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It is 1961, two years after the original Grease ended. The first day of school has arrived ("Alma Mater" from the original musical) as Principal McGee and her secretary Blanche react in horror as the students, among them the new T-Birds and Pink Ladies, arrive at high school ("Back to School Again"). The Pink Ladies are now led by Stephanie Zinone, who feels she has "outgrown" her relationship with her ex-boyfriend Johnny Nogerelli, the arrogant and rather immature new leader of the T-Birds. A new arrival comes in the form of clean- cut English student Michael Carrington (a cousin of Sandy Olsson from the previous film). He is welcomed and introduced to the school atmosphere by Frenchy, who was asked by Sandy to help show Michael around. Frenchy reveals she has returned to Rydell to get her high school diploma so she can start her own cosmetics company. Michael eventually meets Stephanie and quickly becomes smitten with her. At the local bowling alley, a game ("Score Tonight") turns sour due to the animosity between Johnny and Stephanie. Stephanie retaliates by kissing the next man who walks in the door, who happens to be Michael. Bemused by this unexpected kiss, Michael falls in love with Stephanie so asks her out, but he learns that she has a very specific vision of her ideal man ("Cool Rider"). After realising that he will only win her affections if he turns himself into a cool rider, Michael accepts payments from the T-Birds to write term papers for them; he uses the cash to buy a motorcycle. Following an unusual biology lesson ("Reproduction") given by Mr. Stuart, a substitute teacher, a gang of rival motorcyclists called the Cycle Lords (most of whom are members of the defunct Scorpions) led by Leo Balmudo, surprise the T-Birds at the bowling alley. Before the fight starts, a lone mysterious (unnamed) biker appears (who is actually Michael in disguise), defeats the enemy gang and disappears into the night ("Who's That Guy?"). Stephanie is fascinated with the stranger. Meanwhile, Louis, one of the T-Birds, attempts to trick his sweetheart Sharon, one of the Pink Ladies and Stephanie's friends into losing her virginity to him by taking her to a fallout shelter and faking a nuclear attack ("Let's Do It for Our Country.") The next evening while working at a gas station/garage, Stephanie is surprised again by the Cool Rider, and they enjoy a romantic twilight motorcycle ride, which includes a kiss. Just as Michael is about to reveal his identity, they are interrupted by the arrival of the T-Birds and Pink Ladies. Before Michael leaves, he tells Stephanie that he will see her at the school talent show, in which the Pink Ladies and T-Birds are performing. Johnny, enraged by Stephanie's new romance, threatens to fight the Cool Rider if he sees him with her again. The Pink Ladies walk away haughtily, but this has little effect on the T-Birds' self-confidence ("Prowlin'"). At school, Stephanie's poor grades in English lead her to accept Michael's offer of help. Johnny, upon seeing them together in a discussion, demands that Stephanie quit the Pink Ladies to preserve his honor ("rep", reputation). Although still enchanted by the mysterious Cool Rider, interactions with Michael reveal that she has become romantically interested in him as well. Michael ponders over the continuing charade he puts on for Stephanie ("Charades"). At the talent show, Stephanie and the Cool Rider meet up but are abruptly ambushed by the T-Birds who pursue Michael on their respective motorcycles, with Stephanie, Sharon, Paulette, and Rhonda following in a car. They chase him to a construction site which conceals a deadly drop, and the biker's absence suggests that he has perished below, leaving Stephanie heartbroken and inconsolable. Johnny and his T-Birds remove the competing Preptones – preppie boys – by tying them to a shower pole in the boys' locker room and drenching them. During the Pink Ladies' performance in the talent show ("Girl for All Seasons"), Stephanie enters a dreamlike fantasy world where she is reunited with her mystery biker ("(Love Will) Turn Back the Hands of Time"). She is named winner of the contest and crowned the queen of the upcoming graduation luau, with Johnny hailed as king for his performance of "Prowlin'" with his fellow T-Birds. The school year ends with the luau ("Rock- a-Hula Luau"), during which the Cycle Lords appear and begin to destroy the celebration. However, the Cool Rider reappears. After he defeats the Cycle Lords again, he reveals himself to be Michael. Initially shocked, Johnny gives him a T-Birds jacket, officially welcoming him into the gang, and Stephanie is delighted that she can now be with him. Michael and Stephanie share a very passionate kiss and he whispers that he loves her. All the couples pair off happily at the seniors' graduation as the graduating class sings ("We'll Be Together"). The credits start rolling in yearbook-style, as in the original film ("Back To School Again"). 

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A year after James Bond's final confrontation with Ernst Stavro Blofeld, while on a mission in Japan, a man claiming to be Bond appears in London and demands to meet the head of the Secret Service, M. Bond's identity is confirmed, but during his debriefing interview with M, Bond tries to kill him with a cyanide pistol; the attempt fails. The Service learns that after destroying Blofeld's castle in Japan, Bond suffered a head injury and developed amnesia. Having lived as a Japanese fisherman for several months, Bond travelled into the Soviet Union to learn his true identity. While there, he was brainwashed and assigned to kill M upon returning to England. Now de- programmed, Bond is given a chance to again prove his worth as a member of the 00 section following the assassination attempt. M sends Bond to Jamaica and gives him the seemingly impossible mission of killing Francisco "Pistols" Scaramanga, a Cuban assassin who is believed to have killed several British secret agents. Scaramanga is known as "The Man with the Golden Gun" because his weapon of choice is a gold-plated Colt .45 revolver, which fires silver- jacketed solid-gold bullets. Bond locates Scaramanga in a Jamaican bordello and manages to become his temporary personal assistant under the name "Mark Hazard". He learns that Scaramanga is involved in a hotel development on the island with a group of investors that consists of a syndicate of American gangsters and the KGB. Scaramanga and the other investors are also engaged in a scheme to destabilise Western interests in the Caribbean's sugar industry and increase the value of the Cuban sugar crop, running drugs into America, smuggling prostitutes from Mexico into America and operating casinos in Jamaica that will cause friction between tourists and the local people. Bond discovers that he has an ally who is also working undercover at the half-built resort, Felix Leiter, who has been recalled to duty by the CIA and is working ostensibly as an electrical engineer while setting up bugs in Scaramanga's meeting room. However, they learn that Scaramanga plans to eliminate Bond when the weekend is over. Bond's true identity is confirmed by a KGB agent and Scaramanga makes new plans to entertain the gangsters and the KGB agent by killing Bond while they are riding a sight-seeing train to a marina. However, Bond manages to turn the tables on Scaramanga and, with the help of Leiter, kill most of the conspirators. Wounded, Scaramanga escapes into the swamps, where Bond pursues him. Scaramanga lulls Bond off-guard and shoots him with a golden derringer hidden in his palm. Bond is hit but returns fire and shoots Scaramanga several times, killing him at last. 

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In 1991, the US and China are on the verge of a major trade agreement, with the President due to visit China to seal the deal. The CIA learns that its asset Tom Bishop has been arrested at a People's Liberation Army prison in Suzhou and will be executed in 24 hours, unless the US government claims him and bargains for his release. Bishop's actions, unsanctioned by the CIA, risk jeopardizing the agreement.. A group of CIA executives summon Nathan Muir, a mid-level case officer and Bishop's mentor, who is on his last day before retirement. While purportedly interviewing Muir to learn his history with Bishop, the executives seek a pretext for not intervening on Bishop's imprisonment. Unknown to them, Muir was tipped off about Bishop's capture by a fellow CIA veteran in Hong Kong. Muir leaks the story to CNN through an MI6 contact in Hong Kong, believing that public pressure would force American intervention. They are stalled briefly before a phone call to the FCC from CIA Deputy Director Charles Harker results in CNN retracting the story as a hoax. Muir met Bishop in 1975, when Bishop was a Marine Scout Sniper during the Vietnam War. In 1976, Muir recruited Bishop as a CIA asset in Berlin, where Bishop was tasked with procuring assets in East Germany. Then he discusses Bishop's spy work in Beirut in 1985, during the War of the Camps, which was their last mission together. We see events unfold in detail via flashback scenes. Bishop is troubled by Muir's conviction that civilian "assets" who endangered a mission should be sacrificed to preserve the "greater good." After Bishop attempts to countermand Muir during a mission to save the life of an asset, Muir makes clear that he will not tolerate dissent, and would not rescue Bishop if he was captured going "off the reservation". During a mission in Lebanon, Bishop, posing as a photojournalist, meets relief worker Elizabeth Hadley. While using her to connect with an asset for the mission, they became romantically involved. Muir distrusts Hadley, and reveals to Bishop that she was exiled from the UK. Hadley later confesses to Bishop that she was involved in the bombing of a Chinese building in Britain, which was supposed to be empty but contained Chinese nationals. Bishop reveals to Hadley his true identity. Muir elects again to sacrifice a civilian asset for the sake of their mission, and Bishop cuts professional ties with Muir. Muir, fearing that Hadley could be a threat to the Agency and potentially Bishop, makes a deal with the Chinese, exchanging Hadley in return for an arrested US diplomat. Chinese agents kidnap Hadley, and a Dear John letter is forged and left for Bishop. In the present, Muir recognizes that Bishop went to China for Hadley. In a series of misdirections, he forges a directive signed by the CIA director to begin "Operation Dinner Out", a rescue mission spearheaded by a SEAL team that Bishop had developed as a "Plan B" for his own attempt at rescuing Hadley. Using $282,000 of his life savings and a misappropriated file on Chinese coastline satellite imagery, Muir enlists the help of his Hong Kong colleague in bribing a Chinese energy official to cut power to the prison for 30 minutes, during which time the SEAL rescue team will retrieve Bishop and Hadley. Harker is suspicious that Muir is working against the CIA, but when he confronts Muir before the gathered executives, Muir "confesses" to unprofessionally using company resources to gather information about his intended retirement home, which he has distorted the evidence to support. Bishop is rescued along with Hadley, and infers that Muir was responsible when he hears the pilot refer to Operation Dinner Out, which was also the code name for an operation Bishop used to get a birthday gift for Muir while they were in Lebanon. When the CIA officials are belatedly informed of the rescue, Muir has already left the building and is seen driving safely off into the countryside. 

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The first episode finds the four friends ending a night at Babylon, a popular gay club. Brian picks up and has sex with Justin, who falls in love with him and eventually becomes more than a one-night stand. Brian also becomes a father that night, bearing a son with Lindsay through artificial insemination. Michael's seemingly unrequited love for Brian fuels the story, which he occasionally narrates in voice-over. Justin's coming out and the budding relationship with Brian has unexpected effects on Brian and Michael's lives much to Michael's dismay as Justin is only 17 years old. Justin confides in his straight high-school friend Daphne, while struggling to deal with homophobic classmates and his dismayed, divorcing parents, Craig and Jennifer. Later in the second season, Justin and Michael co-create the sexually explicit underground comic Rage, featuring a "Gay Crusader" superhero based on Brian. Brian's son Gus, being raised by Lindsay and Melanie, becomes the focus of several episodes as issues of parental rights come to the fore. Ted is Melanie's accountant who once harbored a longstanding crush on Michael. He and Emmett begin as best friends, but briefly become lovers later in the series. Their relationship ends as Ted, unemployed and with a criminal record earned from running a legitimate porn website that was targeted by a Chief of Police running for Mayor, becomes addicted to crystal meth. In the fourth season, Brian, who has lost his job by assisting Justin in opposing an anti-gay political client, starts his own agency. He also discovers he has testicular cancer and hides his treatment from his friends. Michael marries Ben Bruckner, an HIV-positive college professor, and the couple adopts a teenage son, James "Hunter" Montgomery, who is also HIV-positive as a result of his experiences as a young hustler. Ted's affair with a handsome crystal meth addict, Blake Wyzecki, sets the pattern for Ted's later tragic but ultimately redeeming experiences with drug addiction. Melanie and Lindsay's relationship, while on the surface seeming more of a "stable" relationship, is actually quite tumultuous. Each cheats on the other at various points in the series; both tackle on a threesome shortly after they marry and become separated for much of the 4th and 5th seasons. Melanie is impregnated by Michael (through artificial insemination, as Lindsay was) in the third season, so that best friends Brian and Michael become co- fathers to Lindsay and Melanie's children. Melanie gives birth to a girl, Jenny Rebecca, over whom Melanie, Lindsay, and Michael have a brief legal custody battle following the women's transitory break-up. Brian's new advertising agency, Kinnetik, becomes highly successful both through a combination of Brian's customer loyalty and his edgier advertising. As a result of this, Brian is able to purchase Club Babylon from its bankrupt owner. In the fifth and final season the boys have become men, and the series, perhaps more comfortable in its role in gay entertainment, tackles political issues head-on and with much more fervor. A political campaign called "Proposition 14" is depicted during much of the final season as a looming threat to the main characters. This proposition, like so many real-life recent legislative moves that have affected many U.S. states, threatens to outlaw same-sex marriage, adoption and other family civil rights. The many ways in which such a proposition would affect the characters are depicted through nearly every episode. Debbie, Justin, Jennifer, Daphne, Emmett, Ted, Michael, Ben, Lindsay, Melanie, and the children are depicted standing up and fighting against this proposition both by active canvassing, political contributions, and other democratic processes, but are met with staunch opposition, discrimination, outright hatred, and political setbacks. The show climaxes near the end of the series when a benefit to support opposition to Proposition 14 hosted at Brian's club Babylon (after repeated relocations of the benefit, due to discrimination) is attacked by a bomb that initially kills 4, and eventually another 3 and injures 67. This horrible event sets the bittersweet tone for the final three episodes, in which Brian, frightened by this third possible loss of Justin, finally declares his love for him. The two even plan to marry, but Justin's artistic abilities get noticed by a New York art critic and the two decide, for the time being at least, in favor of a more realistic approach to a stormy relationship that nevertheless works for their characters. Melanie and Lindsay, realizing they have more in common than they don't, resume their relationship but relocate to Canada to "raise [their children] in an environment where they will not be called names, singled out for discrimination, or ever have to fear for their life." Emmett becomes a Queer-Eye type TV presenter but is later fired when professional football player Drew Boyd kisses him on the news to signify his coming out. Ted confronts his midlife crisis head-on and finally reunites with Blake. Hunter returns and the Novotny-Bruckner family perseveres. The series came full circle with the final scenes staged in the restored Babylon nightclub. In the final scene, Brian dances to Heather Small's "Proud," a song that accompanied a pivotal scene between Brian and Michael in the very first episode of the series. It ends with a final narration by Michael: 

