Giles' help. Giles realizes that the warden had tried to call the power for himself, but could not figure out how until he learned about the predatory act from Giles. The warden then knocks Giles unconscious.

Willow reaches the Hyena House before Buffy, and the warden ties her up and puts a knife to her throat, telling her it is the "predatory act" that will trigger the ritual and save the students. Buffy arrives with the others close behind. The pursuing pack knocks her down, and the warden uses this predatory act to shout a spell that pulls the animal spirits from the five students into himself. In the ensuing fight, Buffy knocks the warden into the hyenas' pen, where he is eaten. The gang of four flees.

The next day, out of embarrassment, Xander convincingly lies to Buffy and Willow that he has no memory of being possessed. Giles knows the truth and agrees to keep Xander's secret.

After a biology class, Dr. Gregory is killed by an unseen monster, which only shows a pair of large eyes and an insectile limb. The next day, Buffy is alarmed by news of Gregory's disappearance, but the boys in her class are more interested in the beautiful substitute teacher, Natalie French (Musetta Vander), who seems to have a fixation on insects, especially the praying mantis. French suggests making model egg sacs for the upcoming science fair and asks the class for help. She selects Blayne as her lab partner for that day, to be followed by Xander the next day.

Cordelia finds Gregory's headless body inside a cafeteria refrigerator. That night Buffy goes into the park and confronts a vampire who has a large claw in place of his right hand. They fight but are interrupted by the police and the vampire escapes. He encounters French while she is walking home with groceries and flees in terror, indicating that French is not human.

The next day Buffy is late for her biology class and is horrified to watch as French seems to sense somebody at the door and then turns her head 180 degrees to see who it is. After the class, French claims to have left supplies at home so she asks Xander to come over to her house that evening and work on the egg-sac project there instead.

Back in the library, Buffy realizes that Blayne never returned home from helping French. Giles recalls a creature known as the "She-Mantis", or the "Virgin Thief", which preys on virgin males to fertilize its young. That night, Xander arrives at French's house to find her wearing a tight dress and acting in a sexually suggestive manner. She offers him a drink, which he takes and then collapses. She turns into her mantis form and takes his body to a cage in the basement, where he wakes up next to Blayne.

Meanwhile, Willow calls Xander's mother and finds out that he is not home. The Scoobies then go to the house where French supposedly lives, but find a retired teacher there whose name the mantis has stolen. Desperate to find the real house before it is too late, Buffy tracks the one-handed vampire and forces him to locate the correct house. Buffy breaks through the window just as French in mantis form is about to mate with Xander. She burns the monster with insect repellent while the others free Xander and Blayne. Giles and Buffy, using recorded bat sonar, send French into convulsions so Buffy can hack her to death with a machete.

The next day, Buffy sadly puts Gregory's glasses back in his closet, not noticing that a sac of she-mantis eggs is attached to the bottom of a shelf and one begins to hatch.

Luke (Brian Thompson) is about to finish off Buffy, who is trapped in a stone coffin, but she repels him with the silver cross that a mysterious stranger (David Boreanaz) had given her earlier that evening. She then escapes the mausoleum and saves her new friends Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) from vampires in the graveyard. However, Darla (Julie Benz) has already taken Jesse McNally (Eric Balfour), and she and Luke now inform the Master (Mark Metcalf) about Buffy's unusual fighting abilities and knowledge of the supernatural, and it is suspected that she may be a new Slayer. The Master decides to use Jesse as bait.

In the library, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Buffy reveal to Xander and Willow the supernatural world of vampires, demons and Slayers, and that Buffy is the latest Slayer to endow powers chosen to fight supernatural threats. Willow accesses the city council's plans for Sunnydale's tunnel system, and Buffy realizes that there must be a means of access to it from the crypt where she fought Luke and Darla. Willow offers to help now that she knows about the supernatural, and so continues assisting Giles with research. Xander, however, is hurt when Buffy declines his help in physically tracking down Luke.

The dark stranger appears again just as Buffy is about to enter the tunnel system in the crypt, and tells her his name is Angel. He gives her directions to the Master's lair, but pointedly refrains from wishing her luck until she is out of earshot. Xander catches up with Buffy in the tunnels, having decided to follow her anyway despite her earlier attempts at discouraging him.

Willow is researching the Master and his minions in the computer lab when she overhears Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) badmouthing Buffy, and is then insulted by Cordelia when she attempts to defend her new friend. Willow exacts revenge by convincing the computer-illiterate Cordelia to press the DEL key to "deliver her assignment", thus deleting it from the system.

Buffy and Xander find Jesse seemingly alive and unhurt, but he leads them to a dead-end in the tunnel system and then reveals that he has already been turned into a vampire. Buffy and Xander barely manage to escape.

Underground, the Master is unhappy about their escape and punishes the vampire Colin by violently poking his eyes out. Luke then drinks the Master's blood, turning Luke into "the Vessel". Back at the library, Giles explains what he and Willow have discovered; that an ancient vampire, the Master, arrived in Sunnydale with his minions in 1937. He intended to open the Hellmouth, which is below Sunnydale - a portal between this reality and another, demonic reality - but he was swallowed by an unexpected earthquake and is now trapped in a church that is buried underground. If the Hellmouth opens, demons will invade the Earth. Tonight is a once-in-a-century opportunity called ''The Harvest'' in which, by choosing one of his minions to drink The Master's blood and marking him with the ritual's symbol, the vampire king will draw strength from each of this minion's victims, until he is powerful enough to finally break free from his confinement and resume what he has started decades ago. To prevent this, Buffy and her gang of friends must kill the Vessel. They wonder where the vampires might attack so as to ensure the optimum number of victims, and Xander suggests The Bronze, as he realizes that the vampires have been using it as their feeding ground.

On her way there with the others, Buffy stops by her house to pick up some additional weapons before the fight, but is promptly grounded by her mother (Kristine Sutherland), who has received a call from Principal Flutie (Ken Lerner) about Buffy skipping classes and is now terrified that the same events which led to Buffy being expelled from her previous school are happening again. Knowing that she cannot abide by her mother's wishes, Buffy collects her weapons from a secret compartment in a chest (the top layer of which is filled with stereotypical girlie items so as not to arouse suspicion) and climbs out of the second-floor window.

Luke and other vampires burst into The Bronze to begin feeding. Buffy arrives just in time to save Cordelia, who was newly attracted to Jesse because of the greater confidence he had gained as a vampire. Buffy notices the Vessel mark on Luke's forehead, and begin to fight him. Xander confronts Jesse with a stake, but is spared the choice of either killing or being killed by his former best friend when a fleeing woman accidentally pushes him into Jesse so that the stake pierces the vampire's heart. Darla knocks Giles to the ground and is about to bite him, but Willow saves him by pouring holy water on Darla. Buffy smashes a window so that extra light pours into the room, and Luke is momentarily stunned because he thinks it is daylight, allowing Buffy to stake him and so prevent the Master from rising. Angel watches as the now-leaderless vampires flee from The Bronze; he is clearly impressed by Buffy's success.

The next morning, despite Xander's expectation, Cordelia exemplifies Sunnydale residents' denial towards the paranormal, and thus nothing apparently changes. Giles warns Buffy and her friends that the Hellmouth will continue to act as a magnet for demonic forces and that many more battles lie ahead, a fact which they accept more nonchalantly than he would like.

Snyder, the new school principal, puts Giles in charge of the talent show and makes the Scoobies take part. They watch Morgan and his ventriloquist's dummy, Sid. The act takes a turn for the better when Sid suddenly appears to develop a personality and starts making sarcastic comments.

The scene cuts to Emily, a ballet dancer, alone in the changing rooms. She hears something, turns and screams as a demonic voice whispers, "I will be flesh". Snyder explains to Giles that he will run a safer, more disciplined school—but is interrupted by the discovery of Emily's body, whose heart has been cut out with a knife. The Scoobies debate whether the killer is a demon or a human.

The group splits up to interview people from the talent show to find the killer. Everything seems to point to Morgan. Buffy breaks into his locker, where she finds nothing and is reprimanded by Snyder, who becomes increasingly suspicious of her, as Morgan and Sid secretly watch her. Sid tells Morgan that Buffy is "the one", saying that her strength is evidence of it.

Sid sneaks into Buffy's room as she sleeps, but the noise of his wooden feet wakes her and she sees him. Buffy has a hard time convincing the Scoobies that Sid broke into her room. Giles suggests that the demon responsible might be needing the heart (and later, a brain) to keep a human guise, which means the demon could be anyone.

In the library, just as Willow finds references to another possible explanation—animated dummies might be harvesting organs to become humans—Sid disappears. While searching for Sid, Buffy finds Morgan's body, missing the brain. A chandelier falls on her and Sid attacks, but during their fight she realizes that Sid believes she is the demon and that they are both working for the same goal: to stop the demon.

Sid explains that he is a demon hunter, cursed to dummy form until he kills the last of the Brotherhood of Seven: demons who must harvest a heart and a brain to remain in human form. Realizing the demon has what it needs, they theorize it will be moving on, and so its form will be that of whoever is missing from the talent show.

Sid tells Buffy that once they kill the demon, he will die, since his human body has long since crumbled to dust and bone. Buffy, Willow and Xander discover Morgan had brain cancer, and therefore the demon should now be looking for someone with a healthy, smart brain—someone like Giles.

At the talent show, Marc the magician tricks Giles into strapping himself into a guillotine, supposedly a magic prop. Buffy, Xander and Willow rush to rescue Giles, and with Sid's help they kill Marc—who was the demon all along. Sid finishes the demon by driving a knife through its heart and collapses as his soul is freed from the dummy.

At school, Giles explains to Buffy, Xander and Willow that although they have closed the Hellmouth, the mystical energy still attracts evil forces to the town. Cordelia runs into the gang, remembering her previous encounters with the supernatural, and promises not to tell anyone Buffy is the slayer. Whilst training after school, Buffy has a vision of the Master and begins furiously hitting a dummy. At night, she dreams of being killed by him; when she wakes, Angel appears in her room to warn her of the childlike Anointed One. Buffy coldly brushes him off. He tells her he missed her and leaves before she can reply. At the Bronze, Xander and Willow worry about Buffy's behavior. Buffy then arrives in a very revealing dress and mocks Angel. She begins a slow, sensual dance with Xander in order to make Angel jealous.

Meanwhile, the Anointed One and his acolyte Absalom are forcing their vampires to dig up the Master's bones barehanded through consecrated earth.

Cordelia confronts Buffy and tells her to get over her problems. Buffy leaves and Cordelia is kidnapped by two dark figures. They throw her into a basement with an unconscious Jenny Calendar. Buffy walks to the grave that holds the bones of the Master, and finds it dug up.

At lunch the next day, Giles shares Xander and Willow's concerns about Buffy, who then shows up to tell them about her discovery. Giles remembers the existence of some revivification spells and Buffy is angered that he never told her about them. That night, the Scoobies learn that a revivification spell needs the blood of the "closest" person to the deceased. Buffy thinks she is the target, as she and Master were close. Cordelia's necklace, wrapped around a large rock, is thrown through the library window. Ignoring her friends' protests, Buffy leaves for the obvious trap, saying in frustration that she cannot look out for them while slaying.

Inside the basement where she has been led, Buffy and Angel find one female vampire. Buffy realizes that the trap is not for her. At the same time, Giles realizes that the Latin text actually said that the ritual requires the blood of those ''physically nearest'' to the Master when he died – Giles, Willow, Cordelia and Jenny. Giles and Willow are kidnapped by several vampires. Buffy returns to the library, where she finds a bloodied Xander, who is upset with her for abandoning her friends and threatens to kill her if anything happens to Willow. Buffy tortures a vampire for information on their whereabouts. Buffy interrupts the ritual and slays several vampires while Angel and Xander rescue the others. In a rage, Buffy smashes the Master's bones to bits with a sledgehammer to prevent his resurrection, before tearfully collapsing into Angel's arms as he comforts her.

The next day, Buffy apologizes for her behavior and is pleasantly surprised to find herself forgiven. Meanwhile, the Anointed One gazes at the scene of destruction, and vows revenge on Buffy.

Reading a book of prophecies that Angel gave him, Giles learns that the Master is destined to rise the next day and that Buffy will die. An earthquake is felt all over town. The next morning, Buffy meets Giles in the library, the balcony of which has sustained significant damage from the earthquake. Buffy reports that the vampires are rising in number and getting braver.

Jenny Calendar interrupts Giles' study in the library to warn him that she sees apocalyptic portents. She tells him that Brother Luca, a monk in Cortona, is e-mailing her about the Anointed One. Giles asks her to get more information about this, promising he will explain everything later. Xander asks out Buffy to the dance despite knowing she likes Angel, but she turns him down. He asks out Willow as a rebound, but she turns him down too.

That evening, Buffy uses the restroom at school and finds that the faucet is running with blood. As Buffy enters the library she hears Giles telling Angel about the prophecy. Buffy, shocked, yells that she is quitting as the Slayer, throwing the cross Angel gave her on the ground. She goes back home and tries to persuade her mother to go away with her for the weekend; Joyce tells he how she met Buffy's father and instead gives her a white evening gown to go to the dance in.

The next day, Cordelia and Willow find the AV club slaughtered by vampires. Buffy, having heard, shows up in her evening gown at Willow's house; Willow expresses fear of their world being taken over by the vampires. Buffy goes back to the library, where Giles has explained to Jenny that Buffy is the Slayer. Giles decides to face the Master himself, instead of Buffy. Buffy reinstates herself as the Slayer, knocks Giles out when he tries to stop her and goes to kill the Master. Outside of school, Collin leads her to the Master's lair.

Willow and Xander show up at the library, where they hear that Buffy has gone off to see the Master. Xander goes to Angel's apartment where he forces Angel to lead him to the Master's lair and help Buffy. The Master tells Buffy that it is her blood which will free him. He drinks from her and leaves her to drown in a shallow pool. Willow and Jenny suspect that the Hellmouth is underneath the Bronze and leave to warn the students there, but are surrounded by vampires. Cordelia rescues them in her car and drives it straight into the library. Xander finds Buffy and resuscitates her with CPR.

As Cordelia, Willow, Giles and Jenny fight off vampires trying to enter the library, a three-headed creature smashes through the floor, revealing that the Hellmouth is directly underneath the library itself. Buffy, now on the roof, tosses the Master down into the library, where he is impaled on broken furniture. He partly dusts, leaving only his skeleton. The world goes back to normal and everyone goes to the Bronze.

After her English class, Cordelia arranges to meet with the teacher the next day to talk about her paper. In the boys' locker room, Cordelia's boyfriend is attacked by an invisible assailant with a baseball bat and taken to hospital. Buffy enters the boys' locker room and finds the word "LOOK" spray-painted on the lockers. As Buffy approaches her, Harmony is pushed down the stairs by an invisible force and injures her ankle. The invisible thing bumps into Buffy before escaping.

As the Scooby Gang disperse, Buffy follows the sound of a flute. Looking over Willow's list of missing children, Buffy suspects Marcie when she sees she played the flute. Buffy finds Marcie's hideout. While Buffy is looking at Marcie's yearbook, Marcie who is invisible is standing behind her with a knife. Marcie then finds Mrs. Miller, Cordelia's English teacher, and suffocates her with a plastic bag. Cordelia arrives a short while afterwards and saves Mrs. Miller. An invisible hand writes "LISTEN" on the blackboard.

In a flashback, Marcie is sitting in her literature class as she attempts to answer a question posed by the teacher and is looked over in favor of her classmates, even though she had her hand up. Her hand then starts to fade away. Giles realizes that Marcie did not willingly become invisible, but was ''made'' invisible due to people never noticing her existence. As the Scoobies think back to Harmony and Mitch, and flick through Marcie's yearbook, they find Cordelia's picture, horribly defaced. They realize that Marcie is after Cordelia, whom she resented for constantly being the center of attention; suddenly the latter walks into the library asking Buffy for protection. They explain to Cordelia who is following her and decide to use her as bait and to have Buffy bodyguard her.

Using recorded flute music, Marcie lures Willow, Xander and Giles into the boiler room where she closes the door and opens the gas, then grabs Cordelia as she is changing. Buffy follows Cordelia and finds her unconscious. Marcie injects Buffy with a sedative and renders her unconscious

Buffy and Cordelia wake up; they are tied to some chairs. They see the word "LEARN" written on a curtain, and Marcie says that Cordelia is the lesson or will be after Marcie surgically disfigures her face. Buffy kicks the instrument tray at Marcie and frees herself from the ropes. In the boiler room, Angel rescues the Scooby Gang and closes the gas valve. Buffy realizes that she must use her other senses to fight an invisible enemy; she concentrates, listening to Marcie, and knocks her into a curtain before knocking her out. After Buffy frees Cordelia, two mysterious FBI agents arrive to haul Marcie away.

Marcie is taken by the FBI to a school of invisible students. She sits down in class and opens her textbook, called ''Assassination and Infiltration'', of which she approves.

Police officer Edgar Kennedy is warned by his police chief to make arrests to stop a burglary epidemic on his patch or face the sack. Kennedy comes across vagrants Laurel and Hardy that night and persuades them to rob the chief's house to get in his boss's good books. The boys, believing it to be too dangerous, at first refuse. After Kennedy threatens them with ninety days on "the rockpile," and assures them he will get them released after they're caught, they agree to the ruse. Stan and Ollie encounter various problems but after various complications, the chief catches Kennedy with various valuables in his house, while the boys manage somehow to escape.

The young, spoiled but feeble Daniel Forrester IV (Dick Nelson), a very rich eligible bachelor, gets his draft notice from the US Army and is beside himself with joy, because now he has a chance to prove he does not have the weak constitution his aunts Martha (Mae Marsh) and Agatha (Ethel Griffies) believe him to have. Daniel performs well at his army physical and is enrolled in the army soon afterward.

To look after Daniel during his service, his chauffeur Ollie (Oliver Hardy) and gardener Stan (Stan Laurel) join the army at the same time. They all go to basic military training at legendary Fort Merritt in Texas. Daniel finds the army to his liking, performing excellently at the exercises, but Stan and Ollie are less happy with their new duties. Their drill sergeant, Hippo (Edmund MacDonald), considers Stan and Ollie to be lazy, and their antics drive the sergeant crazy. Stan's pet crow Penelope is a constant source of irritation to the sergeant. But what irritates Hippo most is that the fort's photo developer, Ginger Hammond (Sheila Ryan), takes a special interest in Daniel. The sergeant, who has tried to catch Ginger's heart himself for quite some time, becomes jealous of Daniel. Daniel confesses his love for her in his sleep, while Stan and Ollie listen in. They do not want Daniel to pursue Ginger, since they are not certain that his health will cope with the strain of a romantic involvement.

Stan and Ollie worry that a such relationship between the two will kill their employer, so posing as businessmen, they pay Ginger a visit at home and try to deflect her by telling her that Daniel is broke and not the catch she believes he is. She recognizes them and throws them out of her apartment. Hippo also tries to break up the loving couple by cancelling Daniel's night leave and making him a prisoner in the guard room instead.

Stan and Ollie get into trouble when they are captured by the opposing team in a military exercise. When Daniel hears about their unfortunate situation, he escapes his lock-up and uses Penelope to find Stan. Penelope helps find Stan, and the team that Stan and Ollie belong to win the maneuver. Daniel and his employees become heroes, and Daniel and Ginger become a couple. Penelope gets her own bird-size uniform and all the boys participate in a military parade together, while the aunts and Ginger watch.

Akiko (Naomi Tani) is startled to find her estranged husband, Kunisada (Nagatoshi Sakamoto), in a car watching a young, pre-pubescent girl urinate by the side of a road. When Akiko returns home, the girl, Miko, follows crying that "Uncle" has disappeared. Akiko turns the girl over to the police. Later, while she is giving ikebana lessons at home, the police return to ask Akiko for information about Kunisada. It is revealed that he had disappeared three years ago after being arrested for a sexual crime involving a high school girl.

Kunisada follows Akiko to her mother's grave, where he kidnaps her, and takes her to an isolated cabin in the countryside. Here he subjects her to numerous degrading sexual tortures and punishments for days on end. When Kunisada leaves the cabin to get Akiko's wedding dress from her home, Akiko escapes. Wearing only a sheet and the ropes she had been tied in, she meets two hunters who, instead of helping her, rape her. Kunisada finds her unconscious in the woods, cleans her and dresses her in her traditional Japanese wedding clothes, complete with make-up, and suspends her from pulleys in the cabin and shaves her pubic hair.

While fishing, Kunisada comes across an unconscious young couple—Kaoru (Terumi Azuma) and Kiyoshi (Hidetoshi Kageyama)—that had failed in committing double suicide. He rapes the girl, Kaoru, then takes them to the cabin where he binds them. After giving Kaoru an enema, he has Akiko have sex with Kiyoshi while Kunisada has sex with Kaoru. He continues submitting them to various humiliations in order to destroy their love for each other. After he thinks he has succeeded, he unties them and tells them he has no more use for them, they are free to stay or go.

By now Akiko has come to accept Kunisada's behavior, and apparently enjoy it. She pushes him even further with commands to, "Whip me harder... abuse me..." After one such session in the woods, Akiko and Kunisada return to the cabin where they find that the young couple has bound themselves together and committed double-suicide through strangulation. Akiko tells Kunisada that they have played the final joke on him.

Meanwhile, two police detectives are following Miko, believing that she will lead them to Kunisada. Miko eludes the police, but they find the cabin with the dead young couple still bound together and Akiko naked and tied up. When they attempt to release Akiko she tells them, "Don't untie me. I like it this way."

The police ask her where Kunisada has gone. Akiko replies that he has escaped, then, laughing, adds, "It's funny, but I think he's afraid of me."

As the end credits roll, Kunisada is walking through the countryside holding Miko's hand, and Akiko is still in the cabin, tied up naked and squirming.

In 1798, Napoleon I has launched an invasion of Egypt. A frail and elderly artist, Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis (Michel Piccoli), has been commissioned by Napoleon to sketch the landscape and monuments of Egypt. French soldier Augustin Robert (Ben Daniels) has been assigned to keep Venture from being harassed by the other soldiers, but the unrelenting burden of this task soon takes its toll on Augustin. Mameluks attack the regiment's small encampment. In the aftermath, Augustin and Venture are now separated from their regiment. Walking in the arid landscape, under the blaze of the desert sun, they begin to suffer an unquenchable thirst, and Augustin is infuriated when the artist uses the last of their water to mix his paints.

Augustin abandons Venture, who cannot keep up, but promises to return with aid. Venture, unable to believe that Augustin will return, commits suicide. Augustin wanders aimlessly on his own. His thirst compels him to steal water from native Bedouins, frightening a young woman who startles him in her tent. Several Bedouin men give chase in response, and he flees to some nearby caves where he is trapped until a leopard, appearing out of nowhere, slays a Bedouin who is about to kill him.

Augustin is terrified at first, then astonished when the leopard gives him food and leads him to water. Augustin and the leopard, whom he names "Simoom," develop a strange and mysterious relationship, and he begins to mirror her behavior, living in the ruins of a lost city near the caves. Stripping naked, he paints his body with dirt and sand, seeking to resemble her golden-brown fur and its rosette-shaped markings. For a while, they are suspicious and competitive toward each other, but a bond has nevertheless been formed. Augustin finds himself jealous when Simoom goes to mate with another leopard, but she later returns to him.

The bond between Augustin and Simoom is then tested. He saves her from a group of lost French soldiers, who have wandered by and are aiming to kill her for food. Augustin, however, ultimately decides to return to his regiment rather than be branded a deserter or traitor. He dresses again in what is left of his uniform and bicorne and ties Simoon to a pole, but she escapes. Simoom, enraged by his attempted departure, charges and pounces upon him. He is forced to kill the leopard in self-defense.

Wounded by Simoom and suffering intense heat and thirst, Augustin collapses before he is able to find his way back to civilization. On the brink of death, he is rescued by a passing Arab on a camel, and returned to his regiment.

The game takes place five years after ''It Came From the Desert'' in January 1956 and expands on the possible second Ant Queen mentioned in the first game's ending. The player character is Brick Nash, a war veteran and now working as a truck driver who has stolen a detonator for an atomic bomb because his younger brother Andy is a tester for the weapon. Nash fears that the Army's then-ignorance of radiation will cause his brother and other testers to die. Nash must find evidence that will prove radiation is fatal, as well as help the town fend off the new ant army.

Brick Nash is an ex-fighter pilot who has recently returned from the Korean war, responding to a warning of thousands of potential deaths due to atomic testing in the desert outside the town of Lizard Breath.

Whereas the protagonist of the first game – Dr. Greg Bradley – was known to the people of Lizard Breath who were willing to help him, Nash is a stranger to them. Townspeople also transform into ants in front of Nash.

The summer of 1986. On a campsite at the Belgian coast - where everybody wants to live in complete freedom and forget the obligations of everyday life - Jan Bucquoy, the delegate of the Ministry of Culture, must bring culture nearer to the working class. He presents things like Bertolt Brecht's play, ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' or an interview with the famous writer Pierre Mertens, but the vacationers at this caravan park are more interested in low-brow distractions, like soccer, boxing matches or beauty contests, as well as sexual adventures and temporary romances. One of the actors is dressed up to resemble Tintin.

Jerome Jenkins Jr. and his friends are very adept at streetball, but are no match for the older boys in their neighborhood. When the friends realize a streetball team called Game On is coming to town to look for talent, they practice extremely hard and work to win.

After one of his short visits, Jerome is shooting some hoops and notices a pair of shoes hanging up by a streetlight. Jerome retrieves the shoes, which are soon afterward hit by lightning, giving their wearer the ability to play like Michael Jordan.

At the Game On talent game, Jerome gets a chance to take a half-court shot and to play one-on-one with another streetballer. His new shoes allow him to win easily, leading the Game On coach to give Jerome a spot on the team. However, many people try to steal his glory. Jerome's lazy and conniving supposed cousin Ray quickly claims to be Jerome's agent, and starts signing Jerome up with sponsors and otherwise making sure he has Jerome under his thumb.

During the first Game On game with Jerome, the team is struggling until Jerome gets in the game; they come back and win with his help. That night the guys go out to a club, but Jerome can not go because he is not old enough. So he goes to an amusement park with his friends, where they give him the streetball name Triple J.

Under Ray's encouragement, Jerome becomes a ball hog. He fights with his friends, and his teammates start giving him the cold shoulder.

While on break from the team, Jerome goes home on the day his father is also returning. Ray wants Jerome's mother to sign a contract that would let Ray get 15% of what Jerome makes. Ray also books Jerome in a music video. They say that they will be back before his father gets back. In Jerome's clip, his father comes out of nowhere and takes him away. They get in a fight about what Jerome is doing, with Jerome disregarding his father's advice.

Before the last game of the season, Ray urges Jerome to wear some shoes made by sponsors, but Jerome refuses, knowing his magic sneakers are what give him his ability to play. They go up against the Drop Squad, the best team in the league. Jerome's teammate, known as Ghost in the Machine, is worried because his father is in the crowd and this will be the first time Ghost's father has seen him play since high school. When they go out to play the Drop Squad, Ghost is at first outplayed. Jerome starts helping out Ghost and they come back at the half. During halftime, when Jerome is not looking, Ray swaps his magic shoes with the sponsor shoes he wanted Jerome to wear. Jerome suddenly starts playing worse and they lose. Angrily, Jerome says that he quits the team.

Outside Jerome has a talk with Ray, who reveals the extent of his power over Jerome. After Ray drives away, Jerome takes the bus home. Having lost his two best friends and Ray having hoodwinked him with a shady contract, Jerome tells his mother he's quit basketball. The next day, Jerome's mother kicks Ray out of the house, for his hateful schemes against her and Jerome. Then Jerome goes to the court and apologizes to his friends. They say they will see him at the King Of The Concrete Championships, but he tells them that he does not have the magic shoes anymore and that he has quit basketball. One of his friends says that Jerome should just play for fun. After giving his friends some pointers, Jerome realizes they really should play again. They form a team called Triple Threat. Jerome also finds the magic shoes in Ray's stuff.

The next day at the King Of The Concrete Championship, Ray has a new team called Ray On, composed of players which Jerome had shown up on other occasions. Triple Threat makes it into the finals thanks to Jerome, but so does Ray On. When Ray On goes up against Triple Threat, Ray deliberately messes up Jerome's sneakers and Nathan gets hurt. Then Jerome's father leads them back at the final shot. Jerome shoots the last shot without his magic shoes and it goes in.

After the game, more sponsors ask if they can sponsor Jerome, but his father refuses. Then Ray tries to pull out the contract that he ripped up, when Dalton locks Ray in his trunk. Then Jerome walks home with his family. Ray then screams from the trunk, which ends up getting towed, and Jerome's shoes are hung up on a street light.

The film begins with a disclaimer: ''Only the most ridiculous parts of this story are true''.

After years of covering one armed conflict after another, American journalist Simon Hunt is in Bosnia and Herzegovina in early 1994 reporting on the Bosnian War. In parallel, he has managed to romance a local Muslim girl who is pregnant with his child. However, in the late stages of her pregnancy, she is killed by the Bosnian Serb forces when they overrun her village. Upon seeing the carnage, Simon vows revenge on the Bosnian Serb political leader Dragoslav Bogdanović —known as "The Fox".

Reporting on the gruesome event later that day in a live remote link-up, Simon loses his composure at the network anchor Franklin Harris' suggestion that the Serb attack may have been a reaction to Muslim provocation attacks from inside the village. As a result of his on-air meltdown, Simon's journalistic career takes a tumble. While his professional prospects spiral downhill, those of his long-time camera man Duck go in the opposite direction. Duck gets a cushy job at the network, while Hunt is left following war after war, as a freelancer, in an attempt to get back on the US network television map.

In fall 2000, Duck, now a professional, travels to Sarajevo to a "puff piece" of the network anchor Franklin Harris covering the fifth anniversary of the Dayton Agreement, along with the fresh-out-of-Harvard young journalist, and son of the network vice-president, Benjamin. Duck runs into his old buddy Simon. Once a US network star reporter, Simon is, by this point, a desperate half-drunk cynic reduced to filing freelance reports for underfunded news outlets in places like Jamaica and Poland.

All the while, Simon's looking for a story big enough to propel him back to the realm of credibility. He tells Duck that, through a source, he has located Bogdanović, who is now wanted for war crimes with a US$5 million bounty on his head, and that he'd be interested in trying to score an interview with the fugitive. The Fox is assumed to be in the village of Čelebići, in the Serbian entity of Bosnia, near the border with Montenegro, with various stories circulating about him, such as that he enjoys fox hunting (hence the nickname) and that the head of his security detail is a ruthless psychopath with a tattooed forehead.

Convinced by Simon, Duck comes along to shoot the interview, with Benjamin in tow. On the way, Simon confesses his plan to capture the Fox to collect the bounty — something Duck and Benjamin consider insane even to think about. Along the way, the group is mistaken for a CIA hit squad by several groups, including the United Nations police force and the Serbs themselves; at one point, at the initiative of Benjamin, they claim to be CIA agents themselves, using a threat to avoid paying a fee for a tip. Still, Boris, the local area UN commander, puts them in touch with a woman claiming to have been romantically involved with the Fox's main bodyguard Srđan.

Simon, Duck, and Benjamin are then captured by the Fox's guards and taken to a barn to be executed where axe-wielding Srđan — who has the phrase "''умро пре рођења''" ("died before birth") tattooed on his forehead in Cyrillic alphabet — is preparing to kill them through torture. At the last moment, a team of CIA assassins, tipped off by Boris, storms the barn and frees the journalists, but Fox escapes. It quickly becomes evident to the journalists that, even in the international community, there are people who do not wish the Fox to be captured.

The CIA orders the journalists to board an airplane bound for the US, but they run away to carry out their plan to catch the Fox. They capture him while he is hunting in the woods without his guards. The journalists then release him, with his hands securely bound, in a village called Polje filled with the surviving family members of victims of his war crimes, where he is lynched by the vengeful mob.

As the film ends, before the closing credits, the screen goes to black and the following message is shown:

''In theory, the official hunt for war criminals in Bosnia continues to this day...However, the two most wanted men — Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, continue to elude the U.S, The United Nations, The European Union, NATO, The Hague and all in the civilized world who claim to be looking for them. In the ten years that Radovan Karadžić has been on the run, he has published two books and one play. Perhaps if the International Community opened a summerstock theatre...But they're probably too busy "searching" for Osama Bin Laden'' .

Ratko Mladić was arrested on 26 May 2011, and Radovan Karadžić was arrested in Belgrade on 21 July 2008 and brought before Belgrade's War Crimes Court a few days later.

The film ends and is then followed by a montage of people and events seen in the movie with words such as, "really existed", flashed across the screen as various characters are shown throughout the film.

The story is the account of the star-crossed romance between a German dancing girl, Elise, and the protagonist, Ōta Toyotarō, a Japanese exchange student who must choose between his career and his feelings for the dancer. Toyotarō comes to Germany after coasting through his college work standing at the top of his class. Upon arriving to Germany, Toyotarō feels isolated from his peers as he did not party like they did. One night on his way home, Toyotarō stumbles upon a crying Elise and immediately is interested in helping her. Eventually he is fired from his post but gets another job through his friend Aizawa Kenkichi. Over time, Toyotarō's feelings towards Elise become more romantic and she becomes pregnant. At the same time, Toyotarō is pulled towards his career by Aizawa and the Count. Toyotarō eventually chooses his career, sending Elise into a nervous breakdown. He leaves Elise alone and pregnant with his child, traveling back to Tokyo, ending the story. Afterwards, Mori Ōgai describes his experience in Germany, as well as a few other people's accounts, as the inspiration.

Leung Chang is a young man in a wealthy family living in Foshan in the mid-19th century. He is a martial artist trained by two instructors in his father's employ. He has fought over three hundred times in Foshan and won every fight, but unbeknownst to him, his father has arranged for his servant Yee Tung-choi to bribe Chang's opponents to lose to him in order to protect him. This has caused Chang to believe that he is a world-class fighter, but in truth he hasn't even mastered the basics of kung fu and any real fighter could easily defeat him. Everyone knows this but him, giving him the nickname "The Prodigal Son" behind his back, because of the money he is costing his parents who pay to keep him from getting injured.

One night, three of Chang's friends attend a performance by the Lok Fung Lin Chinese Opera troupe. One of Chang's friends is attracted to the lead actress and asks her out on a date after the performance. She refuses, but he insists and even harasses her. She reveals herself to be a man, Leung Yee-tai, a master of Wing Chun. He beats up and humiliates Chang's friends. Chang challenges Yee-tai to a fight to avenge the insults to his friends. As usual, Yee Tung-choi tries to bribe Yee-tai to lose, but Yee-tai refuses, easily defeats Chang, and reveals the truth about his martial arts ineptitude to him.

Chang, desiring to learn real kung fu, asks Yee-tai to teach him Wing Chun. Yee-tai refuses because he thinks Chang would probably misuse it, but Chang has his father buy the Lok Fung Lin troupe and gives himself a job as Yee-tai's personal assistant, insisting on following Yee-tai everywhere until Yee-tai agrees to teach him Wing Chun. This continues for six months. The Lok Fung Lin troupe travels to Canton. There, Yee-tai's Wing Chun skills are witnessed by Lord Ngai Fei, the son of a Manchu duke, who is also a martial arts master and is hunting for a worthy opponent.

Ngai forces Yee-tai to fight him. Ngai and Yee-tai are evenly matched until Yee-tai has an asthma attack. Ngai stops the fight and postpones it until Yee-tai is healthy and fit for it. It is revealed that Ngai is also a "prodigal son"; unbeknownst to him, his father has ordered his bodyguards to protect him from anyone who might beat him in a fight. However, their methods are more ruthless and brutal than the bribery employed by Chang's parents; they resort to assassination.

During the night, Ngai's bodyguards and a team of assassins infiltrate the Lok Fung Lin theater, massacre the troupe, and burn down the theater. Yee-tai is having trouble sleeping because of his asthma, and he sees light reflected off an assassin's blade through his eyelids and reacts in time to escape along with Chang. The assassins think they died in the fire, as does everyone else. Yee-tai takes Chang to the home of his martial friend Wong Wah-bo. With Wah-bo's help, Chang finally convinces Yee-tai to teach him Wing Chun. Chang trains under both Yee-tai and Wah-bo; Yee-tai trains him in Wing Chun and Wah-bo trains him in freestyle fighting.

Over time, Chang achieves proficiency in martial arts, but Yee-tai's asthma is worsening. Chang takes Yee-tai back to Foshan to see a doctor. There, Ngai learns that Yee-tai is still alive, and he visits him. Yee-tai reveals that Ngai's bodyguards have been assassinating everyone who might beat Ngai. The bodyguards murder Yee-tai. Ngai, horrified, has his bodyguards executed. Chang challenges Ngai to a fight. Using everything that Yee-tai and Wah-bo taught him, he manages to beat Ngai.

The story features Woo Viet, who wants to leave his country, Vietnam, behind and start over in the United States. But he first must make his way to Hong Kong. In a refugee detention camp there, he discovers many of his countrymen are disappearing under mysterious circumstances. As Woo tries to find out what is happening, he realizes his life is in danger, and has to leave for the United States immediately using a false passport instead of seeking asylum. In the process, he meets a beautiful woman, Cham Thanh, who then travels with him. When Woo and his new love stop over in the Philippines, they discover that the females are conned to stay there to become prostitutes. Instead of taking the plane to the United States, Woo Viet decides to stay in the Philippines to save his love. However, as he is stranded in Manila's Chinatown, Woo Viet is forced to work as a hired killer.

When the Hirvonen brother's (Läde, Timo, Ruho and Poju) bootlegging father ends up in jail, his sons need money to pay his debts to local crooks. The brothers suddenly get a new family member when their stepsister, Saara, moves in with them. Soon they find out Saara has an outstanding singing voice and the boys come up with an idea to send her to a child star contest. To train the girl a former child star, a current pub rose, is employed.

As soon as Stuart Chapman (Ted North) starts his new job as a newspaper reporter in Chicago, he is pulled into a murder investigation together with his new colleague Homer Howard (George Montgomery). As they sit down in a bar having a drink after a long day, Homer starts telling about a case he reported on in 1927 - a murder case involving the young dancer Roxie Hart (Ginger Rogers).

Back in 1927, a theatre booking agent, Fred Casely, was murdered, and his body was found in Roxie's apartment. Roxie's husband Amos (George Chandler) is immediately questioned by the police, but Roxie is persuaded to let herself get arrested for the murder, since a woman hardly ever gets convicted of murder in Chicago. Besides, the fame she would earn for taking the blame could definitely improve her fading career. Reporter Jake Callahan (Lynne Overman) and Casely's partner E. Clay Benham (Nigel Bruce) reason with Roxie to convince her of what to do.

Roxie takes the blame, even though she knows her husband is guilty of the murder. Her mugshot is taken at the police station. When in jail, Roxie talks to different reporters about the case, including Homer, who has just started out as a journalist. Her husband also gets her the best lawyer money could buy, Billy Flynn (Adolphe Menjou), who is the closest thing to a show artist to ever enter a court room.

Billy decides they will use the fact that Roxie is a weak woman and claim she killed the man in self-defense. Billy sets up a series of interviews with journalist reporters. Roxie is instructed to charm the reporters and perform her trademark dance, "The Black Hula."

Homer is one of these reporters who are charmed by the lovely Roxie. He also finds out that Amos in fact is the real killer from her apartment building janitor, Michael Finnegan, and decides to help Roxie out. When the press turns to report on another "lady criminal", Gertie Baxter (Iris Adrian), and the publicity tide turns in favor of a tougher treatment of women criminals, Roxie pretends to be pregnant to sway the public opinion back to her ring side.

To further create sympathy for Roxie, Billy moves her trial further into the future, and gets Amos to divorce her. Roxie still doesn't trust the legal system enough, and wants Billy to find Finnegan and get him to testify in court on her behalf. It turns out Finnegan is dead, and the written statement he left before he died is judged as inadmissible evidence.

Billy still manages to get Roxie off the hook, and her fainting in front of the jury helps her case tremendously. She is found not guilty of the murder, but Amos is arrested instead, stealing all the publicity from Roxie. Out of the limelight, Roxie has to choose between marrying the poor reporter Homer and a rich member of the jury, stockbroker O'Malley (William Frawley).

In present time 1942, Homer finishes his story and gets up. He addresses the man behind the bar, who is O'Malley, now a former stockbroker because he lost everything in the 1929 stock market crash. A moment later, Homer is picked up from the bar by his wife, Roxie, who arrives in a car with their six children and announces she is pregnant with another.

A forty-year-old woman describes her life living in an apartment in Paris with her three children and their friends. As a community experiment based on total freedom the key lives permanently over the door and everyone comes and goes as they please. She contrasts her formerly strict and closed world against the free one of today; obedience to values against wavering anarchy; alacrity and faineance; hard loneliness versus warm fraternity. Marie Cardinal invites us to question these themes in this personal and passionate book, rich in humour and emotion. ''La Clé sur la porte'' is a serious and picturesque novel of today's youth, written by an elder who knew how to commingle.

Fourteen-year-old Diana Barrymore is being raised by her domineering mother, a poet. Her father, the famed actor John Barrymore, has not laid eyes on Diana for 10 years, but they share an evening on his boat before John abandons her again.

At 18, Diana has become an actress and has a steady boyfriend, Lincoln Forrester. When a Hollywood contract comes her way, Diana's mother warns her not to live with John, now a washed-up alcoholic.

She finds her father living in a nearly empty mansion, having sold or pawned his belongings to pay his bills. He keeps a bald eagle in a cage indoors and has a servant, Gerhardt, who must physically knock out John to put him to bed.

Diana's famous name gains her some publicity, but her performances are panned. Her new husband, actor Vince Bryant, is away a lot, so Diana turns to drink and leaves Vince for tennis player John Howard. When her father dies alone, a penniless and often drunk Diana and her husband move in with her mother, who can only stand so much before making them leave.

After marrying again, this time to recovering alcoholic Bob Wilcox, she discovers after her mother's death that she has been left no inheritance. Diana takes demeaning jobs, including a striptease. She becomes violent and is hospitalized. Her only hope at salvation is an offer to write her memoirs, and old friend Linc returns to her life, offering some badly needed kindness.