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In October 1992, an elite group of North Korean soldiers are put through a brutal training regime. Under the auspices of their commander, Park Mu-young (Choi Min-sik), they will be sent into South Korea as sleeper agents, to be reactivated at some later date. The most promising of the group is Lee Bang-hee, a female sniper who assassinates several key South Korean figures over the next six years. Over six years later, in September 1998, South Korea is searching for Bang-hee. The agent in charge of her case, Yu Jong-won (Han Suk-kyu) has nightmares about her murdering both him and his partner, Lee Jang-gil (Song Kang-ho). Jong-won is also engaged to a young woman, Lee Myung-hyun (Yunjin Kim), a former alcoholic and the owner of a fish and aquarium supply store. Myung-hyun symbolically gives Jong-won a pair of kissing gourami, a species that cannot live without its mate. Jong-won is worried that he cannot tell her about the real nature of his job due to his security clearance. Jong-won and Jang-gil are contacted by an arms dealer who claims to have information about their quarry, but he is shot dead by Bang-hee before he can give them any information. After digging a bit deeper, they determine that he had been contacted by the assassin at some point, in the effort to acquire something. That something turns out to be CTX, a binary liquid explosive developed by the South Korean government. In its ground state, CTX is indistinguishable from water, but when placed under the right temperature conditions for long enough, a 200mL worth of CTX has a 1 km blast radius. The agents begin to suspect its intended use by the assassins, when Kim, a scientist working at a lab connected to CTX, is assassinated by Bang-hee. Mu-young and his agents ambush a military convoy with several liters of CTX, killing all the soldiers and making off with the dangerous liquid before the agents could arrive in time to warn them. Jong-won and Jang-gil suspect a leak, as they are always one step too slow. Bang-hee is ordered to eliminate the 'kissing gourami' obstacle. Jong-won meets with Police Chief Ho to borrow outside forces but Ho accidentally stands in the path of a bullet fired by Bang-hee's sniper rifle. Mu-young calls Jong-won and issues an ultimatum: he has concealed several CTX bombs around Seoul, and will give him just enough time to find each one before setting them off. He also mockingly mentions Jong-won's fiancé. It is revealed that Mu-young and Jong-won have a history: Mu-young once hijacked a civilian airliner and killed many civilians, but managed to escape by disguising himself as a wounded member of the flight crew. The first of the CTX bombs is found on top of a department store, but Mu-young lied about the time factor. The bomb explodes just as the bomb disposal team discover its exact location, resulting in dozens of deaths. Jong-won takes Myung-hyun to hide out at a hotel and she begins drinking again. Jong-won suspects Jang-gil as the leak - who suspects the same thing, as Jong-won has twice survived encounters with Bang-hee he should have died in, and bugged Jong-won's car and phone to see if he could learn anything. Jong-won sets a trap by telling Jang-gil he has new information - which Mu-young and his fellow agents step into - but the situation quickly escalates into a firefight resulting in police and civilian casualties. Several of the Northern agents are killed while others escape. When Mu-young is cornered, Bang-hee comes in to save him. Jong-won, having survived his stand-off with Mu-young and Bang-hee, follows a wounded Bang-hee. He loses her but notices the light to the aquarium turn on and covertly enters, discovering a bleeding Myung-hyun removing her disguise. Jong-won walks away, shocked, and conducts a solo investigation into her history with the real, sick Myung-hyun. Mu-young confronts Bang-hee about her hesitancy and constant failure to kill Jong-won, reminding her of their primary objective. Mu-young calls NIS, demanding millions as well as a plane for an escape at 2pm in return for the remaining CTX. Myung-hyun's identity is confirmed by the agency later when electronic surveillance devices are discovered in fish decorating the NIS's office supplied by her. Jang-gil confronts her in her shop, and is shot by Mu-young. Jong-won suddenly appears with officers, who engage in a firefight with Mu-young and his agents. Mu-young and Myung-hyun escape, while a dying Jang-gil hands Myung-hyun's soccer match ticket to Jong- won, set to start at 2pm. The terrorists aim to detonate a CTX bomb directly over the Royal Box, housing all senior North and South Korean politicians, at a soccer stadium in the midst of an international friendly match played by a North and South Korean team. Jong-won attempts to tell NIS of the ruse and the danger in the stadium but is ignored. He defies orders and rushes to the stadium, where Mu-young, Bang-hee, and other terrorists mingle with the crowd. They find a total ban on all liquids, but enter easily as the CTX and weapons were already planted in the stadium beforehand. Bang-hee retrieves a hidden Steyr AUG from a restroom cubicle, while Mu-young and his agents tail several patrolling South Korean SWAT officers who later adjourn to the restrooms. There, the policemen are killed and their bodies quickly dragged away. Myung- hyun advances into the grandstand with her rifle, while Mu-young and three other men, now disguised as South Korean SWAT officers in uniforms stolen from the dead policemen, enter the stadium control room, killing all but one there and forcing the remaining staff to switch on the stadium lights to trigger the CTX. Jong-won arrives at the stadium and notices the lights. Jong-won goes to the control room to have them shut off but is taken captive. Sik, a rookie NIS agent, also notices the lights and soon comes in with backup. A violent confrontation in the control room results in the death of all four terrorists, and the lights are switched off in the nick of time. Myung-hyun notices this, and fires at the VIPs, but misses her target. Chasing after the entourage, she kills several more SWAT officers along the way before being confronted by a large group of officers led by Jong-won. As she makes a last-ditch attempt to complete her mission, she is shot dead by Jong-won. Jong-won later learns that Bang-hee (whom he knew as Myung-hyun) was pregnant with his child, and had left details of the renegade Northern agents' plan and her planned location on his answering machine before leaving for the stadium but had requested he not confront her himself, professing her love for him. Jong-won then visits the real Myung-hyun, who is at a hospital for chemo therapy, and Myung-hyun reminisces about Bang-hee with Jong-won. Myung-hyun lets Jong-won listen to that song, and while listening to it Jong-won is captivated by the lyrics. The scene then fades, while Jong-won, still listening to the song, shuts his eyes. 

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The story centres on Hitoshi Kōbe, a guy who is neither academically gifted nor good at sports, so he does not do very well at school. Hitoshi has only one thing going for him - his ability to program computers. In fact, he is so good at this he has created programs that can rewrite themselves - Artificial Intelligence, in other words. So far he has created thirty of these programs, and the latest - whom he names Saati ( The Japanese pronunciation of the English word "Thirty" )- is so advanced that conversation with her is indistinguishable from a normal girl. However, there is still the barrier of Hitoshi being in the physical world and Saati being a program, until one day a freak lightning strike materializes her into the real world, where she becomes the girlfriend of Hitoshi. The series then follows their now not so ordinary lives, as well as other A.I.s of Hitoshi's creation. 

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Eeyore, Rabbit, Tigger and Pooh are working on a plan to get honey from a beehive. This involves getting the bees to move into a new hive by convincing them that Eeyore is a bee. Piglet comes up to them during the attempt, but is effectively told that he is too small to help. The plan goes awry when the bees do not fall for it, but Piglet manages to divert the bees into the new hive using a funnel and then seals the hive shut, trapping the bees. Unfortunately, no one has seen Piglet's heroism, having all been hiding from the bees. Piglet, feeling uncared for, wanders sadly away. Eventually, Pooh, Rabbit, Tigger, and Eeyore notice that Piglet is missing, assume that he has been scared off by, or kidnapped by the bees and decide to try and find him. They are joined by Roo and together the five friends search for Piglet. They are aided in this search by Piglet's scrapbook, in which he has drawn pictures of the adventures that he has shared with his friends. The characters use the pictures to tell the stories depicted therein. One of the stories told is the expedition to find the North Pole, where Piglet uses a long stick to save Roo (who has fallen in the river). His heroism is overlooked when he gives the stick to Pooh and tries to catch Roo, who has been catapulted into the air during the rescue attempt. Christopher Robin arrives as Roo is caught by his mother and then credits Pooh with finding the North Pole (the stick he is holding in his paws). Back in the present, the friends regret not sharing the praise with Piglet. Another story told is the building of the House at Pooh Corner. Here Piglet comes up with the idea to build Eeyore a house and he and Pooh are joined by Tigger to build it. Tigger and Pooh do most of the work, whilst Piglet, unintentionally, gets in the way. The final house, however, is a disaster, but Tigger and Pooh go off to tell Eeyore about the house. Unfortunately, the house is being held together by Piglet, who eventually loses his grip and the house collapses. Tigger and Pooh go to inform Eeyore of the bad news, but Piglet arrives to tell them all that the house is fine. It is revealed that he rebuilt the house himself, but the location remains as Pooh Corner, since Pooh "would call it Pooh and Piglet Corner, if Pooh Corner didn't sound better, which it does, being smaller and more like a Corner". Back in the present, an argument between Rabbit and Tigger ends with the scrapbook falling apart and then falling into the river. Without their guide, the friends return to Piglets house and, after a time, start to draw new pictures of Piglet and his adventures, some of which are new. Then, the friends again resolve to find their missing Piglet and go back out to find him. They come across several pictures from the scrapbook, which have floated downstream and then find the books bindings, suspended on a broken hollow old log, overhanging a raging waterfall. Pooh goes to retrieve it, but falls into a hole in the log. The others try to reach him, but the rescue attempt is just too short. Just as they ask who can help, Piglet arrives and helps haul Pooh to safety just as the log begins to collapse. Eeyore, Rabbit, Roo and Tigger are now stood by the edge of the ravine, next to the waterfall, but the log inside which Pooh and Piglet were trapped has fallen far into the waters below. The survivors being to cry and are joined by sad-looking Pooh and Piglet, who have managed to escape. Happy, the friends take Piglet to show him their new drawings, including a large one of Piglet dressed as a knight in shining armor. The next day they hold a party, but Pooh interrupts, taking Piglet to Eeyores' house, where he has changed the sign to read Pooh and Piglet Corner; "the least [they] could do for a little Piglet, who has done such big things!" 

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{| class="infobox bordered" style="font-size:75%" |+ Castlevania series fictional chronology |- ! Original series |- | |- ! Lords of Shadow series |- | |- | Sources: |} The Castlevania franchise heavily references the iconic horror movies produced by Universal Pictures and Hammer Film Productions. Creator of the series, Hitoshi Akamatsu, wanted players to feel like they were in a classic horror movie. When doing research for his script for the animated 2017 TV adaptation, author Warren Ellis called the series "a Japanese transposition of the Hammer Horror films I grew up with and loved". Werewolves, mummies, Frankenstein's monster, and Count Dracula himself make recurring appearances. Alucard, first introduced in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, is also a reference to the character of the same name from the 1943 film, Son of Dracula. The games also include folklore and mythological monsters such as Medusa, as well as direct references to literary horror. Castlevania: Bloodlines explicitly incorporates the events of Bram Stoker's Dracula into the series, and the recurring character Carmilla is based on the 1872 novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Castlevania mainly takes place in the castle of Count Dracula, who resurrects every hundred years to take over the world. With the exception of some games, the players assume the role of the Belmonts, a clan of vampire hunters who have defeated Dracula for centuries with the Vampire Killer. The Vampire Killer is a legendary whip that is passed down to their successors and can only be used by them. In Castlevania: Bloodlines, the whip has been inherited by John Morris, the son of Quincey Morris, who is a distant descendant of the Belmonts. Other recurring characters throughout the series include the dhampir Alucard, who sides with Trevor Belmont against his father Dracula in Dracula's Curse. Trevor is also joined by Sypha Belnades, a vampire hunter who fights using magic and marries Trevor by the end of the game. Descendants of the Belnades clan, such as Carrie Fernandez and Yoko Belnades, would also make appearances as playable characters in later titles. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a reboot of the franchise, with its first game set in Southern Europe during the Middle Ages. The main character, Gabriel Belmont, is a member of the Brotherhood of Light, an elite group of holy knights who defend people from supernatural creatures. With a retractable chain whip called the Combat Cross, Gabriel fights a malevolent force known as the Lords of Shadow in order to obtain the God Mask, which he believes can bring back his deceased wife. In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Gabriel stars as Dracula, the main antagonist of Simon and Trevor Belmont. The sequel, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is set during modern times, where Dracula is now looking for a way to put an end to his immortality. In 2002, the games Legends, Circle of the Moon, Castlevania (1999) and Legacy of Darkness were retconned from the official chronology by Koji Igarashi, a move which had been met with some criticism by fans. Igarashi noted that Legends conflicted with the plotline of the series, and that the reason for Circle of the Moon's removal was not due to his non-involvement with the game, but instead the intention of the game's development team for Circle of the Moon to be a stand-alone title. The "20th Anniversary Pre-order Bundle" for Portrait of Ruin in 2006 featured a poster with a timeline that re-included the games other than Legends. In 2007, Konami still excluded them from the canon on their official website. Igarashi has said that he considered the titles a "subseries".Nintendo Power, July 2008 

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Master Higgins' girlfriend Tina, has just been kidnapped by the Evil Witch Doctor's persistent followers. Eight perilous islands are in control of the various monster minions, although four friendly dinosaurs will gladly ally themselves with those willing to brave the islands' dangers and defeat their common oppressors. Thinking of how grateful his favorite lady will be when he comes to her rescue, Master Higgins embarks on a daunting quest to get to his honey. 

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Every year, the Kamerkar family assembles in their ancestral village to celebrate the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Three days before the festival, a doyen of the family—the much-loved and respected Gajanan Karmerkar who is fondly known as Gajju Kaka—goes into a coma. He is put on life support—a medical ventilator—in a Mumbai hospital. Gajanan's nephew, Raja Kamerkar, a popular Bollywood film director, receives this news from his father during a screening of his film starring Priyanka Chopra, who suggests Raja leave for the hospital. Gajju Kaka has been very kind to Raja, who is having some issues with his own father. On his way to the hospital, Raja tells everyone, including the family in the village. Although his relatives are worried about Gajju Kaka, they are also worried about the upcoming festivities. Gajju Kaka's death during the festival would mean a period of mourning, spoiling their festive plans. All of the family members and their neighbours visit Gajju Kaka in the hospital, praying to Lord Ganesha for his quick recovery. Gajanan's wife Manda and their son Prasanna are happy to see Raja at the hospital, while others are excited about Raja's upcoming film and his popularity. Raja meets everyone in the hospital, most of whom are occupied with concerns other than Gajju Kaka's health. Raja is amused by the chaos around the family members and their different attitudes to the situation. Even in this difficult time, Prasanna is busy with political endeavours and his plans to win a competition to prove himself to his boss. Meanwhile, Pritam, Prassana's and Raja's cousin from the village, is on his way with his uncle (Gajanan's older, unmarried brother), his mother, father, wife and other relatives. Prasanna has a dysfunctional relation with his father Gajanan, of which all the family members are aware. On the contrary, Prasanna's sister Sarika shares a deep relationship with their father. Manda reminds Prasanna that Gajanan had always loved him and that Prassana should have been there for him. Prasanna's boss dismisses him and gives his job to his assistant. The family from the village arrives; they learn about the ventilator and are shocked to know that he will always depend upon it. Prasanna decides to keep Gajanan on the ventilator until the following afternoon and the family understands. Raja, who had problems with his own father, asks Prasanna to go to Gajanan's ward and see him for the last time. Prasanna reveals his anger towards his father and how he could not be like "his favourite Raja", and that Gajanan never understood him and overlooked him in favour of his sister Sarika. The next day, Raja and Prasanna's cousin Lata arrives from the United States with her husband and their young son. The child has drawn a family tree, which he shows to the whole family. He asks Prasanna about his father; Prasanna tells the child his father never loved him. After overhearing this, Raja's father and Gajanan's brother remind Prasanna about his father's difficulties after Prasanna was born with a thin nostril, and contrary to Prasanna's belief, how much Gajanan loved him. This changes Prassana's mind; he rushes to the ward to ask the doctors to keep his father on the ventilator as he makes peace with Gajanan. He rejoins his mother and sister, and they all hug each other. This gives confidence to Raja, who tries to bury his misunderstanding with his own father. While still on the ventilator, Gajanan is seen smiling. 

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Eddie Valiant is a hardboiled private eye, and Roger Rabbit is a second banana comic strip character. The rabbit hires Valiant to find out why his employers, the DeGreasy Brothers (Rocco and Dominic), who are owners of a cartoon syndicate, have reneged on a promise to give Roger his own strip and potentially sell his contract to a mystery buyer. Evidence shows that there was no mystery buyer and the reason Roger Rabbit remained in a secondary role was because of his lack of talent. Soon after, Roger is mysteriously murdered in his home. His speech balloon, found at the crime scene, indicates his murder was a way of "censoring" the star, who apparently had just heard someone explain the source of his success. Valiant's search for the killer takes him to a variety of suspects which includes: Roger's widow Jessica Rabbit; Roger's former co-star Baby Herman and Roger's photographer Carol Masters. Valiant then meets a doppelgänger of Roger's and promises to solve the mystery of his death. At the same time, Roger's former boss Rocco DeGreasy is also murdered and witnesses point out Roger as the killer, as he was allegedly seen fleeing the scene of the crime. While Valiant investigates, the key suspects ask him to be on the lookout for a certain kettle in exchange for a reward. He eventually finds the kettle which was in Roger's possession and gives it to Dominic, only to find it is actually a magic lamp with a Genie, who then kills Dominic. The Genie explains its origins and that over thousands of years it has become embittered, now only granting wishes with a catch, and admits to being the one who shot Roger. He further explains that the words to command him happen to be part of a children's song that Roger habitually sings, and as such Roger wished for success and Jessica without actually realising he had done so. When Roger accidentally activated the lantern a third time but this time witnessed the apparition, the Genie killed him. Valiant holds the Genie hostage over a salt-water fish tank; salt water being its weakness. The Genie is then forced to grant a wish made by Valiant for proof of Roger's innocence which is provided in the form of a suicide letter from Dominic confessing to both Roger and Rocco DeGreasy's murders along with his own suicide. Not trusting the Genie to keep its word of letting him go and also knowing that no one would believe him about the Genie, Valiant drops the Genie's lamp into the fish tank and the salt water dissolves the Genie. With Roger's murderer disposed of, Valiant concludes that the DeGreasy murderer was the original Roger Rabbit himself. Roger's motive was that Rocco had stolen Jessica from him, and he generated the doppelganger to be an alibi. He intended to plant the murder weapon at Valiant's office making him the fall guy but was shot by the Genie when he accidentally summoned it. The doppelganger confirms the truth and confesses that he "had it planned for days". However, for clearing his name and befriending him despite what he did and tried to do afterwards, he praises Valiant for his morals (calling him "a real stand-up guy"). Roger gives Valiant a final heartfelt goodbye before disintegrating. 

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The immediate backstory is introduced via a comic book that tells the story of a young boy called Robert who is the sole survivor of a helicopter crash in "the Gap" (the name applied to the Outback at the time of the game). Too young to fend for himself, Robert is adopted by a group of locals, who teach him the skills he needs to survive in this harsh new environment; they name him Robert Foster, partly due to him being fostered by them, but also because of the discovery of an empty can of Foster's Lager found near the crash site. Over the years, Foster learns engineering and technology and builds a talking, sentient robot called Joey. Joey's personality is stored on a small circuit board, which can easily be inserted and removed from many types of robot. This allows him to change bodies as the situation requires, provided his circuit board is not damaged. His commentaries on the current "shell" he is in are a running gag throughout the game. As the game starts, Foster is kidnapped and his tribe annihilated by security soldiers sent from Union City by its all-powerful computer, LINC (Logical Inter-Neural Connection). The abductors refuse to give Foster any explanation as to what is happening. Shortly upon arriving in the city, the helicopter malfunctions and crashes in the city's upper level. Foster survives and flees, making his way into a recycling plant, carrying Joey's circuit board with him. Foster places Joey's circuit board into a robotic vacuum cleaner (something about which Joey is none too happy). He then attempts to escape the plant, but is cornered by a security officer who had also survived the accident. The officer, Reich, addresses Foster as "Overmann". Just as Reich is about to kill Foster, a nearby security camera shoots a laser, disarming him. Reich tells the camera, which he reveals is controlled by LINC, that Foster must be stopped. In answer the camera shoots him again, killing him. Foster takes the officer's access card and sunglasses before he continues his escape. As he makes his way further down the city, Foster eventually arrives in the abandoned subway tunnels. There he discovers that LINC has grown exponentially, to the point where he is now half-machine, half-organic entity. However, in order to function, LINC needs a human host to share its brain. The current host is Foster's biological father, who is old and has become severely worn out from his symbiosis with LINC. It is revealed that LINC sent for Foster because, with the death of its current host inevitable, it needed a replacement, and only a blood relative would do. Foster ultimately defeats LINC by plugging Joey (who, at this point, could be optionally given the new name "Ken" by Foster) into the mainframe. Joey/Ken is able to take control of the system, and set about turning Union City into a utopia. 

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Social worker Nina Borowski (Jennifer Aniston) is a bright young woman living in a cozy Brooklyn apartment. Nina attends a party given by her stepsister Constance (Allison Janney) and her husband, Sidney (Alan Alda). There Nina meets George Hanson (Paul Rudd), a young, handsome, and gay first grade teacher. Nina tells George that her stepsister is constantly trying to fix her up with somebody from higher society, completely ignoring the fact that Nina has a boyfriend, Vince (John Pankow). During the conversation, Nina offers George a room in her apartment as she has just heard from his boyfriend, Dr. Robert Joley (Tim Daly), that George is looking for somewhere to live. George, not knowing about Robert's plans, is taken aback and heartbroken, and after the party the two split up. George accepts Nina's offer and moves into her apartment. The two soon become best friends; they watch films together and go ballroom dancing. Everything is great until Nina announces that she is pregnant. Vince, the baby's father, wants to marry her, but his constant control drives Nina crazy; she leaves him and George offers to help raise her child. For some time, they live together in her apartment in Brooklyn. Everything is perfect again until Nina finds that her love for George is growing every day, especially after he tells her he had a girlfriend in high school, leading her to believe they might have a sexual relationship. One afternoon, George and Nina are about to have sex when George gets a phone call from Robert who tells him how much he has missed him and invites him away for the weekend. George is confused but agrees to go. Nina feels threatened and gets jealous. George and Robert do not re-establish their relationship, but George meets Paul James (Amo Gulinello), a young actor, and the two are attracted to each other and have sex. Meanwhile, Nina is staying with Constance at a vacation mansion and is extremely moody. She has a horrible time and decides to head back home and asks George to return as well. Her purse is snatched on the way and a friendly police officer, Louis (Kevin Carroll), gives her a ride home. Nina decides to invite Paul and his older acting mentor with whom he lives, Rodney (Nigel Hawthorne), for Thanksgiving after a rather prickly brunch with a late arriving George, and his brother and his brother's latest fiancee. After the evening winds down, Paul stays the night with George, resulting in a heated argument between George and Nina, and heartache for Rodney. At George's brother's wedding, they continue their discussion as Nina has begun to realize the reality of the situation. Nina fully explains to George her feelings for him. George, who loves Nina as his best friend, tells her that, ultimately, he wants to be with Paul. A few hours later, Nina gives birth to a beautiful girl she names Molly. Vince, ecstatic, visits her in the hospital, but when he leaves to complete paperwork, Nina and George remain alone with Molly. Nina asks George when he plans to move out to which he replies that he doesn't know. She asks him to move out of her apartment before she gets home from the hospital, stating that it would hurt her too much to have him stay any longer knowing that he doesn't love her the same way she does him. The end of the film takes place at George's school eight years later, in which all of the main characters go to see Molly in a musical production that George has directed. George is now the principal of the school. Nina is now in a relationship with Louis, and George is still with Paul, both of them now happy. Rodney is also there, still considered 'one of the family' by Louis & Nina. The film ends as Nina, George, and young Molly (Sarah Hyland) (who refers to George as her "Uncle George") walk together down the sidewalk, hand- in-hand, on their way to get coffee and talk. 

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Prelude The prologue and chorus greet the audience. Two tableaux are presented. In the first, Adam and Eve, wearing sheepskins are banished from the Garden of Eden by a winged angel who holds a sword in the form of a flame. Behind the angel stands a burst of gilded rays symbolizing the tree of forbidden fruit. The second living picture traditionally showed a number of girls and smaller children surrounding a cross at center stage. The adoration represents the time in 1633 when villagers swore their vow before a huge crucifix bearing a twelve-foot-high Jesus. Act 1 Jesus and the Money Changers. Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey to the shouts and exultation of the people on Palm Sunday. He drives the money changers and traders from the Temple then returns to Bethany. Act 2 Conspiracy of the High Council. In the past, this act began with a tableau showing the sons of the patriarch Jacob conspiring to kill Joseph in the Plain of Dothan; the frieze was deleted from the 1980 presentation. The act consists of discussions between the traders and Sanhedrin, who agree that Jesus must be arrested to preserve Mosaic law. Act 3 Parting at Bethany. Two tableaux presage the action. In the first, the young Tobias departs from his parents while the angel Raphael, played by another boy, waits, crook in hand, stage left. In the second, the loving bridesmaid from the Song of Solomon laments the loss of her groom. In the play, Christ is anointed by Mary Magdalene, then takes leave of his mother and friends. Judas is angered by the waste of the spikenard oil. Act 4 The Last Journey to Jerusalem. A controversial tableau (now deleted) showed Queen Vashti dishonored at the court of King Ahasuerus. The old queen (Judaism, explains the Prologue) has been displaced by Esther (Christianity). Jesus sends two disciples to secure a Paschal lamb. He enters Jerusalem for the last time and weeps over the fate of the city. Judas contemplates betraying his master and is tempted by Dathan and other merchants. Act 5 The Last Supper. The Passover Seder or Last Supper is celebrated in a scene evocative of the famous Da Vinci painting. Jesus washes the feet of his disciples and institutes the mass with wine and thick, brown, leavened bread. Two tableaux show Moses with rays or horns protruding from his head, bringing manna and grapes to the people in the wilderness. Act 6 The Betrayer. In a tableau, Joseph, a boy nude to the waist, is sold by his brothers to the Midianites for twenty pieces of silver. In accompanying action, Judas appears before the Sanhedrin and promises to deliver Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. After his departure, the Pharisees plan at great length the death of Jesus. Act 7 Jesus at the Mount of Olives. Two more Old Testament scenes introduce the soliloquy of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The first, a non-sequitur, which we are told explains that man must earn his food by the sweat of his brow, shows Adam, in sheepskin and assisted by a brood of similarly attired children, drawing a plow across a field. The second frieze more appropriately offers a helmeted Joab, surrounded by soldiers stabbing an unsuspecting Amasa in the ribs. Christ agonizes over his fate while his apostles doze. Judas enters with an armed band and betrays Jesus with a kiss. Act 8 Jesus before Annas. The Old Testament parallel has Micah slapped on the cheek by Zedekiah, priest of Baal, for daring to predict King Ahab would die in battle. In like manner, Jesus is taken before a waiting, eager Annas and is struck on the face for his insolence. Soldiers also deride Christ as he is led through the streets by a rope. Act 9 Condemned by the High Council. Two more tableaux emphasize the humiliation of Christ. In one, the aged Naboth is condemned by false witnesses and is stoned to death by the sons of Jezebel. In the other, Job, sitting on a dunghill is railed at by his friends, servants, even his wife and children. Meanwhile, Jesus is questioned by Caiaphas about his messiah-ship and is condemned. A tortured Judas tries to get the Sanhedrin to repeal its verdict. When his efforts prove unsuccessful, he tosses the money back at them and storms off. Act 10 Despair of Judas. Judas and all who identify with him are linked with Cain in the opening tableau. The battered body of Abel appears at center stage. To the right is Cain, clad in a leopard skin and holding a club in one hand. His other hand is at his brow, attempting to conceal the brand of God. In this short act Judas offers a speech of remorse then hangs himself. Act 11 Christ before Pilate. Originally there was a frieze that heralded Christ's first appearance before Pilate. The tableau of Daniel in the great pillared hall of Darius was deleted from later twentieth-century productions. Pilate's interrogation, coupled with news of his wife's dream, convinces the governor that Jesus should be prosecuted by Herod Antipas for lese majesty. Act 12 Christ Before Herod. The scene stands without the original living picture which showed a blinded Samson mocked by the Philistines. Herod treats Christ with scorn, demanding a miracle, then sends him back to Pilate, cloaked in a red mantle of royalty. Responding to the urging of the Sanhedrin, Pilate reluctantly agrees to have Jesus scourged. Roman guards beat Jesus and press a crown of thorns into his scalp. Act 13 Christ Sentenced to Death on the Cross. Two graphic pictures showing the presentation of Joseph's bloodied coat to Jacob, and Abraham about to stab Isaac on Mt. Moriah have been rejected from contemporary versions of the Passion. Retained, however, are tableaux which show Joseph riding a sedan chair as vizir of Egypt and another which supposedly represents the scapegoat offering of Yom Kippur. Following the tableaux, the stage is swarming with action as priests and Pharisees bring mobs from every direction. Pilate gives Jesus another hearing then offers the people a choice between Jesus and Barabbas. They demand and receive a final judgement on Christ. Act 14 The Way of the Cross. The final segment of the Passion is introduced by a more sublime image of the Akedah, or binding of Isaac. In this tableau, the boy, like Jesus, carries wood on his back as he and Abraham climb Mt. Moriah. Another frieze, showing Moses and a bronze serpent intertwined about the cross has been deleted. When the chorus withdraws from the stage Christ bears his cross to Golgotha. As he passes through the streets he encounters his mother, Veronica, and Simon of Cyrene. The women of Jerusalem weep for him. Act 15 Jesus on Calvary. For the first time the chorus appears in black traditional mourning garb. There is no tableau. He is mocked by members of the Sanhedrin and the soldiers and utters his last words. The legs of the criminals are broken. A soldier pierces the side of Christ with a lance and blood gushes forth. Jesus' followers slowly and reverently take down the body and lay it before his mother in a replica of the Pieta. The Sanhedrin insists that guards be posted before the tomb which is to hold Christ's body. Act 16 Resurrection and Apotheosis. For the first time, action precedes a tableau. Roman guards see a light at the tomb. Mary Magdalene and the other women encounter an angel and recite the same lines as Quem Quaeritis. The final tableau shows Jesus resplendent in white with his apostles, angels, the Virgin Mary, and Moses. The Passion ends with a proclamation by the chorus. 