The main character of the story, Kaname Okiayu, a Japanese high school senior, learns about an alleged game-fixing scandal responsible for the winning streak of the South Korean soccer team during the 2002 FIFA World Cup and alleged ugly behavior by their supporters. Okiayu becomes a college freshman, and he and his female classmate Itsumi Aramaki join the Far East Asia Investigation Committee ( ), an extracurricular group led by Ryūhei Sueyuki (a junior) and Tae Soeuchi (a sophomore). The group is mainly devoted to the study of historical disputes between Japan and Korea and is very critical of the latter. Okiayu and Aramaki are taught about many of the alleged ugly sides of Koreans. The group participates in debates with a pro-Korean study group and a group of students visiting from South Korea – both made ignorant of history and unable to make logical arguments – and rebuts their pro-Korean opinions, humiliating them.

The main topics of book include an alleged 2002 FIFA World Cup game scandal, Japanese compensation to Korea for colonial rule, opposition to Zainichi Koreans suffrage, alleged Korean plagiarism of Japanese culture, criticism of pro-Korean mass media in Japan, criticism of Hangul (Korean alphabet), Japan–Korea Annexation, Liancourt Rocks dispute, and criticism of the Korean Wave and its immense popularity in Japan.

Characters

Nicola Liscutin, author of "Surfing the Neo-Nationalist Wave: A Case Study of ''Manga Kenkanryū''", noted that the art uses a "simple, abstract 'cartoony'" design with its Japanese protagonists in order to make the reader identify with them, while the opponents of the committee are depicted in an "exaggerated "realistic" or even grotesque" manner that marks them as being different from the reader.Liscutin, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=z-ZsUQoKoDUC&pg=PA177 177]. According to Liscutin, characters of Korean descent are depicted with "pronounced cheekbones and thus, allegedly more realistic", including those friendly to the protagonists and those against the antagonists. Norimitsu Onishi of ''The New York Times'' states that the series depicts Korean characters with "Asian features", black hair, and narrow eyes while Japanese are portrayed with blond hair, large eyes, and "Caucasian features"; this manner of portraying Japanese people originates from a pro-Western self-identification movement dating to the Meiji Restoration, where Japanese envisioned themselves as being at the level of the Westerners. Liscutin adds that the series uses a ""photographic" realism" for real life figures such as Shintaro Ishihara. ;
: Liscutin describes him as an “ordinary high school student,” originally believing that Japan had “done bad things to Korea,” “not particularly interested in history” whose mind is changed after having a conversation with his grandfather.Liscutin, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=z-ZsUQoKoDUC&pg=PA175 175]. Liscutin states that originally Kaname is aware of discrimination against Koreans and is therefore a “softy.” ; : She convinces Kaname to join the "Far East Asia Investigation Committee." : Liscutin describes her as “cute but tough.” ; : Kaname's best friend in high school, Kōichi is a Zainichi Korean who has what Liscutin describes as a "troubling identity crisis." Within the story he often tells Kaname and members of the committee that Koreans in Japan continue to experience discrimination.Liscutin, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=z-ZsUQoKoDUC&pg=PA189 189]. : Liscutin states that Kōichi's character has a hot-tempered demeanor, a racial stereotype of young Zainichi males. There are times when he self-reflects and feels very insecure. Liscutin states that the students on the committee need Kōichi "in their narcissistic desire for esteem" while the story needs the Kōichi character "to enact its educational objectives;" she explains he is used "as the park and fuel for the lessons of the group." ; : ; :

An evil empire from another galaxy is heading towards Earth. Barely 24 hours beforehand, they had penetrated the last line of defense in Earth's galaxy, the Arsion Laser Belt. Millions of innocent people perished in outer space colonies, and 70% of Earth's fleet was destroyed during first contact. Intelligence reports six days until their arrival. As conventional weapons cannot stop them, the last hope is in the playable pilot's hands: the Z-42 Warpstar. The pilot's mission is to warp into the enemy's territories and destroy their leader before they reach Earth.

Hawker (Sammo Hung) is sent to the Shaolin temple by the Iron Fisted Monk (Chan Sing), after he saves Hawker from a beating by the Manchus. After being trained by his master (James Tien) he runs away from the temple, only to be confronted by his master and forced to take the four tests. Whilst this is happening, an official (Fung Hak-on) is indulging in his passion for raping women, and is virtually above the law as he is a powerful Manchu officer. He begins by raping Liang's (Lo Hoi-pang) sister (Chu Ching), who then commits suicide and makes Liang a very angry man. Liang takes his revenge by killing one of those pesky Manchus but everyone thinks Hawker is responsible.

Both Liang and Hawker go to meet the Iron Fisted Monk who convinces Hawker to teach all the workers at the dye factory kung fu, so they can defend themselves against the Manchus. The final act involves the Manchus' butchering of the workers from the dye factory, kill Liang's wife and Liang's mother (Liang's wife was raped before being killed). When Liang eventually dies from his wounds, both Hawker and the Iron Fisted Monk swear vengeance on the Manchus and it is delivered.

Zoya Konstantinovna Ossupov is a Russian countess, a young cousin to Tsar Nicholas II. Escaping the Russian Revolution with her grandmother and a loyal retainer, she arrives in Paris, penniless, where she must carve a new life for herself and her loved ones. There, she joins Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Against the wishes of her grandmother, who objects to consorting with those outside her class, she meets and falls in love with American GI Clayton Andrews. After World War I, they marry and move to America, where Zoya faces many joys and hardships in her life. She struggles through the Great Depression and World War II, then meets and falls for millionaire cloth merchant, Simon Hirsch, who later died in another war.

Set in the 1960s and 1970s, ''Meridian'' centers on Meridian Hill, a student at the fictitious Saxon College, who becomes active in the Civil Rights Movement. She becomes romantically involved with another activist, Truman Held. They have a turbulent on-and-off relationship, during which she becomes pregnant by him.

After Meridian has an abortion, Truman becomes far more attached to her and longs for them to start a life together. Later, Truman becomes involved with a white woman, Lynne Rabinowitz, who is also active in the Civil Rights struggle, though perhaps for the wrong reasons.

As time passes, Truman attempts, unsuccessfully, to achieve personal and financial success while Meridian continues to stay involved in the movement and fight for issues she believes deeply in.

Dr. Philip Ritter, a plastic surgeon (Paul Henreid), falls in love with a gifted and beautiful concert pianist, Alice Brent (Lizabeth Scott). They meet by chance at a country inn, and romance soon develops. However, Alice is already engaged to be married and, afraid to tell Ritter, runs away. Ritter is devastated.

Back at his London surgery, Ritter receives a phone call from Alice, who informs him she is to marry David (André Morell). Meanwhile, Ritter's new patient is Lily Conover (Mary Mackenzie), a female convict whose face is disfigured. The love-struck surgeon believes he can change her criminal ways by constructing her new face to resemble that of Alice. He does so, and they marry. (Now identical to Alice, she is played by Scott.)

However, Lily has not changed her ways. She soon grows bored of Ritter's sedate lifestyle, and returns to a life of crime and partying. She is reckless in her behaviour, and unabashedly flirtatious with other men, and he comes to despise her.

As Alice completes her latest concert tour, David knows there is something wrong with her. He guesses she is in love with someone else, and calls off the engagement. Alice goes to see Ritter, who confesses what he has done.

Later, an upset Ritter leaves London for Plymouth, believing that the situation can never be reversed. Lily follows him, however, and takes the same train, where she becomes drunk and aggressive towards Ritter. Alice believes Ritter is so upset he may harm Lily, or even kill her if provoked, and she too joins the train. She arrives just as the two are arguing, and engaged in a physical struggle as Ritter tries to prevent the intoxicated Lily from falling out of the carriage. As Alice enters, Lily accidentally falls against the loose carriage door, and falls out of the train.

The film ends as Lily is discovered dead at the side of the tracks, and Ritter and Alice are reunited.

George Venturi (John Ralston), a divorced man from London, Ontario who had custody of his three children from a previous marriage: sons Derek (Michael Seater) and Edwin (Daniel Magder), and daughter Marti (Ariel Waller), marries a divorced woman named Nora McDonald (Joy Tanner), who has two daughters of her own from a previous marriage: Casey (Ashley Leggat) and Lizzie (Jordan Todosey). Up until that point, Casey was perfectly content with her life. Growing up as the oldest child in a household in Toronto with only her mother and sister had suited her well and brought her up as a self-sufficient and independent young woman.

After George and Nora's marriage, the McDonalds moved in with the Venturis in London, Ontario. Casey was originally upset about having to move to London, Ontario from Toronto, a much bigger city (as shown in the episode "How I Met Your Stepbrother"), for many reasons including Derek, but she eventually got over her own problems and agreed to move there for Nora and George's sake once she saw how much they cared for each other.

As the story opens, it is too rainy and too cold to play outside, so a boy named Conrad and his sister Sally sit bored and look out the window. Their mother announces that she is ready to depart, then tells them to have fun and says she will return at 3:30 sharp. While their mother is out, they have no other choice but to think of something to do ("Nothing To Be Done").

The mysterious Cat in the Hat suddenly enters with a bump and fools around a bit. The family goldfish named "Carlos K. Krinklebein" orders him to leave, but instead the Cat plays a game which he calls "Up, Up, Up, With a Fish", placing the fishbowl on top of a stack of bubbles. The children notice that the Cat is making the house a little untidy, and Conrad recalls their mother's projected return at 3:30. Noting their objections, the Cat bows to the voice of the majority and dejectedly states that he is going to Siberia, Russia. Immediately after leaving, however, the Cat bursts back in claiming that somebody stole his "moss-covered three-handled family gredunza". The Cat accuses Krinklebein of being the thief, and sings a ballad about the loss of his treasured keepsake ("Family Gredunza").

The Cat then leads the kids on a search for the missing gredunza using his method of ("Calculatus Eliminatus"), in which random numbers and letters are drawn anywhere the gredunza should be to mark that they have already checked there. This makes a mess of everything, and Krinklebein once again orders the Cat to leave. Ostensibly to gain sympathy, the Cat sings a pessimistic song ("I'm a Punk") to convey his low self-esteem. After Krinklebein shows no sympathy, the Cat puts him to sleep by singing a lullaby ("Beautiful Kittenfish", in the melody of "Beautiful Dreamer").

Having made a miraculous recovery from his bout of depression, the Cat brings out Thing One and Thing Two to aid in the search for the gredunza, singing to the kids that they can find ("Anything Under the Sun"), but instead of being productive, the Things play a variety of sports using Krinklebein's fishbowl, noting that with every house they visit, “there’s always some fish who doesn’t like fun.” Frustrated, Krinklebein accuses the Cat of not being a real cat, and his hat of not being a real hat. However, the Cat indignantly asserts his legitimacy by singing his name in several languages ("Cat, Hat"). The tune becomes so catchy that everyone, even Krinklebein, joins in and contributes, telling the Cat that in Russian he is a "chapka in a shlyapa". As the song ends, a car horn is heard in the distance. Krinklebein spots the kids' mother on her way home. The Things get back into their box and disappear, then the Cat exits immediately after. With the house an extreme mess, the kids wonder how they will clean up the house in time.

The Cat quickly returns, using a motorized vehicle to tidy things up in a jiffy. After cleaning the house, he departs, hinting that he may return someday ("Sweep Up the Memories"). Just as he departs through the back door, the mother walks in through the front door; she asks the kids how their day was, and then tells them that she just saw a cat in a hat "going down the street with a moss-covered three-handled family gredunza". The exact identity of the object has never been revealed, but this statement indicates that the gredunza was never really lost, and the Cat simply wanted an excuse to have more fun. Sally and Conrad look out the window much as they did at the beginning of the special, and watch as the Cat walks off to his next adventure.

The Comic Book Guy charges Milhouse $25 for accidentally ruining a ''Wolverine'' comic book when one of his tears drops on its cover and smudges one of Wolverine's sideburns after being scratched by the comic's infamous "pop-out claws" feature at The Android's Dungeon. After Bart proclaims that the events in comic books are not "real", Comic Book Guy tells him and the other children to get out of the store, just as a new comic book store, "Coolsville Comics & Toys" opens across the street. When the children arrive at Coolsville, the store owner, a hipster named Milo, gives them Japanese candy and invites them to his grand opening. The store is filled not only with comic books, but also with video games and modern art, giving it a sophisticated arcade look. When Lisa accidentally rips a page of an ''Adventures of Tintin'' book, Milo assures her that the books are meant to be read and enjoyed.

The store becomes even more popular, playing host to Art Spiegelman, Daniel Clowes and Alan Moore, who all visit for a book signing. Comic Book Guy jealously tries to sabotage Milo's popularity by revealing he has a girlfriend (whom they have already accepted for she, like Milo, is hip) and bribing the children with "Japanese weapons". When this does not work, Comic Book Guy tries to use the weapons to destroy Coolsville, but is subdued by the three authors who remove their shirts to reveal muscular super-hero physiques.

After comparing herself to a cardboard cutout of Wonder Woman, Marge decides to become slimmer. While exercising at a large gym, she struggles with the treadmill and is embarrassed showering in public, and as a result decides to open a gym for ordinary women.

Comic Book Guy, having finally given up, closes the Android's Dungeon which Marge then acquires in order to open "Shapes", a women-only workout center that is an immediate hit. Many women of Springfield comment on Marge's efforts; she opens another location at an abandoned Krusty Burger. After an interview on the women's television show ''Opal'', Marge becomes an international hit. Homer and Marge go on a luxury vacation at a hotel. Homer meets a group of three strapping young men who tell him he is on "wife support". They are all "trophy" husbands and convince Homer that Marge will soon dump him for a healthier man. They list the stages that will occur in their marriage before Marge dumps him. As these begin to occur, Homer overhears Marge talking to a group of women about dumping something. Homer assumes it is him, although she is actually talking about her purse. One of the three younger men tells Homer he is actually a first husband who used to be fat and ugly, but transformed himself through fashion, diet and exercise. Homer, however, decides that he needs to get cosmetic surgery.

Homer attempts to win Marge back by having his stomach stapled. He is now much slimmer and has to liquify his food. Homer lures Marge into bed and turns her on, but has to make sure only his front is exposed as all of his excess skin is tied back behind him. Next, Homer gets extreme plastic surgery done. When finished, Homer looks entirely different; he is slim with well-defined musculature, narrower eyes, and a full head of black hair, and his tear ducts have been moved to his nipples among other things. At a ceremony in which Mayor Quimby rewards Marge for her work with Shapes, Homer arrives in his new form, much to the shock and disgust of the town. Quimby orders the town to bring pitchforks and attack Homer. Homer and Marge run to the top of Springfield's Notre Dame tower and Marge, saying she wants a trophy husband, deliberately pushes Homer off the tower. Homer wakes up in the hospital, back to his old self. Marge informs him that after he was knocked out, the surgeon requested her permission for the surgery and she refused; everything from Homer's surgery to his "death" was just a dream. She had the doctor reverse Homer's stomach stapling, since she loves him no matter how he looks. The episode ends with Moore, Spiegelman, and Clowes watching Homer and Marge from mid-air. They notice that a meteor is headed for Earth, but become distracted by news of a convention for underpaid writers. They fly away and allow the meteor to strike.

In Cortona, Italy, in 1418, a circle of priests trap a horned demon (Moloch "the Corruptor") in a book using a magic ritual. The book is sealed in a box, with the head priest expressing the hope that the book will never be read, lest the demon be released upon the world. In the present, the book is delivered to Giles and added to a pile that Willow is scanning into a computer.

Willow tells Buffy that she has formed an online relationship with a boy named Malcolm. As Buffy tries to warn Willow about the dangers of rushing into a relationship with someone she has not seen, Fritz, a geeky student, is instructed by Moloch, via the computer he is working on, to keep watch on Buffy. Later, when Xander asks Willow if she will accompany him to the Bronze, she passes, preferring to talk to Malcolm. When Willow arrives late the next day, Buffy finds that she missed classes to talk to "Malcolm". Suspecting that Malcolm might be catfishing Willow, Buffy asks Dave for help in finding out Malcolm's real identity, but his angry response causes her to suspect that he is Malcolm. When Buffy asks Giles for help, he confesses he cannot help her much as he finds technology to be intimidating.

Willow becomes suspicious of Malcolm after she learns that he knows Buffy was kicked out of her old school, and logs off the conversation. Back at the library, Giles discovers that Moloch's book is blank.

Outside of school, Dave tells Buffy that Willow wants to talk to her in the girls' locker room. At the last minute, Dave has a change of heart and warns Buffy that she is about to be electrocuted. In the library, Giles tells Buffy and Xander that demons can be imprisoned in books; if the books are read aloud, the demons are set free. Giles also explains that Moloch is an extremely powerful and seductive demon, winning his victims over with false promises of love, glory and power. Buffy and Giles realize that there is no limit to the destruction that a demon could do through the Internet.

After they find Dave's body, Xander and Buffy go to Willow's house, and Buffy tells Giles to ask the computer teacher Jenny Calendar for help, hoping that between his knowledge of demons and her knowledge of computers, they can reimprison Moloch. Willow is kidnapped by Fritz. Giles seeks help from Jenny, and is surprised that she is already aware of the demon in the Internet. A robotic incarnation of Moloch crashes through a wall and attacks Buffy, Willow and Xander. After a brief battle, Buffy tricks Moloch into punching an electrical power line, causing his body to explode and, presumably, destroying him for good.

The next day, Buffy, Willow and Xander joke about how the Hellmouth is screwing with their love lives, before seriously wondering if they will ever find true happiness.

The episode begins with Buffy having a nightmare about going to The Master's lair and being choked by him. Buffy's mother, Joyce, shakes her awake, and as Buffy wakes up, she remembers that she is excited to be spending the coming weekend with her father. Buffy confides to Willow that she thinks she might have something to do with her parents' divorce. In a class, when the teacher asks Wendell to read from the text book, tarantulas crawl out of it. Buffy sees a boy standing in the doorway, saying that he is sorry.

The next day, as the Master explains to Collin, the Anointed One, how wonderful he finds fear, Buffy is nervous about being picked up by her father after school, and her mother calms her down. At school, Willow and Xander are worried about the spiders, and want to talk to Giles about it. Giles mutters that he "got lost," seemingly in the stacks of books. Giles has no information on the spiders so the gang goes to talk to Wendell, who explains he has been having recurring spider nightmares.

In the meantime, Cordelia lets Buffy know about a history test that Buffy has not studied for. Buffy has a hard time even finding the class, and the test is over in what feels like a moment; Buffy has not even filled in her name. She once again sees the same boy outside the classroom. As break-time begins, a girl named Laura takes a smoking break in the basement. An ugly man comes out of the shadows and says, "lucky nineteen" before assaulting Laura.

Later, Buffy and Giles interview Laura in the hospital, where they hear about "lucky nineteen." They also find the young boy from before (Billy), in a coma due to a similar attack. More nightmarish instances start to occur, starting with Xander finding that all of his clothing has vanished and he is naked in his classroom. Giles now cannot read but he finds a picture of Billy. Cordelia's hair becomes a disheveled, spiky mess, her designer clothes become horribly drab and nerdy, and she is physically forced to join the school chess club. Buffy realizes that she had been seeing Billy at school while he was still in a coma at the hospital. Giles theorizes she might have been seeing Billy's astral projection.

Buffy's father shows up and calmly tells her that she is at fault for her parents' divorce, because she is such a difficult child and he can't stand being around her. Then he scolds her for crying at his hurtful accusations and tells her he never wants to see her again. The Scooby Gang quickly figures out that their nightmares are becoming reality, including Xander's nightmare of being chased by a clown and Willow's nightmare of appearing on stage, expected to perform Madama Butterfly. Buffy finds Billy's astral body, and then they are both found by the man who assaulted Laura. Nightmares plague everyone and Buffy learns Billy has experienced some sort of punishment for poor baseball skills. They evade the scary man and find themselves in a graveyard where The Master confronts Buffy, and buries her alive.

Meanwhile, Willow, Xander and Giles find Buffy's grave. Giles explains that it is his worst nightmare to let Buffy die on his watch. Buffy then crawls out of the grave as a vampire, revealing her worst nightmare is dying and becoming a vampire herself. The gang decides that they must wake up Billy from his coma to stop the nightmares. In the hospital, they find Billy's astral body near Billy's comatose body. As the ugly man finds him, Buffy confronts him. After knocking him out, she encourages Billy to face him. Billy wakes up and everything is back to normal.

Billy's Kiddie League coach shows up, and refers to him as his "lucky nineteen". Buffy realizes he must be the "ugly man" who put Billy into a coma after they lost the game. He tries to run after Buffy confronts him, but is stopped by Giles and Xander and arrested. The episode ends when Buffy and her father leave for their weekend together, the previous confrontation just an unreal nightmare.

Principal Snyder assigns Buffy and Sheila Martini (Alexandra Johnes) to prepare the school lounge for parent-teacher night in return for him not expelling them. A new pair of vampires arrive in town, Spike and Drusilla. Spike promises the Anointed One (Andrew J. Ferchland) that he will kill Buffy, as he has killed two slayers already.

While the Scoobies are busy preparing for the parents, Giles and Jenny Calendar show up to inform Buffy that Saturday will be the Night of Saint Vigeous, named after the leader of a vampire crusade, and that during that night, the natural abilities of vampires will be enhanced. Spike assaults Buffy and tells her that he will kill her on Saturday. He later kidnaps and brings Sheila, who is enthralled by his bad boy charms, to the weak Drusilla who feeds on and sires her.

Giles does not recognize Spike from Buffy's description. Angel briefly walks in on the meeting and tells them that Spike is a large problem, as the two have known each other for a long time. Later, Giles finds a reference to Spike as "William the Bloody", and discovers that he has indeed killed two slayers.

On Thursday night, the Scoobies are making weapons in the library while Buffy is preparing the buffet. She fails to keep Snyder from meeting her mother. Afterwards, a stern Joyce orders Buffy home just as Spike and the other vampires crash through the window. In the ensuing fight, Buffy leads the adults to safety in the science room. Xander is sent to fetch Angel. Buffy takes command of the incredulous adults, tells them to stay put and climbs through the air ducts to reach the library and her weapons.

Buffy's location in the ceiling is discovered when Spike hears noises, and she has to avoid strikes made by the vampires to knock her down. After taking out the vampires trying to break into the science room, she runs into Sheila, who is now a vampire. At first, Buffy does not realize this, but she is able to thwart Sheila's attempt to ambush her thanks to Giles. Xander returns to the school with Angel, who pretends to be his former evil self, Angelus. Though Spike first welcomes Angelus as a long-lost friend, he sees through the ruse and Xander and Angel are forced to flee.

Buffy and Spike finally meet in the hall, and fight. Spike seemingly has Buffy beaten and is about to kill her, but she is saved when her mother shows up and hits Spike over the head with the flat of an axe. Hurt, Spike flees the scene. Joyce tells Buffy that she trusts Buffy to take care of herself, whatever Snyder may say. Meanwhile, Snyder tells the police chief to cover up the truth and claim to the public the trouble was caused by a gang on PCP.

Spike returns to the vampire lair, where the Anointed One demands penance for his failure. Spike instead kills the boy by throwing him in a cage into the sunlight, preferring to hunt for fun instead of as a ritual.

Buffy and her mother Joyce are shopping at a mall when Buffy notices a vampire leading a girl into a closed arcade. Buffy fights off the vampire who is later found to be a semi-notorious vampire named Lyle who travels with his brother Tector.

At school the next day, Cordelia and Xander make out in a closet despite the fact they both continue to bicker and agree they do not want a relationship. In health class, the teacher, Mr. Whitmore asks the students to pair off to take care of an egg. That night, Buffy's egg breaks open and a tentacle emerges, attaching itself to her face and inserting a tendril into her ear.

The next morning when she wakes up, the egg is back to normal, but Buffy is feeling ill. Back at the library, Giles comments on how both Buffy and Willow appear to be very tired and sluggish, both passing it off as a bad night's sleep. That night, a security guard enters the school basement and finds a large hole in the wall, only to be knocked unconscious by Mr. Whitmore.

Arriving home, Buffy sees her egg hatching. Suddenly a creature emerges and attempts to attach itself to her body. Buffy finally manages to stab it with a pair of scissors, before phoning Willow to warn her. Willow assures Buffy that she is fine, but her egg is seen to already be hatched. The next day, a creature is seen to have attached itself to Willow's back. Xander, who has hard-boiled his egg, decides to eat it, only to find a dead creature inside. The Scooby Gang proceed to the science lab to dissect the creature. However, Cordelia's egg hatches and the creature attaches to her, instructing her to knock Buffy unconscious, while Willow hits Xander over the head with a microscope. They drag Buffy and Xander to a closet, before joining a large group of students who pick up tools and head into the basement.

Joyce arrives at the library to pick up Buffy, however she instead encounters Giles, who places a creature on her back. They both then go into the basement. Buffy and Xander regain consciousness and find two unhatched eggs in the closet. Buffy smashes them, before they go to the library. Buffy finds a book describing the creatures who attach themselves to and then control a host, under the instructions of 'the mother Bezoar', an ancient, subterranean parasite. They follow a student into the basement and through the hole, where they find the host group digging up the mother Bezoar. Buffy decides to kill the mother Bezoar. However, Lyle and Tector arrive and attack Buffy. The fight eventually ends up in the working pit, where Willow orders the others to kill them. While fending off the hosts, Tector is grabbed by a tentacle and eaten by the mother Bezoar. Buffy is also seized by a tentacle, but she manages to grab a pick-axe which she uses to kill the mother Bezoar from the inside out, thus killing the creatures and freeing the hosts and scaring Lyle away.

Cordelia and Xander are attacked by a werewolf that rips a hole in her car's roof. Giles points out that there have been several other attacks, though so far only animals have been killed. During high school gym class, it is revealed that at least two students have been bitten lately: Oz by a cousin, and school macho Larry by a dog.

After some research, Giles finds out that a werewolf is a wolf for three nights — the coming night would be the second. Since the werewolf is human the rest of the month, it would be wrong to kill it. This, however, is not the view of werewolf hunter Cain who is out for his twelfth pelt.

Buffy and Giles rush to The Bronze, where the werewolf crashes the party. Buffy tries to catch it with a chain but fails. Cain joins them and points out that it will be Buffy's fault if the werewolf kills anybody. A body does turn up the next morning: Theresa, one of the students. Buffy is not the only one to have feelings of guilt. Oz wakes up in the forest, naked and confused after changing back from his wolf state. Recalling the bite he got, he calls his Aunt Maureen, and bluntly asks if his cousin is a werewolf.

Xander figures that Larry is the most obvious suspect because of the dog bite. When he confronts Larry alone in the gym locker room, it turns out that he really is hiding his homosexuality. Xander unwittingly leaves Larry with the impression that Xander is gay, too. Back in the library, Buffy suggests to Willow that she might have to make the first move if she wants to speed things up with Oz.

Buffy realizes that the reports of Theresa's body did not mention any mauling. She and Xander get to the funeral home in time to watch her rise as a vampire. Theresa passes along greetings from Angelus before Xander stakes her. Buffy is left shaken by this and Xander comforts her.

Cain busies himself casting silver bullets for the hunt. Willow visits Oz right before sundown. Oz is about to chain himself up, but lets Willow in the house. Her rant about the mixed signals he is sending is interrupted by him changing into a werewolf. She flees the house screaming, Oz in pursuit. Cain hears the wolf's cry and joins the hunt. The werewolf is distracted by a scent which Cain set as a trap, and Willow escapes and then finds Giles and Buffy, who are about to start the hunt for Oz with a tranquilizer gun. All parties meet in a clearing in the forest, and in the scuffle, it is Willow who shoots Oz, saving everybody. Buffy bends Cain's gun with her bare hands using Slayer strength, and tells him to leave Sunnydale.

At school the next morning, Oz and Willow share their first kiss.

Buffy's mother Joyce introduces her new boyfriend, Ted Buchanan, a computer software salesman. Buffy becomes uncomfortable with Ted's 1950s sitcom mannerisms and is not impressed by his offer of miniature golf. That night, Buffy beats a vampire to an unusually bloody pulp before killing it, worrying Giles that something is troubling her. Buffy asks Angel for his take on things. He says that her mother needs a man in her life, and she should give him the benefit of the doubt. During a disastrous golf outing, Buffy tries to cheat out of sight of the others, only for Ted to catch her and threaten to slap her.

Buffy talks her way into Ted's workplace where an envious co-worker tells her that he is an unbeatable salesman they have nicknamed "the machine". She also learns that he is making plans for a wedding in two months time. At dinner, Ted denies the engagement, but confesses to Joyce that he has hopes they will get married. Buffy slips out for some slaying and on her return, finds Ted has read her diary. He threatens to tell Joyce about the 'Slayer' unless she toes the line. She defies him and is slapped. In the resulting brawl, Ted is kicked down the stairs. Joyce declares him dead when she cannot find a pulse.

The day after a talk with the police, Buffy is in a haze of guilt. Willow, Xander and Cordelia dig deeper into Ted's life—discovering Ted's cookies are drugged; Cordelia finds Ted has had four wives since 1957, all of whom have since disappeared. That night, while Giles patrols, Sunnydale High teacher Jenny Calendar surprises him and apologizes for avoiding him. A vampire attacks and Jenny accidentally shoots Giles with a crossbow. Giles, only slightly injured, takes the shaft out of his own body and uses it to stake the vampire.

Buffy finds a reanimated Ted in her room; they fight again, and upon cutting him Buffy discovers that Ted is a robot. Ted knocks Buffy unconscious and escapes to find Joyce, but the damage he has sustained in the fight has left him erratic. Ted confronts an astonished Joyce, but as he malfunctions he reveals his true intentions; as Joyce resists, Ted becomes violent and knocks her out. Buffy then awakens, and knocks Ted out with a frying pan killing him. Meanwhile, the Scooby Gang investigates Ted's bunker which is decorated in 1950s style; Xander finds Ted's previous four wives — all dead.

The gang returns to school the next day, with Buffy cleared of all charges, and discuss their discoveries about Ted. Apparently, the real Ted Buchanan was a sickly, but brilliant, inventor in the 1950s whose wife left him. In desperation, he built a robot version of himself. The robot kidnapped Ted's wife and held her captive in his bunker until she died. The robot then sought out other women resembling Ted's dead wife and repeated the process until it met Joyce.

In an empty playground at night, Drusilla attempts to coax a young boy into being sired as a vampire until Angel intervenes and sends the boy home. Angel then tries to persuade Drusilla to leave Sunnydale with Spike, warning that this will end badly for everyone; Drusilla refuses, saying it is "just the beginning". Buffy watches the encounter from a rooftop, clearly unsettled.

As Buffy talks with Willow and Xander in the school hallway about the incident the next day, her friend Ford (Billy Fordham), with whom she attended school in Los Angeles, surprises her, explaining that he has transferred to Sunnydale High to finish his senior year. At the Bronze, Ford entertains Willow and Xander with embarrassing stories about Buffy. Buffy introduces Angel to Ford, whom Angel becomes suspicious of. In the alley behind the Bronze, Ford sees Buffy stake a vampire; he reveals that he already knows that she is the Slayer, having found out shortly before she was expelled from their previous school. Angel shows up at Willow's bedroom to ask for help tracking down Ford on the internet. Willow quickly finds that Ford is not actually registered at Sunnydale High.

The next night, Buffy and Ford see two vampires running onto campus. Out of sight of Buffy, Ford holds a stake to a female blonde vampire's heart and threatens to kill her unless she does what he wants. When Buffy finds Ford again he claims to have killed the vampire. Meanwhile, Xander, Willow and Angel visit the Sunset Club, the only address Willow has found for Ford. The patrons romanticize and sympathize vampires, whom they refer to as "the Lonely Ones", much to Angel's derision.

Buffy goes back to the library and meets Giles and Jenny Calendar. Buffy sees a picture of Drusilla among Giles' research. Giles explains that she was Spike's lover, supposedly killed by an angry mob in Prague, but Buffy tells him that she is still alive and that she saw her with Angel. Soon, the blonde female vampire storms out of Giles' study with a book. Buffy recognizes her as the vampire Ford said he had killed. Ford approaches a reluctant Spike and asks to be made a vampire, offering to give them the Slayer in return.

Later that night, Angel comes to Buffy's house to tell her about Ford's club. As Buffy is upset that her friends went behind her back to find out about Ford, she professes her love for Angel but says she does not know if she can trust him, and asks him to tell her the truth about Drusilla. Angel admits to a stunned Buffy that he had been obsessed with Drusilla, once a sweet young woman, and tortured her and killed her family until he sired her; turning her into an insane demon.

Buffy goes to the Sunset Club where Ford explains that he was counting on Buffy figuring out his plan. Buffy pleads with him to let the other club members go. Ford interrupts to tell her that he has brain cancer and will be dead within six months; becoming a vampire is the only way he can avoid death. He then admits to her that the other people will not be changed.

Within minutes of sunset, the vampires arrive and immediately begin feeding. Ford attacks Buffy, but she knocks him out. Buffy overpowers Drusilla and threatens to stake her. Spike immediately orders the vampires to stop feeding. Buffy demands that they let everyone go, which Spike agrees to. The former vampire worshippers flee and Buffy follows. Ford is still unconscious on the floor as Buffy closes the door, locking all the vampires inside with him. Ford awakens and, since he held up his end of the bargain by luring the Slayer, demands that Spike holds up his end of the bargain and sire him. Shrugging off this latest defeat, Spike does so.

A few nights later Buffy and Giles are waiting over Ford's grave. Ford's vampire self emerges and Buffy stakes her former friend, before wondering sadly if life for her as a Slayer ever gets easier.

S.D. Blass (Art Garfunkel) is a beat journalist for the ''Washington Daily Tribune'' newspaper in Washington, D.C. His editor-in-chief pressures him to deliver more featured stories, as it's been too long since Blass has had a decent article printed. Blass reaches out to Matthew Harrigan (Harris Yulin), a detective for the Washington Metropolitan Police department, looking for a good story to pursue.

He learns about a nurse that was raped and murdered on her way home after working the night shift at Washington Metropolitan Hospital. Unbeknownst to Blass, the detective had fabricated the police report and placed the primary blame on go-go music and its concert goers. Blass take the story and publishes it with the title: ''"Nurse Murdered at Go-Go: Music and Drugs Blamed for Violence."''

Meanwhile, Max (the owner of "Maxx Saxx Entertainment") manages three of the city's top go-go bands. After fifteen years of playing at local clubs, he feels the timing is perfect to take go-go music nationally. He arranges a sit-down meeting at the Watergate complex with Gil Colton (an L.A.-based record producer) hoping he'll sign his artists to a recording contract. Colton loves the music and the band's energy when performing live at the local clubs. However, he's worried about all of the bad press and media attention that's associated with the live performances. Because of this, he decides not to sign the artist and heads back to L.A.

Little Beats (an up-and-coming conga player for one of Max's go-go bands) has an older brother ("Chemist") who was once a promising college student majoring in chemistry. However, he started using illegal drugs, primarily PCP (aka "Luv Boat"), and is now robbing and stealing to finance his drug addiction. He also hangs with Mr. Ain't (Fred Brathwaite) and his street crew as they travel around the city wreaking havoc, including the rape and murder of the nurse.

Eventually, this leads to Chemist being falsely accused and charged with the murder and rape. Little Beats is apprehended by Det. Harrigan, with hopes of getting more information of Chemist's whereabouts. Blass, now aware that the detective has been fabricating many of his police reports, has chosen to disassociate himself with Harrigan. He gets in touch with Little Beats, Chemist, and their mother and works to clear Chemist of the allegations, along with exposing the police misconduct of Det. Harrigan.

At the beginning of his junior year at Carnegie Mansion, a prestigious private school, Carlton A. Dunne IV attempts to go through the year without attracting attention to himself as he has done for the past two years. He has a fondness for art and a "secret" identity as a Connecticut comic strip artist.

When his father is kidnapped by a Scottish clan exacting revenge for a feud nearly a thousand years ago, Carlton is drawn into the battle. After arriving in Scotland, he meets Aileen, an 18-year-old Scot who plans to become a cop and wants to be on ''Cops'' in America. After learning of Carlton's story she vows to help him on his quest.

The pair venture to Northern Scotland where they attempt to solve the mystery surrounding Carlton's dad. They are gradually drawn into the clan's mythology, a mythology that both Carlton's dad and his kidnapper strongly believe is true.

Taking place partly on Earth and partly in the atmosphere of Jupiter, the story tells of Howard Falcon, the captain of a new and experimental giant-sized helium-filled airship. When an accident causes the ship to crash, Falcon is badly injured and takes over a year to fully recover.

Later, Falcon promotes an expedition to explore the atmosphere of Jupiter. After several years and many trials, the expedition is launched, with Falcon at the controls of the ''Kon-Tiki'', a hot-hydrogen balloon-supported craft that descends through the upper atmosphere of Jupiter.

As the craft descends through the various cloud layers, Falcon discovers that the atmosphere supports at least two large forms of life, as well as microscopic and bioluminescent air plankton, producing atmospheric sea-fire. One form is a giant jellyfish-like creature (the ''Medusa'' of the title) about a mile across, and the others are manta ray-like creatures about a hundred yards wide that apparently prey on the Medusa.

The Medusa begins to show an interest in the ''Kon-Tiki'', and for his own and the expedition's safety, Falcon ignites his emergency power and escapes back into the upper atmosphere.

After his return, it is revealed to the reader that because of the airship accident much of Falcon's body was replaced by prosthetics, making him a cyborg with increased speed and reactions - allowing him to venture further into deep space than anyone, while leaving him feeling distanced from other humans.

In the military run country of Militaria, Professor Nicholas Caritat, a secluded Enlightenment scholar, is arrested because he has been giving hope to the Optimists, the nation’s enemies. Once in prison, he is rescued by Justin, a former student and current part of a guerrilla group called "the Hand," and given a mission: to find the best possible world. The mission leads him through three countries of political extremes that all claim to be the best.

Nicholas’s mission begins in Calcula, a city in the forward thinking, Utilitarian country named Utilitaria. The country has two parties: the Rule party, in government and the Act party, in opposition. The Ruler party follows John Stuart Mill’s idea of having society be ruled mainly by the most talented individuals. The Act party encourages democracy as it follows Jeremy Bentham’s ideas of having everyone’s opinions count equally in government. There is a group in the Northern area of the country called the Bigotarians which are focused on the past and want independence.

The only thing that matters to the people of Utilitaria is producing the greatest utility, as that will produce the greatest amount of happiness, following the ideas of early utilitarian thinkers. Classes are non-existent. Calculators and computers are used to calculate consequences and utility, despite the limitations and difficulties that occur when trying to do so. Everyone is cared for, provided that they contribute to the well-being of society. Those who cannot contribute are used as organ donors to help the working force.

On the third day of his visit, he is kidnapped by the Bigotarians. The group holds him for ransom as they think he is a Utilitarian ideologist. After thirteen days and two letters to the man he had been staying with, Nicolas realizes that Utilitaria, with its lack of regard for human rights, is not the best possible world. He is soon released and finds his way to Polygopolis, Communitaria with the help of Reverend Goddington Thwaite.

In Communitaria, society is based on equality and multiculturalism. People are greatly attached to their own ways of life, but recognize and accept others’. Everyone has a place in one of the thirty-four ethnic groups and seventeen religions. People cannot change communities to which they belong, but instead have to conform. The right to practice their culture is balanced by law with the responsibility to never offend another community.

Nicholas meets a rock star who is hiding because he had been excommunicated from his communities because he wrote a "satirical" rock opera. Satire is seen as sacrilegious, which is the worst crime in Communitaria, so he no longer has a place in society. Reverend Goddington Thwaite and the rock star look to Nicholas to help. When he talks to the two communities, though, he finds that individual rights do not exist in Communitaria. The only right that exists is the right the communities have to be respected.

Upon visiting the unidiversity (the Communitarians’ university), he is told that his mission undermines multiculturalism. It, according to the professors there, implies that one culture or society is better than another, which is impossible to do if one wants to have multiculturalism. Despite this, he is offered a temporary position lecturing on "Did the Enlightenment have to fail". The intent of this suggested topic is to warn students against ethnocentrism and the idea of civilization and universal reason. They view the Enlightenment as a way for one culture to oppress others, which is unacceptable in their world. One of the professors, Professor Bodkin, is an extreme feminist who argues that there is still oppression in the country on the basis of gender. Her peers avoid her eyes as she speaks of this, as they prefer to believe that there no longer is oppression.

When Nicholas meets a group of students, he finds that free speech is a punishable offence for fear of offending someone. He is invited to a secret club by another group of students, though, who argue against that. Through their stories, he finds the problem behind the Communitarian way of life: extreme separation of the communities. Marriage between members of different communities is frowned upon. People who try to change their community are shunned from society and called "rootless cosmopolitans".

While trying to find the washroom, he finds Professor Bodkin in the shower. When she sees him, he stumbles out, making apologies. She mistakes his apologies for insults against her community. She presses charges against him, causing him to flee the country to Freedom. On the train ride to Freedom, he dreams of the perfect world. In the dream, he meets two men who show him around Proletaria. Like Marx’s ideology, the Proletarian class in Proletaria took over the government which caused the state to disintegrate and left complete communism. There are no classes, states, legal systems, wages, rights, or markets. People are free to do as they wish and are not confined to one particular area of labour or activity.

Upon waking, he finds himself heading towards Freedom, the capital city of Libertaria. Based on libertarian thinking, "society" no longer exists in the country; all that matters is the individual. People are completely left alone as the government does not believe in social programs. Everything is privatized, so schools and hospitals are closed to those who cannot pay for them. Freedom arises in that people are free to do whatever they like without interference from the government.

The market, as once stated by Steven Lukes, reproduces and creates inequalities. This is shown in Libertaria through the difficulties people have living in society. The entire state is built on the privatization and trade of various programs and industries on the stock market. Due to this, it is difficult to find work. People often have to live on the streets, while students do not have enough money to buy books. The only way to make money is through stocks, but it is only the wealthy that have the money to do that, creating inequalities.