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When the story begins, a mother duck's eggs hatch. One of the little birds is perceived by the other birds and animals on the farm as an ugly little creature and suffers much verbal and physical abuse from them. He wanders sadly from the barnyard and lives with wild ducks and geese until hunters slaughter the flocks. He finds a home with an old woman, but her cat and hen tease and taunt him mercilessly and once again he sets off alone. The duckling sees a flock of migrating wild swans. He is delighted and excited, but he cannot join them, for he is too young and cannot fly. Winter arrives. A farmer finds and carries the freezing little duckling home, but the foundling is frightened by the farmer’s noisy children and flees the house. He spends a miserable winter alone in the outdoors, mostly hiding in a cave on the lake that partly freezes over. When spring arrives, a flock of swans descends on the lake. The ugly duckling, now having fully grown and matured, is unable to endure a life of solitude and hardship any more and decides to throw himself at the flock of swans deciding that it is better to be killed by such beautiful birds than to live a life of ugliness and misery. He is shocked when the swans welcome and accept him, only to realize by looking at his reflection in the water that he had been, not a duckling, but a swan all this time. The flock takes to the air, and the now beautiful swan spreads his gorgeous large wings and takes flight with the rest of his new family. 

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Following the plot of the Carmen Sandiego franchise, Earth sees international thief Carmen Sandiego lead the organization V.I.L.E. in stealing treasures from around the world and leaving clues behind for ACME agents Zack (voiced by Scott Menville) and Ivy (voiced by Jennifer Hale), under the guidance of the Chief (voiced by Rodger Bumpass), to find, in order to capture her. In this version, Carmen Sandiego is a former agent of ACME who left to seek a greater challenge, and has a strong code of ethics when stealing items. The Player is an unseen live-action character who bookends acts by communicating with Carmen; it is implied that to them the television series is a video game that they are playing from a computer. While Carmen is originally presented as the show's antagonist, she becomes more like an anti-hero as the series progresses; she even helps Zack and Ivy against mutual enemies. 

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Season 1 focuses on Ryan Atwood's arrival in Newport Beach to live with Sandy and Kirsten Cohen, who take him in after his mother kicks him out. A major theme of the first season is the culture shock Ryan feels as he adjusts from a life of domestic abuse and poverty to living in a superficial high-class society. He quickly befriends and bonds with Seth Cohen, and begins to have a romantic relationship with Marissa Cooper. Although coming from very different backgrounds, Ryan soon discovers that he deals with similar issues to his new peers, such as self-identity conflict and familial alienation. The relationship between Ryan and Marissa flourishes when he supports her through her parents' divorce. As the show progresses, Ryan takes a very protective role over Marissa, showing Ryan to be a much more stable, controlled person than originally portrayed. Other storylines include Seth's development from a friendless loner to having two romantic options in Summer and Anna, as well as the arrivals of Oliver Trask, a troubled teen who befriends Marissa during their coinciding therapy sessions, and Theresa Diaz, Ryan's close friend and former love interest from his hometown of Chino. Meanwhile, Sandy Cohen frequently comes into conflict with Caleb Nichol, Kirsten's father and a wealthy industrialist who is said to "basically own Newport." The second season of The O.C. continues to follow the tumultuous romantic relationships between Ryan and Marissa, Seth and Summer, and Sandy and Kirsten. Josh Schwartz, the show's creator, stated that in Season 2, the show would "no longer be about Ryan's past; now it's going to be about Ryan's future," and that this season would "slow down the storytelling a little bit ... and evolve the characters." For example, the story closely follows Ryan in his advanced physics class, where tension is created between him and another student, Lindsay, who presumes that Ryan will be useless as a lab partner, who thus prevents him from contributing to the work that must be submitted. Ryan's character begins to grow when he stands up to Lindsay and convinces her to allow him to contribute, forcing them to work together to complete the assignment. They later become involved romantically, creating extreme complications and relational shifts amongst the now "Cooper-Nichol" family. The Bait Shop becomes a prominent social destination for the teenage characters. A number of recurring characters are introduced, such as D.J., Lindsay Gardner, Zach Stevens, and Alex Kelly, with whom the main characters form a variety of relationships. Ryan's brother, Trey Atwood, gets out of jail and threatens to bring Ryan's old life into his new one. Sandy and Kirsten also face new conflicts after drifting apart during the summer. Season 2 ends with Marissa shooting Trey after Ryan confronts him for attempting to sexually assault Marissa. Season 3 creates many dynamic changes with regards to relationships and power within the characters' society. Firstly, Marissa is expelled from the Harbor School. The Cooper family, left with little money, is forced to move into a trailer park. Julie Cooper-Nichol, once one of the richest women in all of Newport, struggles to put food on the table for her daughters. Marissa's life begins to spiral out of control, as she struggles with alcohol and drug abuse, as well as dealing with the loss of her close friend Johnny. Similarly, Kirsten confronts her alcohol addiction and eventually leaves rehab, only to encounter more problems when she begins business with a con artist. The other characters look towards college, with Seth and Summer competing for a spot at Brown University. Sandy's moral compass becomes imperiled when a past love interest makes her way back into his life, and he takes over Caleb's old position as head of The Newport Group, pursuing a project to establish more low-income housing in Newport. Ryan also attempts to resolve his individual relationships with his mother, and with his childhood friend Theresa Diaz. He also pursues the idea of a post-secondary education, with encouragement from both Sandy and Kirsten to visit Berkeley. Ryan's life is quickly put on hold when, in the season 3 finale, Ryan decides to drive Marissa to the airport, and they are run off the road by Kevin Volchok, Marissa's most recent love affair gone wrong. In the last few minutes of the episode, Ryan pulls Marissa out from the burning car, only to watch her die in his arms. The fourth and final season begins five months after Marissa's death in the car accident. Ryan starts the season in isolation as a broken, grieving man, seeking revenge on Volchok. With the help of Julie, both she and Ryan are able to track Volchok down in Mexico, and turn him in to federal officials. The continued love of the Cohen family and the company of the eccentric Taylor Townsend guide him back to the light. Meanwhile, Seth and Summer face the problems of a long distance relationship as Summer leaves to attend college. The first half of the season focuses on the characters accepting the reality of Marissa's death. The second half focuses on the characters "finding themselves" while facing myriad identity crises. This final season contains multiple surprises, such as a new addition to the Cohen family, a visit to an alternate universe in which Sandy becomes mayor, and a natural disaster that leaves Newport devastated. 

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Part memoir and part spiritual quest, Walden opens with the announcement that Thoreau spent two years at Walden Pond living a simple life without support of any kind. Readers are reminded that at the time of publication, Thoreau is back to living among the civilized again. The book is separated into specific chapters, each of which focuses on specific themes: Economy: In this first and longest chapter, Thoreau outlines his project: a two-year, two-month, and two- day stay at a cozy, "tightly shingled and plastered", English-style 10' × 15' cottage in the woods near Walden Pond. He does this, he says, to illustrate the spiritual benefits of a simplified lifestyle. He easily supplies the four necessities of life (food, shelter, clothing, and fuel) with the help of family and friends, particularly his mother, his best friend, and Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Waldo Emerson. The latter provided Thoreau with a work exchange: he could build a small house and plant a garden if he cleared some land on the woodlot and did other chores while there. Thoreau meticulously records his expenditures and earnings, demonstrating his understanding of "economy", as he builds his house and buys and grows food. For a home and freedom, he spent a mere $28.12½, in 1845 (about $934 in 2018 dollars). At the end of this chapter, Thoreau inserts a poem, "The Pretensions of Poverty", by seventeenth- century English poet Thomas Carew. The poem criticizes those who think that their poverty gives them unearned moral and intellectual superiority. Much attention is devoted to the skepticism and wonderment with which townspeople greeted both him and his project as he tries to protect his views from those of the townspeople who seem to view society as the only place to live. He recounts the reasons for his move to Walden Pond along with detailed steps back to the construction of his new home (methods, support, etc.). Henry David Thoreau Where I Lived, and What I Lived For: Thoreau recollects thoughts of places he stayed at before selecting Walden Pond, and quotes Roman Philosopher Cato's advice "consider buying a farm very carefully before signing the papers."Thoreau, Henry David. Walden Civil Disobedience and Other Writings. W.W. Norton & Company, 2008, p. 61. His possibilities included a nearby Hollowell farm (where the "wife" unexpectedly decided she wanted to keep the farm). Thoreau takes to the woods dreaming of an existence free of obligations and full of leisure. He announces that he resides far from social relationships that mail represents (post office) and the majority of the chapter focuses on his thoughts while constructing and living in his new home at Walden. Reading: Thoreau discusses the benefits of classical literature, preferably in the original Greek or Latin, and bemoans the lack of sophistication in Concord evident in the popularity of unsophisticated literature. He also loved to read books by world travelers. He yearns for a time when each New England village supports "wise men" to educate and thereby ennoble the population. Sounds: Thoreau encourages the reader to be "forever on the alert" and "looking always at what is to be seen." Although truth can be found in literature, it can equally be found in nature. In addition to self-development, an advantage of developing one's perceptiveness is its tendency to alleviate boredom. Rather than "look abroad for amusement, to society and the theatre", Thoreau's own life, including supposedly dull pastimes like housework, becomes a source of amusement that "never ceases to be novel." Likewise, he obtains pleasure in the sounds that ring around his cabin: church bells ringing, carriages rattling and rumbling, cows lowing, whip-poor-wills singing, owls hooting, frogs croaking, and cockerels crowing. "All sound heard at the greatest possible distance," he contends "produces one and the same effect." Likening the train's cloud of steam to a comet tail and its commotion to "the scream of a hawk", the train becomes homologous with nature and Thoreau praises its associated commerce for its enterprise, bravery, and cosmopolitanism, proclaiming: "I watch the passage of the morning cars with the same feeling that I do the rising of the sun." Solitude: Thoreau reflects on the feeling of solitude. He explains how loneliness can occur even amid companions if one's heart is not open to them. Thoreau meditates on the pleasures of escaping society and the petty things that society entails (gossip, fights, etc.). He also reflects on his new companion, an old settler who arrives nearby and an old woman with great memory ("memory runs back farther than mythology").Thoreau, Henry David. "Walden Civil Disobedience and Other Writings. W. W. Norton & Company, 2008, p. 96. Thoreau repeatedly reflects on the benefits of nature and of his deep communion with it and states that the only "medicine he needs is a draught of morning air". Visitors: Thoreau talks about how he enjoys companionship (despite his love for solitude) and always leaves three chairs ready for visitors. The entire chapter focuses on the coming and going of visitors, and how he has more comers in Walden than he did in the city. He receives visits from those living or working nearby and gives special attention to a French Canadian born woodsman named Alec Thérien. Unlike Thoreau, Thérien cannot read or write and is described as leading an "animal life". He compares Thérien to Walden Pond itself. Thoreau then reflects on the women and children who seem to enjoy the pond more than men, and how men are limited because their lives are taken up. The Bean-Field: Reflection on Thoreau's planting and his enjoyment of this new job/hobby. He touches upon the joys of his environment, the sights and sounds of nature, but also on the military sounds nearby. The rest of the chapter focuses on his earnings and his cultivation of crops (including how he spends just under fifteen dollars on this). The Village: The chapter focuses on Thoreau's reflections on the journeys he takes several times a week to Concord, where he gathers the latest gossip and meets with townsmen. On one of his journeys into Concord, Thoreau is detained and jailed for his refusal to pay a poll tax to the "state that buys and sells men, women, and children, like cattle at the door of its senate-house". Walden Pond, discussed extensively in chapter The Ponds The Ponds: In autumn, Thoreau discusses the countryside and writes down his observations about the geography of Walden Pond and its neighbors: Flint's Pond (or Sandy Pond), White Pond, and Goose Pond. Although Flint's is the largest, Thoreau's favorites are Walden and White ponds, which he describes as lovelier than diamonds. Baker Farm: While on an afternoon ramble in the woods, Thoreau gets caught in a rainstorm and takes shelter in the dirty, dismal hut of John Field, a penniless but hard- working Irish farmhand, and his wife and children. Thoreau urges Field to live a simple but independent and fulfilling life in the woods, thereby freeing himself of employers and creditors. But the Irishman won't give up his aspirations of luxury and the quest for the American dream. Higher Laws: Thoreau discusses whether hunting wild animals and eating meat is necessary. He concludes that the primitive, carnal sensuality of humans drives them to kill and eat animals, and that a person who transcends this propensity is superior to those who cannot. (Thoreau eats fish and occasionally salt pork and woodchuck.) In addition to vegetarianism, he lauds chastity, work, and teetotalism. He also recognizes that Native Americans need to hunt and kill moose for survival in "The Maine Woods", and eats moose on a trip to Maine while he was living at Walden. Here is a list of the laws that he mentions: * One must love that of the wild just as much as one loves that of the good. * What men already know instinctively is true humanity. * The hunter is the greatest friend of the animal which is hunted. * No human older than an adolescent would wantonly murder any creature which reveres its own life as much as the killer. * If the day and the night make one joyful, one is successful. * The highest form of self-restraint is when one can subsist not on other animals, but of plants and crops cultivated from the earth. Brute Neighbors: is a simplified version of one of Thoreau's conversations with William Ellery Channing, who sometimes accompanied Thoreau on fishing trips when Channing had come up from Concord. The conversation is about a hermit (himself) and a poet (Channing) and how the poet is absorbed in the clouds while the hermit is occupied with the more practical task of getting fish for dinner and how in the end, the poet regrets his failure to catch fish. The chapter also mentions Thoreau's interaction with a mouse that he lives with, the scene in which an ant battles a smaller ant, and his frequent encounters with cats. House-Warming: After picking November berries in the woods, Thoreau adds a chimney, and finally plasters the walls of his sturdy house to stave off the cold of the oncoming winter. He also lays in a good supply of firewood, and expresses affection for wood and fire. Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors: Thoreau relates the stories of people who formerly lived in the vicinity of Walden Pond. Then he talks about a few of the visitors he receives during the winter: a farmer, a woodchopper, and his best friend, the poet Ellery Channing. Winter Animals: Thoreau amuses himself by watching wildlife during the winter. He relates his observations of owls, hares, red squirrels, mice, and various birds as they hunt, sing, and eat the scraps and corn he put out for them. He also describes a fox hunt that passes by. The Pond in Winter: Thoreau describes Walden Pond as it appears during the winter. He says he has sounded its depths and located an underground outlet. Then he recounts how 100 laborers came to cut great blocks of ice from the pond, the ice to be shipped to the Carolinas. Spring: As spring arrives, Walden and the other ponds melt with powerful thundering and rumbling. Thoreau enjoys watching the thaw, and grows ecstatic as he witnesses the green rebirth of nature. He watches the geese winging their way north, and a hawk playing by itself in the sky. As nature is reborn, the narrator implies, so is he. He departs Walden on September 6, 1847. Conclusion: This final chapter is more passionate and urgent than its predecessors. In it, he criticizes conformity: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away", By doing so, men may find happiness and self- fulfillment. 