After limited success in Libertaria, he leaves to Minerva, and then starts to walk to the border. On his way, he is confronted by an owl who explains why each country failed to be the best it could be: they were all too focused on a single value. Since this is the Owl of Minerva, it is wise and philosophical. As dusk approaches, the owl flies away, symbolizing, as German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel says, that "philosophy understands reality only after the event." Nicholas, demonstrating this, starts to comprehend all that has happened. His final letter to Justin places his experiences in context with his mission and ideas. He realizes that the best possible world would encompass all values and have its citizens willing to learn and think.

A man dressed in black drives through Los Angeles. Near a car dealership, the man has a flashback of a car accident that occurred at the site which killed a young woman. The man arrives at an apartment complex and kills Mrs. Andrews, a female tenant (who recognizes him) with an electric drill. Afterward, the man dons a ski mask and murders two other women, the first with a hammer and the second with a screwdriver. The police are called and they interview the people who found the bodies, as well as Vance Kingsley, the owner of the building. The next night, the killer strikes again, breaking into the apartment of a woman who is masturbating in her bathtub and shooting her in the stomach and head with a nail gun. The murderer then abducts Laurie Ballard, a fifteen-year-old who lives in the above apartment with her family.

Laurie's brother Joey is questioned by Detective Jamison and, frustrated by the detective's seemingly lax attitude towards Laurie's disappearance, decides to search for his sister on his own. While looking through the homes of the murdered women, Joey meets up with Kent, Vance's nephew, who has been hired to clean up the apartments of the dead tenants. While Joey is helping Kent, Kent mentions that Vance has not been the same since Kathy, (his cousin and Vance's daughter), was killed in a car accident.

It is revealed that Vance is the serial killer, having been driven insane and to religious mania by the death of his daughter. He is killing sinners and has kidnapped Laurie (who is kept tied up and gagged in Kathy's bedroom) to replace Kathy. During a discussion with Detective Jamison, Joey realizes that all the clues point to Vance being the killer, so he goes to the Kingsley house and is followed there by Kent (who had earlier seen the bound and gagged Laurie in his uncle's home). Joey finds bloody tools in Vance's garage, and is confronted by Kent, who sets Joey on fire—burning him to death—to protect his family.

Kent walks in on Vance talking to Laurie, and enrages his uncle by telling him that he and Kathy had an incestuous relationship. Vance and Kent fight, and Kent ends up fatally stabbing Vance with a kitchen knife. Kent goes to Laurie and cuts her bonds with a pair of scissors; Laurie, crying, is elated to be free and Kent appears to comfort her, but he begins kissing Laurie and then rapes her. Afterward, Kent relaxes on the bed and behaves as if he and Laurie are married and implies that he killed Joey and Vance. Laurie sees the scissors Kent used to cut her free on the bedside table. In the final scene, Laurie, dazed and bloodied, is seen slowly walking through an empty parking lot at dawn, as an intertitle states that the film was a dramatization of events that occurred in 1967 and that Laurie was institutionalized for three years and now resides in San Fernando Valley with her husband and their child.

Bodie's crew

Poot returns to the streets from prison after having been arrested alongside Avon Barksdale and many of his lieutenants and soldiers in Season 3. Bodie tells him about how Marlo was able to threaten the crew into working under him, but Poot does not mind the change of leadership, stating that one boss is the same as the next. Herc and Dozerman pull up in a patrol car, looking for Little Kevin to question in Lex's murder. Nobody tells Herc their names. Recognizing only Bodie and Poot, he says everyone under 5'6" and 150 lbs. goes into the wagon, and the three smallest corner boys are snatched up. Not realizing that Kevin's nickname is a joke on his portly size, Herc and Dozerman leave the real Little Kevin on the street.

Bodie delineates Namond's new corners, having been pressured by De'Londa, insisting that Namond keep his mother from interceding again. As they work their corner, Carver and Colicchio catch Namond's crew unprepared. The corner boys flee, but eight-year-old Kenard is not fast enough. Carver destroys the stash of vials and lets Kenard go, claiming that it is not worth processing. When Carver catches up with Namond, Donut, and Kenard at Cutty's gym, he chastises them for being so careless and warns them that the next time he catches them dealing drugs, he will beat them and send them to be processed for juvenile detention.

Politics

Carcetti attends a meeting with city leaders to inform him of the issues facing Baltimore as he heads toward his mayoral term. On the matter of growing the tax base, Carcetti raises the idea of adding casinos to the waterfront, but it is shot down. The city council president, Campbell, finds it suspicious that Carcetti wants to give a pay raise to the position of commissioner, given Burrell's recent poor performance, and explains how such a raise will never make it into the budget. Later, in private, Campbell tells Carcetti that Royce had groomed her to be his successor. She seems angry at both Carcetti and Gray for jumping the line to take Royce's position as mayor, given their more junior status in the city council. Carcetti admits to being ignorant of this relationship, and hints that she may become mayor, being first in the line of succession, if he decides to run for governor in two years time.

Carcetti, Norman Wilson, and Delegate Watkins agree that firing Burrell is off the table because of the potential backlash of his black voters at the idea of a white mayor firing a black police commissioner. Carcetti tries to coax Burrell into stepping down, but Burrell understands the racial situation in which the mayor-elect finds himself and refuses to leave quietly, claiming that he will only do so if he is fired. Instead, Carcetti tells William Rawls that Burrell is to undertake no initiative as Commissioner without clearing it through him first. He then requests two promotions: Stan Valchek to Deputy Commissioner of Administration for helping him throughout the campaign, and Major Cedric Daniels will become C.I.D. Colonel, filling the late Ray Foerster's position. Carcetti claims that he wants to give Daniels carte blanche to reform the investigative units. Daniels tells Rhonda Pearlman that there's a chance Baltimore might be able to turn itself around under the new administration. She, Carver, Greggs and Sydnor are present at the promotion ceremony.

Bubbles

Bubbles tracks down Kima Greggs and tells her about the other junkie who has been assaulting and robbing him constantly. She tells him that, as a homicide detective, there is little she can do for him, but offers to put him in touch with Herc. The latter meets Bubbles and tells him he's looking for Little Kevin. Bubbles reuses his "hat trick”: visiting Bodie's crew, pretending to sell hats, and placing a red hat on Kevin as Herc watches from a distance. As Herc and Dozerman see the red hat go onto the real Little Kevin, the fattest member of the crew, they are both chagrined at their earlier stupidity in not having realized that Kevin's nickname was ironic. In return, Herc promises Bubbles to come within five minutes the next time his aggressor shows up again.

That night, Bubbles catches sight of the assailant in an alley. He quickly phones the major crimes unit from a payphone and leaves a message with Dozerman for Herc to come immediately. Herc is busy interrogating Little Kevin, whom he has brought in for questioning over Lex's murder. Herc gets Bubs' message and tells Dozerman to call Bubbles back and tell him to wait until tomorrow, forgetting that Bubs has no cell phone. Bubs sees a police car come down the street and makes his move, announcing his presence to his tormentor. But Herc is not in the car, and the driver does not see the two dope fiends' altercation. Bubs is once again badly beaten.

Meanwhile, Herc's interrogation of Little Kevin is fruitless. In an attempt to get Kevin to admit to witnessing the murder, Herc tells him that he's already talked to an informant who places him at the crime scene. When Kevin inquires if Randy is the person that he has talked to, Herc tips his hand by not making any inquiries about the name. Detective Sydnor leaves in disgust at Herc's attempt to interrogate Little Kevin. Sydnor tells Dozerman that they aren't going to get anywhere as they have no leverage, which Sydnor believes from past experience is key to making an interrogation work.

Prez's class

Prez sets his math class to work in groups. Watching Dukie use the class computer, Randy discovers that he can buy candy online in bulk and increase his profits, but he needs a credit card. They ask for Prez to order the candy with his card, stating that the business helps improve his arithmetic. Prez agrees on the condition that he receive the cash upfront, but warns Randy and Dukie against selling drugs to get the money more quickly.

As he and Dukie pass men playing craps in the alleyway after school, Randy decides to wager money. Putting the probability skills he learned in class to work, he wins big and has enough cash to present to Prez the next day. Prez is not happy that Randy gambled, but orders the bulk candy anyway as promised.

At a faculty meeting, Assistant Principal Marcia Donnelly announces that all teachers, even those in math, will help their students prepare for the reading comprehension portion of the standardized tests coming in the spring. The new material is meant to teach the students how to answer the test questions correctly, but is repetitive and leaves the students unable to grasp any of the language concepts they are supposed to be learning. The sole purpose is to improve the school's test scores. Prez draws a comparison with "juking the stats" in the police department. His class is bored by the new material, and their practice test answers show that none of them understand it. Prez says that he doesn't care about his evaluation and that he is not going to try to teach the reading comprehension test preparation anymore.

School pilot program

Elsewhere at Tilghman Middle School, the special class presents a teamwork challenge to the "corner kids." They are divided into groups and made to assemble model buildings from kits, with no instructions included. Howard Colvin promises a dinner downtown to the group that builds its model the fastest. Namond, Zenobia, and Darnell build a seemingly sturdy Eiffel Tower, with Namond pocketing the pieces that didn't appear to fit anywhere. Colvin is suspicious, but declares them the winners.

True to his word, Colvin takes the three students to Ruth's Chris Steak House, a high-class establishment by the waterfront. The evening starts well, with Namond appreciating Colvin's Billie Holiday music and the students looking forward to a new experience. But once inside, Darnell and Namond find the atmosphere overwhelming and intimidating and fail to even pretend to grasp the restaurant protocol or enjoy the experience. After they finish dinner and leave the steakhouse disappointed, all three refusing Colvin's offer to take a picture, Darnell asks to go to McDonald's for french fries and Namond cranks up hip-hop on the radio over Colvin's protestations.

The next day, Colvin discusses the experience with Dr. Parenti. He tells him that the students were capable of behaving well and enjoying something new, but reverted to their "corner kid" ways without even realizing it once they felt stifled. He expresses his worry that this lack of self-awareness on the kids' part is a barrier to future progress. Colvin then sees the group boasting to the rest of the students that the dinner was amazing.

Kima

Kima is surprised and delighted to find how well working overtime in homicide pays. She goes to her old apartment to visit her ex-girlfriend Cheryl and their son, Elijah, and pay her overdue share of housing expenses. Kima states she isn’t hoping they can get back together, but “a deal is a deal,” meaning she’s honouring their parental project even though it fell apart. Just then Cheryl's new partner, a lawyer named Nancine, appears. Kima exits, and Cheryl has Elijah wave goodbye to "Aunt Kima” which he does, distractedly.

Marlo

Proposition Joe informs Marlo that Herc is now working for the Major Crimes Unit; the same unit that brought down Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell. He advises Marlo to stop using cell phones. Chris and Snoop have successfully driven off the New York dealers. Chris has learned that Omar is no longer in the city jail. Marlo suggests that the charges against Omar may have been dropped since Andre has closed his shop. Finding Andre is now their top priority. Chris and Snoop break into Andre's house and threaten his girlfriend, who swears she does not know his whereabouts. Marlo's soldiers believe her and decide not to kill her. Andre has gone over to East Baltimore to ask Prop Joe to help him leave town until he is safe from Marlo. Prop Joe offers him $2000 plus a ride to a northern city in exchange for Andre's convenience store. Andre says this is undervalued. Prop Joe points out that Andre is not in a position to bargain. When Marlo pays Prop Joe for his package, he expects a discount for dealing with the New York threat. Joe tells him this has already been factored into the cost. Joe, however, indicates to Marlo that "something that you want" is about to be returned at no cost. When Slim Charles drives Andre to one of the vacant houses, Andre protests that Slim Charles was supposed to be his way out. Charles quips "In a manner of speaking, that be true". Chris and Snoop are there with their lime and sheeting. Andre begs Chris to shoot him in a place where his family will find him, but Chris insists that "here is good" and walks Andre up to the house.

Omar

When Omar is released from the Harford County Detention Center he finds Bunk waiting for him. He demands that Omar promise not to kill anyone in revenge for his false imprisonment. Omar gives his word as his bond. Bunk offers him a ride to the train station, but Omar insists on staying in Baltimore.

Omar and Renaldo wait in their van outside Andre's store, with Omar assuring his boyfriend that he intends to keep his promise to Bunk, but that merely threatening Andre with a gun should be fair game. They leave when it is clear to them that Andre is not there. Omar and Renaldo end up staking out the public square where they know Marlo spends much of his time. They recognize him from the card game they had robbed. Renaldo points out Michael with Marlo, but Omar says that he is just a kid.

Michael

Michael continues to be disturbed by the return of Bug's father. He shoos Bug from the room when the man enters, and refuses to be touched by him in any way. Michael asks Randy and Dukie what will happen if he calls social services. Randy says they will split him and his brother up and put them in group homes, and won't simply take away Michael's stepdad like he wants.

Michael is escorted by Dukie to Marlo's courtyard and allowed to enter. He tells Marlo that he needs Chris, telling him that "I got a problem I can't bring to no one else."

The film takes place entirely in one evening, with the time being indicated chronologically on the clock in Johnny's Trans Am. Johnny, a working-class Italian-American from Alphabet City, works for the New York Italian-American Mafia, which has placed him in charge of running organized crime operations and rackets in his neighborhood, including drug dealing operations and the collection of protection money, debts, and street taxes and kick-ups from other local gangsters.

Early in the evening, Johnny meets with his friend Lippy, an eccentric cocaine dealer played by Michael Winslow. They discuss the planned arson of an Alphabet City tenement building, as ordered by the Mafia. As their discussion progresses, it becomes clear that it is Johnny who must carry out the burning of the building before the night is over, and, moreover, that his impoverished mother and sister live in the targeted building. This request from the Mob pushes Johnny to plan a split from the Mob, which proves difficult. By the end of the night, Johnny must save his sister and mother from the burning of their building and also rescue his girlfriend and their newborn child from the clutches of the Mob.

House begrudgingly agrees to fill in for a sick professor and give a lecture on diagnostics to a class of medical students. On his way to the lecture, he encounters Stacy Warner, his ex-girlfriend whom he has not seen in five years. Stacy asks him to examine her husband Mark, but he looks at his file and tells her that Mark doesn't appear to be sick.

At the lecture, House presents three cases of patients with leg pain to the students. The three stories are intercut with each other; the following summary presents each case in chronological order.

The first patient is a farmer who appears to have been bitten by a snake. Foreman and Chase visit the man's farm and find a timber rattlesnake. However, the farmer suffers an allergic reaction to the anti-venom and a test of the snake’s venom sac indicates that it did not recently bite anyone. The patient continues to decline, and when House informs him he is dying, he asks what will happen to his dog. House then realizes that the farmer was bitten by his dog, and bacteria from its mouth caused necrotizing fasciitis. The dog is euthanized and the farmer’s leg is amputated, but he survives.

The second patient is a teenage girl who collapsed at volleyball practice. Cameron takes an excessively detailed medical history and puts her through several invasive and painful tests, only to discover a thyroid condition causing a depressed mental state and tendinitis. The patient does not improve after thyroxine treatment and suddenly develops hypersensitivity to touch. An MRI reveals a tumor in her leg, and Cameron warns the patient that the surgeon may have to amputate her leg to remove the tumor. In the end, the tumor is removed without amputation and she fully recovers.

House initially presents the third case as Carmen Electra complaining of leg pain after a round of miniature golf. The patient is in reality a middle-aged man with extreme leg pain; the doctors initially write him off as a drug-seeker. House catheterizes the patient and discovers his urine is tea-colored, indicating both blood and waste in the urine. The medical students do not know the differential diagnosis for waste in urine. House's team is by this point observing the lecture, and Cameron suggests muscle death— myoglobin released by dying muscle shuts down the kidneys. House reveals it took three days for doctors to diagnose the patient properly: he had a clotted aneurysm in his leg, leading to infarction.

House’s team realize that the third patient is House himself. Cuddy informs House that the only options are to either amputate his leg or perform a risky bypass surgery (which could either lead to a full recovery or kill him). He opts for the bypass against the advice of both Cuddy and Stacy. The surgery itself goes well, but House is left in extreme pain and goes into cardiac arrest, clinically dying for almost a full minute. Stacy begs House to agree to the amputation, but he refuses again and asks to be put in a medically-induced coma. While he is unconscious, Stacy (as House's medical proxy) knowingly acts against his wishes and authorizes a middle course of treatment: surgery to remove the dead muscle in his leg. As a result, House now has a permanent limp and continues to experience chronic pain.

During the lecture, House deduces that his absent colleague is often sick because he regularly drinks from a mug decorated by his children with lead paint. When Cuddy arrives and informs him the session has over-run by twenty minutes, he presents the mug to her and then leaves. Later that night, House calls Stacy and agrees to treat her husband.

Part 1: A Brand New Outfit

The Little Einsteins are on their daily patrol on Rocket, until they hear music coming from somewhere distant. After following the sound of the music, they reach a large wheat field. Hiding in a toadstool, shrouded in a column of shrubs is a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar. Seemingly enough, the caterpillar is excited, because she is going to change into a Monarch Butterfly at a tree known as the Musical Tree of Many Colors, a tree that harbors caterpillars that are entering their transformation state. Alongside other caterpillars, this caterpillar must go to this aforementioned tree via a green pickup truck. After a few instant, the truck hits a roadblock, causing the caterpillar to fall. The team then offers their help to the caterpillar, giving it a special seat on Rocket. Along the way they must traverse a Musical Rollercoaster, collect yellow leaves to feed the caterpillar along the road, and venture through a dangerous ocean. After reaching the musical tree of many colors, the caterpillar manages to merge into a grown Monarch Butterfly, much to everyone’s delight.

Part 2: The Missing Invitation

Right after the butterfly’s transformation, the team gets 4 invitations to a migration party of a dynasty of Monarch Butterflies in Mexico. Unfortunately, the newly created butterfly’s invitation is missing somewhere, much to the team’s dismay but also to the delight of some bullies that did get their invitations and teased the newborn butterfly. Once again, it’s up to the quartet to go forth and find the invitation to the party before it begins. After a risky adventure across the United States, the team reaches a cave in Oklahoma which may be a possible lead to the invitation, however, much to everyone’s horror, the cave is flooded in bats and arachnids, after giving chase to a horde of bats, two monarch butterflies are found ensnared inside a spider web, which turns out to be a Great King Spider’s dinner. It also turns out that the two butterflies knew the one with the team. After untangling them, the apex spider gives chase, along with another horde of bloodthirsty bats. Fortunately, the crew and the butterflies manage to escape the cavern unharmed. Finally, after looking around some more, the invitation is found, burrowed within an abandoned mailbox in a field of cows in Houston, Texas. Grateful, the team flies to Mexico for the party. After presenting their invitations, the two other butterflies saved in the cavern recognize the team’s butterfly, and honor it by giving it a medal for its audacity and the perseverance to strive for its family’s wellbeing and legacy. Once again, the day is saved by the heroes, and the butterfly is able to reunite, unharmed and safe with its new family.

Chantel Mitchell (Ariyan A. Johnson) is an African-American, 17-year-old high school junior who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Chantel is very smart, although her sharp tongue, abundant ego, and occasional naivete undermine her efforts. Her ultimate dream is to leave her poor neighborhood, go to college, and eventually become a doctor. Throughout the film, Chantel breaks the fourth wall and explains that she wants to be seen as more than just another teenage black girl on the subway.

She lives with her struggling working class parents and her two younger brothers. With her mother working during the day and her father working the night shift and hence sleeping all day, Chantel is given the responsibility of taking care of her brothers in addition to going to school full-time and working a part-time job at a local grocery store. However, she earns mostly As and Bs in school, and is fully determined to receive an education beyond her primary one. Much to the chagrin of her teachers, she wants to graduate early in order to get into college as soon as possible. Her dream is tested with her constant clashes with her school's administration, and her recent romantic involvement with her seemingly rich boyfriend Tyrone (Kevin Thigpen). She becomes pregnant and undermines herself with false confidence and lack of real worldly knowledge.

The premise of the series was that the three members of the fictional band named The Problem find, and are unable to rid themselves of, a magical amulet that allows them to see and communicate with ghosts. Each episode featured the trio reluctantly completing the unfinished business of the ghosts that they encounter in order to allow the ghosts move on to the next world. Much of the humor of the series came from The Problem wanting to develop their career instead of helping ghosts, and that the trio almost invariably are viewed as, at best, mentally unbalanced by those who cannot see or hear ghosts.

At the town meeting, the council are trying to organise the events that will take place in order to celebrate Saint George's Day. After a vote, it is decided that the Home Guard and the ARP will share the grand finale. Both Mainwaring and Hodges are reluctant to reveal what they each will be doing for the event.

Later that day, Mainwaring is in his office with Wilson and Pike. Mainwaring tells them of his plan to celebrate St. George's Day by staging a fight between St. George and a dragon, representing Britain's fight against Hitler. Mainwaring reveals that he will be playing St. George.

During the rehearsal of the fight, Mainwaring is finding it quite difficult to manoeuver in a real suit of armour, but is persistent stating that "if our ancestors could wear it, so can I". After falling off his horse a number of times, he eventually gives up and agrees to let Godfrey's sister knit him a suit of armour. Meanwhile, Pike is told to dress up as a Squander Bug using a costume his mother made him, but finally gets out of this and becomes a herald instead.

As the platoon are about to get their staged fight underway, the ARP interrupt them, as they too are staging the fight between St. George and the dragon, with Hodges as St. George. As things take a turn for the worse, Hodges challenges Mainwaring to a duel, which he accepts. The two dragons also face off, with Jones at the head of one and the Vicar at the head of the other. Wilson tells Pike that they "ought to do something" and with that, Pike shoots Hodges' horse in the backside with his herald's trumpet/pea-shooter, causing it to rear up and throw Hodges off. The Home Guard dragon eventually defeats the ARP dragon, and Mainwaring salutes the cheering crowd from his horse.

It is now a few years into the war, and after being told to "keep the noise down" during firing practice, Mainwaring and Wilson discuss how complacency is setting in amongst the townsfolk, and how people are seeing them as "Geriatric Fusiliers". As they discuss it, they are interrupted by ARP Warden Hodges, who is in tears after Mr Blewitt verbally attacked him for trying to do his job, and how people do not seem to be taking the war seriously. Remembering the national reaction after the platoon were recently mistaken for enemy agents during a training exercise (see Ring Dem Bells), Mainwaring decides to get his platoon to masquerade as fifth columnists in "very sinister clothes" to shake everyone up and become appreciated again, and to prevent a repeat of last time he informs the Colonel at GHQ of the plan, called "Operation Wake-Up". Taking pity on him, Mainwaring invites Hodges to join them, which he gratefully accepts.

He and his men (except Godfrey, who stays at the church hall to act as their contact man) meet up at their "secret base", although things get out of hand with disguises: Pike is dressed as an American gangster, Frazer is in his undertaker attire, and Jones is dressed as a nun. The platoon and Hodges begin roaming the countryside, acting menacingly. Their efforts to frighten the locals are unsuccessful at first, despite their attempts to put on foreign accents, mostly because people recognise them from their civilian jobs.

However, when at last they finally do manage to cause some concern with their talk of "blowing up an aerodrome", the frightened locals send out for the Home Guard. With Mainwaring's platoon absent from their post, the neighbouring Eastgate platoon, led by Captain Square, are called out, using Jones' van – which is still at the church hall – as transport. Tracking Mainwaring down to the disused flourmill they are using as their base, he and his men open fire, covering them in flour. The episode ends with Mainwaring and Square exchanging insults.

The National Health Service is having problems, and the Goodies are disgusted with the poor services. In a frustrated response to their criticisms, the National Health Service suggests to them that they study medicine and become doctors themselves in order to improve things. As a result, the Goodies become doctors. They pass all the tests — including beer drinking and nurse chasing.

Later, Graeme develops a special tonic and the Goodies sell it at a medicine show. They also set up their own eccentric outdoor hospital, performing X-rays (one scene shows Graeme being frightened and running away at the sight of a skeleton emerging from behind the X-ray machine) and operations, as well as setting bones and delivering babies.

The Goodies become obsessed with curing people, and collect patients from all over, including a patient from the back of an ambulance. Soon, all of Britain is cured by Graeme's tonic. Even a mummy, in a museum, is brought back to life by Graeme's tonic.

When the Goodies later become ill, they discover that curing the nation from sickness has unexpected disadvantages.

The Mystery, Inc. gang travel to Loch Ness in Scotland to see the famous Blake Castle, the home of Daphne Blake's Scottish ancestors as well as her cousin, Shannon. The castle grounds are home to the first annual Highland games, composed of many traditional Scottish sports. When they arrive, Shannon informs them that the castle has recently been terrorized by the Loch Ness Monster. Shannon says she has seen the monster and it is indeed real, a position shared by Del Chillman, the Loch Ness Monster enthusiast and amateur cryptozoologist, and Professor Fiona Pembrooke, a scientist who has staked her whole career on proving the monster exists. Taking the opposite end of the argument are Colin and Angus Haggart, local competitors in the games, their father Lachlan and Sir Ian Locksley, the head judge of the games (as well as director of the Scottish natural history museum). Locksley and Pembrooke share a mutual hatred for each other (she was Ian's research assistant at his museum until he fired her for spending too much time on the Loch Ness Monster's trail).

That night, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy sneak out of their room to search for the kitchen and are chased by the monster, accidentally destroying the playing field in the process. Locksley sees the carnage and, enraged by Scooby and Shaggy's claims of almost becoming Loch Ness Monster victims, orders Shannon to repair the damage, threatening to demote the highland games to a miniature golf tournament if she does not. Velma discovers, to her surprise, that the Loch Ness Monster tracks head into town instead of the loch. The next day, the gang and Shannon travel to Drumnadrochit, Inverness-shire. After enlisting the help of the Haggart's to rebuild the field, Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shannon take Professor Pembrooke's boat, filled up with out of date research equipment, to search for the Loch Ness Monster by sea, while Shaggy and Scooby take the Mystery Machine and search by land. While Shaggy is distracted, a hand switches a sign on the road leading to Shaggy getting lost. Both groups are attacked by the Loch Ness Monster, which is seemingly in two places at once.

After returning the badly damaged boat back to Professor Pembrooke, the gang discovers Sir Ian has taken it upon himself to patrol the waters with a high-tech ship to prevent any further "peculiarities", as he is still not convinced of the monster's existence. On Locksley's ship, the gang and Shannon find something deep in the loch using sonar equipment. They take Locksley's mini-sub down to investigate. In the water, the gang is attacked by the Loch Ness Monster, but is saved by a large magnet claw on the ship (before reaching the surface, the Loch Ness Monster knocks the submarine's sonar camera off of its hull). When they return to Blake Castle, they find Del sleeping in the Mystery Machine, who explains his van has been stolen. The Loch Ness Monster later chases the gang, Shannon and Del into a bog, where it is revealed to simply be a canvas covering Chillman's van. Fred deduces the Loch Ness Monster to be a decoy, and sets up a trap to catch the real one.

Fred sends Shaggy and Scooby out on the loch to act as bait, while he and Del prepare to use nets to surround the cove to capture the Loch Ness Monster. A large fog appears, blocking visual contact with Shaggy and Scooby. Making matters worse, Locksley's crew mutinies because they want to capture and sell the Loch Ness Monster, and capture Daphne, Shannon, and Locksley himself. The Loch Ness Monster attacks Shaggy and Scooby, chasing them out of the cove. Locksley's ship attaches to the nets, dragging Del and Fred with it. The crew attempts to harpoon the Loch Ness Monster, but Daphne and Shannon distract them long enough to make them miss. Just as the Loch Ness Monster is about to attack Del, Fred, and Locksley Daphne captures it by using the ship's magnetic claw. All of a sudden, a second Loch Ness Monster appears and gives chase to Shaggy and Scooby, but falls into a previously set trap. This monster is revealed to be a huge puppet controlled by the Haggart brothers, and the one Daphne captured is revealed to be a home-made submarine operated by Professor Pembrooke. Pembrooke used a secret entrance in her boat to go into the Loch Ness Monster and operate it. She also hired the Haggart brothers to man the second monster on the assumption that they wanted to sabotage the games, but Angus and Colin reveal that they just wanted to do it as a prank. Velma explains that Pembrooke's plan was to use her machine to convince Locksley the real monster existed, and enlist his aide in finding it.

The next day, the games begin on schedule, but Locksley calls everyone to his ship to look at new pictures of the monster that his mini-sub's sunken (and yet obviously still working) camera had taken, at a depth well below what a ramshackle home-made submarine like Pembrooke's could survive. These, plus three other photos that Pembrooke had taken several days earlier are enough to convince him that the Loch Ness Monster might be real. The film ends with the gang leaving Blake Castle, during which Velma admits that she is actually glad they didn't see the real Loch Ness Monster, explaining that "Maybe some mysteries are best left unsolved." The final scene shows Scooby briefly seeing what appears to be the real Loch Ness Monster swimming by them in the water.

Coney Island (Giuseppe Andrews) is a young trailer-park resident who spends his days cheering up the various characters in his neighborhood with songs that he writes and performs on his keyboard. After his dad comes home from prison, Coney Island turns to him for advice on love and life.

The film depicts a small family, a husband and wife and two sons, struggling to get by on a tiny island in the Seto Inland Sea on the island of Sukune in Mihara, Hiroshima, over the course of a year. They are the island's only occupants, and survive by farming. They must repeatedly carry the water for their plants and themselves in a row boat from a neighboring island.

When the boys catch a large fish, the family travels to Onomichi by ferry, where they sell it to a fishmonger, then eat at a modern restaurant.

While the parents are away from the island, the older son falls ill. The desperate father runs to find a doctor to come to treat his son, but when they arrive, the boy is already dead. After the boy's funeral, which is attended by his classmates from his school on the neighboring island, the family resumes their hard life, with very limited opportunity for grief.

Just before Tess Harding, a nationally known television news personality, comes on stage to receive an award as "Woman of the Year", she reminisces about an on-air editorial that she gave denigrating newspaper comic strips. The article offended the cartoonists who frequent the Ink Pot saloon and inspired syndicated cartoonist Sam Craig to publish a caricature depicting her as a snob in his strip ''Katz''. Tess is annoyed, but when the handsome and charming Sam shows up at her office, she apologizes and invites him to dinner. At the Ink Pot, she charms Sam and his colleagues by revealing her knowledge about comic art.

Tess and Sam begin a romance, move in together, and finally marry, but their busy careers leave little time for them to spend together, and their big egos pose problems in their marriage. In one of his comics, Katz quips that marriage is a breeze - it's the living together that's so damned hard. Tess is offended, an argument ensues, and Sam announces he no longer can deal with the couple's fraying love life. The time moves forward to the present, and it's time for Tess to accept her award, just as she has lost the man she loves.

Several weeks later, Tess is conflicted about her role as a powerful newswoman versus her role as a wife. She seeks advice from Russian ballet dancer Alexi Petrikov, whom she helped to defect. He tells her that he is returning to Russia, because the wife he left behind is more important than his career. Tess travels to visit first husband Larry Donovan and his wife Jan to discover why their marriage is a success. She decides to concentrate on her marriage and announces that she is resigning from her show. But Sam tells her that he wants her to keep her career; he just wants to be involved in the decisions in their relationship. They decide to work things out.

Randy (Pitt), a 20-year-old convict, is taken to his cell by a Correctional Officer (David Zayas). He is greeted by his new cellmate, Jake (Guirgis), a veteran prisoner serving a life sentence. Randy explains that he is serving 25 years for spray painting his neighbor's Mercedes-Benz.

The next morning, Jake begins telling Randy a story about the worst sexual encounter he ever had. The story terrifies Randy, who begins to realize that Jake's motive may be more than just friendship. The conversation turns toward how Jake feels homosexuality is a state of mind. The breakfast bell rings and the story is interrupted, much to Randy's relief. Jake seems to drop the topic and return to his more friendly demeanor. However, Randy is quickly brought back to the horrible reality of his situation when Jake forces him to wear his shirt in a feminine style and to hold his hand as they go to lunch (See prison sexuality).

Several months later, Randy's mother (Laila Robins) visits him at the prison. Randy lies to her and says his cell mate and he are getting along well. The brief visit only highlights Randy's isolation, as his mother is powerless to do anything to help him.

Moments later, Jake again prods the now bruised and bloody Randy to tell him about his "worst fuck." Randy tells Jake about his first sexual experience: he was 17 and drunk in a Tijuana strip club, and paid a stripper $35 for oral sex in a room above the dance floor. Afterwards, he saw the same stripper perform a striptease in which she revealed that she was a pre-operational transsexual. Randy then tells Jake that he "thought that was the worst it was ever going to get," insinuating that his current situation as Jake's sex slave is far worse. Jake appears angry and offended, but then seems guilt ridden. Again, Jake snaps out of his more tender feelings and, replacing them with cruelty, forces Randy to perform oral sex on him. Afterward, Jake makes pleasant conversation as Randy lies in the fetal position in his bunk.

That night, as Jake sleeps, Randy creeps silently to his cellmate's bedside, preparing to stab him in the throat with a pencil as the older man sleeps. Randy hesitates and Jake wakes up. Jake doesn't attempt to physically restrain Randy, but instead tells him that he doesn't have the heart to kill a man in cold blood, and that even if he did he wouldn't kill him. Jake tells Randy that he is all that Randy has, that he is his protection, alluding perhaps to an even more brutal sexual slavery among other inmates were he not tied down to Jake. He sincerely tells Randy that he is his only friend. Jake then tells Randy to go back to his bed and think about all the things he will do when he is finally released.

Jake then tells the now nearly tearful Randy why his mother stopped writing back; she had died and no one told him. The prison authorities had refused to let him go to his mother's funeral. Jake then tells Randy to make sure that he gets to see his mother's funeral, that it is very important to be able to say goodbye.

This story is quite similar to Romeo and Juliet. The story centers around two rival ninja clans; the Iga and the Kouga; whose no-hostilities treaty is lifted by retired shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu to settle a succession dispute within the government concerning which of Ieyasu's grandsons is destined to become the third Tokugawa Shogun. Due to years of selective breeding, the members of Kouga and Iga have all developed inhuman abilities at the cost of several of them being born physically disfigured or otherwise abnormally mutated.

At the center of the conflict is Kouga and Iga's two young heirs; Gennosuke and Oboro respectively; who had fallen in love in the hopes of not only bringing their clans together in peace but also to mix the bloodlines of their families so as to undo the genetic damage endured by both. The novel traces the course of the conflict as both clans endure heavy losses and ultimately bringing Gennosuke and Oboro to face each other on the field of battle.

Christmas card salesmen Stan and Ollie are persuaded to help a woman (Mae Busch) spice up her loveless marriage by making her husband jealous. The spouse involved, a temperamental artist played by (Charles Middleton), is however made rather too jealous for comfort, and puts Ollie in peril when he challenges him to a duel to the death at midnight and pledges to track him "to the end of the world" if he does not show up.

Stan and Ollie discuss the challenge in a nearby bar and it occurs to them that the husband cannot know where they live, so Ollie complacently telephones him to inform him he will not be there and they both insult him. They then get drunk with a neighbor of the couple (played by Arthur Housman). The police are called and finding the artist's business card with his home address in Ollie's pocket, they take Stan and Ollie to the couple's apartment and dump them on their bed to sleep it off. They are discovered when Stan starts snoring. Pistols are produced but the wife tells Ollie she has replaced the bullets with blanks. The husband shoots at Ollie, who plays dead and the pair then run for their lives and manage to give him the slip. The film ends with Ollie sighing to the camera from the back of a horse-drawn garbage truck, after having hidden in a trash can.

Laurel and Hardy have no success earning money on a bleak, snowy winter's day as sidewalk musicians, especially when playing "In the Good Old Summertime". This annoys a man shoveling his sidewalk and a woman who throws the pair a dollar to get them to move on. She calls out "Yoo-hoo ! Mr Whiteman", not because it's snowing, but as a joke reference to big bandleader, and violist, of the 1930s Paul Whiteman, as Oliver is plucking the similar double bass. Their instruments are destroyed in an argument with a woman, but Stan finds a wallet. They are chased by a thief, but are protected by a police officer. Stan and Ollie share a slap-up meal with the cop, but unfortunately, Stan finds out the wallet in fact belongs to the cop. When the policeman discovers this, he tells the waiter, who throws them out of the restaurant and throws Stan upside down in a barrel of water. Oliver finds Stan, who now has an enormous stomach after drinking all the water while trapped in the barrel.

Ollie can't find his hat and accuses his wife of losing it. Only when he looks in the mirror does he see it on his head.

Ollie wants to join Stan for an afternoon of fun, but his wife has other ideas. She demands he install the radio antenna atop their roof, a job he has been neglecting for three months.

Stan drives up and offers to help Ollie. After destroying Hardy's chimney and falling from the roof several times, they perch a ladder in the back seat of Stan's car. The car shifts into gear, and speeds uncontrollably through the city streets with Ollie still perched precariously atop the ladder.

Mrs. Hardy catches up to them on foot after the car is finally stopped, Hardy having been tossed into the street with the ladder. The three attempt to return home while Laurel tries all kinds of noisy things to get the car restarted, including blowing the horn twice. A trolley car approaches them at high speed, and a crowd of onlookers cover their eyes as a loud offscreen crash is heard. The result is the car is squashed like an accordion between the two trolley-cars, and they have to drive home in the mangled car.

SpongeBob's "Best Day Ever" fails to turn out as he planned when he is forced to postpone his activities to help his friends with their problems. He wants to work at the Krusty Krab, but it is condemned because of a nematode infestation. SpongeBob tries to get the nematodes to go away but they refused to and they ate his pants. Out of options, he inadvertently lures the nematodes away using his nose as a flute. Then, he plans to practice some karate with Sandy, but she is unable to because there is a leak in her treedome. SpongeBob, believing it to be a trick, didn't want his best day to be ruined, he manages to fix it accidentally by stopping the leak with one of his adhesive karate gloves (Sandy had punched him up towards where the leak was when he tried to attack her). Next, he wants to go jellyfishing with Patrick, but Patrick ends up breaking his net, so SpongeBob gives him his old net, which quickly breaks as well. When Patrick wanted to try SpongeBob's new net, SpongeBob tries to explain that his high tech net belongs to him but he ends up giving Patrick his net. SpongeBob waits impatiently to use the net and tries to tell Patrick that it is his turn now, but Patrick doesn't hear him and keeps on playing with the jellyfish net, so he decides to leave for his last planned activity.

SpongeBob's final activity for the day is to go to Squidward's clarinet recital. However, once he meets up with Squidward, he says that he cannot play in the concert because the reed of his clarinet is shot. Determined not to miss out on this activity as he had done with the other ones, SpongeBob pulls out one of his teeth to replace the reed. SpongeBob attempts to enter the building, but the usher refuses to let him in unless he has a ticket. He tries various methods of sneaking in, but at last he is let in because he is on the VIP list (Mrs. Puff said his name when she found him hiding in her purse in one attempt). He gets in right as the concert ends.

Heartbroken and angry that his best day ever has been completely soiled, SpongeBob snaps and runs up to the stage, ripping open the curtain, shouting "NO! It is NOT over!" and to give an elaborate speech about how his "Best Day Ever" has been ruined and burst into tears. However, Mr. Krabs, Patrick, Sandy and Squidward tell him about how he helped them with their problems and that his "Best Day Ever" was actually about them. To make it up to him, they hold a production in which SpongeBob performs his song, "Best Day Ever", to complete his day with Patrick, Sandy, Squidward and Mr. Krabs co-starring along in it. A few hours later, SpongeBob is still singing, but his friends are tired and sleepy, and the audience has all disappeared. Now that SpongeBob's best day ever had been fixed and his friends now really wishing that their problems of the day should have been fixed yesterday instead of having it happen today. When Squidward asks Mr. Krabs how long they have to keep up the performance, Mr. Krabs replies, "Just 'til his little heart gives out, Squidward. Just 'til his little heart gives out."

Sailors Laurel and Hardy disembark and book in a sleazy hotel. The owner Mugsie Long intends to marry a young girl – the hotel's maid – against her wishes, but Stan and Ollie come to her rescue. Mugsie is tough and intimidating – billiard balls thrown at his head bounce off with no effect – but the pair finally trap his neck in an extending table while the girl escapes. After fleeing the hotel, the boys find out they've left their money in their room, but an old pal of Ollie's offers $50 if Ollie will fight in a boxing ring that night. Ollie agrees, but predictably makes Stan the fighter and himself the manager.

Stan enters the ring and discovers that his opponent is Mugsie himself. Knowing how tough Mugsie is, Ollie makes a seemingly wise bet with a drunk on Mugsie to win. Meanwhile, Mugsie is enraged at seeing Stan again, and loads his glove with metal before the fight begins. However, during the course of the fight, Mugsie and Stan accidentally switch gloves, causing Mugsie to comically run away from Stan knowing he has the loaded glove. Stan, who realizes the glove is loaded, gets the temporary advantage and chases Mugsie. Stan wins the fight when Mugsie tries to pull the loaded glove off Stan's hand and winds up knocking himself out. Mugsie's second calls a policeman and tells him Stan had been fighting with a loaded glove. Ollie is forced to give the drunk the money they received for entering the fight, and explains to Stan, "I bet on you to lose and you double-crossed me!" Stan, enraged at his own buddy and manager betting ''against'' him, draws his fist back to punch Ollie, and accidentally knocks out the policeman investigating the loaded glove still on Stan's hand. Stan and Ollie flee the stadium in terror.

OPENIING TITLE CARD

"The boys are back from a whaling voyage.Mr.Hardy was head harpooner.Mr.Laurel went along as bait".

Mrs. Hardy is annoyed that her husband Oliver seems to spend more time with his friend Stanley than with her. After a furious argument, Mrs. Hardy says that she will leave him if Ollie goes out with Stan again. Stan suggests that Ollie adopts a baby, which he does. Unfortunately, his wife has left their apartment on returning, and a process server delivers a paper informing Ollie that she is suing him for divorce, naming Stan as co-respondent. The boys are now left to look after the infant on their own.

To Pete Smith's voice over commentary, Stan and Ollie, seemingly picked at random in the street and professing not to have any wood in their possession at the time, produce various props — the contents of a suitcase and their wallets — all manufactured from wood or containing wood byproducts. (At one point Ollie even indicates that Stan's ''head'' is made of wood, to Stan's annoyance.) The props demonstrate the omnipresence of wood products in the American economy, including paper, cellulose-based artificial leather, rayon, witch hazel, and bioplastics in consumer items (this was in the early days of mass-produced plastic, before petrochemical plastics became widespread).

Cecelia (Rosina Lawrence) enters a talent show in Waterloo, Kansas with the promise that the winner will be given a part in a movie. Lawrence wins but never receives her prize because the organizer (Russell Hicks) has run off with the cash.

The emcee, Joe Jenkins (Jack Haley), feels partly responsible for her disappointment and promises Lawrence that he will go to Hollywood to launch her career as a movie star. He sells his garage and moves to Hollywood, but is only able to find a job bussing tables at a local nightclub. He writes to Lawrence, however, that he has become a successful entertainer.

Lawrence has in the meantime crossed paths with Latin lover movie idol Rinaldo Lopez (Mischa Auer), who arrives in Waterloo when his plane makes an emergency landing there. Two of the other passengers give their plane tickets to Lawrence and her sister Nellie (Patsy Kelly), who then accompany Auer to Hollywood.

When she surprises Haley by showing up at the nightclub where he works Haley pretends that he is part of the floor show rather than just a busboy. Lawrence sees through the ruse and leaves with Auer. Haley follows Lawrence as she leaves, and is hit by a studio mogul Mr. Klawheimer (Charles Halton), who gives Haley a job as a studio driver in order to avoid a lawsuit.

Meanwhile Auer takes the girls to the studio to watch musical star Dagmar (Lyda Roberti) shoot an elaborate scene modeled after the extravagant numbers shot by Busby Berkeley. Kelly wanders onto the set where Laurel and Hardy are filming a scene in a Mexican barroom, directed by (James Finlayson). After watching them film a brawl, she asks the team whether they're afraid of hurting themselves. Hardy explains that the bottles they hit each other with are lightweight phonies and offer their heads in demonstration. Kelly grabs an actual liquor bottle by mistake and knocks the team out cold.

While Kelly is distracted Auer invites Lawrence to his apartment. They are driven there by Haley, who sees what Auer has in mind, and drives back to the studio to get Kelly after dropping Lawrence and Auer off. While Haley and Kelly return, Lawrence is crying, prompting Kelly to knock Auer out cold. Haley stays to revive Auer when Lawrence and Kelly leave, and Auer promises that he will try to get Lawrence a job in the movies.

Later Laurel and Hardy engage in a musical competition involving a trumpet and a tiny harmonica. When Hardy accidentally swallows the harmonica Laurel shows how to continue to play it by pressing the right spots on Hardy's belly.

Roberti storms off the set in a fit of pique. A fed-up studio shoehorns Lawrence in her place and she makes good after Haley helps her overcome her stage fright during her screen test.

Tsugumi is a sickly but feisty and somewhat unpleasant young girl living in a small Japanese seaside town at the family inn with her parents, sister Yoko, aunt Masako, and cousin Maria (the protagonist). Following the divorce of Maria's father, Maria and Masako move to Tokyo to be with him, where Maria attends university. Shortly after the move, Maria receives a call from Tsugumi to say that the family are selling the inn. Maria returns to the town for one last summer to remember her childhood and reconcile her strained relationship with Tsugumi while she still can. But then they didn't realize the true display of true will.

Dolf is a 15-year-old boy from Rotterdam who plays for the junior national football team. At the beginning of the film, Dolf and his team are playing an important championship game against the Belgian team in the German city of Speyer, They were trailing by a goal, and got the chance to equalise in the final minutes which Dolf blew.

Dolf's mother works in a research centre in Rotterdam where a time machine has been developed. It allows an object, animal or person to be moved to a specified time and place in the past, and to bring them back again. But, a person moving to the past can only return to the present by being at an exact location at an exact time. Furthermore, a special medication is needed daily to stay alive in the past.

Dolf decides to go back in time one day to replay the match, since he regularly visits his mother at the lab, assists with the work, guards know him, the iris scan authorization check lets him pass, and he knows his mother's password to the computer system. However, the activation of the system alarms the guards. Dolf manages to operate the machine just in time before the guards can stop him, but in his haste he accidentally enters the password instead of the destination date, and consequently travels to the year 1212. He ends up at the location of the present-day football stadium, not far from the city of Speyer, which already existed then.

After being attacked by vagabonds and being saved by a girl named Jenne, Dolf joins Jenne in the Children's Crusade: 8,000 children traveling from Germany to Jerusalem to pray for the city's deliverance from the Muslims. The crusade is led by Nicolaas, a teenaged boy with visions, and an adult priest, Father Anselmus. Although it is a long detour, Anselmus has decreed that the children will travel to Jerusalem via Genoa, where Nicolaas expects the sea to part, so the children can walk to the Holy City. What the children don't know is that Anselmus has secretly planned to sell the children to slave traders in Genoa, instead of bringing them to Jerusalem.

During the crusade, Dolf applies his modern-day knowledge to save the lives of many children, battling disease, kidnappers and hunger. He even saves one of the leaders, Prince Carolus, from drowning. All this helps him gain the respect of the children and Nicolaas. However, Anselmus and his bodyguard Vick are intent on discrediting Dolf and try to destroy his reputation whenever they can. Outside Genoa, they finally succeed in making Nicolaas and the other children believe Dolf is an agent of the devil, who should be executed. Dolf manages to escape his execution at the last moment with the help of Jenne and Carolus and finally uncovers Anselmus' plan to sell the children as slaves.

Meanwhile, Dolf's mother succeeds in sending him a message telling him the date and place of his return, after learning of his deeds and whereabouts in a mediaeval manuscript by Thaddeus, a monk whom Dolf has befriended. Although Dolf and Jenne succeed in getting to the location on time, a fight with the slave traders erupts and Dolf is forced to leave Jenne behind in 1212 and return to the present alone.

Back home, Dolf manages to persuade his mother to let him go back to 1212 in order to get Jenne. His mother agrees and Dolf leaves for 1212 once more, setting a new time and place for his return. In European territories the film ends here. For American audiences, an extra scene was added in which Dolf has once again returned to the present, this time with Jenne. He is seen replaying the football match he lost in the beginning of the film, with Jenne cheering him on in the crowd.

"NP" is both the name of the novel and of a short story collection within the novel's plot, a collection written in English by the character Sarao Takase, who committed suicide before he could translate it into Japanese. Three more people attempting to translate the collection have also committed suicide. The novel is narrated by Kazami Kano, the girlfriend of the last translator to die. Kazami becomes interested in Sarao's children while she is also trying to translate NP into Japanese.

<!-- this content was copied over from "Kitchen," and has been commented out; to be replaced subsequently with specific content about this novel.

After abandoning his family in Salt Lake City 25 years prior, Chance (a hobo) decides it's time to go home.

Drifting from place to place, Chance finds himself in his hometown at Christmas time. However, his son (still resenting the fact that Chance ran out on his family 25 years earlier), gives Chance only one day with his grandkids; after that, he's expected to leave and never come back. Meanwhile, Chance's friends warn him that his son and the past are memories that are best left alone, and should leave, but he has to find out for himself.

The story begins during a thunderstorm. The house, which is shown in the opening shot, named Prairie Blossom, is very clearly fake which lends itself to comedic value. A caller, Willene Cassidy (Maggie Pyle), pays a visit to the house owner, Mrs. Gert Hammond (Marion Eaton), who is very drunk. She insists that she make herself presentable before she answers the door. This takes a very long time and she makes a bad job of putting on her makeup. In an effort to get the alcohol out of her system she makes herself vomit by putting her fingers down her throat. Finally, having retrieved her wig from the toilet, where it fell during her vomiting, she is ready to greet her visitor. Willene is shocked at the dishevelled appearance of Mrs. Hammond and insist on giving her a bath. Willene explains that her husband is a very famous yet untalented country music star, Simon Cassidy, whose music is heard on the radio during the later scene. During the course of the bath, Willene unintentionally masturbates Mrs. Hammond. It is also revealed that Mr. Hammond died and that their son "no longer exists".

As the night goes on, more and more visitors appear to shelter from the storm. Among them is Chandler (Mookie Blodgett), widower of the incredibly wealthy Sarah Lou Phillips, whose family owns the largest girdle factory in the United States. Their popularity is such that few American women are without one. Chandler relates the story of his wife's death. She burned to death at a cocktail party, where there was a freak accident and her girdle caught fire. This caused burning rubber to envelop her head, and finally she fell dead into the swimming pool, her head steaming. This causes Chandler to have a bizarre sexual dysfunction. Although initially attracted to women, they would invariably prove to be owners of House of Phillips girdles. When they took off their clothes before sex, he would be reminded of the death of his wife and would not be able to maintain an erection. For this reason he had been having sex with other men, as they don't wear girdles that would remind him of Sarah Lou's horrific immolation. Rather strangely, during the telling of this story, Chandler is being fellated by Sash (Melinda McDowell) and has no apparent erectile problems. The two, while in the basement, discover that Mrs. Hammond had pickled the remains of her husband and kept them in a jar. She tells of the death of her husband, who had been working one day in the grain bin and got covered with grain dust. A swarm of locusts dove on him to eat the dust and in the process devoured much of Mr. Hammond's body.

During the course of the night, many of the guests have sex with each other in various combinations. There are a great many sex toys at Prairie Blossom. Mrs. Hammond explains that her son collected them. They would be delivered in plain brown packages which she would take to him with his morning breakfast. This causes her to wistfully repeat that he "no longer exists". One of the guests, a man named Toydy, becomes obsessed with finding the key to a locked door in the house. One of the female guests, Roo (Moira Benson), finds the key but will not give it to Toydy (Rick Johnson) unless he agrees to ejaculate in her mouth. Despite not finding her attractive, Toydy agrees and manages to stay aroused by watching Bond (Ken Scudder) and Willene have sex.

The final human guest at Prairie Blossom, Bing (George Kuchar), arrives in an agitated state. He had come from the circus in a vehicle containing a toothless lion, a near-blind elephant, and a female gorilla named Medusa. He explains to the group that Medusa is extremely dangerous and is likely to kill anyone she comes across. It is revealed that Bing himself is the cause of the apes murderous tendencies. His circus-mates, having got Bing drunk, convinced him to have sex with a prostitute. Despite her being hirsute, Bing is too drunk to decline. The next morning, he awakens to the pleasant feeling of being masturbated, though to his horror, the act is being carried out by Medusa, who now has a severe crush on him. She soon realises that her feelings are not being reciprocated and becomes enraged with him, and indeed all men. However, subsequent mistreatment by a female circus-worker causes these feelings to spread to women as well. The only way to calm Medusa is by giving her bananas.

Toydy, having watched Bond and Willene have sex, decides to lie to Bond in order to have sex with him. Toydy says that he has a crate of bananas and will give them to Bond if he will have sex with him. Bond considers this carefully, not having had a homosexual encounter before, but agrees on the strength that he and Willene (who has by now forgotten about her husband) can use the bananas to escape the murderous primate. On discovering the deception, Bond takes it in his stride and tells Willene he had to be broken in sometime. He jokes that if things don't work out between himself and her, he can always try for her husband.

Meanwhile, Toydy having gained the key to the locked door earlier opens it with Roo to discover Prairie Blossom's terrible secret. By morning, the fate of Roo and Toydy is unknown to the others. Chandler and Sash leave together, as do Bond and Willene, though Bond tells her he likes to sleep around too much to really settle down. Bing has married Medusa, though for some reason, he wore the wedding dress. Mrs. Hammond, alone with the jar containing her husband, proposes a toast to love, and pours Mr. Hammond's drink into his jar.

''Hidamari Sketch'' centers around a young girl named Yuno who finally is able to get accepted into Yamabuki Art High School, which she has longed for. To attend the school, Yuno moves and starts to live in a small apartment building named the located across the street from the school. Once there, she quickly becomes friends with three other occupants at the apartments, including her classmate Miyako and two second-year students: Hiro and Sae. The events of the characters' everyday lives are shown as they attend the school together and get to know each other better. After a year has passed, the girls move up a year and two freshmen, Nazuna and Nori, arrive at Hidamari Apartments. After another year passes, Hiro and Sae graduate while another freshman, Matsuri, moves into the apartments.

In Italy during World War I, the US president has sent teams of Red Cross doctors and nurses to boost Italian morale and help with the wounded. Volunteers drive ambulances and work in the front line canteens. Ernest Hemingway (Chris O'Donnell) a 19-year-old, becomes an ambulance driver in Italy, although he wishes to become a reporter and writer. Wanting to fight against the enemy, he ends up with a shot leg, trying to save a companion from the field.

He is taken into a hospital, where an American nurse, Agnes von Kurowsky (Sandra Bullock) takes care of him. During the first night at the hospital, Ernest tells Agnes "I love you. Let's get married." while in a state of delirium. Ernest's health becomes worse and Agnes tries everything to save his leg from what she believes is gangrene. A successful operation puts Ernest on the path to recovery. As time passes, they become attached, even though Agnes has reservations because of their age difference.

Eventually, Agnes and some other nurses need to be moved closer to the front. As she can't find Ernest to tell him the bad news in person, she asks their friend to give him a letter. Ernest is shocked at finding out that she has left. While working on the front, Agnes receives a letter from Ernest telling her how much he misses her. After a few days, Ernest finally visits, telling her that he has received orders to return to the United States. He declares his love for Agnes, asking her to meet him at a nearby hotel to spend their remaining time together and to promise each other daily letters, until they are able to get married.

After some time spent on the front, Agnes is asked by one of the nurses, a good friend, to spend the weekend at Dr. Domenico Caracciolo's, who has feelings for Agnes. The three of them spend time together, seeing the surroundings of Venice. The letters from Agnes soon become less and less frequent, causing Ernest great concern. While showing her an unfinished hospital, Dr. Domenico proposes. She hesitates, still thinking of Ernest. She decides to write him a letter, telling him their relationship must end, partly because of their age gap. Ernest is devastated.

Eight months later, in New York, Agnes meets an old friend and ex-patient, Harry. She confesses that she did not marry the doctor and finds out that Ernest is still angry. She decides to go to Ernest's family cabin, on Walloon Lake. Still angry and proud, Ernest doesn't accept her love. The film ends with Agnes telling him "I love you" as she leaves the cabin, never to see him again.

The film is set in the home of a mad scientist called Professor Noodle, who has just developed a rejuvenation solution that reverses the aging process. Stan and Oliver are chimney sweeps and arrive to sweep the chimney. Oliver goes on to the roof and Stan stays below at the fireplace. Stan begins to shove the sweep up the chimney and knocks Oliver backwards and down through the skylight. Oliver comes back on to the roof and begins to pull the sweep up. Stan has hung on to the sweep and arrives at the roof. Oliver drops him back down through the chimney. Stan doesn't have enough extensions for the sweep and decides to use a rifle to shove the sweep the last part of the way. The gun goes off nearly shooting Oliver. Stan decides to go up to the roof and as he opens the skylight he knocks Oliver off the roof and down onto a greenhouse. Hardy finally falls down the chimney dislodging many bricks, sending a cloud of soot all over the living room and onto the butler, and damaging the piano. The butler says something about an electric chair, and stalks out. Stan and Oliver start to clean up the soot around the fireplace. They become distracted and Stan shovels the soot into Oliver's trousers. Meanwhile, the rather sooty butler is having a much-needed bath.

Professor Noodle decides to test his rejuvenation solution. He puts a duck in a vat of water and adds a drop of his solution. The water agitates for a few seconds, and the duck turns into a duckling. The professor is excited and decides to show Stan and Oliver his discovery. He puts another drop of his solution into the vat, the water again froths and swirls briefly, and the duckling turns into an egg. Stan and Oliver decide to test the solution for themselves when the professor leaves the room to fetch and rejuvenate the butler. As Oliver is on a stepladder leaning over the vat with a huge beaker of the rejuvenation solution, Stan gets the eyedropper but accidentally knocks Oliver and the container of solution into the vat. After churning and gurgling tumultuously for some moments as the excessively-large amount of solution and water mix (accompanied by agonized screams and whooping yowls from Oliver), the vat eventually settles back down, and Oliver emerges as a chimpanzee wearing a derby. Stan plaintively asks if Ollie still knows him and will speak to him. Despite being "rejuvenated" — de-evolved, even — into a "basic primate" by the massive overdose of the solution, Oliver is still able to say what he has said multiple times throughout the film, "I have nothing to say."

After saying goodbye to her shipmates, Jacky is sent to Lawson Peabody's and turned over to the custody of Miranda Pimm, the elderly headmistress. From the start, it is clear that she has a very low opinion of Jacky, going so far as to have her earring cut off and her mail seized to keep her from sending letters to her beloved, Midshipman Jaimy Fletcher.

Shunned by most of her fellow students, Jacky strikes up a friendship with Amy Trevelyne, the daughter of a wealthy Massachusetts farmer. Clarissa Worthington Howe, an arrogant Virginia heiress who enjoys abusing the school staff, takes an instant dislike to Jacky and insults her mother, resulting in a fight between the girls. As punishment, the two are beaten and forced to give up dinner and supper.

Eager to please Pimm, Jacky throws herself into her classes, which include horse riding, art, music, embroidery, French, and etiquette. Jacky is subsequently noticed by Reverend Richard Mather, the school priest, who views her as a disgrace. While visiting the graveyard near his church, Jacky stumbles upon an unmarked grave, which she later learns belonged to Mather's former servant, Janey Porter.

While wandering the streets of Boston unsupervised, Jacky is arrested for public indecency and put on trial. When the court learns that she attends Lawson Peabody's, however, they decide to embarrass the school by having Jacky paraded through the streets in chains. Humiliated, Pimm assigns Jacky to work as a lowly servant, while Mather petitions the court to appoint him as her legal guardian.

Welcomed by her fellow workers, Jacky decides to form a Sisterhood of Lawson Peabody Girls, consisting of several serving girls and Amy. While meeting with her lawyer, Ezra Pickering, she also learns that Janey Porter's death was declared a suicide, but was briefly suspected to be murder. Jacky spies on Mather and discovers that he is a drunkard and religious zealot obsessed with ridding the world of "witches" and "demons".

Convinced that Mather is responsible for killing Janey, Jacky poses as her and starts "haunting" him, further increasing his paranoia.

Having grown increasingly attracted to Amy's brother Randall, Jacky attends a party at her family's mansion, during which she gets drunk and makes a fool of herself. After an argument with Amy, Jacky runs away and flees to New York City. On the way there, two men hired by Mather abduct her and bring her back to the school.

Convinced that Jacky is Janey reincarnated, Mather plans to stake her with her own shiv. A fire breaks out in the church, during which Jacky's friends rescue her and trap Mather, causing him to die when the church collapses in on itself. The fire then spreads to the school, and though Jacky manages to save Pimm and her students, the entire building is lost. Fearing arrest, Jacky flees Boston and joins the crew of a whaling ship as a servant.

Regina, a lonely and retired grandmother, defies social expectations maintaining a very active lifestyle in Rio de Janeiro's urban life. She does this largely by supplying the police with tips on criminal activities in the area. When she witnesses what she believes is a murder across the street, she tries to obtain incriminating statements from the supposed perpetrator but in the process her whole world changes...

Young Zazu is about to be cooked and eaten by the three hyenas (which explains his cry of "Oh no! Not the Birdie Boiler!" in the first movie) Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, when a young Mufasa arrives, frightens off the hyenas and saves him. Zazu is thankful and hopes that he can be of service to the Lion King someday. Mufasa is doubtful of this.

Zazu follows Mufasa around and watches over him. Mufasa tires of this quickly as Zazu disturbs his hunts and his private time with Sarabi.

One day Zazu notices some vultures hovering. He asks Mufasa if Mufasa wants him to fly over and see what's happening, but Mufasa is not concerned and lies down for a nap. Zazu flies over to where the vultures are anyway and sees that Sarabi has fallen into a pit and can't get out. Zazu flies back to tell Mufasa who leaps up and runs to the gorge, but once he arrives he can't find a way to rescue Sarabi. Zazu finds a tree trunk that Mufasa drags over to the pit, allowing Sarabi to climb out.

Mufasa realizes that the hornbill is useful after all and appoints him as royal advisor.

Category:Disney books Category:The Lion King (franchise) Category:Books about lions Category:Books about birds Category:Hyenas in popular culture Category:Children's books about friendship

The film is shown through the eyes of Federico, a photographer from Italy. Tariq (a friend of Federico) is scheduled to marry Bilquis, the daughter of a rich judge. However, while out in the city one night, he catches sight of a woman he believes to be Bilquis, and falls in love with her. The woman turns out to be a nagsh (a black plant applied like henna) artist named Ines, and Tariq ends up having to choose between the two. The film ends with a shot of a jinn, played by Hirsi himself.

Following the canonical “bad” ending of UFO: Aftermath, humans agree to the terms of Reticulans who invaded Earth: some humans are moved to the Laputa over Earth (the events of UFO: Aftershock), while 10,000 colonists in cryo-sleep and a small research team are moved to Mars, with intention of terraforming the planet and making it a new home for humanity.

Immediately prior to the events of the game, a member of the excavation research team, Jurgen, stumbles upon alien structure filled with robots of unknown origins. The robots awaken and attack, killing him in the tutorial mission. Soon, robots begin emerging from buried structures all over Mars. They begin attacking Human stations and even damage a critical water pipeline from the North Pole. The colonists are forced to recover and begin manufacture armaments to protect themselves against the new threat.

Once sufficiently armed, the Humans strike back at the large robot cluster close to the original site of their discovery. The attack is successful, but a robot short circuit and activates a mysterious portal at the combat site. Aggressive alien creatures dubbed “Beastmen” pour out of the portal and open fire on the Humans, forcing them to retreat. Beastmen refuse all attempts at communication, and soon begin arriving in large numbers from several portals all over the planet. While the Humans eventually manage to destroy the power source of their portals, the Beastmen create numerous outposts all over the planet, including a large base on the other side of the planet from the Human base. The Beastmen carry out a direct attack on the Human base – while they are repelled, there is damage to the cryo facility that begins the process of awakening the colonists. The player is given a time limit to terraform and secure Mars, as the small base would not be able to sustain the awakened colonists.

The Humans are forced to defend themselves against both robots and Beastmen, while trying to research advanced technologies to fight and to terraform Mars at increased rate. They restore contact with Earth and reach the Cultists – the antagonist faction of UFO: Aftershock – and exchange weapon technologies with them. Following the events of UFO: Aftershock, the Laputians soon defeat and replace the Cultists as a primary Earth contact, eventually sending materials, weapons, and scientific data to Mars after the war on Earth is completely won. Additionally, the Human base contacts the remnants of the Reticulan forces, who set up a small outpost to the south. Some time into the game, a different faction of Reticulans, the Expedition, lands to the West and attack both the Humans and the Reticulans. It tuns out they were sent from the Reticulan homeworld to hunt down the “rebel” Reticulans who occupied Earth. The player can align themselves with either of these two factions against the other, or fight them both for their technology and resources. Finally, once Mars is sufficiently terraformed, a race of “Martians”, the creator of robots, emerges once their homes are flooded by melting ice. Though initially hostile to Humans, they can be allied with once the player researches their language and helps them against the Beastmen threat.

Eventually, the Humans piece together the history of Mars. The Beastmen were the original inhabitants of the planet, while the “Martians” arrived from beyond the solar system on a Myrmecol – a giant space travelling psionic being of colossal size. The Beastmen were defeated by the invaders and were cast out through portals to a distant world. Since then, they planned and trained to take back their homeworld from the invaders, until the portals were activated by the Human expedition. While the Martians agree to co-exist with humans (provided research is done to make terraforming more acceptable to them), the Beastmen refuse any notion of co-existing with other species. Thus, it is concluded that the only option the Humans have is to wipe out the entire Beastmen species. With the help from the Laputian researchers, a virus is devised that will target the Beastment DNA and will wipe out the majority of Beastment forces from the planet. However, to spread, the virus requires an Earth-like environment – making the need to terraform Mars even more pressing. Once terraforming of Mars reaches a certain threshold, the virus is released into the atmosphere, killing most Beastmen and severely weakening the resilient few that remain. The player then leads the final attack on the Beastmen main base, wiping out the few remaining commanders that remain. Victory is declared at this point, regardless of the status of other factions in the game.

Frances notices a nineteen-year-old boy sitting in the rain in the park outside her house and invites him inside. The boy does not speak but appears to understand everything. Frances allows him to bathe and eat, then buys him new clothes the next day. That night the boy visits his parents and younger siblings then returns to his small apartment with his older sister Nina and explains what has happened to him.

The next day the boy returns bearing homemade cookies and unexpectedly encounters the maid, Mrs. Parnell. Frances invites him in and sends Mrs. Parnell away. Mrs. Parnell remarks that the cookies are burnt before leaving but Frances opens an expensive bottle of wine to accompany the cookies. She holds one-sided conversations and flirts with the boy, developing a strong attachment. The following day the boy allows his sister Nina to use Frances's bath while Frances is away having a contraceptive diaphragm fitted and dispensed at a local family planning clinic.

When Charles, an older suitor from Frances's lawn bowls group, visits that night, Frances locks the door to the boy's room while she rebuffs the man's advances until he leaves. She then inserts the diaphragm and enters the boy's room and asks him to make love to her but is distraught to find that the bed is merely stuffed with dolls.

The boy sneaks back into his room at Frances's house and sleeps until the next day, when he finds that all of the doors and windows are nailed shut. He confronts Frances and she apologizes but insists that she wants things to remain as they are, leaving him locked in the house as she goes out to a bar. She notices a woman sitting alone and invites her to come spend the night with the boy but the woman becomes upset. A man overhears and helps Frances find a prostitute named Sylvia at a nearby diner. Frances brings Sylvia home and locks her in the room with the boy then listens through the door as they have intercourse. Overcome with emotion, Frances enters the room and stabs Sylvia through the heart, killing her. The boy desperately searches for an exit but Frances tells him that he can stay with her and that he does not have to be afraid.

A young man named Philolaches is having a great time while his father Theopropides is overseas on business. Philolaches has borrowed a lot of money to buy the freedom of the slave-girl he loves. One day, he is having a house party with many friends, when his slave Tranio interrupts the merry-making to announce that Philolaches' father has returned unexpectedly and will arrive from the harbour at any minute. Amid the general panic, Tranio has an idea. He hustles Philolaches and his friends into the house and locks the door. The father now arrives. Tranio greets him respectfully but pretends that it is dangerous to enter the house because it is haunted by the ghost of a man once killed there.

Unfortunately, at this moment a money-lender turns up to claim the money that Philolaches borrowed. Tranio thinks quickly and pretends that the money was borrowed to buy the house next door. Even after Philolaches' father meets the real owner of the house, Tranio manages to hide the truth for some time, but he is finally found out and jumps on top of an altar to escape punishment. Fortunately, all ends happily when one of Philolaches' friends offers to repay the debt, allowing the father to forgive his son. Even Tranio is forgiven.

Jack tells Liz and the writers of ''TGS Tracy Jordan'' that he wants them to insert General Electric (GE) products into the show. The writers express their reluctance in doing product placements for GE (even though during the scene the cast talk about how great Snapple's White Green Tea tastes), but Liz agrees on the condition that Jack appears in the sketch. The next day, Liz watches a video containing outtakes from Jack's product placement video, where she discovers that he repeatedly forgot his lines after 142 takes. After realizing that he needs help, Liz encourages Jack to go through with the sketch, which he ultimately is able to shoot.

Tracy decides that he is going to take a break from rehearsals after he is called back on stage to read his cue cards. When Tracy appears to be ignoring his cue cards, Jenna informs Liz of the situation, and realizes that Tracy might be illiterate, citing an earlier promo cue card mishap ("The Aftermath") as an example. Liz confronts Tracy about the problem; he admits that he is illiterate and agrees to get help. Liz later notices Tracy reading a newspaper, and learns that he was using the ploy to get out of work. Liz tells Tracy that she is not going to take it anymore, and forces him to go through with the sketch.

Jenna tells Pete that she wishes to insert a music number called "Muffin Top" into the show, which she claims is a big hit overseas. As a prank, Frank and Toofer tell her that several people are going to be fired. Believing them, Jenna tries to seduce an NBC executive whom she sees talking to Jack. Liz later notifies Jenna that no one is going to be fired, and that the executive is actually an extra on the show. Jenna aims to get back at the pair, and although Toofer admits that he was too smart for Jenna's tactics, Frank is seen running around naked outside Jack's balcony. Jenna finally gets her chance to perform "Muffin Top", unaware that the show has already ended and the number was scratched at the last moment, thanks to Liz.

Jane Merrick is a wealthy, elderly, difficult invalid woman who is preparing for her approaching death. In her youth, she inherited her money and estate from her fiancé, Thomas Bradley, who died before their wedding took place. With no children of her own, she calls for her three teenage nieces to visit her, so she can decide who will inherit her estate. They are Louise Merrick, Elizabeth De Graf, and Patsy Doyle, children of Jane's younger brother and sisters.

Louise, seventeen years old, was small when her father died after struggling and failing to succeed in business. Aunt Jane refused his request for financial assistance. He left only his life insurance money, and Louise and her mother lived cheaply on the proceeds for years. However, they developed a plan to improve their lot. They decided to spend the entire principle of their funds on a three-year spree of fancy living to gain Louise an entrance into society, with a goal of finding a suitable husband to support them.

Beth, fifteen, has two parents who can barely make ends meet, living under a tightly stretched budget. Aunt Jane refused a request for money from Beth's father just the previous year, and Beth cannot even trust him with her own money. Beth is a brooding small-town beauty, given to sullenness.

Sixteen-year-old Patsy manages and dotes on her Irish father after the death of her mother. Aunt Jane refused the only plea this sister ever made, for a loan to pay for medical care that might have saved her life. Patsy is a temperamental redhead who resents Aunt Jane's past neglect and determines to have nothing to do with the old woman's money.

The nieces visit Aunt Jane. (Patsy resists at first, but the willful Aunt Jane sends her lawyer to fetch the girl.) The three cousins display their contrasting traits: Louise, sweet but manipulative; Beth, her bluntness tinged with bitterness; and Patsy, forthright and gifted with a natural integrity. Patsy quickly takes herself out of the running for Aunt Jane's fortune, refusing to have any part of it. Yet the old woman takes a liking to the girl, precisely for her vigor, candor, and stubbornness.

Beth finds Aunt Jane distasteful, but makes friends with the servants. Louise insists on "nursing" Aunt Jane, and showers her with gushing affection that Jane finds insincere but hard to resist. Patsy, having declared she does not want the money, visits the Aunt Jane's room when she wishes, with an independence which pleases the invalid considerably.

Living on the estate is Jane's dead fiancé's nephew, Kenneth Forbes, who was born long after Thomas Bradley died. As charged in the will, Jane has provided for him since his mother died eight years previously, but despises him, putting him in a room in a distant wing of the house, and never dining with him. The humiliated and neglected boy has become sullen, shy and awkward. Despite his lessons, he seems ignorant, but has nowhere else to go, as Jane will not pay for better education for him. Kenneth's only supporter is Jane's lawyer, Silas Watson, who sees glimmers of Kenneth's possibilities and tries to convince Jane to do him justice. Kenneth is beginning to show some abilities at drawing, but does not think anything of his skill.

Aunt Jane has several servants, but the most unusual is James, the gardener, who loves the flowers as much as she does. He was with Thomas Bradley when he died, which traumatized him so badly that he rarely speaks.

Aunt Jane is also visited in her final days by her long-lost older brother, the girls' Uncle John. He dresses shabbily, and is presumed to be down and out; his sister gives him a place to stay. Uncle John exhibits the honesty, kindness and good sense that are lacking in most of the family. He befriends everyone, including poor Kenneth, in whom he takes a genuine interest.

The nieces gradually learn to accommodate themselves to their contrasting personalities. An incident electrifies the family: Beth and Louise have routinely been teasing Kenneth, causing him to flee the house via a plank stretched from the rooftop to a tree. When Patsy comes to see him about a horse, he runs for his escape, but falls off the edge. In full view of her aunt, she heroically pulls him up and saves him, but loses her balance and falls to the ground, breaking a leg.

This accident brings the young people together, breaking down the barriers between them. Kenneth learns to socialize with the girls and overcome his shyness, and the nieces begin to enjoy each other's company. Kenneth receives a mysterious gift of drawing materials, and begins to show his work to the girls. However, Jane's health continues to deteriorate, and she decides to make a will leaving the bulk of the estate to Patsy. Patsy refuses, and insists Jane should leave the estate to Kenneth. After fighting over this for many days, Jane pretends to give in to Patsy, but secretly invalidates the new will.

A short while later Jane passes away in the garden, and poor gardener James is the unlucky one who finds her. He runs shrieking away, to hide in his room for days.

The inheritance drama comes to a head over not one last will and testament, but three. After the funeral, Silas Watson opens the envelope containing the last will, and discovers that Jane has torn off the signatures and voided it. Her previous will, leaving the estate to Patsy with token amounts to the others, comes into effect. Patsy pledges to give the estate to Kenneth when she comes of age, and to increase her cousin's cash portions.

The group is suddenly called to James' room, where he lies dying after being kicked by a horse. This has shocked him into his right mind for the first time since Thomas Bradley's death years ago. He tells them about the accident, and how he drew the grievously injured man from the wreck. He explains that "Master Tom" demanded paper to make out a new will. The conductor and James both signed it to make it legal. However, the dying James does not recognize the people around him, who look so old to his now-young brain, and refuses to give them the will. He dies, and Watson and Uncle John search the room and find it. In the hasty will, Thomas bequeathed to Jane the use of his estate during her lifetime, after which it should revert to his sister and her descendants. In other words, Jane had no ability to will anything to anyone, and Kenneth is the sole rightful heir.

When this is announced, the group is shocked. There are no cash bequests to anyone – the fortune is all Kenneth's. The girls decide to go home; since Uncle John seems homeless, Patsy invites him to move in with her and her father.

Back in New York, Uncle John is quietly bemused by their poor apartment and his bed on the sofa. When they leave for work, he slips into an uptown banker's office where he meets with important people who treat him deferentially. After a week, Patsy receives her first surprise from an unknown benefactor – keys to a lovely furnished apartment provided free for at least three years. When they nervously visit it, they discover it has been fitted out completely, and a maid rings the bell reporting for duty, all her wages prepaid.

While Patsy and her father retrieve their things from the old apartment, Uncle John makes a quick visit to Louise and her mother, who treat him coldly. He leaves, embarrassed, but in the distance Louise's banker neighbor points him out: "he's worth from eighty to ninety millions, at least, and controls most of the canning and tin-plate industries of America."

Patsy is concerned about the apartment, but Uncle John says, "There is nothing too good for a brave, honest girl heart is in the right place." Subsequently, Patsy reports for work and is told she's been fired. When she returns home, she finds a lady waiting to tutor her, to prepare her for women's college. That afternoon, to her delight, a piano teacher arrives. In the meantime, her father is informed that his firm's bankers would like to employ him, in a job that requires very few hours and pays a generous sum. Days later, he encounters Uncle John at the bank conducting his business, and learns the truth. At home, John points out that they all assumed he was poor, and he simply did not correct them. He promises to give the use of substantial money to both of the other girls' families, which can then be left to the nieces, so that they will not be in need.

Uncle John asks if he can continue to stay with Patsy and her father. She says, "I never meant to part with you, when I thought you poor, and I'll not desert you now that I know you're rich."

On the surface the plot follows the story of a penniless, starving author called Geoffrey Tempest. So poor that he is behind on his rent and can barely afford light in his room, he receives three letters. The first is from a friend in Australia who has made his fortune and offers to introduce him to a good friend who might be able to lift him from poverty. The second is a note from a solicitor detailing that he has inherited a fortune from a deceased relative. The third is a letter of introduction from a foreign aristocrat called Lucio, who befriends him and proceeds to be his guide in how best to use his newfound wealth.

Tempest remains blissfully unaware throughout the novel, despite warnings from people he meets, that Lucio is the earthly incarnation of the Devil. Over the course of the book, his wealth leads to misery. Eventually, when confronted with the true nature of his companion, he renounces evil and returns to society penniless but content with the chance to purify his soul.

Although the plot follows Tempest's fall from grace and subsequent redemption, he is in many regards a secondary character to Lucio. Both the title of the work and much of its philosophical content relate to the supreme yearning within Satan to achieve salvation. The book's main contribution to Faustian literature is the introduction of the concept that above all other people it is Satan who most truly believes in the Gospel – and yet he is forbidden ever to partake of it.

The gang travels to Hawaii on a free trip from a surf-and-beachwear company called "Goha Aloha" thanks to Daphne, whom the company wants to design some new swimwear for them. The gang also goes there to see the Big Kahuna of Hanahuna Surfing Contest. However, the contest used to only be open for the natives and not for mainlanders, but now the mayor has made it open for everybody. Many locals are angry because of this, especially Manu Tuiama, a local surfer, and his friend, Little Jim. Just a few days before the contest, the demons of the evil Wiki-Tiki spirit attacked the village and kidnapped Manu's girlfriend, Snookie. This drives away most of the tourists and surfers, and the locals believe the spirit is angry that the surfing contest is open to anybody, and also that a new resort, Coconut Beach Condominiums, is being built on supposedly sacred ground by local real estate agent Ruben Laluna. When the gang meets Jared Moon, a representative from the Goha Aloha-company in Hanahuna, he's selling tiki charms that are supposed to ward off evil demons. The mayor refuses to postpone the contest, even after the Tiki demons attack again at a feast.

The gang wants to get to the bottom of the mystery, and go to Auntie Mahina, a local shaman who lives deep in the jungle. On the way there, Manu seemingly gets kidnapped by the Wiki-Tiki. Auntie Mahina tells them the Wiki-Tiki is angry at the mainlanders; the surfing contest is hinted by her to be a Hawaiian ritual and that the winner has to be of Hawaiian descent. She says they need to go to the cave where the monster lives to get rid of it, or Snookie and Manu will be sacrificed in the volcano. She also gives Fred a necklace which should keep the monster away. The necklace is filled with an extract from a sacred root called bola gawana, which she claims that the ancients used to repel away evil spirits. The gang goes to the cave, and get chased by bats and the little demons, until they lose them and find Snookie, who tries to lead them out before getting recaptured by the Wiki-Tiki, who is seemingly unaffected by the necklace.

The gang then find themselves in a snake pit cave, but are able to get out of it because of music by Shaggy and Scooby-Doo. After escaping, the gang does some searching and stumbles upon a cave within the volcano, during which they discover that the volcano is in fact still dormant and that the Wiki-Tiki and its demons are not really ancient spirits. The little demons turn out to just be remote-controlled robots. After looking at a picture of the Wiki-Tiki when it was out surfing, the gang notices that the (supposedly) 10,000-year-old spirit its using a Goha Aloha-brand surfboard.

Back at the island, it is only one day until the contest, and the locals are really scared something bad will happen. Little Jim blames the mayor for Snookie and Manu's disappearances, and says that whatever happens during the contest will be her fault as well.

The following day, Daphne enters the contest in hopes of drawing out the Wiki-Tiki, whom they are sure will show up. Sure enough, it comes and scares the surfers and chases Shaggy and Scooby, until it was washed up by a wave. The gang unmasks the Wiki-Tiki as Manu and after Snookie runs over to him, it turns out that the couple were the culprits behind the Wiki-Tiki scheme. The gang explains that Manu and Snookie wanted to scare off both the locals and the tourists so they could buy up all the real estate in the area and then sell it back to the original owners at a huge profit—and all the places bought by Manu and Snookie were put under the name of "Pamela Waeawa," which is Snookie's real name. Velma also reveals that Snookie's an expert in both rocket science and robotics, and was the one who created the so-called "demons." The mayor ultimately announces Scooby as the winner of the surfing contest (for the way he and Shaggy were surfing while battling Manu), making him the new "Big Kahuna of Hanahuna." Manu expresses shock and anger at losing to a dog as he and Snookie are arrested and taken to jail.

Later that night, a big luau is held in celebration at the hotel that the gang was staying at. Everyone thanks the gang for solving mystery and Ruben Laluna reveals that all the real estate bought by Manu and Snookie will be returned to the original owners. Jared Moon comes by to tell Daphne that Goha Aloha loved her swimsuit designs and wants to buy them (and he gives her a free tiki charm). After Auntie Mahina thanks the gang for what they did, the mini-tikis come to the party and advance—but instead of attacking people, they start dancing. It's revealed that Scooby has the remote control for them and he's the one making them dance. Everyone laughs while Scooby says his catchphrase before saying "Aloha!".

The series revolves around 20-year-old Makoto, who frequently gets involved in highly dangerous situations, usually against his own judgment.

Brennan Huff and Dale Doback are 40 year old immature adults still living at home. Brennan lives with his divorced mother, Nancy, and Dale lives with his widowed father, Robert. Robert and Nancy meet, fall in love, and get married; forcing Brennan and Dale to live with each other as step brothers. Brennan and Dale despise each other for interfering with each other's lifestyles. Dale warns Brennan not to touch his drum set, which Brennan later does (twice, once with his testicles) anyway. He is confronted by Dale, and the argument erupts into a violent brawl between the two. They are grounded with no television for a week following the incident and told they must find jobs within a month, or they will be evicted.

When Brennan's younger and more successful brother Derek, a helicopter leasing agent, comes to visit with his family, he openly ridicules them for their lack of ambition, enticing Dale to punch him in the face. Brennan is awed that Dale stood up to Derek, while Derek's wife Alice finds Dale's courage attractive, and begins a sexual affair with him. Brennan and Dale discover their shared interests and develop a brotherly friendship. Robert schedules several job interviews for Brennan and Dale, in which they perform poorly. They are attacked and beaten up by school children on their way home and made to lick dog feces. Robert and Nancy reveal their plans, with help from Derek, to sell the house, retire and travel the world on Robert's sailboat. They also demand that Brennan and Dale attend therapy and find other living arrangements. Brennan becomes attracted to his therapist, Denise.

Dale and Brennan start an entertainment company, "Prestige Worldwide". They present their first music video, "Boats 'N Hoes", which they filmed on Robert's boat, at Derek's birthday party. The presentation backfires when the video shows the boat crashing, shattering Robert and Nancy's sailing dreams. Robert is furious and conjures up an argument and insults Brennan, prompting Brennan to berate Robert as Nancy attempts to calm him down. On Christmas, Robert and Nancy announce they are getting divorced, upsetting Brennan and Dale. Blaming each other for the divorce, Brennan and Dale decide to go their separate ways. Brennan works for Derek's helicopter leasing firm and Dale works for a catering company.