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Pel lives with his German girlfriend Ursula and their two children, and works in the IT department of a university library (or "Learning Centre"). The story begins with Pel receiving an odd call from his boss, TSR, who quizzes him about extradition treaties; within a week he has vanished without a trace, and Pel promoted to TSR's former position, "Computer Team Administration, Software Acquisition and Training Manager" (though, in addition to his own job). The story follows both Pel's home and work lives; at home, there are the arguments with Ursula over the search for a new home, after the latest burglary of their current home; defrosting the fridge during the moving preparations; Ursula terrifying the builders working on the repairs of the new house; a skiing accident, leaving Ursula with a torn ligament in her shoulder. At work, Pel finds that taking on TSR's job involves more than it seemed at first; he has to pay off student recruiters from the Pacific Ring, who happen to be members of The Triads; he has to take care of the details of the building of a new Learning Centre building, which involves hiding the fact that skeletons from an ancient burial ground have been illegally dumped from the site, and a dangerous neurotoxin to be buried under it. These details lead him to become closely involved with the permanently hungover Vice Chancellor of the university, which leads to his receiving another promotion, to Learning Centre Manager; the previous holder of that position having left to pursue his fetish website. 

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The novel is set in the early 1950s, when much of the English aristocracy has lost its wealth. Bertie has gone to a school that teaches the aristocracy to fend for itself, in case he meets the same fate. He is not allowed to bring Jeeves, so Jeeves goes to work temporarily for one of Bertie's friends from the Drones Club, the young gentleman Lord William "Bill" Rowcester (or Towcester), a now impoverished aristocrat who lives at Rowcester Abbey, a large house in poor repair. The wealthy American widow Mrs. Rosalinda Spottsworth wants a new home in England. Bill's sister, Lady Monica "Moke" Carmoyle, has persuaded her to look at Rowcester Abbey. On her way, Mrs. Spottsworth meets her old friend Captain Biggar. Captain Biggar loves Mrs. Spottsworth but feels a man of modest means should not propose to a wealthy woman. Captain Biggar is also looking for a bookie named Honest Patch Perkins, who wears a check suit and eyepatch and has a large moustache. This bookmaker owes Captain Biggar over three thousand pounds after Captain Biggar won a lucky double. Monica arrives, with her aristocratic husband Sir Roderick "Rory" Carmoyle, who now works at a department store. Jill Wyvern, a veterinary physician and Bill's fiancée, greets Monica and Rory, telling them that Bill has hired a cook, a housemaid, and a butler named Jeeves. Bill told Jill that he has secured a lucrative position with the Agricultural Board. Later, Bill returns to the house, wearing an eyepatch and false moustache. Following advice from Jeeves, Bill actually made his money as the Silver Ring bookmaker Honest Patch Perkins. (On a racecourse, the silver ring is the cheapest area where the bookmakers deal in the lowest stakes.) Jeeves was Bill's clerk, though he ignored Jeeves's advice against accepting Captain Biggar's wager. Bill hides his costume in an oak dower chest. He is hopeful after learning from Jeeves that Mrs. Spottsworth may buy the house. Mrs. Spottsworth returns Captain Biggar's obvious feelings for her, but wonders why he remains silent. At Rowcester Abbey, she approaches Bill, who is her old friend. After Mrs. Spottsworth mentions her interest in the supernatural, Monica tells her that a ghost named Lady Agatha haunts the ruined chapel. Captain Biggar, who got the license plate number of the bookie's car, comes to the house and questions Bill. Jeeves maintains that it was a false plate. Hoping to show off the costumes inside the dower chest to Mrs. Spottsworth, Monica opens the chest and finds Bill's bookie costume. Captain Biggar recognizes it. Jeeves explains to Captain Biggar that Bill does not have the money yet. However, Captain Biggar needs the money quickly to back a horse named Ballymore at The Derby the next day, so that he will be wealthy enough to propose to Mrs. Spottsworth. Captain Biggar tells Bill to steal Mrs. Spottsworth's diamond pendant; Captain Biggar will pawn it and then buy it back after Barrymore wins. Jeeves advises Bill to pretend to remove a spider from Mrs. Spottsworth's hair while actually taking the pendant. After Jeeves and Bill rehearse the sequence, Bill tries it, but the pendant falls down the front of Mrs. Spottsworth's dress. At Captain Biggar's suggestion, Bill dances with Mrs. Spottsworth so that the necklace will fall to the ground. The sight of them makes Jill jealous. Rory spots the fallen pendant and returns it to Mrs. Spottsworth. In the middle of the night, Jeeves tells Bill his new plan: Jeeves will tell Mrs. Spottsworth that Bill saw the ghost in the chapel, and while she goes there with Jeeves, Bill will take the pendant from her room. Following the plan, Bill steals the pendant, and Captain Biggar pawns it. Jill, who saw Bill leaving Mrs. Spottsworth's room, ends their engagement, and tells her father Colonel Wyvern, the chief constable. She reconciles with Bill after Jeeves tells her what happened. Colonel Wyvern confronts Bill, but sees the couple has reconciled, and instead investigates the stolen pendant, reported by the housemaid Ellen. Over the radio, it is announced that Barrymore lost the Derby. Captain Biggar returns, with Mrs. Spottsworth's pendant, which he could not bring himself to pawn. He returns it to her and confesses his feelings. They become engaged. Though she loves the house, Mrs. Spottsworth dislikes the English climate; Jeeves suggests she buy the house, take it down, and rebuild it in California. She agrees to buy the house. Bill and Jill are thrilled, though dismayed that Jeeves is leaving, as Jeeves states that he is needed at Bertie Wooster's side. Bertie has been expelled from his school for cheating. 

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Alex Taylor lives in L.A. with his older brother, Jack, who works as a personal fitness trainer and sometime gigolo. Alex's classmates begin to harass him after he misses the game-winning shot at the end of one of his high school's basketball games. Meanwhile, Laszlo Pryce, a rich and corrupt businessman, discovers Jack's affair with his wife, Mitzi. Laszlo threatens to kill Jack and Alex unless Jack travels to New York City to seduce a widow named Rachel Montgomery. On the verge of selling her company, Laszlo wants Jack to relay any inside information he can discover about the impending transaction. Fearing for his younger brother's life, Jack brings Alex with him on the trip. The con begins to unravel when Rachel and Jack fall for each other while Alex similarly falls for Rachel's daughter, Kelly. Jack reveals to Rachel why he's in New York, and the two conspire to expose Pryce. Rachel, though, needs to raise two million dollars to save her company. In a stroke of luck, Alex wins a contest to shoot a halftime, half-court shot. If he makes it, Rachel keeps her company, Laszlo is arrested, and everyone lives happily ever after. 

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The story of Phantasy Star Online is unrelated to the original Phantasy Star series, and is less substantial. Threatened by the imminent destruction of their home planet, thousands of refugees arrive at planet Ragol aboard the spaceship Pioneer 2. As they establish contact with colonists sent ahead on Pioneer 1, an enormous explosion shakes the planet. Adventurers from Pioneer 2 land to investigate the explosion and search for Rico Tyrell, daughter of the head of Pioneer 2. They discover the planet overrun by monsters, and follow messages left by Rico leading to an ancient evil, Dark Falz. 

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The film tells the story of two close childhood friends, a handsome but poor fisherman, Pete Quilliam (Carl Brisson), and a well-educated middle-class lawyer, Philip Christian (Malcolm Keen); Both the young men are smitten with beautiful and lively Kate (Anny Ondra), the pub owner's daughter. In Pete's case, Kate is also interested in him, or at least she enjoys having him as a suitor. Pete proposes, asking Philip to make the case to Kate's dour father, Caesar Cregeen (Randle Ayrton). Cregeen refuses to consent to the marriage, because Pete is penniless. Pete decides to go to Africa to make his fortune, so he will be considered eligible to marry her, and he asks Kate if she will wait for him to return. At first she jokes around, but finally she says yes. Pete then asks Philip to take care of Kate until he returns. In his absence, Philip starts calling on Kate almost every day. Kate and Philip become strongly attracted to one another, and start an affair while visiting an old mill. News reaches the village that Pete has been killed in Africa. Philip and Kate are shocked but Kate is relieved to realize that they can now plan their lives together. Philip's career has been going well, and he is preparing to assume the powerful position of Deemster, the island's chief magistrate. However, it then turns out that a dead man was misidentified as Pete, who is still alive and prospering in Africa. He lets Philip know via telegram that he is returning. Philip urges Kate not to break her promise to marry Pete, allowing him to continue with his career. Pete arrives shortly after the telegram and is extremely happy to be back to his village and see his old sweetheart. Old Caesar is now delighted to agree to Kate marrying Pete. The wedding reception is celebrated in the old mill, where Old Caesar sternly warns the newlyweds to remember that God will punish anyone who violates the vows of marriage. Kate is still in love with Philip, and can hardly bear to be married to Pete. As the weeks pass, Pete is thrilled to find out that Kate is pregnant, and he naturally assumes he is the father. When Kate's daughter is born, Kate is desperate and decides to leave Pete. She walks out, leaving her baby behind, and a note saying that she had loved another man, and still loves him. Pete is deeply hurt by this, but puts on a brave face and tells the villagers that Kate has gone to London for a short rest. During the weeks she is gone, Pete proves himself to be a wonderful father, taking care of the baby very well, and comforting himself by believing that although Kate has gone, he still has their baby to love. Kate persuades Philip to hide her at his law offices, hoping she can still somehow have a life with him. However, Philip is about to become the Deemster, and he is unwilling to ruin his career by running off with her. Frustrated and distraught, Kate returns to the house to take the baby. She tells Pete he is not the baby's father. Pete is stunned and refuses to believe her. He also refuses to give up the child. In desperation, Kate leaves the house and tries to commit suicide by throwing herself off the quay, but is rescued by a policeman. Attempted suicide is classified as a crime, and Kate is brought to trial on the first day that Philip serves as Deemster. Now Philip is stunned and hardly knows what to do. When Pete appears in the courtroom to plead for his wife, Philip agrees to hand Kate over to him. But Kate refuses to go. Kate's father, Old Caesar, who is watching carefully, finally understands that Kate and Philip had an affair. Philip publicly admits his extreme moral failings. He removes his wig and surrenders his official position, and then leaves the court. In the final scene, Philip and Kate arrive at Pete's house to take away the baby. Kate picks up the child, while Philip and Pete stand at opposite ends of the room. She brings the child over to Pete to say one last goodbye, and he breaks down. Philip and Kate leave the cottage to the jeers and condemnation of the villagers, who have been watching the scene through the windows. Having lost everything, Pete sets sail again. 

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Larry Gigli is a low-ranking Los Angeles mobster who is not nearly as tough as he likes to act. Louis, a higher-ranking member of Gigli's organization, commands Gigli to kidnap the mentally challenged younger brother of a powerful federal prosecutor to use as a bargaining chip to save New York-based mob boss Starkman from prison. Gigli successfully convinces the young man, Brian, to go off with him by promising to take him "to the Baywatch", apparently a reference to the television show of that name, which seems to be Brian's singular obsession. Louis does not trust Gigli to get the job done right, so he hires a woman calling herself Ricki to take charge. Gigli is attracted to Ricki, but he resents both Louis' lack of faith in him and having to take orders from a woman. He is also frustrated by Brian's insistence on going to "the Baywatch" and by the fact that Ricki is a lesbian. A suspicious detective comes to the apartment to question Gigli in reference to Brian's disappearance. Gigli is further annoyed when his mother takes an immediate liking to Ricki and when the two women team up to needle him. The events take a darker turn when Gigli and Ricki receive orders to cut off Brian's thumb, something that neither wants to do. Worse, Ricki's ex-girlfriend, Robin, shows up at Gigli's apartment, accusing Ricki of changing sexual orientation. She attempts suicide by slitting her wrists and is rushed to the hospital, where she thankfully survives. While there, Gigli sneaks into the morgue and cuts off a corpse's thumb, which he sends to the prosecutor as Brian's thumb. Gigli and Ricki go back to Gigli's apartment, where Gigli confesses his love and the two sleep together. They are summoned to meet with the mob's boss. Starkman reveals that he did not approve of the plan to kidnap a federal prosecutor's brother or the order to cut off Brian's thumb. He nevertheless rages at them because the thumb they sent didn't match Brian's fingerprint, and therefore not only failed to increase pressure on the prosecutor but even undermined the organization's credibility. Starkman then kills Louis, presumably in retaliation for the kidnapping and associated scrutiny by law enforcement. Starkman is about to kill Ricki and Gigli as well, but Ricki talks him out of it by pointing out that only they know where Brian is and only they can silence Brian and prevent him from revealing the involvement of Starkman's organization in the kidnapping or even accusing Starkman of having been personally involved. They leave Starkman's, decide to leave the mob, and discuss taking Brian back to where they found him. On the way, they discover Baywatch (or a similarly themed show or film) shooting an episode on the beach. Brian begs to be let off there and finally they consent. Gigli convinces Ricki to take his car to escape to parts unknown; but at the last minute, Ricki returns to pick up Gigli, and they leave town together. 

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Television series finales frequently feature fundamental deviations from the central plot line, such as the resolution of a central mystery or problem, (e.g. Dallas, Two and a Half Men, Full House) the separation or return of a major character (e.g. Cheers, That '70s Show, The Office) or an event signifying the end of an era, such as a change to primary setting for the series (e.g. The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Boy Meets World, Martin.) Series finales will sometimes include clips or characters from the series' past (e.g. Seinfeld, Six Feet Under, Martin, Star Trek: The Next Generation), and the ending moments of the episode often take place in the show's primary setting. In rare examples, game shows have been given series finales; examples include The Hollywood Squares (which ended its 15-season run in syndication in 1981 with a "Grand Championship Tournament" that awarded a massive cache of prizes including a house to the winner of the tournament), Family Feud (which ended a nine-season run on ABC in 1985 with a tribute from Richard Dawson), Sale of the Century (which ended a six-season run on NBC in 1989), and History IQ (which ended its two-season run on History in 2001 with a $250,000 tournament of champions). Game shows conducted in a tournament format are more likely to have series finales; examples of those include The Million Second Quiz (which aired on NBC in September 2013) and Mental Samurai (which aired on Fox between March and May 2019). 