Weeks later, Brennan and Dale are living independently as functioning adults and are doing well at their new jobs. Wanting to reunite the family, Brennan volunteers to oversee a prestigious event, the Catalina Wine Mixer, for Derek's company and invites Robert and Nancy. They hire the catering company that employs Dale. The party is a success until the lead singer of the hired cover band loses his temper and is ejected. With the stage empty, Derek fires Brennan, blaming him for the debacle, and Robert ultimately encourages Brennan and Dale to be their eccentric child-at-heart selves again. Brennan and Dale take the stage and perform "Por Ti Volaré". Derek is so moved by the performance that he and Brennan make amends. Dale ends his relationship with Alice, to her dismay.

Six months later, Robert and Nancy are back together living in their old house, while Brennan and Dale have turned "Prestige Worldwide" into a successful entertainment company that hosts karaoke events. Robert has his boat turned into a tree house in the backyard and Denise confesses her attraction for Brennan.

During the ending credits, Dale and Brennan confront the school children who beat them up previously, and exact their revenge.

In 1976, Jackie Moon is a singer who used the profits from his one-hit wonder, "Love Me Sexy", to buy a basketball team in the American Basketball Association (ABA), the Flint Tropics, becoming the owner, head coach, starting power forward, and pre-game announcer. At a team owner's meeting, the ABA Commissioner announces a plan to merge the league with the National Basketball Association (NBA), but only four teams will move to the more established league. The Tropics, the worst team in the league, are in danger of dissolving. Jackie, thinking fast, argues that the teams with the four best records should be merged and the Commissioner accepts.

Jackie trades the team's washing machine to the Kentucky Colonels for Ed Monix, a backup point guard who won an NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics, but did not play during the playoffs. The Commissioner reveals that in addition to finishing in the top four, the Tropics will also need at least 2,000 fans at every remaining home game. Jackie begins to stage extremely desperate stunts in order to boost attendance, like wrestling a bear named Dewey, as well as the increased intensity of Clarence Withers, the Tropics' best player. Monix takes over as offensive and defensive coordinator and starting point guard, leaving Jackie as the head coach. Monix trains the team rigorously with a play he calls the "Puke", as the players are to run it until they literally throw up.

From Monix's training, the Tropics go on a winning run, moving from last to fifth. Jackie gets a visit from the Commissioner. The NBA does not think that Flint has a large enough media market and will not allow the Tropics into the league even if they beat the first place San Antonio Spurs in the last game of the season. Jackie admits that he stole "Love Me Sexy" from a napkin his mother wrote on three weeks before she died. Realizing that all his assets are basically stolen, Jackie trades Withers to the Spurs so that he may realize his dream of playing in the NBA. Monix reassembles and inspires the team to leave everything on the court, while they may not be able to continue the franchise after this season, they have come very far and still have a lot to prove.

Going into the Spurs game, which Jackie declares the "MegaBowl", the Tropics are in fifth place and with a win they would make it into fourth, even though they will not be allowed into the NBA. The Tropics fall behind quickly, and Jackie is knocked unconscious when fouled hard at the end of the first half. Withers decides he has seen enough and rejoins the Tropics in their locker room, destroying his chance at the NBA with the Spurs. An unconscious Jackie imagines that he is in heaven with his mother. He apologizes for stealing her song and she gives him a weapon in order to win. Starting the second half, the Tropics reveal their new weapon: the alley-oop. With the return of Withers, the alley-oop is very effective, but the referee initially calls the play a foul. After some persuasion by Jackie and Monix, the referee is convinced that it is a legitimate play. With seconds left, they have closed to within two points, 117–115, when the Spurs execute a defence against the Alley-Oop. Monix calls a time-out and tells them to run the "Puke", executing multiple razzle-dazzle passes ending with the ball in Jackie's hands under the net but he gets fouled hard again with two seconds left, giving him 2 free throws. Shooting granny style, Jackie sinks the first basket. The second bounces off the rim but Monix tips in the rebound right at the buzzer for two points to win, sparking a wild celebration in the arena and the streets of Flint.

The Spurs' coach offers Withers his position back, while the now-former ABA Commissioner offers Jackie a position on the staff of the NBA Assistant Commissioner, as a marketing director.

The film revolves around a cadaver who seems to bring misfortune on those who come in contact with it.

Although there is very little corporeal manifestation of the ghosts, people seem to die when they enrage the spirit which is linked with a special cadaver—by disrespecting it or otherwise. The story takes place mostly inside a hospital, where a young medical student, Alison Blanchard, comes to learn anatomy. By observing the cadaver she was assigned, she discovers that the body had self-inflicted wounds and also had a child. She soon discovers that there is something wrong with the cadaver, which they have nicknamed "Norma." Mysterious deaths occur in the hospital, which include the fiancee of one of Allison's team members and several hospital employees.

It is revealed that the cadaver is a person named Alita Covas, who once led an archaeological expedition on an Aztec sacrificial site. There she uncovered 50,000 bodies which were offered to Tlazolteotl, the Aztec god of fertility and prostitution. Afterwards, she herself became a prostitute, and started showing symptoms of mental imbalance. Later in her life, she committed murders and was subsequently put in a mental asylum where she died—presumably by her own hand.

Once Alison learns of the true nature of the cadaver, she decides the corpse must return to Brazil to satisfy the Aztec god. After a series of gruesome events, Alison and her classmate/love interest take Alita's now dismembered corpse and cremate her in the hospital. In the end, Alison heads to Brazil to spread the ashes in an attempt to put the spirit at rest; however, it is suggested in the final scene that the spirit remains in the hospital.

Sets in the 19th century, the plot centered on a man (Harold Lockwood) who is falsely accused of murder. ''The Other Side of the Door'' was shot in Monterrey, Mexico.

A suburban family harbors a dark secret: When their parents are killed in a tragic accident, eldest Hamilton sibling David (Samuel Child) relocates the surviving family members to a quiet California suburb and assumes the responsibility of caring for his orphaned teenage siblings; Wendell (Joseph McKelheer), Darlene (Mackenzie Firgens), and Francis (Cory Knauf). While twins Wendell and Darlene seem to share a bizarre incestuous bond that separates them from the rest of the siblings, Francis acquires a video camera that previously belonged to his deceased parents and sets out preparing a school project about his family.

The all-seeing lens of Francis' roving camera begins to reveal that something malevolent is going on inside the Hamilton's picturesque abode. David finds work in a meat-packing warehouse, and is shown to bring some stuff from work home with him, while it is also implied that he is interested in men as he regularly invites male co-workers to go with him to a nearby motel for an evening.

One evening, Wendell kidnaps two young girls whom he meets in a local bar and they are tied in their storeroom. Older brother David drains blood off one of them till she slowly dies. Francis gets attracted to the other girl who tries to get him to help her. But things come to a head when Wendell and Darlene murder one of her classmates and feed off her blood.

When David tries to kill the other girl, Francis hits him in the head and carries her off to a safe hideout at the meat packing plant which is closed for the night. Wendell asks David to follow Francis, as he is the only one capable of persuading him to return. At the barn, Francis, seeing an open wound on the girl's hand, is unable to control his bloodlust and he kills the girl and feeds off her. When David appears, Francis is crying and we see his fangs. Though terribly sad at his actions, he finally seems to be accepting what he really is: a vampire.

With the death of Darlene's classmate, David decides to move somewhere else, and they go to the basement to retrieve the creature locked there, who turns out to be their little brother Lenny.

The family, the Hamilitons, is revealed to be a new breed of vampires who are born that way, not made. They move from place to place to hide their secret of their thirst for blood and to avoid detection from the authorities. In the final scene, we see them introducing themselves to their new neighbors, as the Thompsons, and Francis, now having embraced his newfound status as a vampire, is shown making a happy video of his now complete family.

An unidentified young woman, alone in a room, is attacked by an invisible assailant, who hangs her in the stairway of her house. As she dies, she drops an ornate black envelope.

A year later, former college friends Sid (Marcus Thomas), Kira (Josie Maran), and Harris (Dominic Purcell) go out drinking after a funeral. They break into the Crescent View Cemetery to say their final goodbyes to the departed. Continuing their revelries, they get quite drunk. Sid finds a black envelope tucked behind a garland of flowers at the grave. It contains a poem urging those present to be joyful and to dance upon the graves. In their drunken state, the three regard this as a celebration of life, and they dance.

Afterwards, mysterious things happen. Harris and his wife Allison (Clare Kramer) are frightened by unexpected visions and odd sounds. Then Kira is attacked by a demonic force. She is severely bitten and sexually assaulted, and her house is ransacked. Sid is plagued by unexpected fires. They enlist a pair of paranormal investigators, Vincent Cochet (Tchéky Karyo) and Frances Culpepper (Megahn Perry), who determine that the three friends inadvertently invoked a powerful curse by dancing on the graves. They are now being haunted by three wayward spirits—a passionate axe murderer, a child pyromaniac, and a serial killer and rapist—who will kill them at the next full moon.

As the full moon approaches, they return to the cemetery to disinter the remains of their tormenters, hoping to bury them anew and put the curse to rest. Not all of the critical parts make it back into the ground, however, and on the final night the three friends experience renewed attacks, more powerful and furious than any previously. They are trapped together with the investigators by the malevolent spirits. Sid is incinerated by his firebug ghost, and Kira is murdered and her body is possessed by the axe murderer who is pursuing Harris.

Under duress, Culpepper admits that she foiled the burial plan by hiding the skulls of the corpses, the better to gather hard evidence of ghostly activity. Culpepper is then killed with an axe to the chest. Harris takes the axe murderer's skull and tries to return it to its body to break the curse. He helps Allison escape the house through an attic window.

The spiritual force in the house coalesces into the form of a demonic head. Smashing through the walls and out of the house, it pursues the characters' fleeing vehicle. Barely eluding the head, Allison and Harris return the skull to its corpse, and the raging spirits disappear.

Later, Allison and Harris walk through the cemetery after the funerals of their friends. As they leave, the groundskeeper carefully places an ornate black envelope on one of the tombstones.

Twin teenage girls, Sam and Colleen, enter the mysterious Dark Ride. Sam, who is tough and competitive, gets annoyed at Colleen because she is anxious and scared. The killer kidnaps Sam and slices her stomach, then brutally kills Colleen.

Ten years later, Cathy (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) and Liz (Jennifer Tisdale) are getting ready for spring break. They decide to take a road trip along with three of their male friends, Bill (Patrick Renna), Steve (David Clayton Rogers), and Jim (Alex Solowitz). The friends embark together in Jim's van, and meet a hitchhiker named Jen (Andrea Bogart). While at a gas station, Bill wanders around trying to find the bathroom. When he rejoins the others, he claims to have found a pamphlet about the Dark Ride re-opening after many years of being closed. The group decides to make a detour to the amusement park and spend the night in the Dark Ride attraction. Once they arrive, Cathy decides to stay in the van while the others go into the ride. Unbeknownst to them, the killer, named Jonah (Dave Warden), has escaped from a mental hospital after killing two orderlies.

Liz, Steve, Jim, and Jen find a door inside. Jim switches on the power, which illuminates the lights and launches the ride, as well as its scary theatrical effects. The four then sit and smoke marijuana. Bill tells them about the two girls that were killed ten years earlier and reveals that they were his cousins. After some initial skepticism, the others eventually believe him. Jen and Steve wander into the hallway to fool around. Jen sees something and notices Cathy's fake corpse sitting in a chair with her throat slashed. The prank was meant to be pulled on Steve, who is livid due to the trauma. Cathy argues with him, and they both stop fighting when Bill breaks it up. Steve, angry about the prank, wanders off by himself.

The others are moving along when the power goes out. Jim goes to the basement to fix it, and Jen follows him down and starts fellating him. Jonah slides through a hidden entrance on the floor and cuts off Jen's head. Jim tries to run but hits his head on a pipe and knocks himself out. Meanwhile, Liz, Cathy, and Bill start trying to find their way out of the ride when they stumble upon Steve's mutilated corpse. Frightened, the girls run one way, and Bill goes another.

After Cathy finds Liz's body, a policeman arrives and tries to help her, but Jonah slashes his head in half with a machete. Cathy jumps out of an opening and gets into the van. Jonah attacks Jim with a hook, but Cathy drives the van into the building, impaling Jonah on a wall of spikes, killing him and causing her to pass out. Bill appears and reveals that he and Jonah are brothers and stabs Jim. Bill thanks Cathy, who runs out of the Dark Ride and falls to her knees as she hears sirens approaching. The film ends showing what appears to be Bill wearing Jonah's mask.

Vixen is the last human on the planet Granath, which is now ruled by a race of dinosaurs. Abandoned as a child and raised by magical foxes, she intends to follow through on a promise she made to her elders to wipe the dinosaurs out and restore the planet to humanity.

The story takes place aboard a battleship staffed by anthropomorphic cats (which strangely look more like dogs with their small ears), most of whom are singing "The Song of the Marines (Shovin' Right Off Again)" as a chorale group. Cut to Conrad, who talks and sings exactly like Colvig's characterization of the Walt Disney character "Goofy".

As Conrad swabs the deck, he is interrupted by Daffy when he spots the duck’s muddy footprints on the deck and Daffy on the mast, and he angrily mutters the song to himself. On the mast, Daffy paces back and forth, mocking Conrad's singing, then remarks to the audience, "Phew, is that guy awful? Gee, it makes me sick". Conrad tries to ignore Daffy and his pranks, growing more suspicious and annoyed at Daffy, who deliberately swaps Conrad's water bucket with a paint bucket, causing Conrad to paint the deck, to which Daffy comments "Very sloppy, Roscoe. You're a slovenly housekeeper". Conrad angrily throws the mop at Daffy, who then catches it, uses it in a short vaudeville routine before tossing the mop into the air, and shouts to Conrad "Catch! Catch!", only the mop lands on Conrad's head. The camera angle shows Daffy on top of the mop, again taunting to Conrad "Very petite, Betsy. Very, very petite" before sliding down the mop and an infuriated Conrad, twisting him and the mop. Conrad finally gets fed up with Daffy, and proceeds to chase him, but Daffy outsmarts him at every turn from hiding in a lifeboat and after Conrad mistakes him for a telescope, keeping watch for Daffy. A running gag in the picture is that all action screeches to a halt whenever the ship's diminutive Admiral scurries by, as both sailor and duck snap to attention and salute. The final gag involves Conrad and Daffy being chased by a shell from one of the ship's big guns. All three, including the shell, snap to attention as the Admiral walks by, before the chase continues as the cartoon ends with an iris out.

As a result of Casper being too friendly with a boy named Jimmy Bradley and failing to scare enough humans Kibosh: The King of the Underworld has Casper enrolled into a Scare School, to prevent him from being banished into the Valley of the Shadows, headed by the two-headed headmaster Alder and Dash. At Scare School he befriends Ra, a mummy with unraveling issues and Mantha, a zombie girl who keeps falling apart.

There they learn to keep the Balance between scaring "fleshies" too often or too little both of which, the staff believe, would cause them to rise up and dominate the creatures of the Underworld. His first three lessons result in Casper being given detention from the teachers. The school bully, a vampire, named Thatch and his cronies spy on Casper in an attempt to sabotage him.

Casper feels unable to cope with having to be scary so he decides to go to the Valley of the Shadows by himself believing the Balance would have to go without him. Upon his arrival Casper finds the Valley to be a colorful garden and he meets his great-aunt Spitzy, who the Ghostly Trio claimed were not allowed to talk about, and the other creatures who were banished there for refusing to scare humans.

Meanwhile, Alder and Dash plot to use a petrification potion to turn Kibosh into stone and take over the Underworld and Deedstown. They test the potion on the Ghostly Trio, who arrive to meet the headmaster(s) after Casper's disappearance, before inviting Kibosh. When Casper's friends discover this they go to the Valley of the Shadows to warn him. Upon their arrival they discover that they can leave the Valley although the residents believe they cannot and had never even tried to. Casper then goes to Deedstown with his friends to stop Alder and Dash in their plot.

The headmasters are convinced to stop by their "ancle" (aunt and uncle in one) Belle and Murray, from the Valley of the Shadows, and when everyone is returned to their original forms Kibosh allows the creatures to have a day in which they can be friends with "fleshies". Kibosh confides in Casper that he once had two human friends and shows him a photograph.

The Stooges are private detectives that are hired to track down a kidnapped girl name Mary Bopper (Norma Randall), daughter of George B. Bopper (Frank Mitchell). They decide to trace Bopper back to where she was last seen, which leads them to mad scientist Dr. Jeckyl (Philip Van Zandt) and his assistant, Mr. Hyde (Tom Kennedy). There is also a gorilla kept imprisoned in the house for experimental purposes. The Stooges arrive to rescue the kidnapped girl disguised as door-to door pie salesmen.

The Stooges are auto mechanics who need money in order to marry their sweethearts. While working in their auto garage, some escaped convicts pull in with a damaged fender. While the trio are working on the vehicle, they hear a news flash over the radio about some escaped convicts. They put the pieces together and realize that the baddies are right in their garage. The boys capture the crooks, collect the reward, and marry their sweethearts.

Moe, Larry and Joe are about to propose marriage to their sweethearts. But later, the boys discover that Joe's fiancee's ring has been stolen. The Stooges suspect it is Elmo, a muscular bully who works at their plant. The Stooges eventually come face to face with him in the company gym, but when they try to make him give the ring back by physical force, the plan backfires and Moe and Larry are knocked senseless. But Joe's girl (Maxine Gates) is tougher and knocks out Elmo. She retrieves the ring and she can now marry Joe.

Joe cannot stop thinking of his late sister, Bertie. Moe and Larry humour him by making him think that Bertie will meet them the following day downtown, in some form. When the boys trek downtown, they meet up with a horse that turns out to be Bertie reincarnated, much to Moe and Larry's surprise.

The boys are ecstatic, and try to persuade their horsie sister to return home with them. At first, she resists, but eventually gives in. No sooner do the boys get Bertie home that they discover she is pregnant. Joe goes berserk and demands Moe and Larry prepare for the arrival of the newborn. In the interim, Bertie's heavy hoofs can be clearly heard by the landlord Mr. Dinklespiel (Benny Rubin) and his daughter (Harriette Tarler) living downstairs. Dinklespiel marches upstairs and demands that the Stooges come clean, but Moe tries to convince him that the sounds are nothing more than the trio.

Once Dinklespiel leaves, Bertie gives birth to a baby colt. Joe is so taken by the moment, he happily declares "I'm an uncle, I'm an uncle!" Within seconds, Joe is awoken by Moe and Larry, who hear his cries of being an uncle. It turns out that the whole thing was a dream, and sister Bertie (Moe in drag) is alive and well and living with the Stooges. When Joe tells Bertie he had a dream that she was a horse, she takes offense, and promptly places a casserole on Joe's bald dome.

Larry is a womanizer who is having an affair with Moe's wife Belle (Mary Ainslee). At the same time, he is also making eyes at Joe's fiancee, Millie (Angela Stevens). However, Moe tracks down the conniving Larry at his pet shop, and gives him the works before Larry calms him down. Realizing he needs to cover his tracks, Larry looks for a "fall guy" in the form of Joe. Larry then gets Joe a job as an underwear salesman and the first place he goes is Moe's home.

While Joe is modeling his ware, Larry lies to Moe about Joe's advances on Millie. Both of them go storming over to Moe's, while Joe flees up the chimney. After making a quiet getaway, Joe bumps into Larry, and turns him in.

Joe explains to Moe how Larry had set him up. Millie reveals how Larry had tricked her into coming there. Moe tells her Larry had tricked him, too. Millie and Joe make up while an angry Moe punishes Larry.

Alexa Vere de Vere, a flashy con artist who captivates and takes advantage of the almost-famous, has a new target in mind: Evan Wyler, a young New York writer. Alexa meets with Evan, claiming to be a record producer and asking him if he will write a screenplay based on her glamorous life story; this will require him to follow her around and take notes. She promises him fame and fortune in return—the same things she has promised, but never given, to so many other hot young aspiring celebrities.

As Evan accompanies her, Alexa spends money in lavish and wasteful ways, eating and staying at the Royalton and buying new suits from Saks Fifth Avenue. At one point, Evan offers to pay for lunch, and she repays him with too much money. From then on, Evan uses his credit card to buy everything for Alexa; but while she promises to pay him back, she never does.

Evan is gay, but that does not stop Alexa from bringing passion and romance into the situation. On a ferry boat, a glimmer of romance begins and they end up sleeping together at the Royalton. Alexa then opens up about painful events in her life, giving Evan the last of the material he needs for the screenplay. They are scheduled to meet in LA to discuss the movie opportunities it involves when Evan Wyler is given notice that his credit card has been maxed out and Alexa has disappeared.

Evan plots revenge, with the help of other con victims. These include Morris Kaden, a record producer, Illya Mannon, a dancer, Ginny Cameron, an aspiring violinist, and Alexa's supposedly dead husband, Mike Stabinsky, who is actually alive and a painter living in New York. After they tell Evan who Alexa really is, they all plan to bombard Alexa at once to demand answers, using Ginny Cameron as a decoy to get her there. Unfortunately, Ginny gets nervous and blows the cover of the plan, so Alexa arrives at Evan's apartment to let him know the plan has been spoiled. She offers to bring him in on her schemes, but he refuses.

In the end, Alexa passes by a bookstore to see a cover using her common catchphrase, "As Bees in Honey Drown". She opens the cover to see Evan and the story of all the cons and schemes she has perpetrated in her life. The tricks she has played on the aspiring artists of New York are over because of the artistic writings of Evan Wyler.

Dexter rushes to find Debra, having discovered that her boyfriend Rudy is the Ice Truck Killer. Since the killer had always sent secret messages to Dexter, he searches his apartment for clues that Rudy could have left, finding a picture of the shipping container where his mother was killed. When Dexter is about to leave, Doakes and LaGuerta arrive, telling him that they think Rudy stabbed Batista. Doakes insists that Dexter knows something, and he reveals that the blood on Batista's collar matched Rudy's. After the pair leave, Dexter goes to search for the shipping container. At the station, LaGuerta orders a search for Rudy. Matthews walks in and introduces Esmee Pascal, the new lieutenant replacing her.

At the shipping yard, Dexter breaks into the container in the picture, only to find it full of bananas. Doakes appears and asks him what he is doing. After a fist fight between the two, a foreman arrives and orders them to leave. Doakes tells Dexter that he knows that he is up to something, and says that he will be watching him. Meanwhile, Rita is contacted by an imprisoned Paul, who contends that Dexter knocked him out and set him up. She is visited by Paul's Narcotics Anonymous sponsor, who attempts to convince her that Paul is telling the truth. In a final plea, Paul calls Rita and tells her to search their house for a shoe which he believes came off when Dexter knocked him out. Rita hangs up, but discovers the shoe while taking out the trash.

After finding a clue at Rudy's house, Dexter arrives at the house of his biological mother, Laura Moser. Flashbacks reveal that Rudy, whose real name is Brian Moser, is in fact Dexter's brother. He also witnessed the murder of their mother, but did not repress the memory; instead, he grew up in a mental institution and was treated for antisocial personality disorder. Dexter meets Brian in their childhood home, where he is keeping Debra. He intends to kill Debra with Dexter as a sort of "family reunion", but Dexter stops him. As Doakes and the police close in on the house, Brian escapes through a trap door and Dexter is left with Debra, appearing to have saved her.

Doakes tries to question Dexter about his involvement, but is stopped by an indignant Debra, who says that Dexter is a hero. Dexter accompanies her to the hospital before the two return to Dexter's apartment. In the middle of the night, Brian breaks in and attempts to stab Debra, only to find a prosthetic body in her place; Dexter then chokes him unconscious with a garrote. In the refrigeration unit in Brian's apartment, Dexter ties him to the killing table with plastic wrap. After an emotionally charged conversation, Dexter slices his brother's throat and leaves him upside down to drain, staging it as a suicide. Dexter and Debra arrive at a crime scene, and he imagines what it would be like if everyone knew and happily accepted the truth about him.

A theater producer (Healy) is trying to stage an elaborate musical revue. His efforts are constantly interrupted by demanding back stage personalities: a flaky musician (Henry Armetta), a woman who keeps try to ask him something (Bonnie Bonnell), and his raucous sons (the Stooges in children's costumes).

He is able to get the show ready for presentation, but during the main number, the Three Stooges slip beneath the enormous hoopskirt costume worn by the leading vocalist. They emerge on stage during the performance, ruining the show.

From the game's instructions:

After an incident on 61 Cygnus in 2197 when a rookie pilot selected the wrong gear when docking with the main central reactor and reduced half the planet to molten lava, Gal-Corp decided that a special training facility was needed to provide an elite corps of pilots for the advanced military skimmers used in colonisation and reconnaissance work. The Galcorp Academy for Advanced Skimmer Pilots (GASP) was founded in 2213 to meet this requirement. With an intake of over a hundred would be skimmer pilots a year, only a few meet the exacting requirement of flying and combat skills. In order to graduate from the Academy cadets must complete 20 missions, grouped in five levels of four, successfully.

A user-created skimmer

On Christmas morning in 1933, when Child Welfare Commissioner Harriet Doyle (replacing the original's Miss Hannigan as the villain of the piece) arrives on the scene to inform Daddy Warbucks he must marry within sixty days or else the child will be returned to the orphanage. Daddy Warbucks' whirlwind search for a fitting bride uncovers not only a plot by Doyle and her daughter Sheila Kelly to strip him of his fortune, but also his true feelings for his long-time assistant, Grace Farrell. A gaggle of cute little girls seeking parents and President Franklin D. Roosevelt return to take part in the shenanigans.

Sombat is a taxicab driver in Bangkok. A loner, only seeks companionship through the melodramatic soap operas and old-time Thai pop ballads on his favorite AM radio station. He's picky about the fares he takes, and those passengers he does pick up invariably complain about the "Golden Oldies" radio show he's listening to. For those few co-workers that actually notice him, he's a source of amusement, a luddite who doesn't even own a mobile phone.

He follows a routine that has him driving the cab by night and sleeping by day in his small apartment. He eats at the same food stall and orders the same meal each day. Sometimes he'll visit a ballroom where big band music is played and there is dancing, but he always sits by himself and sips a Coke. He also writes letters to his radio station, hoping one night he'll hear his letter read on air.

For part of his evenings at work, he parks his cab in a queue outside a massage parlor. One night he picks up four "masseuses" as they are getting off work. Three of them tease him for listening to the old radio station, but the fourth, Nual, sits quietly, which catches Sombat's attention. The next night, Nual rides with Sombat again. She becomes a regular fare and the pair begin a friendship.

The homely, middle-aged Sombat thinks he and the beautiful, young Nual are actually a lot alike. In one of his letters to the radio station, he writes about the relationship and points out that he takes people to their destinations, but he never gets anywhere himself. And Nual, in her job, takes men to their destinations, but never to where she needs to be. She's stuck there, working to send money home to her family in the rural provinces.

Nual is being pushed by her pimp to become the mistress for a gangster, but Sombat remains a loyal friend and continues to ferry her home each night. The story starts to take a strange turn when Sombat is held by the police for questioning, and he misses his appointment pick-up time with Nual. Sombat has a dark past that he's never let on about, and he grows distant from Nual, which pushes her closer to the gangster.

The story follows the unnamed protagonist and his irrational hatred of John Claverhouse, a man with a "moon-face". The protagonist clearly states that his hatred of him is irrational, saying: "Why do we not like him? Ah, we do not know why; we know only that we do not. We have taken a dislike, that is all. And so I with John Claverhouse." The protagonist becomes obsessed with Claverhouse, hating his face, his laugh, his entire life. The protagonist observes that Claverhouse engages in illegal fishing with dynamite and hatches a scheme to kill Claverhouse.

The protagonist teaches a dog, Bellona, to do one thing and one thing only, retrieval, with emphasis on water retrieving and taking the stick back to the thrower no matter where they were. Claverhouse is presented with Bellona before his upcoming trout fishing trip. The protagonist observes from a distance with glee as Claverhouse lights a stick of dynamite and throws it into the water. Bellona, trained to retrieve, fetches the explosive. Claverhouse runs from the dog in futility until "just as she caught up, he in full stride, and she leaping with nose at his knee, there was a sudden flash, a burst of smoke, a terrific detonation, and where man and dog had been the instant before there was naught to be seen but a big hole in the ground."

The death is ruled an accident while engaged in illegal fishing. The protagonist takes pride in killing Claverhouse with no mess or brutality and lives in peace.

It details the controversial actions and atrocities of the former dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin Dada, during his violent rise to power in 1971 until his overthrow in 1979 as the result of the Uganda–Tanzania War. ''Rise and Fall of Idi Amin'' was a co-production of the United Kingdom, Kenya, and Nigeria, with most of filming done in Kenya, less than a year after Amin's downfall.

The novel sees Devon's first county coroner, Sir John de Wolfe, investigating the sudden death of a wealthy guild-master and, although he is convinced the death has natural causes, the victim's widow is convinced that her husband has been done to death by an evil spell. Unsatisfied by Sir John's efforts, she embarks on a campaign to rid the region of its 'cunning women' leading to a hysteria (foreshadowing later witch-hunts, such as the European Inquisitions and the Salem witch trials) in which a number of women are persecuted and even executed.

When the Crowner's Welsh mistress Nesta is accused, Sir John is forced to step up his investigations to catch the culprits before she too faces the noose.

Johnny Orchard, a young boy, is jealous because his neighbors have bear pelts hanging on their barns, so he takes a rifle and goes hunting for the biggest bear in the valley. However, when he finds only a male bear cub, he befriends him by feeding him maple sugar and brings the bear home as a pet. As he grows, the bear becomes a nuisance to Johnny's family and the neighbors due to his enormous appetite. After the neighbors complain to his father, Johnny tries three times to return the bear to the woods. Each time the bear follows Johnny back home. Finally, Johnny and his father decide the only way to solve the problem is to shoot the bear. Johnny takes the bear far into the woods, but while loading his rifle, the bear runs off and into a live trap that has maple sugar in it. Men who had set the trap to capture animals for the zoo soon come. They take Johnny's bear to a zoo where Johnny can visit him anytime he wants to.

Vic Sotto plays a barangay tanod who always seems to have a knack for saving the local folks from dangerous situations, just in the nick of time. Cynthia Luster is Lt. Cynthia Wang, is a Royal Hong Kong Police on the look-out for Nikita, the infamous gang leader. Amparo Lagman (Gloria Sevilla), working as a domestic helper, becomes the unwitting target of the Nikita's gang when she comes into possession of some important documents and papers. Nikita follows her to the Philippines, along with Lt. Cynthia Wang who is in pursuit of Nikita.

A game of cat-and-mouse ensues as everyone gets swept up in a tale of international espionage with a dash of love and romance thrown into the crazy mix.

The story follows Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha and Jade, 4 very different teenage girls from different worlds who bond over the ups and downs of adolescent life at Lewis & Clark High School. The girls learn the value of real friend ship in spite of the social pressures of school, family and the expectation to be cool.

Young Catholic priest Arturo Carrera (Bogarde) sympathizes with the poor in the Spanish Civil War, but finds that his fellow priests have little concern for the poor because they support the Nationalist rebels. He resigns from the priesthood. Hours later, the city is bombarded, and he takes shelter with a mysterious, beautiful woman named Soledad (Gardner).

They part. As night falls, Loyalist speakers induce a mob to torch the church, and its ranking cleric moves to hide the Blood of St. John relic by giving his deputy the task of taking it to Franco's Nationalists. Both the deputy and Arturo become hunted men. Arturo seeks shelter in a local cabaret, where he again meets Soledad, who turns out to be a prostitute.

Soledad discovers that Arturo was a priest, but because she likes him, she tries unsuccessfully to hide him from the militiamen. Hawthorne, a habitué of the bar and a New York war correspondent (Joseph Cotten) with a platonic relationship with her, does his best to free Arturo.

Arturo tells the Loyalist intelligence chief he can make himself useful by comforting Catholic Loyalists who are wavering because of the treatment of the church.

Out of jail, but under surveillance, Arturo meets Soledad and the priest who has hidden the holy relic. The absence of the relic is causing unrest in the town and unsettling the local Loyalist militia, now suffering massive desertions because of the missing relic, which is fabled to provide victory to those who possess it. This makes it essential for the local Loyalists to secure it. But because of a well-meaning, disastrous attempt to feed the old priest in hiding, Soledad leads Loyalist security men to his hideout.

Despite torture, the old priest refuses to give up the relic's location, and he is to be shot at dawn. The security chief then has Arturo hear the condemned priest's confession. Learning of the relic's whereabouts, Arturo takes it, but claims not to know where it is. He is arrested and taken to see the torturing of Soledad, for whom he has declared his love.

Soledad is spared by the arrival of the commanding general, an old man who disapproves of torture and dirty tricks. He orders all 250 prisoners to be marched to the battle lines. They will be given arms to slow the Nationalist advance on the city and cover the Loyalists' retreat. On the march, Arturo gives Soledad the relic so she can try to take it to safety. However, in a surprise nighttime rebel attack, she is wounded. The prisoners change hands, but the Nationalist commander decides he cannot trust them or leave them behind; he orders that they be executed. Arturo pleads with the officer assigned to the task, but the man does not believe Arturo's story. Before the unfortunates have been shot, however, Soledad and the relic are found. She dies, but the prisoners are set free.

'''Prologue:''' The film, shot in Neapolitan dialect at the behest of the director, offers a variety of episodes from the stories in Giovanni Boccaccio's book, and are linked through a pupil of the painter Giotto (played by Pasolini himself) who arrives in Naples to paint a mural.

The credits roll while the song-play ''Zesa Viola o La Zita in cerca di un marito'' is played over top. The Neapolitan ballad is about a maid searching for a husband. The film begins with Ser Ciappelletto (who returns later in the film) committing a murder and hiding a dead body. The scene then transitions to the story of Andreuccio.

'''Andreuccio of Perugia:''' In the first episode (based on Second day, fifth tale), Andreuccio of Perugia has come to Naples to buy horses. A rich lady learns of this from one of her older servants and devises a trick to con him of his money. She invites him over to her home for supper under the pretext that they are long lost siblings. After supper they both retire to bed and Andreuccio gets into his nightshirt and puts his clothes and money on the bed. He then goes to use the restroom where he falls through a trap door and is dropped into a trough of excrement. The young man escapes and meets two thieves who are attempting a robbery at a nearby church to steal the jewels from the tomb of the Archbishop who died a few days earlier. Andreuccio is persuaded to participate and enters the tomb to steal the jewels. He finds the bishop's prized ring and keeps it for himself. He tells the others he couldn't find it and they know he is lying. They shut the door on him enclosing him in certain death. He screams out to no avail. Later, another group of robbers enter with the exact same plan of stealing the jewels from the tomb. Andreuccio hears this and lays in wait. The lead robber asks the other two to enter the tomb but they refuse. He calls them chicken and mocks them for being afraid. He tells them "dead men don't bite" when hearing this, Andreuccio pops up and bites the robber's leg. The three robbers run away in terror while Andreuccio jumps up out of the tomb afterward and prances away with his new ring.

'''Ciappelletto, the Thief:''' In Naples, an old man is reading to an interested crowd a bawdy story (based on Ninth day, second tale) in Neapolitan. In a convent, a nun is having a sexual affair with a male visitor. When the other nuns discover this they rush to snitch on her to the Mother Superior. The Mother Superior who was sleeping with a priest is awakened by knocking on her door in the middle of the night and quickly gets dressed. She accidentally puts his underpants on her head mistaking it for her veil and rushes out of the door. The Mother Superior begins scolding the nun but she points out the underpants and the nuns all realize the Mother Superior is guilty of the same sin. From that day forth, the nuns all get lovers.

While this story is being told, Ser Ciappelletto is picking pockets of men caught up in the story. He gives some money to a male child in exchange for sexual intercourse and the scene ends.

'''Masetto da Lamporecchio:''' In the second episode (based on Third day, First tale), a young man, Masetto da Lamporecchio, is encouraged by a gardener to seek work at a local convent filled with many beautiful women. The young man gets the idea to pretended to be deaf and dumb to get inside as the abbess doesn't want handsome young men in the convent but will take exception for a deaf mute who she sees as non-threatening. He gets the job and while tending the garden two nuns decide to use him for sex because he can not rat on them. The other sisters watch this and get the idea to join in. The sisters prove insatiable, and the young man finally breaks his silence to protest to the abbess that he cannot keep up with their demands. The abbess declares his sudden ability to speak a miracle from God, but this is merely an excuse to keep the young man at the convent.

'''Peronella:''' In the third episode (based on Seventh day, second tale), the commoner Peronella makes a cuckold of her dimwitted husband Giannello. While she is having sex with her lover, Giannello unexpectedly comes home. Hearing the husband knocking, the other man hides in a large pot. Peronella opens the door and yells at Giannello for coming home so early from work. Giannello explains that it is the feast day of San Galeone so there was no work to be had. Instead he found a new buyer for the large pot they own (in which the lover is hiding still unbeknown to Giannello). Peronella devises a scheme to explain her lover in the pot and tells Giannello that she already has a buyer and that he is inspecting the pot. She tells him she sold it for seven denarii which is more than Giannello had sold it to his buyer. The husband accepts this and tells his buyer to leave as the pot is already sold. Giannello goes to the pot room where the hidden lover pops out and yells at him that the inside of the pot is dirty. The wife tells the husband to clean it before selling it. Giannello enters the pot and while he is inside the pot, his wife and her lover loudly and passionately have intercourse next to it. The wife points around at different spots of the jar and tells her husband to scrape them all good until he finds the "right spot". Her orders to clean the jar are the same as the directions for her lover to penetrate her. The husband however remains oblivious to this and laughs to himself.

'''Ser Ciappelletto of Prato:''' In the fourth episode (based on First day, first tale), which begins in Prato, Ser Ciappelletto, a Neapolitan merchant, is sent to make a deal in Germany by his employer. For most of his life, he had devoted his soul to sin, seduction and profit, disregarding all moral and ethical values. He has committed blasphemy, forgery, murder, rape and is a homosexual. His employer wishes to send him to Germany where nobody knows of his vile ways. There he will meet up with two fellow Neapolitans who are usurers. That night, Ciappelletto has an ominous dream that he is being paraded around while wrapped in a burial shroud while around him friars and monks play volleyball with human skulls. He reaches Germany where he meets up with the two men. They happily sing the Neapolitan song ''Fenesta ca Lucive'' together and drink wine but Ciappelletto falls down in a faint. God has punished him with a serious illness that forces him to his death bed. The two men are outraged because if they turn him out they will be seen as bad hosts but if his crimes are revealed in confession they will certainly draw negative attention. Ciappelletto devises a plan to confess and calls a monk to tell him several lies and half-truths that make him seem very pure, while pretending to cringe over venial sins. He tells the monk that he has never slept with a woman (leaving out that he is homosexual) which the monk sees as a very holy and righteous act as he is very handsome. He recalls to the monk that he once cursed his mother for spilling milk and has been tormented by that memory ever since. He also says he is ashamed of spitting in church once. The monk is amazed because he believes Ciappelleto is the most holy man he has ever given confession to. Ciappelleto dies and due to these lies, the people consider him a holy man. After his death, Ciappelletto is revered as a saint. The monk delivers a eulogy to "Saint Ciappelletto" and urges everyone in attendance to take heed and remember his holy actions. He says they should all aim to live as he did. After the eulogy, many poor, disabled and sick people enter the room where Saint Ciappelletto is kept and touch his body in praise. The two Neapolitans look at each other in amazement that his plan worked.

'''Giotto's Pupil:''' In a brief intermission (based on Sixth day, fifth tale), a pupil of the great painter Giotto is on his way to paint the Basilica of Santa Chiara with his companion Messer Forese da Rabatta. The cart he is in is stopped by the rain and they take cover with a toothless farmer nearby named Gennari who gives the passengers clothes. The pupil of Giotto and da Rabatta arrive at the church while dressed in these tattered outfits. The two begin painting the basilica's walls after watching passersby in a market for visual inspiration. He spots some market-goers who will serve as the actors in the next segment about Caterina and Ricciardo. The other stories of the film continue afterwards.

'''Caterina di Valbona and Riccardo:''' In the fifth episode (based on Fifth day, fourth tale), a young woman from Valbona (a town near Naples) named Caterina has fallen in love with a young boy named Ricciardo while playing hide and seek. She is afraid of telling her father as she believes he may be angered. She devises a ruse where she will stay with her lover overnight on a terrace to make love without her parents' knowledge. She tells her mother that the inside of the house is much too warm for her and that she wants to stay outside so she may hear the nightingale sing in the morning. Her parents set up a makeshift bed for her outside where she awaits for Ricciardo. He scales the wall of her house and makes love to her in the makeshift bed. The next morning the girl's father goes outside to find the two lovers sleeping naked, while she is holding his genitals. He runs inside to get his wife telling her that their daughter "caught the nightingale in her hands!" The mother rushes outside to see what the commotion is about and is about to scream when she sees the naked pair. The father covers her mouth and explains that the boy is a good match, as his marriage would earn a significant amount of money through dowry and it would improve their social standing. The father wakes the pair up and tells Ricciardo that the only way he will leave the house alive is if he marries his daughter. Ricciardo agrees and everyone is happy. The father gives Ricciardo a ring and Caterina is married to him right there.

'''Elizabeth of Messina and Lorenzo the Sicilian:''' In the sixth episode (based on Fourth day, Fifth tale), set in Messina, a girl, Elizabeth, attractive and possessing great wealth, falls in love with Lorenzo, a young Sicilian employee of her brothers. However, her brothers discover their love and become furious. They invite Lorenzo to their private garden under the pretenses of having lunch but then stab him in the back with a dagger in order to save their family's honour. They bury Lorenzo's body in the garden. They return to Elizabeth and say that Lorenzo is away on business. Elizabeth spends nights crying over him after which his ghost appears to her in a dream and tells her that he was killed and buried in the family's garden. The next day, Elizabeth asks for permission to go the garden and the brothers give it to her, not suspecting her to know that Lorenzo was killed and buried there. Elizabeth goes to the garden and when she finds the body, she cuts off Lorenzo's head and brings it back to her bedroom. She hides it inside a pot of basil, which she tends to every day.