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Barbara and Adam Maitland live in an idyllic Connecticut country home in Winter River. Barbara's cousin Jane Butterfield, a pushy real estate agent, hounds them to sell their large home but they refuse. While driving home from a trip to the hardware store, they swerve to avoid a dog and their car plunges into the river. When the two return home they find they cannot remember how they got back, having no recollection of the event, and when Adam attempts to leave the house he steps into an alien desert with monstrous sand-worms. They find a book titled Handbook for the Recently Deceased and realize they drowned in the crash and are trapped haunting their house. Jane sells their home to the Deetz family, from New York City: Charles, a former real estate developer; his second wife Delia, a sculptor; and his teenage goth daughter Lydia, from his first marriage. With her interior designer Otho, Delia make plans to renovate the house. The Maitlands attempt to frighten the family away but fail because they cannot be seen and take refuge in the attic. A spectre named Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice) sends the two advertisements promoting himself as a "bio-exorcist". Consulting the Handbook, the Maitlands open a door to the netherworld and discover that the afterlife is structured according to a complex bureaucracy. Their caseworker, Juno, informs them it is for them to get the Deetzes out if they want them gone. The two inquire about Betelgeuse and Juno explains he was her former assistant who became a freelancer, and advises that he is a troublemaker and they should not seek his help. Beetlejuice's sign as part of Lost Vegas: Tim Burton The Maitlands return to their house and meet Lydia, who is able to see them due to her strange nature and has read and understood the Handbook; the three become friends but the Maitlands still want to remove the Deetzes. They summon Betelgeuse, but his crude personality convinces them they made a mistake and they refuse to work with him. The Maitlands attempt to frighten the Deetzes at a dinner party, but their actions only amuse them and the Deetzes search the attic, and Otho takes the Handbook. Betelgeuse manifests as a monstrous snake and attacks them until the Maitlands order him back. Juno summons the Maitlands and reprimands them, as their subpar hauntings and summoning of Betelgeuse are providing proof of the afterlife to the living, and orders them to get rid of the Deetzes. The two cannot bring themselves to scare Lydia and decide to allow the family to stay. Charles has the idea to turn the town into a tourist trap themed around the supernatural and convinces his former boss Maxie Dean to visit, and Maxie demands proof of the supernatural. Using the Handbook, Otho summons Adam and Barbara, but they begin to decay and he realizes what he thought was a séance was actually an exorcism. Lydia asks Betelgeuse for help and he agrees on the condition she marry him so he can be freed to enter the mortal world; she agrees and summons him. Betelgeuse stops the exorcism and disposes of Maxie, his wife, and Otho, then summons a ghastly minister to wed Lydia. The Maitlands intervene before the ceremony is completed, with Barbara riding a sandworm through the house to devour Betelgeuse. The Maitlands and the Deetzes agree to live in the house in harmony, and Lydia becomes more socially- adjusted from her friendship with them as she attends school. Meanwhile in the afterlife, Betelgeuse impatiently sits in the afterlife waiting room waiting to be called in having a long wait and steals a witch doctor's number who is called in next where the witch doctor angrily shrinks his head. 

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On 10 May 1916, during World War I, British Captain and novelist Edgar Brodie (Gielgud) returns home on leave, only to discover his obituary in the newspaper. He is brought to a man identifying himself only as "R", who asks him to undertake a secret mission: to identify and eliminate a German agent on his way to Arabia to stir up trouble in the Middle East. Upon agreeing, Brodie is given a new identity (Richard Ashenden), a fake death, and the assistance of a killer known variously as "the Hairless Mexican" and "the General" (Lorre), though he's not bald, Mexican or a general. Brodie's late "predecessor" thought that the enemy agent was staying at the Hotel Excelsior in neutral Switzerland. When "Ashenden" arrives there, he is surprised to find that "R" has also provided him with an attractive wife, Elsa Carrington (Carroll). Entering their suite, he also encounters her new admirer, fellow hotel guest Robert Marvin (Young), who is only slightly deterred by the arrival of her husband (and continues to flirt with Elsa for much of the film). When they are alone, Ashenden is displeased when Elsa reveals she insisted upon the assignment for the thrill of it. Ashenden and the General go to contact a double agent, the church organist, only to find him dead. In his hand, however, they find a button, evidently torn off in the struggle. When they go to the casino to meet Elsa, the button is accidentally dropped onto a gambling table. Since it looks the same as his own buttons, an experienced mountaineer named Caypor assumes it is his. The agents persuade Caypor to help them settle a concocted bet: which one of them can climb higher on a nearby mountain. As the moment approaches, Ashenden finds he is unable to commit cold-blooded murder, but the General has no such qualms and pushes the unsuspecting Caypor off a cliff. However, a coded telegram informs them that Caypor is not their target. The General finds it very funny, but Elsa becomes terribly distraught when they are told. She decides to quit, despite having told Ashenden that she fell in love with him at first sight. In the lobby, she encounters Marvin. With no destination in mind, she persuades him to take her along with him. Meanwhile, the other two bribe a worker at a chocolate factory (the secret "German spy post office") to show them a very important message received the day before. They discover that it is addressed to none other than Marvin. They set out in pursuit, taking the same train as Marvin and Elsa. Before they can arrange anything, the train crosses the border into Turkey – enemy territory – and a large number of soldiers board. Despite this, they manage to get Marvin alone in his compartment. Objecting to cold-blooded murder, Elsa draws a pistol. Before Ashenden can do anything, one way or the other, the train is attacked and derailed by airplanes sent by "R". Marvin is pinned in the wreckage, but manages to shoot the General fatally before dying. The "Ashendens" quit the spy business. 

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Raúl Salas is the general secretary of a major union in Córdoba, Argentina. 

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The opening episode in the novel is the release of the 108 Spirits, imprisoned under an ancient stele-bearing tortoise., which includes the English translation of the relevant excerpt from the novel. The original text of the chapter can be seen e.g. at 水滸傳/第001回, starting from "只中央一個石碑，約高五六尺，下面石龜趺坐 ..." A 19th-century mural depicting Lu Zhishen uprooting a tree, a scene from the novel The next chapter describes the rise of Gao Qiu, one of the primary antagonists of the story. Gao abuses his status as a Grand Marshal by oppressing Wang Jin; Wang's father taught Gao a painful lesson when the latter was still a street-roaming ruffian. Wang Jin flees from the capital with his mother and by chance he meets Shi Jin, who becomes his apprentice. The next few chapters tell the story of Shi Jin's friend Lu Zhishen, followed by the story of Lu's sworn brother Lin Chong. Lin Chong is framed by Gao Qiu for attempting to assassinate him, and almost dies in a fire at a supply depot set by Gao's henchmen. He slays his foes and abandons the depot, eventually making his way to Liangshan Marsh, where he becomes an outlaw. Meanwhile, the "Original Seven", led by Chao Gai, rob a convoy of birthday gifts for the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing, another primary antagonist in the novel. They flee to Liangshan Marsh after defeating a group of soldiers sent by the authorities to arrest them, and settle there as outlaws with Chao Gai as their chief. As the story progresses, more people come to join the outlaw band, including military personnel and civil officials who grew tired of serving the corrupt government, as well as men with special skills and talents. Stories of the outlaws are told in separate sections in the following chapters. Connections between characters are vague, but the individual stories are eventually pieced together by chapter 60 when Song Jiang succeeds Chao Gai as the leader of the band after the latter is killed in a battle against the Zeng Family Fortress. The plot further develops by illustrating the conflicts between the outlaws and the Song government after the Grand Assembly of the 108 outlaws. Song Jiang strongly advocates making peace with the government and seeking redress for the outlaws. After defeating the imperial army in a great battle at Liangshan Marsh, the outlaws eventually receive amnesty from Emperor Huizong. The emperor recruits them to form a military contingent and sends them on campaigns against invaders from the Liao dynasty and rebel forces led by Tian Hu, Wang Qing and Fang La within the Song dynasty's domain. Although the former outlaws eventually emerge victorious against the rebels and Liao invaders, the campaigns also led to the tragic dissolution of the 108 heroes. At least two-thirds of them died in battle while the surviving ones either return to the imperial capital to receive honours from the emperor and continue serving the Song government, or leave and spend the rest of their lives as commoners elsewhere. Song Jiang himself is eventually poisoned to death by the "Four Treacherous Ministers" – Gao Qiu, Yang Jian (楊戩), Tong Guan and Cai Jing. 

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In the town of Easthaven, a party of adventurers are met in the tavern by the town's leader, Hrothgar (voiced by Jim Cummings), who invites them to join him on an expedition to investigate the town of Kuldahar, after reports of strange happenings there. On the road to Kuldahar, the expedition is ambushed by frost giants, who cause an avalanche that blocks the path back to Easthaven. With only the adventurers surviving, they continue to Kuldahar and meet with Arundel (Jim Cummings), the village's archdruid, who explains that a mysterious evil force has been kidnapping villagers, causing abnormal weather patterns, provoking monsters, and reducing the magical warmth provided by the giant tree that towers over the village. Asking for their help to discover the source of the evil, the adventurers begin by searching the Vale of Shadows, an area containing Kuldahar's crypts, due to rumours of undead creature sightings. They encounter a cursed barbarian spirit named Kresselack (Tony Jay) who tells them that the threat lies elsewhere. Reporting this back to the druid, Arundel instructs the group to retrieve an ancient scrying item called the Heartstone Gem, so that he may discover the source of the evil more quickly. After finding the gem was stolen from its original resting place within a temple, the party travel to the caverns of Dragon's Eye, finding a number of the missing villagers being held there by lizard men. They eventually find the gem being used by a powerful Marilith named Yxunomei (Tara Strong). After killing Yxunomei and retrieving the gem, the party return to find Kuldahar under attack by Orogs, and Arundel mortally wounded by a shapeshifter disguised as the archdruid, who taunts them before vanishing. The true Arundel advises the party to take the Heartstone to Larrel (Michael Bell) at the fortress of the Severed Hand, the only one capable of using it now, before dying from his wounds. Arriving at the fortress, the party discover that Larrel is insane, and complete a task to help him regain his sanity. Using the gem, Larrel discovers the source of the evil to reside in the former dwarven city of Dorn's Deep. Fighting their way through the city, the group eventually come across the source of the evil – a priest named Brother Poquelin (John Kassir). Poquelin reveals himself to be a demon who was exiled from his home realm by his superiors, and that both he and Yxunomei maintained a vendetta against each other that was getting out of control. Predicting she would follow him to the material plane, the demon sought a base of operation in the region to form a military force that could crush her. While doing so, he stumbled upon the ancient artifact Crenshinibon, which he claims had been "calling" to him. Poquelin immediately used its power to help him amass an army to conquer the lands of Icewind Dale, until Yxunomei's activities around Kuldahar led to the formation of Hrothgar's expedition. Seeking to stop it, the demon had his frost giant minions crush the expedition, but did not count on the adventurers' survival being a problem until they recovered the Heartstone Gem, forcing him to eliminate Arundel. Despite the party having found someone else to use it, Poquelin had managed to build up his forces, which he soon sent to Easthaven. After a brief battle with Poquelin, the party finds itself transported back to Easthaven, which is now in ruins. After freeing the surviving villagers, the local cleric of Tempus, Everard, informs the party that Poquelin is going after Jerrod's Stone, a mystical object housed under the town's temple, which acts as a seal on a portal to the Nine Hells of Baator. Originally opened during a major historic battle between the combined might of the barbarian tribes and an army of a powerful mage, it was sealed shut by the sacrifice of the shaman Jerrod who led the barbarians in the conflict. Gaining entry into the demon's crystal tower that enveloped the temple, the group discover that Poquelin's true intention was to reopen the portal contained within the Stone, allowing him to conquer the North with an army of demons at his command. Although he successfully achieves this, Everard, having shunned the tale of Jerrod's sacrifice until finally understanding what he did, throws himself into the portal and seals it off at the cost of his life. The party then fights Poquelin in his true form as the devil Belhifet, and manage to defeat him, banishing him to the Nine Hells and escaping the tower as it collapses. In time, Easthaven eventually recovers, and the town is reconstructed. In a twist ending, it is revealed that the game's narrator (David Ogden Stiers), was really Belhifet, who spent a mandatory century of imprisonment at the hands of the adventurers that is now close to end, and that he will soon walk the Prime Material once more to seek his revenge. (see Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear) 

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The series follows Sara Pezzini, a NYPD homicide detective who comes into possession of the Witchblade, a supernatural, sentient gauntlet that bonds with a female host and provides her with a variety of powers in order to fight supernatural evil. Sara struggles to hone the powers of the Witchblade and fend off those with a nefarious interest in it, such as entrepreneur Kenneth Irons and his bodyguard Ian Nottingham. 

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Beverly Sutphin appears to be a typical suburban housewife living with her dentist husband, Eugene, and their teenage children, Misty and Chip, in the suburbs of Baltimore. However, she is secretly a serial killer, murdering people over the most trivial of perceived slights, including mere faux pas. During breakfast, Detectives Pike and Gracey arrive to question the family about the vulgar harassment of their neighbor, Dottie Hinkle. After the police and her family leave, Beverly disguises her voice to make obscene phone calls to Dottie, revealed in a flashback to be retaliation for Dottie previously stealing a parking space from Beverly. Later that day, Mr. Stubbins, Chip's math teacher, becomes Beverly's first known murder victim after he criticizes Chip's interests and questions the boy's mental health and family life, as well as berating her parenting. Beverly runs Mr. Stubbins over with her car, and is witnessed by Luann Hodges, a young woman smoking marijuana nearby. The next day, Misty is upset when Carl Pageant stands her up for a date. Beverly spots Carl with another girl at a swap meet and murders him in the bathroom with a fireplace poker. Eugene discovers that Beverly has hidden a collection of serial killer memorabilia beneath their mattress. That evening at dinner, Chip comments that his friend Scotty thinks that she is the killer. Beverly immediately leaves in her car, prompting the family to rush to Scotty's house for fear that Beverly plans to kill him; however, Beverly has actually gone to kill Eugene's patient Ralph Sterner and his wife, Betty, for calling Eugene away to treat her husband's chronic toothache on a Saturday they were supposed to spend birdwatching, and for eating chicken that reminds her of the starlings. She stabs Betty with scissors borrowed from the Sutphins' neighbor Rosemary, and pushes an air conditioner from a second-story window onto Ralph, standing on the walkway below. Meanwhile, the rest of the family and the police arrive at Scotty's house, only to find him in his room masturbating to an old porn video. That Sunday, police follow the Sutphins to church and a news report names Beverly as the suspect in the Sterners' murders. The service ends in pandemonium when the sound of Beverly sneezing causes everyone to panic and flee the church. Police detectives confirm that Beverly's fingerprints match those at the Sterner crime scene and attempt to arrest her, but she escapes. She hides at the video rental store where Chip works, but a customer, Mrs. Jensen, argues with Chip over paying a fee for failing to rewind a videotape and calls him a "son of a psycho". Beverly follows Mrs. Jensen home and bludgeons her to death with a leg of lamb while she sings along to "Tomorrow" on her rented copy of Annie. Scotty witnesses the attack through a window, Beverly sees him, and a car chase ensues. Catching him at a local club, Hammerjack's, Beverly sets Scotty aflame onstage in front of a deranged crowd during the set of an all-female band called Camel Lips. The Sutphin family arrive, as do the police, and Beverly is arrested. Beverly's trial becomes a national sensation. The media dub her "Serial Mom", Chip hires an agent to manage the family's media appearances and Misty sells merchandise outside the courthouse. During opening arguments, Beverly's lawyer claims that she is not guilty by reason of insanity, but she fires him and proposes to represent herself, citing various law books she has read, to her prosecutor's dismay. The judge reluctantly agrees and the trial begins. Beverly proves to be extremely skilled and formidable in defending herself, systematically discrediting nearly every witness against her by using trick questioning to incite Dottie to contempt of court by repeated obscenities; finding a transsexual-themed magazine in Gracey's trash, invoking that judging a person by what they choose to read proves nothing; badgering Rosemary into admitting she doesn't recycle; and fanning her legs repeatedly at pervert Marvin Pickles, witness to Carl's murder, whose resulting over-arousal causes him to commit perjury. The only witness she does not actively discredit is Luann Hodges, but Hodges is unable to provide credible testimony anyway, due to being under the influence of marijuana. During Pike's crucial testimony, the entire courtroom (including the judge and jury) is distracted by the arrival of Suzanne Somers, who plans to portray Beverly as the heroine of a television film. Beverly is acquitted of all charges, stunning her family, who vow to "never get on her nerves". Throughout the trial, Beverly has been displeased that a juror (Patty Hearst) is wearing white shoes after Labor Day. Beverly follows her to a payphone and fatally strikes her in the head with the receiver. Somers then angers Beverly into an outburst by trying to pose for a picture that will show Beverly's "bad side", just as the juror's body is discovered. The film ends with a close-up of Beverly's wicked smile and a caption stating that Beverly "refused to cooperate" with the making of the film. 