'''Gemmata:''' In the seventh episode (based on Ninth day, tenth tale), the commoner Pietro and his wife Gemmata have a guest named Don Gianni who is staying with them. Their neighbor Zita is getting married, which means Gemmata can't stay with her, so all three must share the same house. Gemmata and Pietro sleep in the bedroom and Don Gianni is in the stable. Don Gianni, using his cunning, tells Pietro and Gemmata that Gemmata can be turned into horse and then back into a human, so she can be used to sow the fields of her husband's farm. Don Gianni can make this happen only with a special spell. The spell is a ruse: the doctor has imagined a ritual to enable him to have sex with the woman, in full view of her husband. Don Gianni strips Gemmata naked in front of Pietro and grabs her breasts, hair, back and bottom, and describes how each part will appear when she is a mare. At the last part he is about to stick his penis into her and calls it her "tail". Pietro screams that he doesn't want a tail. Don Gianni turns around and tells Pietro that his screaming ruined it so now she can't turn into a horse.

'''Heaven and Hell:''' The eighth episode (based on Seventh day, tenth tale) involves two characters from Naples named Meuccio and Tingoccio who agree to tell each other about Heaven or Hell when they die. After a time, Tingoccio dies. Meuccio is afraid for his soul because he had sex out of wedlock with his girlfriend so many times. One night he has a dream in which his friend tells him that he is in Limbo, and though the angels knew of all his sins they do not consider sex a mortal sin as they had believed. Meuccio runs through the streets to his girlfriend and screams to her "it is not a sin!"

'''Epilogue:''' The final scene returns to the pupil of the painter Giotto, who has completed his fresco, which illustrates episodes of the film. In the final scene, he marvels over his work and says to himself "Why complete a work when it is so much better just to dream it?"

The Goodies tell of the time when their ancestors were young men, and how their ancestors met for the first time.

Graeme's family were Highlanders who lived in bleak conditions in Scotland, where initiation of the young men of the village included being dunked in porridge and catching a wild haggis. Bill's West Country family sold fruit. Tim, whose ancestors were also English, concludes that they were noble, because the family had its own Coat-of-Arms; Bill reinterprets the Coat of Arms and shows Tim that his ancestors were in fact sheep stealers. None of the Goodies ancestors knew each other at this time.

Then, a bus went around the United Kingdom, taking up all of the young men of the villages — first of all Graeme's ancestor 'Keltic Kilty' was rounded up, with all of the other young men from his village — then Bill's ancestor 'Kinda Kinky' was rounded up, with all of the other young men from his village — and, finally, Tim's ancestor 'Kounty Kutie' was rounded up, with all the other young men in the same sheep 'trade'.

All of the young men who had been captured were then put up for auction as entertainers, and eventually everyone had been bought — apart from 'Kounty Kutie', 'Keltic Kilty' and 'Kinda Kinky', who were forced to work together as entertainers, including on "''The Black and White Minstrel Show''". They rebel against being Minstrels, leading to hijinks as they are chased around the BBC. The network is so impressed they give the trio their own series.

After seeing a redneck comedy show, Peter purchases a pickup truck and decides to become a redneck himself. He does such "typical" redneck things as bringing the couch out onto the lawn, propositioning Meg, and chewing tobacco. Peter paints a large patriotic and anti-abortion message on the back window of his pickup, which obscures his view and causes him to reverse into Quagmire's car, destroying it. As a result, Peter has to drive Quagmire to the airport, where he is due to fly an airplane from Quahog to Atlanta. While at the airport, Peter steals the fuel used for Quagmire's airplane, believing it will make his pickup fly. As a result, Quagmire's plane runs out of fuel part way into the flight and crashes. Quagmire loses his job and after draining his life savings within a few weeks is forced to live with the Griffins until he can find another job.

Annoyed by Quagmire's behavior in the house, Peter's wife Lois tells him to help Quagmire get a job. Unfortunately Quagmire keeps messing up every job they find, complaining the only thing he can do well is fly a plane. Peter, Quagmire, Joe and Cleveland make up a plan to get Quagmire to get his job back: whilst Quagmire is a passenger on a flight, the others will impersonate cabin crew to get onto the flight, then drug the pilots so Quagmire will have to step in and safely land the plane. Shortly after take off, Peter, Joe and Cleveland drug the pilots and then calls for help, only for them to find Quagmire is not on board because while in the airport, Quagmire got distracted by having sex with the woman at the check-in desk, causing him to miss the flight. As none of them can fly the plane, it goes into freefall. Quagmire is deeply disappointed with himself, and goes to the bar, where ''Playboy'' founder Hugh Hefner meets him. Hefner tells Quagmire that the late pornographic actor John Holmes believed that Quagmire was the greatest pilot of all time. Feeling reinvigorated, he goes off to the air traffic control tower and, via radio, gives Peter detailed instructions on how to land the plane safely, which are successful although Peter is briefly imprisoned afterwards for hijacking the flight and raped while in prison. As a reward for his work, Quagmire's job is reinstated.

Peter, Cleveland, Joe and Quagmire are at the Drunken Clam, when Lois, Bernice (Cleveland's first girlfriend since his divorce with Loretta) and Bonnie show up at the bar, Peter and his friends get annoyed. Therefore, Peter suggests that they should build their own bar called "The Quahog Men's Club", which is designated for men only. It takes six weeks and $8,000 for them to build it. After building it, Lois wants Peter to get rid of it.

Many people start to show up at the Quahog's Men's Club and Lois and her friends start to get annoyed. In order to get back at them, they enter the club. Everyone dances, except for Bonnie, because her husband is handicapped. Joe feels self-conscious about his disability, and decides to get surgery so that he will be able to walk again. When Joe comes out of the operation, he invites his friends to go do physical activities such as rock climbing, karate, and dance. However, Joe soon feels that the other three are holding him back, and leaves them for three new friends (named Parker, Quentin and Portland). Lois and Peter are worried about Joe, and Lois suggests that Peter should find a new friend to replace him. Meanwhile, Joe realizes that he has outgrown Bonnie and leaves her. Desperate to get their friend back, Peter, Cleveland and Quagmire try to re-cripple Joe, failing miserably until Bonnie comes along with Joe's handgun and shoots (and misses) Joe's spine. Sick of waiting in pain, Joe takes the gun and shoots himself in the spine, re-crippling himself. They all then go to the Drunken Clam where Joe apologizes to Peter, Cleveland and Quagmire for how he acted and they all forgive him.

Sixteen-year-old Keisuke Saji loves to fantasize about young beautiful women. He hopes to land the object of his affection, Akira Koizumi. Koizumi is a classic tsundere, switching between violence towards Saji and affection. While most guys take Koizumi's cold shoulder as a hint, Saji pursues head-on without having rejection faze him.

Long ago, the seas were ruled by treasure-seeking pirates. The most famous of these was the legendary Captain Maverick, who supposedly left a great treasure known as "Marvelous", guarded by unsolvable puzzles and bizarre creatures. Countless adventurers have gone looking for the "Marvelous", but none have seen it and returned alive. Many years later, a group of children on a field trip landed on the island, which was rumored to house the "Marvelous".

Main characters

'''Dion''' (ディオン) (in red and brown; age 12) – He is short but spirited. He is a fast runner and a good pitcher. His small size allows him to get into places where the other two boys will not fit. Putting him at the head of the team will make them walk faster.

'''Max''' (マックス) (in green; age 12) – He is the largest and strongest of the three. He likes to eat, but also likes to play soccer and swim. He is also a good boxer. He also can lift up heavy objects.

'''Jack''' (ジャック) (in blue and red; age 12) – He is the smartest of the three. He is good with his hands. He likes to build things and work with machines. He is a good jumper. He is taller than the others, which comes in handy if the player needs to get to something high.

'''Ms. Gina''' (ジーナ先生) – She is the teacher of the three boys. She gave the boys a ''Leader Hat'', which looks like a cowboy hat, but it helps them know who leads the group. She also gave them a ''Whistle'', which allows the leader to call and bring the other two boys back to him.

The story is set in a future world where giant mechanical robots have landed on the Earth. They are being fought by the military (led by General Werner). Most of the common people, however, do not know where they came from or what they are.

Trixi Asha and Khal Kekoa are two orphans who decide to escape from an army-controlled city. Trixi wants to find her brother Griffin, who was conscripted into the army long ago. They narrowly manage to escape the city, pursued by both the army and a mysterious figure called Mr. Tinker with his "goonbots". After some hiking through the forest, they come to a highway, where they get a lift from a truck-driver named Dale to a town called Westlake (the last place from where Trixi received a letter from her brother). On the way, they are ambushed by bandits and lose Dale, and are forced to continue to Westlake alone.

Upon arriving, they find a decimated town with destroyed buildings and a populace which initially only wants them to leave. Eventually, they are given food and shelter but are betrayed at night by one of the townspeople to Mr. Tinker. Another of the townspeople helps them escape, and shows them to a secret entrance to a nearby army base (Trixi wants to search for records of where her brother may have gone). Trixi and Khal sneak into the base and find that the information on Griffin's whereabouts is encrypted. Meanwhile, Mr. Tinker approaches the army base to tell them that their security has been breached. Before Khal can crack the encryption, the alarm goes off. The two orphans grab the hard drive from the computer and manage to narrowly escape.

(to be continued)

The film focuses on the trial of George Smith and flashbacks showing how he met each of his wives. Smith is married to his wife Edith. He often goes away on the pretext of business. Whilst he is away he meets wealthy women, marries them within a few weeks, insures their lives and then drowns them in the bath. He returns with the insurance money (sometimes he brings the latest victims' possessions to Edith as gifts). He is eventually arrested and ultimately hanged for his crimes. At the trial it is revealed that his marriage to Edith is bigamous; in total he had eight wives, most of which he left after stealing all of their possessions.

James Penfield is an ambitious London-based BBC radio reporter, from humble origins but Oxford-educated. He is commissioned to write a book on the Suez Crisis, claiming not to be a socialist; at that time, the 1982 Falklands War is dominating the British media.

He is attracted to Susan Barrington, an upper class, rather snobbish TV journalist, to whom he is introduced by his Oxford friend and fellow TV journalist, Jeremy Hancock. Although he is persistent, he cannot get further than a late night kiss from her and so Jeremy suggests that he contact her mother, prominent left-wing historian Ann Barrington, who lives in Norfolk and is married to advertising film director Matthew Fox. It transpires that Ann wrote an article on the Suez Crisis on its tenth anniversary and James wants to seduce the daughter by befriending the mother.

Claiming to be a socialist, James soon finds himself spending more time with the mother than her daughter; they have several long discussions and also take long walks on the Norfolk Broads. Meanwhile, his mother is dying and, having earlier said to Susan that his parents are dead in order to disguise his origins, he is forced to identify her only as a relative when his father contacts him while he is with Ann. Returning to London, he is forced to ask for help from members of a women's peace camp after suffering a puncture. Initially mistaken for another BBC man, he shows some feigned sympathy towards the group protesting against the use of force outside a Norfolk airbase. Visiting Norfolk again a week later with an uninterested Susan, James walks alone with Ann Barrington who kisses him and later enters his bedroom and has sex with him.

Caught up in this love triangle, James returns to his work in London. Over a beer and pub ploughman's lunch with Matthew Fox, Fox consents to James making love to his wife, given that they have slept in separate beds for the last three years. James refuses to take calls from the mother when she attempts to contact him at the BBC. He finally gets another Oxford friend and up and coming young poet to make a call to her ending the relationship, while he sits idly by reading advertisements in ''Exchange and Mart''.

James, Jeremy and Susan cover the 1982 Conservative Party Conference and travel down to Brighton together in James' Jaguar. It is at the start of the conference that James first starts to get an inkling of something going on between the other two and directly asks Jeremy if he is up to something. Later, during the conference, he attempts to talk to Susan but she brushes him off and he then sees them caressing each other, having obviously returned from a hotel room. The Conference finishes with Thatcher's closing address as she rouses popular support following the Falklands War and afterwards James confronts his friend in the Brighton Centre conference hall, rebuking him for having betrayed him; he in turn is told by Jeremy that he has known Susan for fifteen years and that they are 'old allies'.

The film ends with James having a conversation with his publisher about the success of his first book. The closing scene is of James attending his mother's funeral, standing grim-faced and aloof at his father's side, as he impatiently checks his watch.

''Hinilawod'' recounts the story of the exploits of three Suludnon demigod brothers: Labaw Donggon, Humadapnon and Dumalapdap of ancient Panay.

Alunsina and Datu Paubari

Kaptan, king of the Gods, decreed that the beautiful Alunsina (also called Laun Sina, "Unmarried One") be wed upon reaching maidenhood. Though all the unmarried gods from every corner of the universe tried to win her hand in marriage, she chose to marry the mortal Datu Paubari, ruler of the Halawod.

Angered by this decision, Alunsina's spurned suitors conspired to harm the newlywed couple. Maklium-sa-t'wan, God of the Plains, called a council of the gods. The deities decided to destroy the Halawod by flood.

Fortunately for Alunsina and her husband, her sister Suklang Malayon (Goddess and Guardian of Happy Homes) discovered the evil plot and warned them of it. Before the flood, the couple sought refuge on higher ground and escaped the gods' wrath undetected. They returned to the plains and settled near the mouth of the Halawod after the floods subsided and lived in secrecy.

After several months, Alunsina was pregnant with triplets. The couple were ecstatic, and Datu Paubari prepared the things needed for childbirth including the ''siklot''. When the triplets were born, the couple named them Labaw Dongon, Humadapnon, and Dumalapdap.

Immediately after birthing her sons, Alunsina summoned the high priest Bungot-Banwa to perform rites on Mount Madya-as to ensure good health for the triplets. Bungot-Banwa burned some ''alanghiran'' fronds along with a pinch of ''kamangyan'' (incense) on an altar that he had built. He opened the windows of the north side of the room after the ceremony, and in came a cold wind that transformed the infants into strong, mighty, and handsome young men.

The adventures of Labaw Donggon

When he reached adulthood, Labaw Donggon, the eldest of the triplets, decided to go on a quest to find himself a wife. He heard of the beauty of Anggoy Ginbitinan of Handug and wanted her for a wife. He asked his mother to prepare the things he will need for the journey—a magic cape, hat, belt, and ''kampilan'' (a large, two-handed sword).

The journey to Handug took several days through plains, valleys, and mountains. When Labaw Donggon finally arrived, he asked for an audience with Anggoy Ginbitinan's mother and asked for her hand in marriage. The marriage was finalized when Labaw Donggon's parents met and discussed with Anggoy Ginbitinan's parents. Using his ''pamlang'' (magical charm), Labaw Donggon effortlessly conjured a giant house with ten rooftops and a hundred doors.

After their wedding, Labaw Donggon and his new bride started on their journey back to his lands. Upon reaching home, Labaw Donggon asked his mother to care for his new wife and announced his intent on another quest, this time to the ''Rugal sa Idalom'' (the netherworld) and vie for the hand of the beautiful Anggoy Doronoon.

Labaw Donggon won the hand of the Anggoy Doronoon with little difficulty, and also took her home to his mother. Thereafter, the demigod went on third quest to the Eastern Sky. This time the object of his desire is Malitong Yawa Sinagmaling Diwata, the young bride of Saragnayan, the Lord of Darkness.

Aboard his ''biday nga inagta'' (black boat), Labaw Donggon sailed across many seas and flew across the region of the clouds and the Land of Stones before he found himself at the shores of the Eastern Sky and the fortress of Saragnayan. Upon setting foot on the shore, Saragnayan asked who he was and what was his business. When Labaw Donggon expressed his desire to have Saragnayan's young wife Malitong Yawa Sinagmaling Diwata, the Lord of Darkness laughed and told him it was impossible. The young demigod then challenged Saragnayan to a duel.

The duel lasted for years. Labaw Donggon held Saragnayan's head underwater for seven years but Saragnayan survived. Labaw Donggon then tied Saragnayan to the top of a rock and beat him hard with a coconut trunk, but this proved futile. Labaw Donggon then hurled Saragnayan upwards towards the sky, yet failed to kill him. The two fought for many years until finally, Labaw Donggon weakened. Saragnayan imprisoned the exhausted demigod under his pig pen.

Meanwhile, Labaw Donggon's two wives each gave birth to a son. Anggoy Ginbitinan called her child Aso Mangga, while Anggoy Doronoon called her son Buyung Baranugon. Both sons went in search of their father a few days after they were born. They arrived in the Eastern Sky and asked Saragnayan to free their father. Saragnayan instead summoned a host of minions from the underworld to defeat the youths. Wielding bows, Aso Mangga and Buyung Baranugon shot poisoned arrows, that dealt seven wounds with a single shot, slaying the rest until only Saragnayan remained.

Saragnayan wrestled with Buyung Baranugon, but the Lord of Darkness was no match for him. However, Saragnayan could still not die. Buyung Baranugon sought aid from his grandmother, Alunsina, and learned that Saragnayan's life was housed in the body of a boar in a place called ''Paling Bukid''. The sons then killed the boar and ate its heart, rendering Saragnayan mortal.

Sensing that death was near, Saragnayan bade a sorrowful farewell to his wife. Buyung Baranugon finally killed Saragnayan by jabbing poisoned arrows into both of Saragnayan's eyes. After the victory, Buyung Baranugon and Aso Mangga failed to find their father, who hid under a fishnet out of fear during the battle. Believing their father to have returned home before them, the brothers sailed home only to realize that Labaw Donggon was still missing.

Humadapnon and Dumalapdap then searched for their missing brother, finding Labaw Donggon under the fishnet in a deranged state. Labaw Donggon's brothers returned him home to his wives. Anggoy Ginbitinan and Anggoy Doronoon cured Labaw Donggon from his madness and his former strength returned to him.

The adventures of Humadapnon

Meanwhile, the defeat of Labaw Donggon at the hands of Saragnayan and his subsequent imprisonment angered his brothers Humadapnon and Dumalapdap. Humadapnon swore by the gods of Madya-as that he would seek revenge on all of Saragnayan's kinsmen and followers. He then embarked on a journey to the Eastern Sky, taking with him Buyong Matanayon of Mount Matiula, a man known for his exceptional swordsmanship. Together, they travelled the same path that Labaw Donggon had taken.

After seven months in Tarambang Buriraw, Buyong Matanayon recalled that they brought some ginger with them. He thought of a plan to break Piganun's spell over his friend. One evening over dinner, Buyong Matanayon threw seven slices of ginger into the fire. Upon smelling the burning ginger, Piganun fled the room. Buyong Matanayon then struck Humadapnon in the head, rendering the latter unconscious. He then dragged his body away from the place and managed to escape.

Humadapnon rose to the challenge and took off his magic cape. He then used it to lift the huge boulder off the center of the village and hurled it back towards the mountain. Datu Umbaw Pinaumbaw honored his word and gave his daughter's hand in marriage to Humadapnon. The two were married and a big feast was held. During the banquet, a guest minstrel sang and extolled the beauty of Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan, Goddess of Wealth and Greed. Enchanted by the story, Humadapnon started on a quest to seek the goddess' hand in marriage.

He met Buyong Makabagting, son of the Datu Balahidyong of Paling Bukid, who was also vying for the hand of Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan. The two duelled and Humadapnon emerged victorious, the defeated Buyong Makabagting helping the former in his quest. Humadapnon eventually married Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan and brought her home to his mother.

Below are verses from the first two stanzas of the second part of ''Sugidanun I'' (First Narration) of the Sulodnon epic '''''Hinilawod: Adventures of Humadapnon''''' chanted by ''Hugan-an'' and recorded by Dr. F. Landa Jocano. The epic is in the original Sulodnon language.[https://sirmykel.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/hinilawod-tarangban-i-pages-1-to-88.pdf ''Hinilawod: Adventures of Humadapnon'', chanted by ''Hugan-an'' and recorded by Dr. F. Landa Jocano, Metro Manila: 2000, Punlad Research House], , 9789716220100.

'''Sugidanun I: Pangayaw''' *'''2. Himos''' :''Yabon-yabon pay tun-og'' :''Alimbu pa duyamig'' :''Nagparibung domdom'' :''Hangop abi sa domdom.'' :''Ni Buyong Humadapnon:'' :''"Ti, Taghuy, ku magsalakay'' :''Abi ako magmamkaw'' :''Ku magliali ako sa lawdon'' :''Maglibot sa layagon'' :''Bungayong ako sa sarakyan'' :''Waay ako't panimbang,'' :''Waay it panibin-sibin."''

:''Mahinay tumindug'' :''Mahinay tumimbayug'' :'' 'I ginuong harangdon.'' :''Kambay dato agtunan'' :''Lubayon kamasuswon'' :''Uwa si Labing Anyag'' :''Sanglit may babaylan'' :''Sanglit hay singday.''

*'''English translation by Dr. F. Landa Jocano''' :''The dew was still fresh'' :''The morning breeze was cold'' :''There he sat wondering'' :''Till and idea came to his mind.'' :''Said Buying Humadapnon:'' :''"Well, Taghuy, were I to travel'' :''Supposing I do embark'' :''If I scour and cross the seas'' :''Travel around, spread my sails'' :''I would be alone in my vessel'' :''I have no assistant'' :''I have no companion."''

:''And slowly he stood'' :''Meditating he took to his feet'' :''The respected master.'' :''He went and approached'' :''His younger sister'' :''Uwa Labing Anyag'' :''Because she was a babaylan.'' :''An skilled in charms.''

The adventures of Dumalapdap

Shortly after Humadapnon left their home to seek revenge on Saragnayan's family and followers, Dumalapdap embarked on a quest of his own. He decided go to Burutlakan-ka-adlaw and marry the maiden Lubay-Lubyok Hanginun si Mahuyokhuyokon. With him was Dumasig, the most powerful wrestler in Madya-as.

After several months of traveling, the two warriors came face to face with a two-headed monster called Balanakon. The monster guarded the ridge that led to the place where the maiden lived. They managed to kill the monster but were confronted with another kind of monster when they reached the gate of the palace where the maiden lived. Called Uyutang, the monster was similar to a bat with sharp, poisonous claws.

Dumalapdap fought with the Uyutang for seven months. He was able to defeat the monster when he grabbed its ankle and broke it. Then he took his ''twang daniwan'' (magic dagger) and struck Uyutang under the armpit. The monster howled in pain, causing an earthquake that broke the ridge they were fighting in into two. Half of the ridge became an island that is known today as Negros, while the other half became Panay.

With the monster Uyutang dead, Lubay-Lubyok Hanginun si Mahuyokhuyokan was free to marry Dumalapdap. He brought her home and was reunited with his family. Datu Paubari celebrated the return of his three sons with a very big feast. His sons left for different parts of the world after the feast. Labaw Donggon ventured north, Humadapnon went south, and Dumalapdap embarked to the west. Datu Parubari was left to rule in the east.

The quest of Humadapnon continues

Humdapnon was visited by his spirit friends Taghoy and Duwindi in his dream and told him of lovely maiden who lived in a village by the mouth of the Halawod River. The demigod left his dominion to look for the maiden named Nagmalitong Yawa. He brought with him a boatful of crew.

Humadapnon and his men safely traversed a blood-coloured sea with the help of his spirit friends. They landed on an island that was inhabited by beautiful women and headed by the sorceress, Ginmayunan. For seven years, Humadapnon and his crew were imprisoned in the island until Nagmalitong Yawa helped them escape by disguising as a boy. Humadapnon and Nagmalitong Yawa were married soon after in Halawod.

During the wedding feast, Humadapnon's brother, Dumalapdap fell in love with Huyung Adlaw and asked his brother to help him talk to the parents of the maiden. Humadapnon left his new wife and accompanied his brother to the Upperworld where Huyung Adlaw lived.

It took the brothers seven years to come back from their journey to the Upperworld. They arrived just in time for the ceremony that will have Nagmalitong Yawa married to Buyung Sumagulung, an island fortress ruler, in a ceremony. The brothers were enraged and killed all the guests and the groom. Humadapnon also stabbed his wife because the treachery only to feel remorse later on. He asked his spirit friends and found out that his wife only agreed to marry Buyung Sumagulung because her mother, Matan-ayon, convinced her that Humadapnon is not coming back.

Upon learning of this, Humadapnon asked his sister, Labing Anyag, to use her powers to bring Nagmalitong Yawa back to life. Seeing how remorseful he is, Labing Anyag agreed. However, Nagmalitong Yawa was so ashamed of agreeing to marry Buyung Sumagulung that she ran away to the underworld and sought the protection of her uncle Panlinugun, who is lord of the earthquake.

Humadapnon had to kill an eight-headed serpent in his pursuit of Nagmalitong Yawa. Then he had to duel with a young man who spirited his wife away. The duel ended when Alunsina intervened and revealed that the young man is also her son, Amarotha. This son died during childbirth and was brought back from the dead to keep Alunsina company. Alunsina decided that both Humadapnon and Amarotha deserved a piece of Nagmalitong Yawa so she cut the girl in half and gave a piece each to her sons. Each half turned into a whole live person. Humadapnon brought his wife back to Panay.

In the old west, The Three Stooges are peddlers, traveling by covered wagon. George O'Brien, formerly a federal marshal, is now active in the new field of property insurance. O'Brien enlists the Stooges to help him outwit a gang of desperadoes, led by saloon owner Taggart (Lyle Talbot), who are robbing valuable gold-mine shipments.

In Paris, Madeleine de Beaupre (Marlene Dietrich) cons jeweler Aristide Duvalle (Ernest Cossart) and psychiatrist Maurice Pauquet (Alan Mowbray) by telling each man that she is married to the other. Duvalle delivers a string of pearls worth millions of francs to Pauquet's office, expecting to be paid, but Pauquet thinks he is a new patient who has delusions of needing to collect debts. Madeleine is there to introduce them to each other, and departs with the pearls before they figure out what she has done.

While driving to the Spanish border, Madeleine splashes mud onto Tom Bradley (Gary Cooper), an American automotive engineer vacationing in Europe. Then as they approach the border, her car's horn control sticks "on", to the annoyance of the customs officers. Tom fixes it and they go into the office together. Luggage and purses are being inspected, so she decides to hide the pearls in his jacket pocket. On the road, she pulls ahead of Tom, then disables her own car so that he will have to give her a lift.

But he has changed jackets. She says she is going to San Sebastián, and he offers to drive her there. En route she seizes an opportunity to steal his car, leaving him standing in the road—along with the suitcase his other jacket is in. She then crashes the car while evading police.

They make their way separately to San Sebastián. There "Countess" de Beaupre meets her accomplice, supposedly her uncle, "Prince" Carlos Margoli (John Halliday). Tom locates Madeleine with the help of a policeman (Akim Tamiroff), who cannot imagine that a charming countess would steal a car and does not even stay to see if Tom identifies her as the thief.

As it seems that Tom still has the pearls but does not know it, Carlos quickly offers to pay for the car, and Madeleine pretends to be attracted to him. They all become friendly and go together to stay at Carlos's villa. There, when Tom wears his other jacket, Carlos gets the pearls from him using another trick.

Carlos now wants Madeleine to accompany him to Madrid to sell them, but she has actually fallen in love with Tom, and wants to leave the gang instead. Despite the attempts of Carlos and "Aunt" Olga (Zeffie Tilbury), another gang member, to break them up, they become engaged.

After Carlos and Olga taunt Madeleine about being unable to tell Tom the truth about herself, she throws caution to the wind and does just that. They steal the necklace back from Carlos and return to Paris, where Madeleine returns it to Duvalle. He personally forgives her, but says she must still face the authorities. The final scene is Tom and Madeleine's wedding, where her parole document is accidentally shown, proving that she has done so. Pauquet and Duvalle, who now is his patient, attend the wedding as witnesses.

Fan Ko, an engineering architect in Hong Kong who is also highly skilled in martial arts, is called to the bedside of his dying father, who reveals that he long ago had an affair with a woman in Thailand, who bore him a son. He begs Fan Ko to go to Thailand and find the young man, and shows him an old photo, taken when the brother was perhaps 10 years old. But even then, the fierce-looking boy was training in the Thai martial art, Muay Thai, and sported a tattoo on his left arm of a ship's anchor and a swallow flying underneath.

So Fan Ko catches a Cathay Pacific flight to Bangkok Airport and is met by a family friend and booked into a room at the Dusit Thani Hotel. Leaving behind the suit-and-tie of his job, he's dressed in the colorful fashions of the day.

At that moment in Thailand, it is Songkran, the Thai new year, when revelers splash water on each other.

However, at Lumphini Boxing Stadium, the atmosphere is decidedly less festive, as another young boxer has been killed in the ring by the current champion, Cannon, who is backed by the local Triad boss and a crooked fight promoter, Qiang-ren. Using tactics of intimidation and with crooked officials on their payroll, the mob keeps supplying fighters to face the brutal Cannon. Among them is Wenlie, who needs to raise money to pay for an operation for his sick mother, despite the objections of his girlfriend, Yulan.

Fan Ko, meanwhile, is nosing around at Lumpini stadium, and thinks that a fighter named Miller may be his brother after he sees a large plywood cutout of the boxer and notices the anchor-and-bird tattoo. He asks a bystander, an old fighter-turned-alcoholic, what the man's name is. "People call him 'dead man'," the old drunk says, because he's the next to face Cannon.

When Miller faces Cannon, Fan Ko tries in vain to stop the fight, and Miller is pummeled – another fighter killed in the ring. Fan Ko checks the tattoo. It's a ship's anchor alright, but the bird flying underneath is an eagle. Miller was not his brother.

By now Fan Ko has become acquainted with a young Thai woman named Mei-dai, who shows him more sights around Bangkok, including the Grand Palace. And, through his investigation around Lumpini stadium, he's met Wenlie, but he's not seen Wenlie's left arm.

Then Wenlie gets in the ring against Cannon. Fan Ko is watching the fight and sees the tattoo on Wenlie's arm – it's a ship's anchor with a swallow underneath. Wenlie is Fan Ko's brother. The fight against Cannon is a tough one, but Wenlie is a strong fighter and he comes back from a savage beating to win. Fan Ko runs up to the ringside and tells Wenlie that they are brothers.

Miller's brother Misao kills Cannon after the match, incurring the wrath of the villains. They storm Wenlie's place when he is not at home and kidnap Misao. When the brothers are ambushed, the two brothers are formidable and beat down the thugs and the main stooge. He tells them that they have kidnapped Misao, so the two brothers go to fetch him.

At the house, Misao is beaten and killed, and the two brothers face off against a large group of weapon wielding henchmen. Fan Ko takes on the goons while Wenlie faces Qiang-ren. When a henchman cuts Wenlie's arm, Fan Ke disembowels the man with his skills and the henchmen run off. Fan Ko takes on Qiang-ren and breaks the villain's leg, and the police arrive to arrest the villain.

Englishman A. J. Fothergill (Robert Donat) is recruited by Colonel Forrester (Laurence Hanray) to spy on Russia for the British government because he can speak the language fluently. As "Peter Ouranoff", he infiltrates a revolutionary group led by Axelstein (Basil Gill). The radicals try to blow up General Gregor Vladinoff (Herbert Lomas), the father of Alexandra (Marlene Dietrich). When the attempt fails, the would-be assassin is shot, but manages to reach Peter's apartment, where he dies. For his inadvertent involvement, Peter is sent to Siberia.

World War I makes Alexandra a widow and brings the Bolsheviks to power, freeing Peter and Axelstein. When the Russian Civil War breaks out, Alexandra is arrested for being an aristocrat, and Peter is assigned by now-Commissar Axelstein to take her to Petrograd to stand trial. However, Peter instead takes her to the safety of the White Army. Their relief is short-lived; the Red Army defeats the White the next day, and Alexandra is taken captive once more. Peter steals a commission as a commissar of prisons from a drunken official and uses the document to free her. The two, now deeply in love, flee into the forest on Alexandra's estate, where they enjoy a brief idyll. Later, they catch a train.

At a railway station, they pretend to be brother and sister, but one Communist official has a photograph of the Countess. A young and sensitive Commissar Poushkoff (John Clements) entranced by Alexandra's beauty, brings in an old gardener from her father's estate who, tipped off by Poushkoff, swears that she is not the Countess. They must go to Samara for confirmation of her identity, and Poushkoff arranges to escort them. On the train, on the first night, his suspicions are confirmed when he sees Peter tenderly kiss her hand. Poushkoff's articulate speech, good manners and immaculate appearance suggest that he was a student. He advises them to come up with a better story. On the long journey, the trio become good friends, their poignant conversations about life and death operate on two levels. At one point, they tell him they “understand” (that he is in love with Alexandra), and Alexandra says that meeting him was the greatest luck they have had. Deeply moved, he breaks down, weeping and kissing her hand, and they both console him. At a stop, he quietly and obliquely suggests a means of escape and steps away. Peter wonders, “What about the boy?” who might suffer if they do run. A shot rings out: Poushkoff has committed suicide to provide a diversion.

The lovers board a barge travelling down the Volga River. Alexandra becomes seriously ill. When Peter goes for a doctor, he is arrested by the Whites for not having papers. Meanwhile, a doctor from an international Red Cross team finds Alexandra and takes her for treatment. About to be executed, Peter makes a break for it. At the station, a Red Cross doctor, a Scot who believes his story, dresses his wounded arm while a nurse reads aloud the passenger list of the train departing for Bucharest. When he hears Alexandra's name, Peter crashes through the door and runs for the moving train, calling her name. He clings to the outside of the cars. She hears him, tears the shade away from the window beside her bed, and reaches out to him, crying “Here!” as the train speeds them to safety.

The title refers to a jigsaw puzzle and the story begins with the murder of a print shop owner that is quickly labeled a suicide. But newspaper columnist Charlie Riggs is convinced that it was a murder related to a white neo-fascist organization called the Crusaders and imparts this suspicion to Assistant District Attorney Howard Malloy. He also publishes this opinion in his column. Then Riggs himself is murdered, inducing Malloy to launch an investigation into the Crusaders. Because the group appears to be getting backing from organized crime, Malloy looks there, soon receiving unsolicited help from a crime boss called ''Angel,'' who recommends him for the position of special prosecutor.

Later, with further help from a prominent judge's widow, Malloy is appointed. This is supposed to put him in the pocket of those behind the murders. But Malloy proceeds to investigate the artist who created the Crusaders recruiting poster. Seeing in the artist's studio a painting of an attractive night club singer, Malloy then proceeds to investigate her. This leads to a series of revelations regarding all of these characters and ends with more people dead and wounded in a fiery exchange at the end.

Starting in London, England in 1946 after World War II had been declared over, two items are delivered to a hotel: a small package for a retired British Major General Ralph Denistoun, and a telegram for an American named Quentin Reynolds. The bellhop drops the telegram off to Quentin Reynolds first and he then takes the small package across the room to Ralph Denistoun. When Ralph sees the box's point of origin, he opens the package revealing a pair of golden earrings, holding one up to his pierced ear while looking at his reflection in a window. Denistoun later boards a plane from London to Paris, finding himself seated next to Reynolds, who asks Denistoun why has he kept the reason for his pierced ears a secret for so long. Denistoun then tells him the story.

Before the war had officially broken out, he and another man named Richard Byrd were already in Germany, being held captive by a man named Hoff. They plotted to escape, planning to meet at the home of a friend of Byrd's father, Professor Otto Krosigk, who had developed a special poison gas formula. Splitting up with Byrd after their escape, Denistoun came across a gypsy lady named Lydia who helped him get across country with her horse and wagon by dressing him up as a gypsy to disguise him from the Nazis. Reaching the city where Denistoun was to regroup with Byrd, they find that Byrd has been captured by the Germans while trying to reach Professor Krosigk on his own.

As Hoff and two of his men tried using a flame to make Byrd talk, Denistoun revealed himself and shot all three of the Nazis. Byrd, already near death, died. Lydia and another gypsy named Zoltan helped him get rid of the bodies and get to Professor Krosigk's home. The professor did not believe Denistoun initially, but a visit from some German soldiers convinced him of Denistoun's authenticity. He then gave Denistoun the gas formula, written on a bill of German cash. Denistoun was then able to leave without the Germans discovering his identity.

Lydia then led him to a point on the High Rhine where he could swim across to Switzerland with the formula in a special container. Ralph had removed his earrings and coat, giving them back to Lydia before plunging into the river.

Once Denistoun reaches Paris, he visits the very place where he remembered leaving Lydia several years ago, spotting her horse, Apple, and her wagon across the river. Putting the earrings back on, Denistoun spits three times in the river, per gypsy tradition, before crossing the river. One the other side, he calls out to Lydia, who is excited to see him. The two then get into the wagon, Lydia puts the coat back on him and the two ride off.

In a little country town, Martin Roumagnac is a building contractor who is liked by the ordinary people. He lives in a shack with his sister while he builds a villa on a plot he has bought. Into town with her uncle comes Blanche Ferrand, an exotic widow who married the owner of the seed and grain shop shortly before his death. Her target for next husband is Laubry, a retired diplomat with a dying wife, and while waiting she has an occasional lover. She also has to fend off a besotted schoolteacher.

One evening, feeling the need for some excitement, she goes to a boxing match and sits next to the ebullient Martin. Soon the two are lovers, and when Martin finishes his villa he gives it to her (thereby losing its capital value and depressing his creditworthiness).

Though passionate in private, she finds his lack of refinement embarrassing in public: he drinks only Pernod and chain-smokes Gauloises. He cannot fully understand her more sophisticated take on life, and her love of Paris, where she feels alive, and he feels out of place. But the love between them is very real, and deeper than anything either of them has experienced before.

His business suffers from his obsession and he is running out of cash. He is increasingly disturbed by the gossip in the town about him and Blanche. He expected her upper class friends to say he wasn't good enough for her, but he hears the same snickering asides from his own friends and family.

When Laubry's wife dies, Blanche looks forward to a profitable alliance with him, where she will be free to have lovers if she pleases; but Laubry insists she must first break with Martin—not because he cares if she is faithful, but because the lower social standing of the 'bricklayer' would damage her in the eyes of the social circles they would be moving in. His contemptuous words about Martin enrage her, and she accuses him of giving her his wife's corpse as a wedding gift. This makes the match impossible, and he leaves.

She also rejects the offer of a local suitor, the deputy mayor of the town, who says he'll improve Martin's business prospects, and then he and Martin can share her. Enraged at the men in her life and at herself, she sells the shop, and resolves to leave the town forever. She releases the birds, wanting them to be free, even though they are not native, and will die in the winter.

Martin, knowing nothing of her having dismissed her other suitors in favor of him, and believing she is going to marry the consul, goes to the villa to confront her, and she is too proud to tell him the truth. In his rage, he strangles her, and the villa catches on fire, destroying all the evidence. He goes home in shock and reveals what he did. His sister promises him an alibi and enlists the postman as a witness, turning the clock back, so that it will seem to the usually drunken postman that Martin was having lunch when the crime took place.

His trial is going badly for him until under questioning Blanche's uncle (who was not really her uncle at all, but a former lover and mentor who she formed a lasting friendship with) reveals that from her teens she had many men (Martin, forgetting his peril, protests this line of attack from his attorney, saying he doesn't want her reputation smeared). But even while exonerating Martin, lying about how he saw no anger in him shortly before the murder, the old man aims a telling emotional blow when he reveals that she had rejected the consul and his wealth, because of the man's petty snobbery towards the 'bricklayer.' Martin now feels the full impact of what he has done, the injustice he has committed towards the only woman he ever loved.

The jury acquits him unanimously and he goes home to a party organized by his sister, whose perjury was believed. In the shadows is the rebuffed teacher, who has been watching the entire trial, watching Martin closely, seeing his reaction to the revelation that she had, in fact, been true to him in her heart. Martin sees the young man in the barn, watching him, holding a gun. He deliberately turns his back, silhouetted in the open window, waiting for the shots he knows are coming, while he smokes his last Gauloise.

One morning, As Snow puts on her slippers, she pulls out her left foot and sees an engagement ring on the toe that corresponds to her ring finger. Kit asks her to marry him. A week before their wedding day, Snow gets into an accident and dies, but a sympathetic angel-in-training named Michael, who wears a bright orange shirt, brings her back to life and gives her three days for the wedding. The day before she has to leave Kit, Kit falls asleep while watching TV and Snow whispers into his ear: I love you so much. I want to be with you forever, but I must leave tomorrow night. A couple hours later, Kit wakes up and tells her that he had the strangest dream where she spoke with a husky and sexy voice, but she said she had to go somewhere and promises her that he'll be there with her, no matter what.

The next day, Kit needs to go to the bank to switch some money for their wedding. On the way, Snow is hit in the head by a ball. Kit pretends to get angry at the kids playing soccer and they both join the kids, buying them Popsicles later. Kit looks at his watch and realizes that he didn't switch the money and he runs off to the bank, telling Snow to go home and wait for him. When Kit arrives home, they both get married as planned, but Michael is the minister. After Michael declares them husband and wife, they both kiss, as done in weddings, but Snow collapses during the kiss, and dies in Kit's arms with a tear rolling down Michael's cheek. Snow finally dies after the deal has been done: staying alive long enough to get married within the three-day time limit. In the next scene, Kit is standing on the dock where he and Snow would hang out and go fishing, scattering red powder into the water. It is later revealed that Snow has been cremated.

Tony West performs in vaudeville in a group with his father Nick and sister Kitty, The decline of vaudeville forces the group to split up and Tony goes to Hollywood to try to make it in movies. He works at Universal Pictures, where he becomes screen partners with, and then the husband of, star Gloria Vance.

When World War II breaks out, Tony tries to enlist but is refused because of his knee. Tony finds himself organising the Hollywood Victory Committee (H.V.C.), a consortium of motion picture, theatrical and radio personalities dedicated to help the war effort.

He puts on a show that includes performances from Donald O'Connor and Jeannette MacDonald.

Tony and Gloria have a big fight and she doesn't tell him that she is pregnant. Tony organizes another show, where Welles performs magic tricks including sawing Dietrich in half.

Tony goes overseas and is killed during an attack by a Japanese submarine. Gloria takes Tony's place entertaining the troops.