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Chrissy and Jo live in a London flat together and work for the same firm. The women find a stranger, student chef Robin Tripp, asleep in their bath the morning after the farewell party for their departed flatmate Eleanor. When he meets the two girls, Robin has been in London two days, having moved from Southampton to attend college. The girls are unimpressed with Gabrielle (Helen Fraser) as a potential replacement for Eleanor, but they are impressed by Robin's culinary skills, as they cannot cook at all. Learning that Robin has been staying at the YMCA, they convince him to move in, on the understanding that it will be a platonic relationship. Chrissy tells landlord George Roper that Robin is gay to eliminate George's objections to the mixed-sex living arrangement. George, in truth a subletting landlord placed by the council, is a miserly, spiteful and unkempt man under the thumb of his domineering and sexually frustrated wife Mildred. In the second episode, Robin's true sexuality becomes known to Mildred. She takes out her frustrations with George's lack of class and sexual inadequacy by making suggestive remarks to Robin and frequently siding with the tenants against George. Mildred openly flirts with Robin, and Robin frequently flirts with Chrissy and Jo. The girls, adhering to their pledge to maintain a platonic relationship with Robin, spurn his mild advances and adapt to his presence in the flat. Chrissy occasionally shows attraction to Robin, but the two never pursue any romantic interaction. Robin's friend Larry, a lovable rogue, appears on a recurring basis throughout the series. In the third series, he moves into the loft apartment above the trio's apartment and is a frequent source of trouble. Another occasional cast member is George's friend, the dodgy builder Jerry (Roy Kinnear). Jerry is the only supporting character to reappear in the spin-off George and Mildred. Robin's brother Norman Tripp (Norman Eshley) appears in the final three episodes of the sixth and final series, and starts a romance with Chrissy. Eshley had a previous guest role in the episode "In Praise of Older Men" (Series 2, Episode 3). 

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Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is a comical, light-hearted and gag-driven adventure series based on the titular character Sonic the Hedgehog, a sometimes arrogant yet kind-hearted and mischievous teenage hedgehog with the power to move at supersonic speeds. Sonic, along with his idolizing young friend Tails, regularly oppose the main antagonist Dr. Robotnik, his robot henchmen Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts, and thwart their plans to conquer their home planet of Mobius. The series features a short PSA segment titled "Sonic Says" at the end of each episode; these segments were written by Phil Harnage. 

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Though the manga storyline remains largely intact, many changes were made, with the modification or elimination of characters, some of the series' most violent and brutal scenes, and material that would have extended the storyline beyond the planned run of the anime series. Themes of friendship and ambition are more developed and emphasized than those of causality and the supernatural, all of which were made with the approval of series creator Kentaro Miura. 

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The Lazarus Effect continues the story of the planet Pandora that began in The Jesus Incident. The sentient kelp is almost extinct, Ship is gone, there is no more dry land, the majority of humanity is heavily mutated from the genetic experiments performed by Jesus Lewis, and a power- hungry mad man is attempting to control the planet. But the kelp is returning and this time Avata does not remain passive while people refuse to worship. 

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Dinosaurs is initially set in 60,000,003 BC in Pangaea. The show centers on the Sinclair family: Earl Sinclair (the father), Fran Sinclair (Phillips – the mother), their three children (son Robbie, daughter Charlene, and infant, Baby Sinclair) and Fran's mother, Ethyl. Earl's job is to push over trees for the Wesayso Corporation with his friend and coworker Roy Hess, where they work under the supervision of their boss Bradley P. Richfield. 

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The story is a prequel to the events in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and has the young Zaphod Beeblebrox working as a salvage ship operator. He guides some bureaucrats to a crashed spaceship that may be leaking some dangerous materials, radioactive, toxic and otherwise hazardous by-products which were destined to be thrown into a black hole. The bureaucrats swear that it is "perfectly safe." When asked why they want to see it if that is true, they claim that they "like looking at things that are perfectly safe." The comic asides in the story include some of the time travel paradoxes which are a common running theme in Adams' SF work, and plenty of material about lobsters. Since this was before Zaphod blocked off sections of his own brain for the presidency, readers are able to glimpse what his original personality was like. His general speech patterns and goof-off personality are the same, but he seems to have moral views and is more likely to go off on life- threatening and exciting quests for the greater good. Throughout the story, it is emphasised that there is something particularly dangerous on board that ought to have been utterly destroyed, but is feared to have escaped. Ultimately, it is revealed that the something was actually three identical "Designer People". The personalities seem totally benign, which is what makes them so dangerous. The ship is filled with substances so dangerous that they are safe because no one who would actually use them would be let near. The personalities, products of a Sirius Cybernetics Corporation project, however, have custom personalities that could not naturally exist. There is "nothing they will not do if allowed, and there is nothing they will not be allowed to do." Since no one will recognise that they are capable of mass destruction (despite their good intentions), no one will stop them from doing the unspeakable. The story culminates with the revelation that one of the personalities has escaped and headed off into Galactic Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, which is where the Earth was located in the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 

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In Champion City, would-be superhero team of Mr. Furious, the Shoveler and the Blue Raja attempt to make a name for themselves, but their suspect skills make them ineffective and they are always upstaged by the city's powerful and arrogant superhero, Captain Amazing. However, Amazing’s crime fighting prowess has practically made his job obsolete. Without any worthy adversaries (most are either dead, in exile, or in jail), his corporate sponsors are beginning to pull out. To create a need for his services, Amazing uses his alter ego, billionaire lawyer Lance Hunt, to argue for the release of his nemesis, supervillain Casanova Frankenstein, from an insane asylum. The plan backfires; once released and reunited with his henchman Tony P and his Disco Boys, Casanova Frankenstein blows up the asylum, easily outwits and captures Amazing, and prepares to unleash the "Psycho-frakulator", which lethally bends reality, on the city. On a stakeout of Casanova Frankenstein's mansion, Mr. Furious observes Amazing's capture and informs his team. After an unsuccessful rescue attempt, the three realize that they need more allies. Through word-of- mouth and auditions they recruit Invisible Boy, the Spleen, and the Bowler. The emboldened team ambush Casanova’s limousine, but only succeed in annoying him. While drunk from celebrating their “victory,” the team is nearly killed in retaliation by Tony P and the Disco Boys. They are saved by the Sphinx, a mysterious superhero who agrees to train them. The Sphinx’s unconventional team-building exercises and antimetabole rhetoric annoy Mr. Furious, who temporarily quits. The group also seek out Doc Heller, who specializes in non- lethal weaponry, to equip them for their battle. The team break into Casanova's mansion during a gathering of several of the city's gangs; but, while attempting to free Captain Amazing, they inadvertently set off the Psycho-frakulator and kill him. Without Amazing, the team despairs of saving the city, but the Shoveler delivers a pep talk that succeeds in uniting and inspiring them. With new resolve, the team assaults the mansion again. Making effective use of their negligible superpowers and Heller's quirky weapons, they manage to subdue Casanova Frankenstein's henchmen. But Casanova Frankenstein holds Mr. Furious' new girlfriend, Monica, hostage and activates the Psycho-frakulator, which begins to wreak havoc upon the city. While the team works to disable the device, Mr. Furious takes on Casanova Frankenstein, unleashes his inner rage and fights effectively for the first time. Casanova Frankenstein is thrown into the core of the Psycho-frakulator and killed by its reality-bending powers. The rest of the team helps The Bowler to destroy the device and escape the mansion as it implodes. The team is swarmed by reporters who want to know the group's name. As they argue possible names among themselves, one reporter states, "Well, whatever you may call them, Champion City will forever owe a debt of gratitude to these 'Mystery Men'," but the others are too busy arguing to hear it. 

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With memories revolving around the family's cottage near Lake Simcoe, Glenn Gould recalls how in his childhood, he had ostensibly made the decision to become a concert pianist at age five. In fact, he believes his mother had already chosen that career for him. He recalls being able to read music before he could read books, and learned the music of Johann Sebastian Bach from his mother. Gould later imagines interviewing himself, in which he confronts himself about why he chose to quit giving concerts at the age of 32, preferring to communicate to his audience through media instead. Gould reminds himself that the musician is inescapably an autocrat, no matter how benign. In crafting radio documentaries, Gould works on a piece called The Idea of North, which touches on the effects the environment has on the solitude and isolation of the people of Northern Canada. In a media interview, Gould reveals that The Idea of North is one of only five of his documentaries about isolation, and that he intends to make a comedy next because he is tired of serious expression. Interviewers also push him to explain how he could achieve his level of musical perfection without interest in being overly technical in his piano playing. They ask why he insists on being interviewed only over the telephone. Others question if Gould's supposed obsession in technology is merely a smokescreen to keep his distance from real people. As the markets plummet, Gould picks up word from the bodyguard of the visiting Sheik Yamani to invest in an obscure company called Sotex Resources, which is set to benefit from an exploration contract. Gould becomes the only client to profit in the wake of financial meltdown. However, Margaret Pacsu, a friend, notices Gould's bathroom is stocked heavily with various pills, including Valium, Trifluoperazine and Librax. Gould laughs off the idea that he is taking all of the pills simultaneously, and Pacsu does not notice any affects on his personality. As his birthday approaches, Gould becomes concerned that no one will attend his funeral, despite being aware of strong record sales in Central Europe and Japan. Gould dies at age 50 of a stroke. His cousin, Jessie Greig, says Gould was wrong and his funeral was heavily attended. He had noted Voyager I and Voyager II, space probes launched for possible contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, contains Bach's music as played by Gould. 

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Eve Gill (Jane Wyman) is an aspiring actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. She is interrupted in rehearsal by her friend (and crush), actor Jonathan Cooper (Richard Todd), the secret lover of flamboyant stage actress/singer Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich). Via a flashback, he says Charlotte visited him after killing her husband; she was wearing a bloodstained dress. Jonathan claims he went back to her house for another dress but was seen by Nellie Goode (Kay Walsh), Charlotte's cockney maid/dresser. He escaped the police and needs help. Eve takes him to her father's house on the coast to hide. Commodore Gill (Alastair Sim, whose name is twice misspelled in the credits), notices that the blood on Charlotte's dress has been smeared on deliberately; he and Eve think that Charlotte framed Jonathan. Jonathan angrily destroys the dress and, thus, the most useful piece of evidence. Eve starts to investigate. She hears Charlotte's dresser Nellie Goode boasting about her newfound notoriety in a bar. While she is there, Eve meets Detective Inspector Wilfred O. Smith (Michael Wilding), and they become friendly. Eve then poses as a reporter; she bribes Nellie to tell Charlotte she is ill and introduce her cousin "Doris Tinsdale" as a replacement. Using her acting skills, Eve becomes "Doris" and starts working for Charlotte. Eve discovers Charlotte is having an affair with her manager Freddie Williams (Hector MacGregor). Eve and "Ordinary" Smith become more friendly. When Smith visits Charlotte, Eve has to disguise the fact that she is also "Doris," the maid. Smith makes a courtship visit to Eve and her mother at home, where Commodore drops subtle hints that Jonathan has left the seaside house. Despite her widowed status, Charlotte continues to perform her West End musical show. Jonathan comes to her dressing room, asking her to accompany him abroad. She casually tells him, no, but he says he still has the bloodstained dress. The police search for Jonathan and Eve again helps him escape. He hides at the Gill's London residence. He is grateful to Eve, but she is starting to fall in love with Detective Smith. Smith and Eve kiss in a taxi on the way to the RADA garden party, where Nellie Goode confronts Eve, demanding more blackmail money. Eve does not have enough, so Eve's father comes to give Nellie more cash. Freddie Williams spots Eve (thinking she is "Doris") and orders her to help Charlotte, who is to sing on stage in a tent. During the performance, Commodore Gill gets a small boy to carry a doll wearing a bloodstained dress onto the stage as Charlotte sings "La Vie en Rose." Charlotte collapses, and "Doris" has to help. Seeing this, Smith confronts Eve and Commodore, but Eve proclaims her true affection for Smith as well as Jonathan's innocence. They persuade Smith to set Charlotte up. Once the theatre has closed, they use a hidden microphone, and "Doris" tells Charlotte she has the bloodstained dress. Smith and his men listen using the theatre loudspeakers. Charlotte admits planning her husband's death but says that Jonathan actually committed the murder. Charlotte offers Eve 10,000 pounds to keep quiet. Eve sees that Jonathan has been brought to the theatre by the police, but he escapes. Charlotte realizes her conversation with Eve was broadcast to the detectives and that she will be charged as an accessory to murder. Detective Smith tells the commodore that Jonathan really did kill Mr. Inwood and that Jonathan killed before, though he got off on a plea of self-defense. Hiding below the stage, Jonathan confesses to Eve that Charlotte goaded him into killing her husband. His flashback story was all lies, and he was the one who smeared more blood onto the dress. He alludes to killing Eve to justify a plea for insanity in court. Eve pretends to help Jonathan escape but locks him onto the stage and alerts the police about his presence. As Jonathan is pursued from all directions and cornered, he is killed by the stage's falling safety curtain. 