Prince Rupert is taken by the Roundheads; held captive at a country house, he falls in love with his captor's niece, Jennifer. One of his troopers, Will Fairweather, followed him to the house where he was held captive; with the help of Jennifer, Will brings him to Oberon and Titania, who offer magical aid. Rupert and Jennifer exchange magic rings that will aid them as long as they are true to each other. Rupert sets out with Will to find the books that Prospero sank, in order to aid King Charles.

Rupert, fleeing Roundheads, finds refuge in a magical inn, ''The Old Phoenix'', which proves to be a nexus between parallel worlds. Inside the tavern, he meets Valeria Matuchek, who is from an alternate history twentieth-century America (Anderson's 1971 novel ''Operation Chaos'', in which her parents meet). Holger Carlsen is another guest, born in a world where the Matter of France is history, and later trapped in "our own" twentieth-century America (the hero of Anderson's ''Three Hearts and Three Lions''). Valeria explains what will happen in the English Civil War in "our" timeline, including the king's execution, strengthening Rupert's determination to change events here. He finds a Spanish ship that will transport him; it is carrying an ambassador and his wife.

Jennifer's Puritan uncle discovers her on her return, when she resolves to use the ring to find Rupert. She is brought, captive, to a port, where the ring enables her to steal a boat and set sail. The ambassador's wife uses a magic potion to seduce Rupert, and the rings fail. Rupert cannot find his way to the island, and Jennifer is stranded at sea. Despairing, Rupert takes to the library at Milan to try to work out where to find the island and books. Jennifer's plight becomes desperate from thirst, but Ariel (from The Tempest) finds her and brings her to the island. Rupert works out the location, and Jennifer and he are reconciled.

They retrieve the books and magically bear them back to England. Charles I has taken up a position near Glastonbury Tor for reasons he does not understand. Rupert attempts the magic; Will Fairweather is possessed by a spirit of England and stirs up the magic of the land. The Roundheads are defeated, and Charles I wins the English Civil War.

At the Old Phoenix, Valeria believes that even if "romantic reactionaries" like Charles I won the English Civil War here, there is still the prospect of technological advance in North America. However, the fairies believed differently—they supported the Cavalier cause to delay the disenchantment of this world.

Rupert and Jennifer return the rings to Oberon and Titania, and retire to a peaceful married life.

On the run again after the events of the previous TV movie, a disenchanted and overwhelmed David Banner is working up north under the name David Belson. A bully pushes him around and David is tempted to fight him, but, knowing he will just turn into the Hulk again, he walks away.

Later, David makes his way toward a large city with the hopes of renting a room and staying incognito. Unbeknownst to him, the city he arrives in is under the control of a powerful underworld crime boss named Wilson Fisk but is also protected by a mysterious black-clad crimefighter known as Daredevil. When two of Fisk's men come onto the commuter subway train after having committed a jewel robbery, one of them takes an interest in a woman also riding the train, but she rejects him. David witnesses the assault and transforms into the Hulk, which results in the usual disruption and chaos. A short while later, David is arrested by the police and wrongfully charged with the crime.

While awaiting trial, blind defense attorney Matt Murdock is assigned to David's case. David is uncooperative, but Murdock has faith that he is innocent and is determined to prove so. One night while asleep in jail, David has a nightmare about his upcoming trial and dreams about transforming into the Hulk on the witness stand. The stress of this causes him to transform in reality, and the Hulk goes berserk and breaks out of prison.

Subsequent events see David Banner team up with Daredevil who reveals his identity as Matt Murdock. Matt tells David about his origins which David initially has trouble accepting. Daredevil also reveals that he has an ally on the police force who provides him with information relating to criminal activity. Daredevil goes to investigate a tip provided by his informant, but the tip was planted by Wilson Fisk, and Daredevil is badly injured in an ambush by Fisk's men. David rushes to save Matt but he transforms and the Hulk saves Matt in time from Fisk and his men, who flee the scene. Matt, barely conscious, traces the Hulk's face as he transforms back to David, thus learning David's secret.

Meanwhile, Fisk has the witness to events on the subway abducted from protective custody in order to have her killed, but she charms Fisk's assistant, who saves her. Fisk plans a major meeting of underworld crime bosses in order to propose the consolidation of their operations into a syndicate with himself as chairman.

Using his training as a medical doctor, David treats Matt's injuries and spreads a cover story about Matt's injuries being the result of falling down stairs. While Matt's self-confidence is seriously shaken, David's confidence has been restored by seeing how Matt has embraced his unique gifts, which are also caused by exposure to radiation. After a little coaxing from David, Matt begins to recover and retrain his body. Soon enough, the two return to work and go to save the captured woman. The two engage Wilson Fisk and his men and ultimately succeed in besting him, without the Hulk appearing. Fisk and his assistant escape, but the prisoner is freed.

David and Matt part ways as friends. David continues his search of a cure for himself, and Matt remains in the city to protect it.

The quiet suburb of New Salem is being terrorized by a serial killer who abducts and tortures young women, holding them captive for weeks before murdering them. Aubrey Fleming, a pianist and aspiring writer, appears to be his latest victim when she disappears during a night out with her friends. She is later seen bound and gagged on an operating table as her hands are exposed to dry ice. As the days tick by, the special FBI Task Force convened to track the killer begins to lose hope of finding him before it's too late.

Late one night, a driver discovers a young woman by the side of a deserted road, disheveled and seriously wounded, with one of her hands and legs amputated. The girl, who looks identical to Aubrey, is rushed to the hospital, where Aubrey's distraught parents, Susan and Daniel, wait by her side as she slips in and out of consciousness. When she is finally able to speak, she shocks everyone by claiming to be a down-on-her-luck stripper named Dakota Moss. Convinced Aubrey is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, her doctors, parents, and law enforcement officials can only wait for rest and therapy to restore her memory. But after returning to her parent's suburban home, she continues to insist she is not who they think she is.

An FBI psychologist believes Dakota to be a delusional persona of Aubrey, and the agents speculate the persona functions to distance and protect Aubrey from the events that happened. Examining Aubrey's laptop, they discover a short story about a girl with an identical twin sister named Dakota. In addition, a DNA test confirms that Dakota is Aubrey. Nonetheless, Dakota explains away her injuries to the police, recollecting a series of bizarre events that happened before she arrived in town. She begins to suspect she may be Aubrey's identical twin sister and comes to believe her injuries are sympathetic resonance with her twin's wounds, manifesting in a stigmata-like fashion. However, Susan shows Dakota a video of her pregnancy ultrasound clearly revealing there was only one fetus in her womb. Dakota confronts Daniel, and he eventually admits that his and Susan's child died shortly after birth and that he informally adopted Aubrey from Virginia Sue Moss (another character that appears in Aubrey's short story), a crack addict who bore twin daughters—one of whom was Dakota, who was left to be raised by her biological mother. Susan has remained unaware of this for all of Aubrey's life.

Confused and terrified, Dakota starts seeing visions of a menacing figure slowly butchering his captive. One of these visions takes Dakota to a nearby cemetery. After investigating the grave of Aubrey's recently murdered friend, Jennifer Toland, Dakota finds a blue ribbon from a piano competition, with a message from Jennifer's (and Aubrey's) piano teacher, Douglas Norquist. She is followed by Daniel, and declares "I know who killed me".

The two go, without FBI backup, to Norquist's home to confront him. Daniel heads into Norquist's house alone leaving a panicking Dakota in the car alone. Attempting to calm herself, Dakota refers to herself as Aubrey. Daniel is seemingly overpowered, and it is implied killed, by Norquist. Dakota, having entered the house, attacks Norquist in self-defense and cuts his hand off before being overpowered and tied up. Confused, Norquist asks why she has returned and exclaimed that he had buried her (referencing an earlier vision Dakota had). Freeing herself, Dakota kills Norquist and heads into the nearby wood, finding where Norquist had supposedly buried Aubrey alive. Using her prosthetic hand, she smashes the front of the glass coffin that Norquist had buried Aubrey in, revealing her barely alive in a white dress. This seemingly verifies Dakota's version of events. Relieved to have found her long-lost twin, Dakota lies on the ground next to her.

The novel is written episodically and in reverse-chronological order. It consists of fifteen chapters in three parts: Part I (1989–1972), Part II (1970–1960), and Part III (1960–1956). Part I is centered on the adult lives of the García sisters; Part II describes their immigration to the United States and their adolescence, and Part III recollects their early childhood on the island, in the Dominican Republic.

The Garcías are one of the Dominican Republic's prominent and wealthy families, tracing their roots back to the Conquistadores. Carlos García, a physician and the head of the family, is the youngest of 35 children his father sired during his lifetime, both in and out of wedlock. Laura, Carlos's wife, also comes from an important family: her father is a factory owner and a diplomat with the United Nations. Many members of the extended family live as neighbours in large houses on an expansive compound with numerous servants. In the early 1950s the García girls are born. Carla, Sandra, Yolanda and Sofía enjoy a happy, protected childhood and are brought up by their parents, aunts and uncles to preserve the family traditions. Their countless cousins serve them as playmates.

Part I

The first part of the novel establishes Yolanda at the centre of the story as she narrates the opening and closing chapter: "Antojos" and "The Rudy Elmenhurst Story", respectively. In third person, Yolanda's return to Dominican Republic as an adult is described in the context of a family birthday party and a road trip. Their unity as sisters as "The Four Girls" is introduced in the third chapter, which is communally narrated. They celebrate Carlos, the patriarch's, birthday, and Sofía introduces her baby son to his grandfather, helping to repair the father and daughter's relationship somewhat. During Sofía's chapter, "The Kiss", it is revealed that Carlos discovered a packet of love letters addressed to his daughter, enraging him and leading to a conflict which ends in Sofía running away to her German lover. A major focus in this section is the romantic relationships between the four sisters and their partners. Sofía is married to a "world-class chemist"; Carla and Sandra are in long-term relationships; and Yolanda is in love with her psychiatrist and has previously broken up with a man named John. Part I closes with "The Rudy Elmenhurst Story", narrated by Yolanda. This describes Yolanda's first real relationship, and the tension between her upbringing and American relationships: "I would never find someone who would understand my particular mix of Catholicism and agnosticism, Hispanic and American styles."

Part II

Part II details the family's collective experience of living in the United States as immigrants. The girls first attend a Catholic school in New York and later boarding school, and assimilate fairly well to their new environments, although meeting with a few set-backs along the way. Their time in the US begins with the opening chapter, "A Regular Revolution", and delivers the girls' (collective) opinion that "We didn't feel we had the best the United States had to offer. We had only second-hand stuff, rental houses in one redneck Catholic neighborhood after another". While during their first few months in New York they regularly pray to God that they will soon be able to return to their homeland, they quickly start appreciating the advantages of living in a "free country" so that even being sent back to the Dominican Republic for the summer becomes a form of punishment for them.

A major turning point in the novel comes with Laura's discovery of a bag of Sofía's marijuana, and her subsequent punishment of being removed from her boarding school and forced to spend a year in the Dominican Republic with family. This event is representative of the girls' transformation into Americans and away from the Dominican culture and Laura and Carlos' conflicted relationship with the assimilation. Laura "still did lip service to the old ways", and Carlos makes a point of educating the accents out of the girls, thus showing the tension between the cultures.

Carla becomes the victim of racism in the third chapter, "Trespass", with school boys telling her to "Go back to where you came from, you dirty spic!" Later she is subjected to a child molester who masturbates in his car while pulling up at the curb and talking lecherously to her through the open window. The second part of the novel finishes with the chapter "Floor Show", in which the García family goes to a Spanish restaurant and Sandra witnesses the host's wife amorously attempting to kiss her father on the way to the bathroom. Overall, Part II presents the unexpected aspects of living in the United States and becoming Americans, and explores the tensions that develop with the immigrant experience.

Part III

The five chapters in Part III, the concluding section, focus on the García family's early years in the Dominican Republic, and are the most political of the novel.

The first chapter, "The Blood of the Conquistadores", opens with an account of two of Trujillo's agents coming to the family home looking for Carlos. His revolutionary politics and work against the Chapitas made the family a target, and this chapter explicitly details the danger of their situation. The issues in past chapters appear superficial in comparison to the life-or-death nature of the conflicts that the Garcías face earlier in their lives. The family escapes persecution, but is forced to emigrate immediately, establishing their motive for relocating to New York.

The second chapter, "The Human Body", describes what happens to Mundin, Yolanda and Sofia in the dirty shed near the house. Yolanda plays with her boy cousin, Mundin, and in exchange for a Human Body doll and a modeling clay, shows him her genitals. Sofia also follows suit. ' "Go on," Mundin ordered impatiently. Fifi had caught on and lowered her pants and panties to her ankles. I gave my sister a defiant look as I lifted up my cowboy skirt, tucked it under my chin, and yanked my panties down (Alvarez, 235).'

As Part III progresses, the narrative switches to describing their upper-class life on the island, and filling details of the lifestyle the family was born into. The story of the voodoo practicing Haitian family maid is elucidated: she escaped Trujillo's massacre of Haitians and came to work for Laura, although much of her family was not so lucky.

In the last three chapters Carla, Yolanda and Sandra narrate stories from their childhood surrounded by the extended family, and the girls' relationship with the United States begins. "An American Surprise" tells of their early ideas of New York City, "where it was winter and the snow fell from heaven to earth like the Bible's little pieces of manna bread." The reader realizes that the innocence of childhood and idealized vision of their soon-to-be adopted country, given the reverse-chronological narration of ''How the García Girls Lost Their Accents'', are left behind with the García's home in the Dominican Republic.

Detective John Prudhomme, a Cajun transferred to Chicago, and his partner Hollinsworth are assigned to investigate the savage murder of a man whose left arm has been sawed off and taken. A message, "He Is Coming", is found written in lamb's blood on the victim's window. After another victim is discovered with a missing right arm, the detectives realize they are dealing with a serial killer.

The third victim to be found has had his head removed. After studying the roman numerals found carved into the victims by the killer, Prudhomme realizes that when combined with the victims' names (Matthew and Peter and James), these numerals are citing Bible verses related to the resurrection of Jesus. Prudhomme theorizes that the killer plans to use the body parts he has taken to reconstruct the "Body of Christ" in time for Easter. This explains why each victim is 33 years old (Jesus was 33 at his death) and why the killer is ensuring that the victims are conscious when he kills them (Christ was conscious when he suffered). An FBI profiler named Wingate arrives and offers additional insights into the killer's mental state.

Armed with this new information, Prudhomme and Hollinsworth are able to predict the killer's next target. When they interrupt the killing and give chase, Hollinsworth is tasered by the killer and shot in the leg by the police, after being setup by the killer, critically damaging his leg, which must be amputated. The amputated leg is later stolen by the killer. The killer leaves a message for Prudhomme, chiding him for interfering with the last killing and saying that for penance, Prudhomme's wife Sara must die. Prudhomme rushes home to find a mutilated corpse, but it is revealed to be Sara's visiting sister, and Sara herself is safe.

With Hollinsworth hospitalized and unable to help him, Prudhomme turns to detectives Scholfield and Moltz, with whom he has had a contentious relationship, for help. The team finds a fifth victim in a slaughter house, missing his leg, meaning that the killer needs only a torso to complete his work. Scholfield discovers an FBI record of a similar murder several years earlier in Tennessee—Prudhomme is irate that they did not get these FBI records from Wingate, who had promised to send all the FBI's information. When Prudhomme goes to the FBI's office, he finds Wingate, who is a different man than the apparent profiler his team has been working with. Knowing that the fake Wingate is the killer, Prudhomme and his team lay a trap and arrest the impostor for impersonating a police officer. The impostor's name is Demus, and he mocks the police because they cannot connect him to any murder. The judge for the case sets bond at only $20,000, which Demus pays. Although officers shadow the released Demus to the Chicago Union Station, in the restroom Demus escapes by changing clothes and crawling under the stalls.

Prudhomme's team is able to connect Demus's fingerprints to the earlier murder in Tennessee, meaning they can now arrest him for murder if they find him. They discover that he had been in a mental institution for several years, only having been released two months ago. Meanwhile, Demus kills his sixth victim, taking the torso. Prudhomme theorizes that Demus may be hiding somewhere they already looked, and in the house of the first victim, they find the gruesome remains of his victims, arranged on a cross like a crucified Christ. Looking over Demus's notes and materials there, Prudhomme realizes that to complete his work, the killer plans to take the heart of a baby born from a woman named Mary on Easter, which is the following day. Moltz identifies a newly born baby from a Mary, and they rush to that hospital, where they find Demus with the baby. Moltz is wounded and Prudhomme chases Demus to the rooftop. He shoots Demus and catches the baby. Demus falls from the rooftop to his death.

Some time later, Prudhomme visits a recovering Hollinsworth, who is learning to walk on a prosthetic leg and promises to return to the job better than ever.

Jennie Garth plays Crystal Wyatt, a sweet country girl who dreams of becoming a singer. When her father dies, Crystal's life soon becomes dramatic. After her brother-in-law rapes her in the barn, Crystal immediately tells her mother (who has never really loved her) asking for support, but her mother refuses to believe her. Crystal confronts her brother-in-law with a shotgun, but in the fight her brother is shot dead. Crystal runs away to San Francisco, where she becomes a waitress and singer. She falls for a charitable lawyer and kind army man, Spencer. They, though he is years older, have had chemistry from the beginning and later begin a passionate relationship in her tumultuous life. Crystal rises up to stardom with her looks and voice and competes with life's circumstances to be with the man she adores. However, Spencer is to be engaged with a woman named Elizabeth, a socialite who wants her life to be perfect and ordered. As Crystal's life winds down, Spencer's marriage and patience dwindles. Eventually, Crystal becomes pregnant and moves in with her childhood friend (played by Bryan Smith) with Spencer's child, but wants to let him get his life in order before they can be together. Eventually, he quits his associations with the higher-ups, quits his marriage, and goes back to Crystal, where he discovers her with his 5-year-old son, Zeb. The movie ends on a happy note, even with much history been had, and it is assumed that they live the rest of their lives out in a storybook romance.

A pastor adopts a young blind girl whom his daughter, Charlotte, names "Gertrude". The title refers to Beethoven's Sixth Symphony (also known as the ''Pastoral'' Symphony) which the pastor takes Gertrude to hear. It also refers to the pastor's own symphony with Gertrude. His wife, Amélie, resents Gertrude because the pastor dedicates more attention to Gertrude than to their five children. She tries to prompt him to a recognition of the true nature of his feelings for the young woman in his care. Her ability to "see" is contrasted with the "blindness" of the pastor in this regard and the reader is invited to judge him on his intellectual dishonesty. As a religious man, the pastor takes the Bible very seriously and tries to preserve Gertrude's innocence by protecting her from the concept of sin.

Because the pastor is really the main character in Gertrude's limited world, she feels herself to be in love with him and to some extent he has similar feelings toward her. When his eldest son Jacques, who is about the same age as Gertrude, asks to marry her, the pastor becomes jealous and refuses despite the fact that Jacques is obviously in love with her.

Gertrude eventually gets an operation to repair her eyesight and, having gained the ability to see, realizes that she loves Jacques and not the pastor. However, Jacques has renounced his love for her, converted to Catholicism and become a monk. Gertrude attempts suicide by jumping into a river, but this fails and she was rescued and contracts pneumonia. She realizes that the pastor is an old man, and the man she pictured when she was blind was Jacques. She tells the pastor this shortly before her death.

The Stooges play the roles of unsuccessful actors who have decided to end it all by jumping off a skyscraper. On top of the building, they discover three girls with an unsuccessful dancing act who have also decided to jump. The Stooges immediately fall in love with the girls. The six distraught lovers are still planning to jump when they suddenly hear piano music playing. They leave the ledge to go find the source of the music. On a lower floor they discover a piano-playing millionaire who is looking for a talented act. He promises them a significant amount of money if they are good. Their act is a success with the millionaire, who doubles their salaries and says, "The way I throw my money around, I bet you think I'm crazy!" As if on cue, two men in white coats come to take him back to an asylum.

Soon after the Great War, Major William Foster (Gene Hackman), an American commander in the French Foreign Legion, suffers the haunting memories of leading an army of more than 8,000 men and watching them slowly get whittled down to just 200. He has become an alcoholic as a result, and his only friend is his faithful Sergeant, Triand (Rufus).

Foster arrives in Paris to assume a new command: taking the Legion to Rif in Morocco to re-establish French authority, as the Bedouin and Berber tribes have begun to revolt against French rule. Foster is also ordered to escort archaeologists from the Louvre, who are uncovering an ancient city near Erfoud, buried by a sandstorm 3,000 years ago. The site is the final resting place of a Berber saint known to the French as "The Angel of the Desert". Foster was specifically chosen for the assignment as he is the only French officer alive who served in Morocco before the war. He had helped to develop diplomatic ties with the tribes by negotiating with El Krim (Ian Holm), the de facto leader of the scattered Rif tribes; one condition of peace was that the French cease all archaeological expeditions without the tribes' approval.

Foster receives fresh Legion recruits for his assignment. Among those who volunteer, willingly or unwillingly, is "the Gypsy" Marco Segrain (Terence Hill), a charming jewel thief famous for a three-year crime spree on the Riviera before getting arrested. Gypsy befriends three other recruits: the Russian giant Ivan (Jack O'Halloran), formerly a member of the elite bodyguard of the deposed Russian Imperial family; "Top Hat" Gilbert Francis (André Penvern), a fashionable man and musician who lacks the physical traits needed in a soldier; and Fredrick Hastings (Paul Sherman), a romantic young English aristocrat who longs for the days of the Great War.

The four friends are soon disillusioned by the harsh realities of life in the Legion, including heavy physical labor, little food and water, and scorching heat. A fatal fight breaks out among the men while traveling to Morocco over an insult to Foster's honor, to which Triand takes exception. Foster does not hesitate to harshly discipline his men, especially the insubordinate Marco, though he makes sure never to go too far and actively works to make sure his men are fit and ready for the hardships ahead. During the voyage, Marco charms one of the accompanying archaeologists, Madame Picard (Catherine Deneuve).

During their journey, the train carrying the Legionnaires and the archaeological team is stopped by El Krim and his men. El Krim greets his old friend Foster, but also declares that Morocco belongs to his people and the French are no longer welcome. El Krim gives a "gift" to Foster to take back to the Premier of France: the archaeologists of an earlier dig, who have had their eyes and tongues gouged out and subjected to exposure. He warns Foster to turn back while he still can. In response, Foster shoots the two mutilated archaeologists to end their suffering; afterwards, it is revealed that one of them was Madame Picard's father.

Upon reaching their fortress, Foster puts the men through brutal and unforgiving training exercises; Top Hat collapses during a march and is left to die of thirst but manages to return to camp; he ultimately commits suicide rather than endure any further abuse. Later, at the digging site, Hastings is kidnapped while on guard duty and tortured to death by a tribal raider, whom El Krim excuses as being merely over-zealous. Marco retaliates by killing his friend's murderer. Instead of disciplining him, Foster defends him by using the same excuse, and El Krim accepts it.

Eventually, the tomb of the Angel of the Desert is found, and her golden sarcophagus is excavated. Foster offers it to El Krim as a token of peace, but El Krim rallies the warriors of the Bedouin tribes to slaughter the Europeans. The well-trained Legionaries shoot down dozens of tribesmen but are eventually overrun. Ivan is fatally stabbed (while wrestling several attackers to the ground), but Marco fights on, single-handedly killing several enemy horsemen as they try to outflank his unit. When Foster is finally shot dead, El Krim immediately calls off the fight, sending the surviving Legionnaires "to tell the world what happened" and allowing them to take Foster and the remains of their fellow soldiers back home.

There are two endings: the TV version ends with Marco taking up Picard's offer to desert the Legion and leave with her. The theatrical ending shows Marco (after having been promoted for his bravery in battle) staying behind and training more Legionnaire recruits, welcoming them by reiterating Foster's warning: "If the Legion doesn't get you, the desert will. If the desert doesn't, the Arabs will. And if the Arabs don't, then I will. I don't know which is worse."

Additional scenes

In the TV version, there were several scenes that were not included in the theatrical or in the video/DVD versions of the film. One pivotal extra scene occurs when the excavation work has commenced and it is discovered that two of the Legionaries, both of them German recruits, have deserted. The sadistic second-in-command of the company, Lt. Fontaine and his equally vicious crony, the Corporal, lead a patrol to capture them. They catch up with the two Germans and Fontaine orders the patrol to shoot them. The noise attracts a large group of Bedouin tribesmen and, disregarding the warnings from his men, Fontaine orders his men to open fire, igniting a battle. The Corporal is shot dead and Fontaine breaks down in fear and kills himself. Marco displays his courage and natural flair for leadership by rallying the survivors of the patrol and successfully beating off the attackers. In the video release, this scene was omitted but brief shots of Fontaine and the Corporal were taken from this scene and edited into the climactic battle at the digging site so it appears that both men died there instead.

''Varth'' follows the story of a disaster that befalls a human colony on a planet of the same name. The entire colony is run by a 7th generation supercomputer which controls the operations of all machinery on the planet. Unfortunately for the residents of Varth, Delta-7 has been possessed by the entity "DUO" (Dimension Unbody Offender), thought of as an evil spirit but actually a temporal-spatial consciousness which spontaneously arose within the supercomputer. DUO has come to the conclusion that human existence is inimical to the planet, and has therefore turned the planet's defenses against its own populace. Eighty percent of the planet is laid waste by the event, and this is only the beginning of DUO's cleansing scheme. The colonists' reliance on the supercomputer has caused them to lose the ability to take care of themselves, and thus have no means of fighting back. The only hope for the colony lies in the pilots of two planes equipped with 4th generation computers which DUO cannot control—they are controlled not by machinery, but by humans.

Frank Cimballi (Eric Stoltz) is a rich 21-year-old who goes to claim his inheritance only to find it has been embezzled by his father's former business partners. Traveling the globe in search of the white-collar thieves who have robbed him of millions, Frank locates his father's seriously ill associate Will Scarlet (F. Murray Abraham), who admits to his role in the crime and agrees to help Frank track down the rest of the men on his revenge list.

The story is set in a seaside port in Argentina (but filmed in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR), largely among a community of pearl fishers. The protagonist is the adopted son of a doctor/scientist who was sometime in the past forced to save the boy's life by implanting him with shark gills. Thus he is able to live under water, but must keep his secret from the world. The conflict arises from his falling in love with a pearl-fisher's beautiful daughter. His secret is discovered and the girl's husband Pedro attempts to exploit Ichthyander for his ability to find pearls easily. Due to being kept caged under water, his ability to breathe in the open air is affected, and he must now live in the sea for several years. Although set free, the lovers are permanently separated from each other.

Although ostensibly a lost-love-tragedy like ''Romeo and Juliet'', the film has a significant focus on greed and commercial exploitation (of the pearl-greedy fishermen), possibly under the influence of Socialist Realism.[http://www.newsru.com/cinema/15jun2007/amfibiya.html Новости NEWSru.com :: 45 лет назад на киноэкраны вышел «Человек-амфибия», собравший 60 млн зрителей]

Airos is a 16-year-old teenager from Plainfield, Illinois.Who's life faced many hardships.When Airos is done with Graduation,he moves to Florida.At first,when he see's his friends again,he thought peace would return.But evil forces attacked fiercely.Now,Airos always attacks evil forces.But at times he might spend all his time hanging out with his best friends.

Billy Fisher (Tom Courtenay) lives in Yorkshire with his parents (Wilfred Pickles and Mona Washbourne) and grandmother (Ethel Griffies). Billy wishes to get away from his stifling job and family life. To escape the boredom of his humdrum existence, he constantly daydreams and fantasizes, often picturing himself as the ruler and military hero of an imaginary country called Ambrosia. In his fantasies, he gives speeches to large crowds in a manner resembling Hitler or Mussolini. He makes up stories about himself and his family, causing him to be nicknamed "Billy Liar". In reality, he lives in a lower-middle-class home with parents who constantly scold and nag him about his behaviour.

Billy works as an undertakers' clerk overseen by the rigid Mr. Shadrack (Leonard Rossiter). At work, he is tasked with mailing out a large shipment of advertising calendars to potential customers, but instead hides the calendars and keeps the postage money. When he notices the calendars in his wardrobe, he dreams of being imprisoned in Wormwood Scrubs for the crime of pocketing the postage money. He is eventually found out by Shadrack, who refuses to let him resign from his position until he pays back the postage money.

Billy aspires to get a more interesting job as a scriptwriter for comic Danny Boon (Leslie Randall), but when Boon comes to town, he is not interested in Billy's overtures. However, Billy tells everyone that Boon is very interested in his stories and that he will be moving to London very soon. Whenever Billy experiences something unpleasant, such as his parents scolding him or his boss harassing him, he imagines himself to be somewhere else. His fantasies generally involve himself as a hero with everyone very pleased with him. However, Billy shows himself to be happier fantasizing about being a great success than actually taking a risk to make something of himself.

Billy has further complicated his life by proposing to two very different girls, the sheltered, virginal Barbara (Helen Fraser) and the tough, brassy Rita (Gwendolyn Watts). He has given the same engagement ring to each girl and lies constantly to get it back from one and give it to the other. Rita discovers he has lied about the ring being at the jeweller's and shows up at Billy's door but he lies to her again and she leaves. When Billy's father questions him about what he is doing with Rita, Billy yells at him and his shocked grandmother begins gasping for breath and has to lie down. Billy feels guilty but imagines himself as a general winning a difficult war.

Billy also finds himself attracted to his former girlfriend Liz (Julie Christie), who has just returned to town from Doncaster. Liz is a free spirit who, unlike anyone else in town, understands and accepts Billy's imagination. However, she has more courage and confidence than Billy, as shown by her willingness to leave her home town and enjoy new and different experiences. Under pressure, Billy ends up making dates with both Barbara and Rita to meet each one on the same night at the same local ballroom. There, the two girls discover the double engagement and begin fighting with each other. All of Billy's lies seem to catch up with him as it's announced publicly that he is moving to London to work with Danny Boon, and Billy's friend scolds him for lying to his mother.

Distraught, Billy encounters Liz outside and shares a romantic interlude with her, during which he shares his fantasies about Ambrosia. He proposes marriage to her and she accepts. She urges him to accompany her to London that evening, and he goes home to pack his bags, only to find his grandmother has fallen ill and been taken to hospital. Billy gets into an argument with his father, who has found out about Billy's problems at work and trashed Billy's room. Billy joins his mother at the hospital just in time to learn his grandmother has died. He then continues to the station to meet Liz, and the couple board the train, but at the last minute Billy disembarks with the excuse of buying some milk to drink on the journey. He delays returning to the train, and by the time he gets back it is pulling out, with an understanding Liz at the window and his suitcase left behind on the platform. Alone, Billy walks the dark deserted road back to his home, imagining himself leading the marching army of Ambrosia. Billy enters the house closing the door behind him. As the main floor lights can be seen turned off and as Billy's bedroom lights upstairs can be seen turned on, the camera pans away from the house as the national anthem of Ambrosia starts playing.

Fugitives Juancho (Janno Gibbs) and Ted (Bayani Agbayani) have tried to mend their ways after they bolted jail to escape execution from the hands of Hepe (Jovit Moya) and Sgt. Langku (Boy Alano).

They have transformed themselves into productive citizens by working as a bus driver and a bus conductor, in fact, Ted as an incentive was allowed to continue with his education while Juancho works double time with his education and to aid him with his other needs in school.

They have also developed a special bond with the bus riders whom, they later figured, had problems of their own.

So one day, they all go out of town to ease their worries.

But the parents of their children started to panic and call the attention of the school administrators.

Just when they are least expected, Hepe and Langku show up and reveal the true identities of Juan and Ted.

Henri Troppmann goes from his sick-bed in Paris to Barcelona before the Spanish Civil War in time to witness a Catalan General Strike. He is torn between three different women, all of whom arrive in the city at that time. One of them, Lazare, is a Marxist Jew and political activist, who is preparing herself for prospective torture and martyrdom at the hand of General Francisco Franco's troops if she is captured. "Dirty" (or Dorothea) is an incontinent, unkempt alcoholic who repeatedly has sex with Troppmann. Xénie is a young woman who had previously nursed him to health during his violent fever in Paris.

The novel is introduced by a scene of extreme degeneracy in a London hotel room, followed by the narrator's description of a dreamlike encounter with 'the Commendatore' (English: "the Commander"), who in the Don Juan myth is the father of one of Don Juan's victims, and whose statue returns at the end of the story to drag Don Juan down to hell for his sins. Troppmann has to choose between the abject Dirty and her associations of sex, disease, excrement and decay, the politically engaged Lazare, and her ethical values of commitment, resistance and endurance, and Xénie, who has outlived her usefulness. While looking at Lazare beneath a tree, Troppmann realises that he respects her for her social conscience, but also sees her as a rat, and chooses Dirty instead, whilst sending Xénie off with a friend, who is subsequently killed in the street. He travels with Dirty to Trier, the home-town of Karl Marx, where the two copulate in the mud on a cliff overlooking a candle-lit graveyard. They see a Hitler Youth group, lending Dirty a vision of the war to come and their probable deaths. Troppmann leaves her to return to Paris.

Oliver Hardy plays a character who is preparing for his wedding day to the daughter of a wealthy oil magnate, Peter Cucumber. His friend, played by Stan Laurel, is the best man. While visiting Ollie in the morning, Stan reveals his wedding present – a jigsaw puzzle. The boys soon become preoccupied with the puzzle, as do other people – a taxi driver, Ollie's butler, a telegram delivery boy, even a cop. Cucumber is enraged at the delay at his daughter's wedding (especially after Stan has a wreath delivered to the reception), and makes his way to Ollie's house. The jigsaw puzzle is almost completed except for one elusive missing piece; the cop insists that no-one can leave the house until it is found, including Cucumber ("I don't care if he's Mr. ''Dill Pickle''", sneers the cop, unimpressed). A fight breaks out, leading to a police raid in which all are arrested except Stan and Ollie, who manage to hide themselves. The puzzle gets knocked over in the mayhem; Ollie's telegram is from his broker, advising him to quickly sell his shares in "The Great International Horsecollar Corporation" (in which all of Ollie's fortune is invested), but a radio newsflash says the company took a "tremendous crash and failed". Despite Stan's assurance that "prosperity is just around the corner", Ollie angrily tells him to leave. As he leaves, Stan actually manages to find the jigsaw's missing piece, but before he can do anything more, a furious Ollie throws him out of the house.

In 2010, two years after the events of ''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon'', and one year after the events of ''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Desert Siege'', Cuba is free, or at least it's supposed to be. Since Fidel Castro's death [in the storyline] in 2006, the island of Cuba is wary of the communist rule it had been under for nearly 50 years. It's time for the first free and open elections since Carlos Prio Socarras, who was overthrown by Batista in the early 1950s. The FDG (''El Frente Democratico de la Gente'' or People's Democratic Front) has fronted a man named Ariel Priego as their candidate. The FDG are an outspoken anti-US political faction that wishes to return Cuba to its long-standing communist dictatorship. Although the FDG publicly denies utilizing violence as a means of coercion, the reality is quite the contrary, as the Ghosts quickly discover. Now it is up to them to set things right again, without making it appear that the United States is getting its hands too dirty, and ensuring the elections proceed smoothly.

The first few missions see the Ghosts conducting operations against arms and drug shipping operations by agents and allies of Priego, the ultimate aim being to prevent any strong-arming of voters on election day. When election day comes, the Ghosts are responsible for protecting a voting center at the town hall in Cienfuegos, a task that proves none too easy as men loyal to Priego assault the building and take hostages elsewhere in the city. Unsurprisingly, Priego loses the election badly. Becoming desperate, he asks for help from his backers in Colombia, and FARC sends in hired soldiers to take Cuba by force. The Ghosts assist in defeating this effort, and FARC soon decides to cut its losses.

Running out of allies, time, and options, Priego flees to an old fortress in a hilled section of Cuba. The Ghosts are ordered to assault the fortress and capture Priego alive. If he is killed, he could be made into a martyr all too easily, something that would be highly detrimental to the new Cuban government. The Ghosts succeed, destroying a helicopter that Priego had intended to use for his escape. Trapped and with his remaining soldiers killed, Priego surrenders.

Laurel and Hardy are partners in a barbershop. Stan reads a classified ad in the newspaper from a wealthy widow (Mae Busch) looking for a new husband. Initially, only Stan plans to respond to the ad but after explaining his plans to Ollie (leading to the third use of the team's trademark "Tell me that again" routine, used previously in ''Towed in a Hole'', ''The Devil's Brother'', and subsequently in ''The Fixer Uppers'') they both decide to answer the ad, shaking hands in agreement, and with Ollie saying "May the best man win." However, Ollie cheats on this agreement by mailing only his own response, and hiding Stan's in his hat. Ollie then settles into the barber's chair for Stan to shave him, and inadvertently dozes off.

The widow invites Ollie to her mansion, and Ollie announces himself with his full true name: Oliver Norvell Hardy.

Stan discovers his unmailed response, he also goes along and demands half of whatever Ollie gets. At the widow's mansion, Laurel and Hardy encounter a deranged butler (Jack Barty) who pantomimes card tricks with imaginary cards, and serves an imaginary meal. The same butler tips off Stan and Ollie that the widow is a serial killer, who had previously cut the throats of seven prior fiancés, all named Oliver.

Laurel and Hardy are sent upstairs, as the widow tells her butler to make sure all the doors and windows are locked. She tells Ollie, "I hope you have a nice, long sleep", as the butler plays "Taps" (a bugle call played at dusk) on a trumpet. As the butler locks the boys in their room, he bids them "Goodbye" instead of "Goodnight".

Unable to escape their bedroom, Stan finds a pump-action shotgun, leading to some slapstick mishaps, including Stan accidentally shooting Ollie in the foot (which he mistook for a man's hand). They plan to take turns sleeping, so that one of them can watch out for the knife-wielding widow.

Ollie sets up a Rube Goldberg-style contraption to help Stan to stay awake. Tying a gold coated brick to a string, suspending it above Stan's head and then tying the other end of the string round a lit candle. Ollie then explains to Stan that he must periodically move the string in order to prevent the candle's flame burning through the string, resulting in the brick falling on Stan's head.

As usual, things go awry with the brick falling on Ollie's head, knocking him unconscious. Moments later, the widow comes walking up the stairs, sharpening a long knife. When Stan goes to get the shotgun, he gets locked in the closet as the widow enters the room. As she is about to cut Ollie's throat, a loud gunshot is heard from the closet, startling her and she starts to turn her head in the direction of the closet.

Suddenly, Stan and Ollie are back at their barbershop, and Ollie leaps out of his chair, screaming and runs to the mirror to examine his throat. He explains to Stan, "I just had a terrible dream."

In a packed courtroom, Butch Long (Walter Long) vows revenge on 'squealers' Laurel and Hardy whose evidence has helped to send him to prison for the rest of his life, threatening to "rip off their legs and wrap 'em around their necks!" after Laurel makes a suggestion to the judge (Harry Dunkinson), "Aren't you going to hang him?" Later, in the car, Ollie repeats this question sarcastically, since he saw Long's reaction just after Stan said it; he then asks Stan, "Couldn't you see that he was ''annoyed?"''

The clearly frightened boys make plans to move far away and advertise for someone to go with them and share the travel expenses. The person involved is actually Butch's girlfriend (Mae Busch). Butch soon manages to escape by leaping from a train, and makes his way to his girlfriend's apartment, where Stan and Ollie ring the bell. Butch hides in a large trunk, thinking it's the cops at the door; the trunk gets locked and Butch can't get out. The boys do their best to get him out, not realizing who the trapped person really is. After several inept attempts at freeing him, Butch notices (and recognizes) Ollie through a bored hole. His suggestion of using a blowtorch to melt the lock off backfires as Butch is set on fire. The boys hose Butch down and he frees himself from the trunk, taking his promised revenge on them as the cops arrive shortly afterwards. The film ends with Stan and Ollie sitting on the couch, both with their legs ripped off and wrapped around their necks. Then Ollie says his "another nice mess…" catchphrase to Stan, who whimpers "Well I couldn't help it...".

A gruff sea captain (Walter Long) enlists fish-shop employees Laurel and Hardy to help in shanghaiing men to be a crew for his next voyage. They succeed in doing so by a stunt that gets each man to chase after Laurel, whereupon Hardy frying-pans the pursuing sailor and knocks him out. But they accidentally clobber the captain as well (but merely give him a slight headache rather than rending him unconscious, since he is so much bigger and tougher of stature than the wimpy sailors), provoking him into shanghaiing them as well aboard what is rumored to be a "ghost ship" (which was why Captain Long was unable to get men to voluntarily enlist). He is so angry at this rumor that he makes a dire threat against the next man that so much as even utters the word "ghost" in his earshot: "I'll take his head and I'll twist it around so that when he's walkin' north he'll be lookin' south!"

When Captain Long gives his men shore leave, the boys opt to remain on board, fearing the men they shanghaied would seek revenge if they were not under the captain's jurisdiction. Preparing to head ashore himself, Captain Long asks The Boys to keep an eye on a drunken shipmate (Arthur Housman) and make sure he stays aboard ship. But he sneaks off anyway, and then while later staggering back to the ship in a state of liquor-hazed oblivion, falls into a tub of whitewash, then comes back onboard and crawls into his bunk to sleep it off. Sometime later the boys accidentally discharge a pistol, and mistakenly believing that they've shot the passed-out sailor, they toss his sleeping body—still wrapped in his bedsheet, and thus they have not yet seen him in his whitened state—overboard, but he promptly wakes up and climbs back on board. When the duo next see him, they're convinced he's the ghost of the "dead" sailor and run around the deck shrieking in terror. Meanwhile, the shanghaied sailors have been plotting revenge against the duo for shanghaiing them and decide to sneak back aboard the ship to clobber The Boys during the captain's absence. When they get to the ship and see Laurel and Hardy running, they begin to pursue them—only to be stopped when they see what they're running from: the drunken sailor covered in whitewash, which they too mistake for a ghost and jump overboard shrieking in terror.

Captain Long returns with a barfly (Mae Busch) whom he has talked into joining him, only for her to recognize the whitewashed sailor as the husband who had deserted her years ago. She chases the drunken man off the ship with her furled umbrella. Irate and disappointed at this turn of events, Captain Long is further enraged by Laurel and Hardy when they both tell him that they saw a ghost. He thereupon carries out his threat: he twists their heads around so they will be facing backwards. Hardy wearily utters his "Another nice mess..." catchphrase; Stan performs his classic, "Oh, I couldn't help it" whimpers in reply.

Blaise Skiaki is a brilliant perfume developer, an industry which has become vitally important since water scarcity has made regular bathing impossible for most people. Skiaki's employers have become concerned about his erratic behaviour, in particular his habit of disappearing for several hours some nights, which they initially suspect to be evidence of corporate espionage of some kind. They hire Gretchen Nunn, a famed private investigator, who becomes Skiaki's lover and discovers that he vanishes for exactly four hours every time, that he appears to be in a fugue state during these periods, and that every state terminates with a murder. She is, however, unable to trail him in order to determine whether he is responsible for the murders himself.

During this time, Skiaki gives Nunn a jewel, which she wears in her belly button. She encounters him during his fugue state and hears him refer to himself as Mr. Wish. She eventually discovers that his talent for perfumery has led to him being able to detect human pheromone trails, and that he is following the trails of individuals who have a death wish.

Before Nunn is able to act on this information, Skiaki reveals to her that she is in fact blind, something she is unaware of due to a telepathic ability to view the world through the eyes of others. Horrified by this revelation, Nunn flees, only to be confronted by Skiaki in his murderous Mr. Wish persona. Several other men appear, and reveal in conversation with Mr. Wish that they are the ones responsible for the murders, having followed him each time he goes into a fugue state, though their motivation is not made clear. They strip Nunn of her clothes, and the sight of the gem in her belly button prompts Skiaki to escape from his fugue state and aid her in overcoming her attackers.

Skiaki is able to return to work, apparently in control of his fugue states now. He and Nunn discuss their shared revelations regarding their own natures, as well as their future, eventually deciding to continue their romantic relationship.

Police officers face many challenges in the decaying, impoverished, high-crime South Bronx region of New York City. Among these officers are NYPD officers Murphy (Paul Newman) and Corelli (Ken Wahl), who work out of the 41st Precinct, nicknamed "Fort Apache" because to those who work there, it feels like an army outpost in foreign territory. The streets are full of dangerous criminals like violent gangs and drug dealers. Unemployment is very high and the neighborhood is full of garbage and wrecked buildings. While Murphy is a hard-drinking and lonely divorced father, he has a great camaraderie with Corelli. Murphy's life also improves when he meets a young nurse, Isabella (Rachel Ticotin), and they start a romantic relationship.

The precinct is one of the worst and most dilapidated in the entire department, approaching demolition and staffed mostly by officers who are unwanted by, and have been transferred out of, other precincts. Additionally, the precinct's officers do not represent the large Puerto Rican community, as only 4% of the officers are Hispanic in the largest non-English speaking section of the Bronx. Corelli and Murphy attempt to maintain law and order by catching pimps and robbers, but they have conflicts with corrupt fellow officers, and a newly appointed police captain, Connolly (Ed Asner). There is rioting due to alleged police brutality, as well as issues related to the deaths of two rookie cops, who were shot by drug addicted Charlotte (Pam Grier) at the film's beginning. During the riot, Murphy and Corelli witness two officers beating up a teenager who was watching the events from a roof with his girlfriend, and they watch in horror as one of the cops angrily picks up the kid and throws him to his death on the street below. As Murphy becomes more intimate with Isabella, they begin a sexual relationship. While she is sleeping, Murphy notices "track marks" on her skin. She later admits that she uses heroin as a way to relax from working in such a stressful environment. She tells him that other hospital employees also use heroin, even the doctors. Murphy and Corelli are also being emotionally destroyed with the knowledge that they cannot turn in the murderous cops they witnessed earlier, as Corelli says he simply will not destroy his career to go against fellow cops and Murphy laments that he does not have the guts to smash through the "Blue Wall" and turn the evil cops in for their vile actions.

Illustrating the futility of policing in the precinct, Charlotte, the killer of the two rookie cops, is never found, despite mass arrests and interrogations. She is later killed by a dealer she tried to kill and her body is shown as an anonymous bundle dumped in roadside trash. In turn, Charlotte's killers are shot in a shootout with Murphy when they take hostages in the hospital Isabella worked at. Murphy is heartbroken when Isabella dies from a drug overdose and wrestles with the moral question of whether he should maintain the "blue code" and not inform authorities about the officer who threw the teen off the roof. Murphy ultimately decides to resign and report the killing, a decision that will make other officers hate him and view him as a "stool pigeon". Murphy seems to be on the verge of quitting the force, when he sees the purse snatcher fleeing from a house he burglarized. Murphy and Corelli chase the robber, and the image freezes as Murphy leaps to tackle him.

The episode begins with the gang celebrating Monica and Chandler's engagement, after Ross finally shows up after missing the proposal. Monica suggests that everyone dress up so that they can go to The Plaza for champagne.

Joey announces that he cannot stay out too late as he has a commercial audition in the morning. He is auditioning for the role of a 19-year-old, which is 12 years younger than he is, and his efforts to "de-age" by dressing and acting like a teenager are met with ridicule. Phoebe, on the other hand, would love to sing at the wedding, and badgers Monica until she agrees just to get her to get dressed for the night.

While everyone is getting ready, Monica and Chandler have an intimate moment, but are derailed when Chandler has an incident. Chandler leaves to confide in Joey, and later Rachel, for advice. Rachel herself meets up with Ross in the hallway and asks whether they will themselves marry other people in the future. The topic shifts to their relationship, and Rachel compliments Ross on how good he was in bed. She then says that they never had a "bonus night": two exes who have broken up get back together for one night of "no strings attached" sex. Suddenly, both are tempted by the idea, but Ross tries to tell Rachel that it is not a good idea for them to spend the night together.

However, the next time Monica opens the door, she is shocked to see Ross and Rachel kissing at the threshold. When they try to apologize, Monica accuses Rachel of stealing her thunder, and preempting Monica's big night by getting back together with Ross. The two ex-lovers protest mightily, and Monica is almost convinced when Phoebe comes in, immediately misinterprets the situation and asks if she can sing at Ross and Rachel's wedding too. When Chandler and Joey return, Joey is also delighted at the "reunion", and Monica accuses Rachel of being unable to stand anyone else being in the spotlight. Rachel tries desperately to patch things up, but Monica is not in the mood to listen and cancels out on going to the Plaza.

Chandler follows Monica into the bedroom to calm her down, and they begin to kiss, leading to a resurgence of Chandler's erection, but they are soon interrupted by Phoebe; Joey plants doubts in Phoebe's mind that Monica and Chandler will let them play at their wedding, so she begins demanding her down payment at this point. They refuse, culminating in her picketing their apartment, guitar in hand, over the rest of the episode. No sooner have Chandler and Monica reasserted their privacy, Rachel returns to make amends; unfortunately, this evolves into an even bigger fight, and Rachel storms out, telling Ross to come with her so they can have sex. Ross follows to Rachel's room where she tells him they are not really going to do it, she just wants Monica to think they are. She tries to maintain this illusion when Monica knocks on the door, but Ross refuses to play along. Rachel finally admits that seeing Monica and Chandler get engaged made her feel sad and lonely, and she turned to Ross for sex to feel better about herself; the thunder-stealing was unintentional. The girls make up, and Ross takes off.

During the tag scene, Phoebe sings in the apartment when Chandler comes out of the bedroom having finally had sex with Monica. He gives Phoebe a down payment—one dollar—in exchange for Phoebe singing at their wedding. But when Phoebe starts asking who will perform the ceremony, he takes her guitar.

Radboy, a fourteen-year-old deaf skateboarder, leaves his abusive home for San Francisco and becomes involved with environmental politics and the underground club scene. Principal characters include Radboy's older friend Jonnyboy, methamphetamine addict boyfriends Finn and Critter, and a Swedish environmentalist, Ula, whose fiancé has died, and who is seeking revenge for her sister's injury from a government-planted car bomb. Together the five plan to bomb the Hobart Building and kidnap Jonnyboy's boyfriend Roarke, in an attempt to save the redwoods. Hillsbery writes with a stream-of-consciousness narration style and frequently uses abbreviation and other teen slang.

George Webber has written a successful novel about his family and hometown. When he returns to that town, he is shaken by the force of outrage and hatred that greets him. Family and lifelong friends feel naked and exposed by what they have seen in his books, and their fury drives him from his home.

Outcast, George Webber begins a search for his own identity. It takes him to New York and a hectic social whirl; to Paris with an uninhibited group of expatriates; to Berlin, lying cold and sinister under Hitler's shadow. The journey comes full circle when Webber returns to America and rediscovers it with love, sorrow, and hope.

Alain Lefèvre (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a French boxer in 1925 Marseille, France. His brother has asked for him to throw a fight so both can live with the money. Lucien Galgani (Jim Carter), the mobster who forced him to do so, requests he do it in the second round. Galgani's girlfriend Katrina (Ana Sofrenović) is Alain's ex-fiancée, whom he left standing at the altar. But Katrina forgives Alain, and the two hatch a plan to run off to America together.

Alain does not take a dive in the fight, and instead defeats his opponent. Just as the escape plan is about to succeed, Alain's brother is killed, and Katrina is captured by Galgani's men. Alain shoots and kills Galgani's brother; desperately needing a new escape plan, he signs up for the French Foreign Legion and is shipped to North Africa to help defend Morocco against a native Berber rebellion of Rif warriors, led by Abd el-Krim.

Along the way, Alain meets some new friends, including Luther, an African American who has fled injustice in the southern United States and felt that by returning to Africa he would be treated well; Mackintosh, a former British Army Major who was dishonorably discharged due to a gambling problem; and Guido, a naive Italian boy who wishes to impress his fiancée back home by returning as a hero. But things will not be easy. The only real way to escape from the Legion is to survive the term of service, and the rebels have them outnumbered.

After marching for days, the current troop arrives at a small pond. Unfortunately, before getting their full share of water, they are ambushed and shot down by the Berbers. Among the dead is Guido. After leaving, the survivors, including Alain, go to the Legion's fort.

Meanwhile, Galgani has sent his hired thugs into the Legion as well, to find Alain and get revenge for his brother. After a few days, they find him in the fort. After the commander sends Alain along with Mackintosh and the others to guard the fort, Mackintosh reveals that he had been sent to kill Alain as part of a deal to reimburse his father, who was left penniless due to gambling debts. Before he can do so, however, they are chased down by the natives, who advance towards the fort.

The colonel sends Luther in a dangerous mission to infiltrate the natives' camp. Alain, knowing it will be suicide, demands to go along but is ordered not to. Before leaving, Luther gives him his harmonica as a symbol of friendship. As Alain is later guarding the fort outside, he sees Luther returning without his disguise, with the Berbers following behind. As they begin attacking, Alain decides to kill Luther in order to give him a quick death.

Very swiftly, the rest of the Berbers take down the Legionnaires. As one of Galgani's thugs is about to kill Alain, he gets shot down by Mackintosh, who remorsefully reveals that Katrina has managed to escape from Galgani and go to America, as she always wanted. Alain, as a token of appreciation, gives him a single bullet so that Mackintosh can commit a merciful suicide. In the end, only Alain stands up alive after the battle. Abd el-Krim, seeing Alain's courage and determination, allows him to live and tells him to inform his superiors what is waiting for them if they continue the colonization. Now the only survivor of the ordeal, Alain is left alone in the desert as he remembers Katrina and his former friends.

There is the alternate/deleted ending in which Alain rescues Katrina and is to originally kill Galgani, but does not (as the director and producer felt it was too violent). There is a script to the alternate ending at the New Year's Eve party when Alain aims his pistol at Galgani, and the place goes quiet. But Alain refrains from killing Galgani and walks out with Katrina.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense visits a government facility called Nexus, an underground laboratory controlled entirely by a computer, to witness a top-secret experiment which sends three volunteers to another dimension. When only one of them returns and the Defense Secretary threatens to shut Nexus down, the original architect of Nexus is coaxed out of retirement by his former lover, who is now one of Nexus's top scientists, to help investigate what went wrong. Meanwhile an alien parasite emerges from the body of the experiment's sole survivor.

Notably, aside from being in the science-fiction genre, this film has little in common with 1983's Xtro, having a largely dissimilar plot, and featuring none of the characters from the first film.

Jackie Morrison works in Glasgow as a CCTV operator, monitoring the Red Road Flats. She lives alone and engages in occasional sex with married man Avery.

Jackie recognises a man she sees on the CCTV monitor and begins inquiring about him. It is revealed that he is Clyde Henderson, a prisoner who has been released early for good behaviour but will be back in prison immediately if he steps out of line. She begins stalking Clyde, tracking him on the CCTV monitors and gathering information about him. She follows Clyde to a cafe, and later learns he is throwing a party at the apartment he shares with fellow ex-con Stevie. She gains entry to the party and begins exchanging looks with a drunk Clyde. They dance, but she makes an excuse and runs out of the apartment.

After spotting Clyde on CCTV heading to a local bar, she goes there and sees him break up a fight between Stevie and another man. Stevie and his girlfriend return to Clyde's apartment, while Clyde initiates a conversation with Jackie before inviting her back to the apartment too. Clyde reveals he has a daughter, with whom he regrets he has lost contact. Clyde and Jackie have passionate sex, but she runs from the bedroom and stages rape, striking her face with a stone and fleeing from the apartment block in view of the CCTV cameras. The police identify Clyde as the rapist and Jackie watches the arrest on CCTV, and a few moments later sees Clyde's daughter approach the apartment block. Later, Stevie gains entry to Jackie's home and demands to know why she has falsely accused Clyde. Jackie reveals that Clyde killed her husband and daughter.

Jackie relents and tells the police she wishes to withdraw the accusation of rape. After Clyde's release, Jackie confronts him and they argue: Clyde describes the road traffic accident that killed Jackie's husband and daughter, and she reveals that her last words to her daughter were harsh. She tells Clyde that his daughter tried to reach him on the day of his arrest, and they go their separate ways.

As the film's title implies, Daffy Duck stars in an Ebenezer Scrooge-like role in the Looney Tunes retelling of this classic tale.

In the beginning of the movie, Bugs Bunny (in a Fred-like role) pops up out of his hole to clear away the snow and explains to the audience he's all about winter holidays, despite the fact that rabbits are traditionally associated with Easter. He's then almost run over by Daffy Duck's gas-guzzling SUV. Daffy is the owner of the Lucky Duck Superstore (a Costco-esque megastore). True to his Scrooge-like role, he treats his employees (played by other Looney Tunes characters) like they're garbage. Despite Bugs scolding him for his treatment of Playboy Penguin, Daffy still acts in a snobbish manner and tries to abscond with the money Priscilla Pig, Egghead Jr., Henery Hawk, and Barnyard Dawg Jr. are collecting for charity. Daffy especially has trouble with his hover scooter and gets beat up by his own employees (through no fault of their own) and the customers (since he insulted them too). After Daffy states he hates the holidays, Bugs warns him about the Ghosts of Christmas at which Daffy simply scoffs.

After working his employees to the bone on Christmas Eve, Daffy expects them all back at 5:00 AM on Christmas Day so he can make more money off of last minute shoppers. Assistant Manager Porky Pig (in a Bob Cratchit-like role) pleads with Daffy to let him go home for Christmas and spend time with his daughter Priscilla (in a Tiny Tim-like role), but Daffy refuses. Bugs warns him that bad things would happen to people like him (referring to ''A Christmas Carol'') and tells him "Bah, Humduck!" (an adaption of Scrooge's "Bah, Humbug!"), which Daffy then takes as his own.

Later that day, the spirit of Daffy's deceased business idol Sylvester the Investor (Sylvester the Cat in a Jacob Marley-like role) appears before Daffy where he is clad in chains as punishment for his greed after a disgruntled employee ran over him nine times in a forklift. Sylvester warns Daffy that if he doesn't change his ways, he will be doomed to the same fate. He also tells Daffy that he still has a chance of escaping his fate and foretells that three ghosts will visit him. Thinking of this as a trick by Bugs after Sylvester disappears, Daffy does not believe what Sylvester said to him. After the visit, Daffy turns down the requests of Elmer Fudd (who would like some vacation time), Marvin the Martian (who would like to go home to Mars), and Porky Pig (who wants to go home and spend time with Priscilla and that doll that Priscilla wanted Porky tried to buy since Daffy tripled the prices from the store). At the end of the day, everyone goes home for the night. Later that night, Daffy ends up trapped in the store by a snowdrift with Bugs. He locks himself in his vault to be safe. But the ghosts are not that easily stopped.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past (portrayed by Granny and Tweety) appears, then takes Daffy back to his childhood, where they see that Daffy lived at the Lucky Duck Orphanage (with his design from ''Baby Looney Tunes'' reused) and every Christmas, he was ignored by potential parents, which explains his unhappy demeanor in the Present Day (and how his store got its name). The Ghost of Christmas Present (portrayed by Yosemite Sam) then appears and berates Daffy for his treatment of his employees telling him if he doesn't change his ways, his future is very bleak. He shows him what Elmer Fudd, Marvin the Martian, and Porky Pig are doing at the time. By this time, Daffy is starting to feel tender emotion (though he doesn't attribute it as guilt) which earns him another one of the Ghost's numerous beatings. By this time, he actually dreads the visit of the last ghost and pleads with Bugs to hide him from it. After a reenactment of Bugs and Daffy's hiding routine, Daffy is left alone at the mercy of the ghost.

The Ghost of Christmas Future (portrayed by the Tasmanian Devil) eventually appears. He takes Daffy to the future showing that because of his greed and selfishness, he has died from an unknown cause. At Daffy's headstone, Porky Pig tells Priscilla about the loss of Daffy. He tells her that because Daffy tried to name himself as his own heir which is illegal, the Lucky Duck Superstore closed down, leaving everyone out of a job. Though it did allow them to spend Christmas with their families just like they wanted. After Porky leaves the grave, Priscilla stays longer and reveals that she never hated Daffy. Like him, Priscilla can understand what it's like not having family around at the holidays and feeling that no one should be alone at this time of year, she promises to come visit his grave every year on Christmas. Priscilla leaves a plate of Christmas cookies on Daffy's grave before following her dad out of the cemetery. Because of Priscilla's kindness, Daffy's cold demeanor melts and his heart breaks. Realizing his greed and selfish nature was to cover up his real wish to be part of a family, Daffy vows to be a kinder and more generous person as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come sends him on his way.

Returning to the present, he starts to make reparations by waking up a nearby Elmer where he enlists his help in exchange for accepting his request of vacation time. He promotes Porky to the store manager, gives Marvin a rocket to go home to Mars, hires Playboy Penguin as his new employee, gives all of his employees the gifts they desired, along with a raise and a paid vacation. There's a brief moment when he slides back to his greedy self while contemplating just how he is going to recover all the costs. However, it immediately fades when Priscilla presents a plate of duck-shaped cookies and calls him "Uncle Daffy". Daffy thinks she's pushing it until she kisses him on the cheek and he lets her call him "Uncle Daffy" (implying that he finally got his wish to be part of a family). All of this is witnessed by the Ghosts of Christmas.

As the film reaches its end, Bugs comments on how he loves the holidays (chomping on a candy cane afterwards), the camera pulls out of the mall to end the movie. Porky and Priscilla finish the movie by saying Porky's famous line: "T-T-T-That's all folks!"

Marleen works as a volunteer in a rest home in Spain. When she meets Vince they are attracted to each other. Their passionate relationship has its ups and downs, and eventually Marleen ends up in a hospital. The film ends when Marleen walks into the sea.

The Stooges are running the Cafe Casbah Bah (a Middle Eastern restaurant) and attempting to prepare a meal for customers Hassan ben Sober (Vernon Dent) and Ginna Rumma (George J. Lewis). The meal turns out disastrous: their spaghetti dinner is spilled all over the customers' faces, so the stooges offer them a replacement meal: rabbit and hot dogs. Because a stray cat and dog make noises at inopportune times while Larry prepares the meal, Larry's meal appears to be actual dog and cat meat, which brings Moe and Shemp great grief when ordered to eat it by their customers.

These two customers are thieves intent on robbing the tomb of King Rootintootin, which contains a priceless diamond. Because of their fear of a curse on the diamond, they decide they need three stooges to carry out the deed; the bumbling Moe, Larry and Shemp prove to be perfect for the job. Before ben Sober and Rumma can reveal their scheme, they discover that the Emir of Shmow (Johnny Kascier) has already gotten his hands on the diamond. The two plotters start wailing and, when ben Sober reveals his actual career as a doorman of the Oasis hotel (and not the royalty Moe thinks he is), he and his accomplice are thrown out of the restaurant. The Stooges then attempt to steal the diamond back from the Emir, since it is government property and would likely fetch a large reward.

The Stooges arrive at the Emir's palace dressed as Santa Claus. They then manage to acquire the diamond and make a quick exit, but not before dealing with a burly guard (Everett Brown).

''Bartender'' follows the nightlife of (voiced by Takahiro Mizushima in the anime and played by Masaki Aiba in the drama), a bartending prodigy who is said to mix the best cocktails anyone has ever tasted. Upon returning from his studies in France, Ryū works as an assistant for a senior bartender at the bar Lapin. He later opened his own bar, the , which is hidden in a nook of the Ginza district in downtown Tokyo. Rumor holds that potential patrons cannot simply find and enter Eden Hall; rather they must be invited in by the host. Sasakura is known to serve the , a way of saying that he knows just the right drink to serve in a particular situation.

The only other regular character is (voiced by Ayumi Fujimura in the anime and played by Shihori Kanjiya in the drama), the granddaughter of the owner of the Hotel Cardinal, . She is the office lady of the company and requires him to compete for the job of bartender in the hotel. Ryū is initially rejected by , the manager of the hotel beverage department. However, upon Miwa insistence, Taizo meets Ryū and becomes fascinated by his abilities, requesting her to insist on Ryū to bring him to work in the hotel.

Over the course of the manga, various other figures, all of whom share unusual troubles and heavy burdens, are invited into Eden Hall and are treated to Sasakura's fine drinks, which, with guidance from the young bartender, lead the customers to reflect upon their lives and decide on a course of action to tackle their problems.

It is about October 1915, and Edward and Daisy have a church wedding. However, Edward and his best friend Charlie Wallace, his best man, are to leave for France that evening. Edward does his best to stay cheerful while at Eaton Place, but is terrified. Georgina gets two of her officer friends, who are also going to the Front that evening, to give him advice. Daisy later accompanies him to the station, and cannot stop herself crying as they said goodbye while Edward is on board the train.

Georgina is also at the station with her friend Angela Barclay to say goodbye to her two officer friends, Captain Martin Adams and 2nd Lt. Harry Gurney. After they have left, Georgina tells Angela that she will stay a while. She then helps out when a hospital train arrives, and hands out coco and cigarettes. One soldier she gives a cigarette dies minutes later, with the cigarette still in his mouth, and Georgina immediately volunteers to be a VAD nurse and soon starts training.

Meanwhile, on her afternoon off, Ruby secretly goes off and gets a job at the Silvertown munitions factory in the Docklands. Mrs Bridges is furious, and as Hazel is at her parents in Wimbledon due to her father having pleurisy, she protests to Richard. But he cannot refuse Ruby permission to leave, and she does so.

The crew of ''Galactica'' have reinstated an old military tradition by setting up a boxing ring and putting rank aside — by the placing of dog tags in a metal box — crew and officers freely duke it out in one-on-one matches. Colonel Tigh is match referee.

Elsewhere in a bunk room, Starbuck has finished having sex with her estranged husband Samuel Anders. Starbuck remarks that their encounter was just what she needed and gets up to leave. Anders replies that he wants to reconcile their marriage. Starbuck responds that she's not ready yet and heads to the fights.

Kara heads past the boxing match and observes Major Apollo losing a match against Captain "Helo" Agathon. Apollo leaves the ring and picks up his dog tags to signify that he is quitting the competition. However, Starbuck drops her tags in the box and goads an initially reluctant Apollo into fighting her instead.

Admiral Adama arrives with President Roslin, who is a boxing enthusiast, to watch the next series of fights; Kat wins against a female crew member, and Hot Dog is quickly knocked out by Starbuck.

Adama then observes Chief Tyrol and his wife Cally, recalling a moment when the fleet first settled New Caprica and Tyrol and Cally were still assigned to ''Galactica''. Tyrol asked Adama for permission to leave the ship so he and Cally's child could be born and raised down on the planet. Adama refused the request, telling Tyrol he and Cally are needed on board.

Back at the boxing match, Adama overhears Tyrol give one of his crew permission to watch the fight although the crew member has not yet finished fixing a broken spacecraft. Without warning, the Admiral steps into the ring and tells Chief Tyrol to get his "fat, lazy ass" in there with him. Tyrol enters as ordered, thinking the match will be a joke until the bell rings and Adama knocks him to the mat with a fast right hook. Adama taunts Tyrol asking him if this is how he fought down on New Caprica. Insulted, Tyrol rises to his feet and begins to lay into the Admiral. Adama is easily over matched as Tyrol angrily pummels him into the ropes asking if ''this'' is what he wanted. Adama is saved for the moment by the bell. Adama sits to rest while Doctor Cottle looks him over. Roslin rushes to Adama's side and gives him some advice on how to win, but Adama replies that he does not intend to win.

Round two begins with Tyrol rushing Adama back into the ropes with more fierce pummeling. Adama does not do much to resist, with his face beaten to a bloody pulp. Tyrol eventually floors the old man who stays down for the count. A stunned silence falls over the crowd as Tyrol and Tigh help Adama back to his feet. The fight is over and Adama takes a moment to tell the crew that he has let them all get "too close" to him, something which must come to an end, and he will no longer forgive laxity among the crew as he's done in the past - he let them drop their guard during the initial settlement of New Caprica and left humanity exposed to the Cylons as a result. As the Admiral leaves, Tigh announces the matches are over and orders everyone back to duty.

Starbuck will not give up her planned fight with Apollo, however. They both enter the ring and let loose with all their bottled up hostilities. As fists fly, flashbacks take the scene back to New Caprica. During the late evening of a ground-breaking ceremony, Apollo and Starbuck found a moment alone to talk. Starbuck had (literally) drunk Anders under the table, and he had passed out cold on the ground, under a table. Apollo took the opportunity to ask Starbuck about her plans for the future, musing about what will become of her relationship with Anders.

Back to the present, the boxing match between Starbuck and Apollo intensifies. Dee watches as Anders remarks that the two look like they'll kill each other.

On New Caprica the two eventually head outside the city to a secluded field and they end up making love. Afterward, Starbuck wonders what will happen if anyone finds out about what they have done — especially Anders or Dee. Apollo stands up and shouts to the night sky that he loves Kara Thrace, unconcerned about anyone hearing him. Hesitantly at first, Starbuck eventually does the same shouting that she loves Lee Adama. Apollo says he will tell Dee about the new situation and asks that Starbuck do the same with Anders.

In the boxing ring, Apollo knocks Starbuck to the mat at which point the fighting turns dirty. Starbuck does a leg sweep and trips Apollo. As he gets back to his feet, Starbuck kicks him in the face. Seeing the match is getting personal, the few remaining spectators begin to leave the room.

Flashing to the next morning on New Caprica, Admiral Adama and Roslin talk with Chief Tyrol and Cally. Adama tells Tyrol that he has given the Chief's situation some thought and that he has decided they can remain on New Caprica to have their child. Apollo awakes in the field and finds Starbuck has gone. Returning to the town, he meets his father, who tells him that Starbuck and Anders have just got married in a surprise ceremony earlier that morning. Still reeling from the news, Apollo meets the newlyweds walking down the street. Anders reveals that the wedding was Starbuck's idea and that she "popped the question to him" only that morning. Apollo recovers enough to congratulate Anders and wish him luck, adding that "you're going to need it" as he glances towards Starbuck. Apollo then walks off in a dazed shock back to a Raptor to return to ''Pegasus'', with Dee waiting on the entry ramp. Apollo walks straight from his confrontation with Starbuck to Dee and immediately kisses her.

Back at the boxing ring, Starbuck and Apollo have battled each other to a stand-still. They slump against each other in the middle of the ring with their arms around each other. An awkward silence follows, and the spectators shuffle out of the hall. Anders leaves too, while Dee lowers her head. Starbuck whispers to Apollo that she has "missed him". Apollo replies that he missed her, too. As the scene fades out, there is the trace of a smile upon Starbuck's face.

As part of his attempts to earn enough money to buy himself into the upper middle ranks, and thus make his relationship with Helena Justina respectable, Marcus Didius Falco has offered his services to Vespasian as a tax collector during the 'great Census' of AD 73. Unfortunately, his plan has several flaws, one major one being his need to take on Anacrites as a partner.

Whilst conducting the audit of two gladitorial training schools, Falco stumbles upon the apparent murder of a star man-eating lion and an apparent rivalry between the schools. When a gladiator also ends up dead, Falco takes on the investigation, one which leads him to Tripolitania.

To add to the confusion, Helena's younger brother, Camillus Justinus, has eloped with the betrothed of his older brother, Aelianus. They too have made their way to North Africa, drawn by Justinus' quest to find Silphium, an expensive herb already deemed extinct.

Season one

The "Evil Tom" malevolent alien character puppet The first season of the series has a developing storyline which establishes the primary premise: the host of the lackluster "Cowboy Pat" show, a run-of-the-mill local children's show that has been on the air for thirty years, disappears in a mysterious flash of light, the oddly autonomous puppet co-host Smilin' Tom enlists the show's apathetic late-teen technician to fill his role, a mysterious figure in black named Chip appears to take over the technician's role, and a bumbling detective arrives to investigate the disappearance. In time Phyllis Blanding, a fussy woman from C.U.T.E.S.E.Y. (The Council for the Unification of Television Entertainment Standards Everywhere, Yahoo!) arrives to oversee their programming. The detective accuses the puppet of being an alien, which to everyone's surprise turns out to be true, a battle for control of the show occurs between a malevolent alien race and the co-hosts, and in the final scene of the season the entire studio building is accidentally launched into space as a result of this battle. Season one also includes numerous mock ads, the "Think about it! With Professor Dave" segment in which a rather empty-headed slacker tries to present nature programming, and "Trail of the Royal Mounted", an actual 1930s Canadian black and white serial re-edited and re-dubbed for comic effect.

Season two

Finding themselves in space, Slim, Smilin' Tom, Phyllis, and Chip discover that in space they are able to pick up the astonishing amount of television being broadcast by alien worlds, and they are able to navigate around the galaxy. In time they find that the broadcasting in the galaxy is controlled by a robotic entity called IB (Interstellar Broadcasting), and when an election is announced for the head of IB, Phyllis decides to run. Meanwhile, Smilin' Tom decides he has to find his long-lost twin brother and solicits a television program that specializes in solving mysteries, called "Tangled Webs", to help him in his search. Slim is kidnapped by an alien called Dipswitch but turns out to be just down the hall. Dipswitch is actually trying to connect with Chip, who leaves with him to become a transdimensional being. IB tries many things to keep Phyllis from winning the election, but she is eventually crowned Queen of the Universe and leaves to begin her rule. Smilin' Tom finds his brother running a video store in Peterborough and leaves to join him. The season includes many segments such as "The Rugged Road To Learning", a re-dubbed black and white documentary from 1910, "Sally Polkadot" a sweetly bizarre stop-action puppet show voiced by a British woman (Laura Jarrah), and "Esoteric Knowledge", a low-budget science show apparently from the 60s hosted by the generally misinformed Dr. Onius.

Season three

With only Slim left at the station he decides to solicit videos from the audience and otherwise just watches his favourite alien show, "Dee Dee & Dwilfer". The first segment is re-voiced videos from actual school children, the second segment is the "Dee Dee & Dwilfer" show, which has a female host stuck on an alien planet who is helped by a puppet alien named Dwilfer to put on a kid's show. The Dee Dee & Dwilfer show-within-the-show includes several regular segments: "Earthview" is a series of questions supposedly asked of regular school children, but the questions that appear as titles are actually quite different from the ones the children were in fact answering; "Time for Tots" is stories read by Mack Yavellian, who was apparently a technician on Dee Dee's ship but who has been recruited as a reader (he picks inappropriate material, like Edgar Allan Poe); "The Music Box" is a tiny girl in a cigar box held by Dwilfer who sings country songs, but when he starts to sing along he always knocks the box and sends her flying; "Gilbert the Educated Fish" is a talking fish puppet that complains about pollution; and "Story Tales" is little kids acting out fables in a bluescreen environment that sets them against children's drawings of the story locale. In the third show segment Slim in the studio kills the time by tuning in random shows, some apparently alien in origin, others from Earth, and the last show always cleverly wove the show credits into the content. The third season always began with a segment called "Bonehead", a plasticine skull & crossbones that warned children about the dangers of doing almost anything (e.g. "Don't Play With Things!"). Smilin' Tom makes a guest appearance on Dee Dee & Dwilfer in show 7, and in the last episode Tom appears again and at the very end Cowboy Pat appears on the set as he disappeared at the series' opening.

Season four

For the last season only six episodes were ordered. Each episode began with a "Cowboy Quote", with Cowboy Pat delivering an odd bit of cowboy wisdom (e.g. "A cowboy's hat is like the leaf of a tree, it always comes off in the fall"). Apparently Cowboy Slim has finally left the studio and left in his place an Automatic Telepathic Interface that allows the viewers to choose from a list of available programs by their thoughts. For some reason viewers always choose "Mack's" which is a show inexplicably given to Mack Yavellian, the somber story reader from the previous season's "Dee Dee & Dwilfer" show. This show has Mack co-hosting with a beleaguered young woman named Tara and a red serpent puppet named Billsy Bubb. Mack seems only interested in showing videos from his "band", who strongly resist all his attempts to guide them to commercial success. He has also arranged for two segments: "Expozany", which is obviously a somewhat strange friend of his who hosts a conspiracy-themed show that he has shot in his basement while wearing a clown mask, and "Esoteric Knowledge", a revisiting of a fictional 60s science "educational" science show starring the remarkably ill-informed Dr. Onius. Tara tries to counter all the darkness of the show with episodes of "Story Tales" as seen in season three. Meanwhile, Billsy tries to make the themes of the shows one of the seven deadly sins, and when he becomes especially impassioned his eyes begin to glow and a sequence is triggered featuring a comically evil puppet called Hobnob that spouts ridiculous curses. This sequence is always interrupted by the automatic interface ("Evil Content Override"). When the automatic interface comes back it always malfunctions, causing a random scan of available channels that show a wide variety of show fragments and fake ads.

The novel-series describes the long and strenuous journey for a party of emigrants from the province of Småland, Sweden, to the United States in 1850, coinciding with the beginning of the first significant wave of immigration to the United States from Sweden. The story focuses primarily on Karl-Oskar Nilsson and his wife, Kristina Johansdotter, a young married couple who live with their four small children; Anna, Johan, Lill-Märta, and Harald, as well as Karl-Oskar's parents and his rebellious younger brother Robert, who works as a hired farmhand for neighboring farmers. The family lives on a small farm at Korpamoen, where the soil is thin and rocky, making growing crops extremely difficult. It is Robert, together with his friend Arvid, who first comes across the prospect of going to America after being tired of being mistreated by the farmers who employ him. When he confronts Karl-Oskar about the idea, Karl-Oskar reveals that he too has come across pamphlets describing conditions in North America for farmers as being much better. Kristina, however, is adamantly against emigrating, not wanting to leave her homeland or wanting to risk the lives of her children by taking them across the ocean. However, things take yet another tragic turn for the family which causes Kristina to reconsider. In the winter of 1849, the family has very little food, but on the day of the christening of their youngest child, Harald, Kristina is preparing a large bowl of barley porridge. Their eldest child, four-year-old Anna, determined to have some even after being told she cannot, goes into the cellar where it is left to cool and helps herself to a very large amount of it, so much that she falls terribly ill from it. Karl-Oskar and Kristina send for Beata, a healing woman from Idemo, who upon seeing Anna tells them that after consuming so much porridge, Anna's stomach had burst. The child lingers in agony through the night before dying early the following morning, after which Kristina agrees for them to make the journey to America (Minnesota).

In their preparation for their emigration to the United States, Karl-Oskar, Kristina, their three remaining children and Robert are joined by Kristina's uncle and aunt, Danjel and Inga-Lena Andreasson and their four children. Danjel Andreasson is the pastor of a local conventicle of the Radical Pietistic Åkianer sect and has suffered relentless persecution at the hands of the Government-controlled Church of Sweden. For this reason, Danjel Andreasson seeks the religious freedom promised in the Constitution of the United States. He is joined by a member of his conventicle, Ulrika of Västergöhl, a former prostitute who seeking to start a new life in America for herself and her illegitimate teenage daughter Elin. Along with Ulrika and Elin, Danjel had also agreed to pay Arvid's passage to America after hiring him as a farmhand. The party was finally joined by Jonas Petter, a friend of Karl-Oskar who was fleeing an unhappy marriage.

The party sets off by wagon for the Swedish port city of Karlshamn, on the Baltic Sea, where they board the brig ''Charlotta'', bound for New York City, as emigrants.

The story takes place entirely during a few months in 1970, in the city of São Paulo. Mauro, a 12-year-old boy, is suddenly deprived of the company of his young parents, Bia and Daniel Stein, who are political activists on the run from the harsh military government, which was strongly repressing leftists all over the country. Against this backdrop of fear and political persecution, the country is at the same time bursting with enthusiasm for the upcoming World Cup, to be held in Mexico, the first one to be transmitted live via satellite.

Unable to take care of their only child, the Steins, who live in Belo Horizonte, drive all the way to São Paulo to deliver the boy to his paternal grandfather, Mótel, who is a barber. To their son, they say they will travel on vacation and promise to return for the World Cup games. However, the grandfather dies on the same day the boy arrives, and he is left clueless and without support in Bom Retiro, a working-class neighborhood inhabited mainly by Jews, many of whom speak Yiddish, an unknown language to the boy. As his father is Jewish, the close-knit Bom Retiro community rally in support of the child and Shlomo, a solitary elder and religious Jew who was a close neighbor and friend of Mauro's grandfather, assumes the care of Mauro.

Mauro is a football enthusiast and wants to be a goalkeeper. He gradually mixes in with other neighborhood children and becomes acquainted with a number of colorful characters, including Hanna, a girl his age; Ítalo, a politically active student from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo; Irene, a beautiful female bartender and her boyfriend, the mulatto ace goalkeeper of one of the local football teams; the local rabbi and assorted Jewish elders, Italian immigrants, and so on.

To Mauro's great disappointment, his parents neither appear as promised at the World Cup nor give any notice. Fearing the worst, Shlomo starts to investigate by himself and is arrested by the political police because of his meddling. Finally, he achieves the release of Mauro's mother, who is severely ill after the prison term. Her reunion with her child happens on the very same day as Brazil's final victory at the World Cup. (Mauro's father disappears while in the dictatorship's clutches, never to return.) At the end of the film, Mauro says farewell to his recent friends and playmates as he and his mother leave Bom Retiro and prepare to go into exile.

The story takes place in the 1840s up to 1850. The first part of the novel describes the hardships faced by rural families in Sweden. Karl Oskar Nilsson and his wife, Kristina, own a farm in ''Ljuder socken'' in Småland. They have four children and work hard to make a living, but the poor harvests lead to famine, a catalyst for the beginnings of emigration to the United States in search of a better life. Karl Oskar and his brother Robert want to go, but Kristina doesn't want to leave her home country, knowing that she will never see the rest of their family again. But after the death of their oldest child, she accepts her husband's plans when she realizes that they are in just as much danger from their lives in Sweden as on the big sea and in a New World.

They pack up all their belongings and book passage in a group with others from their parish. The characters illustrate some of the motives that prompted people to leave Sweden in the 19th century. The travelers include:

• Karl-Oskar, Kristina and their children – seeking to escape poverty and famine and finding a place where their work pays off.
• Robert, Karl Oskar's adventurous brother – landless, as the second son of a farmer whose holdings are too small to sub-divide. He seeks escape from the harsh conditions of being a hired farmhand.
• Danjel Andreasson with family, Kristina's maternal uncle, who has been banished from the country due to his religious "delusions." The state Lutheran church was very powerful, and dissent, even in the simple form of home Bible study, is not tolerated. They bring their farmhand Arvid, who is a friend of Robert.
• Jonas Petter Albrektsson, who seeks to escape from an unhappy marriage at a time when divorce was not possible.
• Ulrika of Västergöhl, a former prostitute, looking to leave her past behind and start afresh with her daughter Elin.

The second part of the book tells how they board the ship in Karlshamn, and then how the life goes on during the ten weeks they spend on board – battling sea-sickness and scurvy, travelling across the Atlantic Ocean before finally reaching New York City in midsummer of 1850. The novel ends with the travellers marvelling at the technological wonders of their new home, emblematised in the almost-complete Hudson River Railroad (which would grow into the New York Central) finally opened October 3, 1851.

Category:1949 Swedish novels Category:Novels by Vilhelm Moberg Category:Swedish historical novels Category:Novels set in the 1840s Category:Novels set in Sweden Category:Fictional works set in the Atlantic Ocean Category:Novels set in the 1850s Category:Novels set in the Atlantic Ocean Category:Swedish-language novels Category:Novels set in Småland Category:Works about Swedish-American culture

This novel describes the journey of the Emigrants from New York City, New York to Taylors Falls, Minnesota. They settle at the lake Ki-Chi-Saga (now Lake Chisago) in what is today Chisago County, and start building their home. Robert, Karl-Oskar's brother, takes off to California with Arvid in search for gold.

Category:1952 novels Category:Novels by Vilhelm Moberg Category:Swedish-language novels Category:Novels about immigration to the United States Category:Works about Swedish-American culture

The book tells about the group's new life in America where most of them now have started to feel at home. It also follows Robert and Arvid's journey on the California Trail.

This novel tells about Karl-Oskar and Kristina in their late life and eventual death. The novel has a slightly more reflective perspective than the other three, and it follows events such as The American Civil War and the Sioux Outbreak of 1862 through the perspective of the settlers.

Gabin is Pierre Arrignon, a French criminal, on the run who finds himself in Genoa, Italy, and falls in love with Marta Manfredini (Isa Miranda), a local woman. The film is set in Italy, and the dialogue is primarily in French.