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The novel focuses on the life of the main character, Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. Oblomov is a member of the upper middle class and the son of a member of Russia's nineteenth-century landed gentry. Oblomov's distinguishing characteristic is his slothful attitude towards life. Oblomov raises this trait to an art form, conducting his little daily business from his bed. The first part of the book finds Oblomov in bed one morning. He receives a letter from the manager of his country estate, Oblomovka, explaining that the financial situation is deteriorating and that he must visit to make some major decisions. But Oblomov can barely leave his bedroom, much less journey a thousand miles into the country. As he sleeps, a dream reveals Oblomov's upbringing in Oblomovka. He is never required to work or perform household duties, and his parents constantly pull him from school for vacations and trips or for trivial reasons. In contrast, his friend Andrey Stoltz, born to a German father and a Russian mother, is raised in a strict, disciplined environment, and he is dedicated and hard-working. Stoltz visits at the end of Part 1, finally rousing Oblomov from sleep. As the story develops, Stoltz introduces Oblomov to a young woman, Olga, and the two fall in love. However, his apathy and fear of moving forward are too great, and she calls off their engagement when it is clear that he will keep delaying their wedding and avoiding putting his affairs in order. Oblomov is swindled repeatedly by his "friends" Taranteyev and Ivan Matveyevich, his landlady's brother, and Stoltz has to undo the damage each time. The last time, Oblomov ends up living in penury because Taranteyev and Ivan Matveyevich are blackmailing him out of all of his income from the country estate, which lasts for over a year before Stoltz discovers the situation and reports Ivan Matveyevich to his supervisor. Meanwhile, Olga leaves Russia and visits Paris, where she bumps into Stoltz on the street. The two strike up a romance and end up marrying. However, not even Oblomov could go through life without at least one moment of self-possession and purpose. When Taranteyev's behavior at last reaches insufferable lows, Oblomov confronts him, slaps him around a bit and finally kicks him out of the house. Sometime before his death he is visited by Stoltz, who had promised to his wife a last attempt at bringing Oblomov back to the world. During this visit Stoltz discovers that Oblomov has married his widowed landlady, Agafia Pshenitsina, and had a child - named Andrey, after Stoltz. Stoltz realizes that he can no longer hope to reform Oblomov, and leaves. Oblomov spends the rest of his life in a second Oblomovka, continuing to be taken care of by Agafia Pshenitsina as he used to be taken care of as a child. She can prepare the food he likes, meal, and makes sure that Oblomov does not have a single worrisome thought. By then Oblomov had already accepted his fate, and during the conversation he mentions "Oblomovitis" as the real cause of his demise. Oblomov dies in his sleep, finally fulfilling his wish to sleep forever. Stoltz adopts his son upon his death. 

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In the near-future, biotechnological virtual reality game consoles known as "game pods" have replaced electronic ones. The pods present "UmbyCords" that attach to "bio- ports", connectors surgically inserted into players' spines. Two game companies, Antenna Research and Cortical Systematics, compete against each other. In addition, a group of fanatics called Realists fight both companies to prevent the "deforming" of reality. Antenna Research's Allegra Geller, a world renowned game designer, is demonstrating her latest virtual reality game, eXistenZ, to a focus group. A Realist named Noel Dichter shoots Allegra in the shoulder with an organic pistol he smuggled past security. As Dichter is gunned down by the security team, security guard and publicist Ted Pikul rushes to Geller and escorts her outside. Geller discovers that her pod, which contains the only copy of eXistenZ, may have been damaged. Pikul reluctantly agrees to have a bio-port installed in his spine so they can test the integrity of the game together. Allegra takes him to a gas station run by a black-marketeer named Gas, who deliberately installs a faulty bio-port. He reveals his intention to kill Geller for the bounty on her head. Pikul kills Gas, and the two escape to a former ski lodge used by Kiri Vinokur, Geller's mentor. Vinokur and his assistant repair the damaged pod and give Pikul a new bio-port. Geller and Pikul enter the game, and meet with D'Arcy Nader, a video game shop owner, who provides them with new "micro pods". They activate the new pods and enter a deeper layer of virtual reality. They assume new identities as workers in a game pod factory. Another worker in the factory, Yevgeny Nourish, claims to be their Realist contact. At a Chinese restaurant near the factory, Nourish recommends that they order the special for lunch. Pikul eats the unappetizing special, and constructs a pistol out of the inedible parts. In jest, he threatens Geller, then shoots the Chinese waiter. When the pair return to the game store, Hugo Carlaw informs them that Nourish is actually a double agent for Cortical Systematics, and the waiter Pikul murdered was the actual contact. At the factory, they find a diseased pod. Geller connects it to her bio-port as part of a plan to infect the other pods and sabotage the factory. When Geller quickly becomes ill, Pikul cuts the UmbyCord, but she begins to bleed to death. Nourish appears with a flamethrower and blasts the diseased pod, which bursts into deadly spores. Geller and Pikul awaken back at the ski lodge, where they discover Geller's game pod is also diseased. Geller surmises that Pikul's new bio-port must have been infected by Vinokur to destroy her game. She inserts a disinfecting device into Pikul's bioport. Unexpectedly, Carlaw reappears as a Realist resistance fighter and escorts Geller and Pikul outside to witness the death of eXistenZ. Before Carlaw can kill Geller, he is shot in the back by Vinokur, who is a double agent for Cortical Systematics. He informs Geller that he copied her game data while he was fixing her pod. In revenge, she kills Vinokur. Pikul then reveals that he himself is a Realist sent to kill her. Geller tells Pikul she had known his intentions since he pointed the gun at her in the Chinese restaurant, and she remotely detonates the disinfecting device in his bioport, killing him. Suddenly, Pikul and Geller are seated in chairs in a small abandoned church, seeing rows of pews as they come to, together with all of the other members of the cast, all wearing blue electronic virtual reality devices. Nourish explains that the story was all part of a virtual reality game he designed called transCendenZ. He tells his assistant Merle that he feels uneasy, because the anti-game plot elements may have originated from the thoughts of one of the testers. Pikul and Geller approach Nourish and accuse him of distorting reality, before shooting him and Merle to death. As Pikul and Geller leave, they aim their guns at the person who played the Chinese waiter, who first pleads for his life, then asks if they are still in the game. Pikul and Geller stand together in silence, not answering. 

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A young, aspiring American musician and singer named Johnny (played by Jasper Steverlinck, singer of Belgian rock band Arid) has been notified by a British law firm that his mother (voiced by Kyoko Baertsoen, leader of another Belgian band, Lunascape), an aging rock star whom Johnny hasn't seen or heard from since he was 3 years old, has died in a helicopter accident. Johnny has been willed her castle and all of her property and money, but he must visit the actual estate, located in England, to claim these things. As he drives up to the castle, a lightning bolt hits a grave on the castle grounds, and a glowing sphere emerges. As Johnny enters the building, he walks through a hall with several suits of armor. The suits come alive and begin attacking him when suddenly the light sphere appears and destroys them all, then a demonic entity beckons Johnny further into the castle. Johnny stumbles on a room of instruments levitating and playing on themselves, and then walks into a great hall with an orb embedded into the ground that begins projecting the image of Johnny's mother. (This segues into a rather lengthy musical number in which this holographic image (Baertsoen) sings an operatic number while the cameras circle around her. The song is named 'Lane Navachi' from Lunascape's album 'Reflecting Seylence'). Suddenly, a demonic face appears in the fire. It is the devil (voiced by Harry Shearer, and referred to as "Mr. D"), who explains to Johnny that his mother sold her soul for her fame. Part of the agreement was that the devil could "not touch" Johnny, but now that she has died, Mr. D offers Johnny a similar agreement. Johnny declines, but is enticed to explore the castle further. He enters a cathedral-like room, whose floor begins to descend. Soon, Johnny is in Hell proper. At this point, the film begins to take a very dark and gothic turn, as Johnny's tour guide, Mephisto (Mr. D's chief lieutenant, also voiced by Shearer), guides him through the sections of Hell, where musicians, who have sold their souls, are violently tortured. Mephisto reveals that there was a time when luring people to Hell with fame in music was unsuccessful - until the invention of Rock and Roll. Johnny is taken on a roller coaster ride through Hell, but as he proceeds, the glowing sphere - revealed to be the spirit of his mother - appears before him time and time again, warning him of the danger awaiting him should he give in to the Devil's offer. Eventually, Johnny is sidetracked into a decrepit opera hall, where the worst of tortures are taking place. Mephisto reveals to Johnny that Mr. D once had a romance with an opera singer, who broke his heart, and now Mr. D has a particularly violent aversion for opera music. Johnny eventually ends up back in front of Mr. D, who once again entices him to sign. Mephisto gives Johnny a guitar, and he considers the offer, then throws the guitar into the flames, and begins to sing La Donna è Mobile at the top of his lungs, sending the Devil into a frenzied tantrum which collapses the entire castle. As this occurs, the soul of Johnny's mother returns to its resting place once more. The film jumps ahead six months later, and we see that Johnny is now a famous rock and roll star through his own talent. The last five minutes of the film features a performance by Arid, as the credits float by them in little bubbles burst by a floating demon. 

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Milan (Hallyday) arrives in a small town by train at the start of the week. The hotel is closed, but he finds accommodation via a chance meeting with a retired French teacher, Manesquier (Rochefort). The film tells the story of the developing relationship between these apparent opposites, though looming in the background are two unavoidable events that each is expecting to take place on the Saturday – Manesquier is to undergo a major operation, and Milan (though he keeps this secret at first) is to lead a bank robbery. Manesquier soon realises Milan's intentions, but this does not prevent a growing mutual respect, with each envying the other's lifestyle. 

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Diaspora begins with a description of "orphanogenesis", the birthing of a citizen without any ancestors (the majority of citizens descend from fleshers uploaded at some point), and the subsequent upbringing of the newborn Yatima within Konishi polis. Yatima matures within a few real-time days, because citizens' subjective time runs about 800 times as rapidly as flesher and gleisner time. Early on, Yatima and a friend, Inoshiro, use abandoned gleisner bodies to visit a Bridger colony near the ruins of Atlanta on Earth. Years later, the gleisner Karpal, using a gravitational-wave detector, determines that a binary neutron star system in the constellation of Lacerta has collapsed, releasing a huge burst of energy. Previous predictions portrayed the system's stable orbit as likely to last for another seven million years. By analysing irregularities in the orbit, Karpal discovers that the devastating burst of energy will reach Earth within the next four days. Yatima and Inoshiro return to Earth to urge the fleshers—gathered in a conference—either to migrate to the polises or at least to shelter themselves. Many fleshers reject this advice, or fail fully to appreciate its urgency quickly enough. Stirred up by a paranoid Static diplomat, many fleshers suspect that Yatima and Inoshiro have come to trick or coerce them into "Introdus", or mass-migration into the polises, involving masses of virus-sized nanomachines that dismantle a human body and record the brain's information states as it is chemically converted into a crystalline computer. The gamma ray burst reaches Earth shortly after the conference, destroying the atmosphere and causing a mass extinction. The gleisners and the Coalition of Polises survive the burst, thanks to cosmic radiation hardening. Over the next few years, Yatima and other citizens and gleisners attempt to rescue any surviving fleshers from slow suffocation, starvation, or poisoning by offering to upload them into the polises. The novel's title itself refers to a quest undertaken by most of the inhabitants of Carter-Zimmerman ("C-Z"), a polis devoted to physics and understanding the cosmos, along with volunteers from throughout the Coalition of Polises. The Diaspora consists of a collection of one thousand clones (physical copies of the polis hardware) of C-Z polis, deployed toward stars in all directions in the hope of gathering as much data as possible in order to revise the long-held classical understanding of Kozuch Theory, which had failed to predict the Lacerta event. The bulk of the novel follows this expedition, rotating back and forth between different cloned instances of the same cast of main characters as different C-Z clones make discoveries along the way, relaying information to one another over hundreds of light years—and finally between universes. 

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Twenty-thousand years in the future, Cass, a humanoid physicist from Earth, travels to an orbital station in the vicinity of the star Mimosa, and begins a series of experiments to test the extremities of the fictitious Sarumpaet rules - a set of fundamental equations in "Quantum Graph Theory," which holds that physical existence is a manifestation of complex constructions of mathematical graphs. However, the experiments unexpectedly create a bubble of something more stable than ordinary vacuum, dubbed novo- vacuum, that expands outward at half the speed of light as ordinary vacuum collapses to this new state at the border, hinting at more general laws beyond the Sarumpaet rules. The local population is forced to flee to ever more distant star systems to escape the steadily approaching border, but since the expansion never slows, it is just a matter of time before the novo-vacuum encompasses any given region within the Local Group (and ultimately the whole universe). Two factions develop as the expanding bubble swallows star after star: the Preservationists, who wish to stop the expansion and preserve the Milky Way at any cost; and the Yielders, who consider the novo-vacuum to be too important a discovery to destroy without understanding. Six hundred years after the initial experiment, a vessel called the Rindler has matched velocities with an ever-expanding novo-vacuum region at the border, powered by multispectral light emitted as the ordinary vacuum collapses into its lower energy-state. A variety of refugees are probing the novo-vacuum in order to understand the physics that makes it possible. The novo-vacuum turns out to be more complicated than anyone suspects, however, and Egan's usual topics of simulation and quantum ontology are taken to the extreme when we learn that a whole ordered universe exists within this zone of apparent chaos, existing as direct elaborations of the quantum graph's lattice structure, of which elementary particles, fundamental interactions, and our spacetime itself are only special cases. It is ultimately revealed that the novo-vacuum's exotic geometry contains living organisms and even civilizations. This ecosystem is based on "vendeks," microbe-like complexes of quantum graph structures only 10−33 meters across. Agglomerations of vendeks form "xennobes," analogous to multicellular organisms but only 10−27 meters across. This discovery greatly increases the importance of the Yielders' mission, since destroying the novo- vacuum would be tantamount to genocide. 

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Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings travel to Merlinville- sur-Mer, France, to meet Paul Renauld, who has requested their help. Upon arriving at his home, the Villa Genevieve, local police greet them with news that he has been found dead that morning. Renauld had been stabbed in the back with a letter opener and left in a newly dug grave adjacent to a local golf course. His wife, Eloise Renauld, claims masked men broke into the villa at 2am, tied her up, and took her husband away with them. Upon inspecting his body, Eloise collapses with grief at seeing her dead husband. Monsieur Giraud of the Sûreté leads the police investigation, and resents Poirot's involvement; Monsieur Hautet, the Examining Magistrate, is more open to sharing key information with him. Poirot notes four key facts about the case: a piece of lead piping is found near the body; only three female servants were in the villa as both Renauld's son Jack and his chauffeur had been sent away; an unknown person visited the day before, whom Renauld urged to leave immediately; Renauld's immediate neighbour, Madame Daubreuil, had placed 200,000 francs into her bank account over recent weeks. When Renauld's secretary, Gabriel Stonor, returns from England, he suggests blackmail, as his employer's past is a complete mystery prior to his career in South America. Meanwhile, Hastings unexpectedly encounters a young woman he met before, known to him as "Cinderella", who asks to see the crime scene, and then mysteriously disappears with the murder weapon. Poirot later travels to Paris to research the case's similarities to that of a murder case from 22 years ago, which has only one difference - the killer, Georges Conneau, later confessed to the crime, in which he and his lover, Madame Beroldy, had plotted to kill her husband and claim that the murder was carried out by masked intruders; both disappeared soon afterwards. Returning from Paris, Poirot learns that the body of an unknown man has been found, stabbed through the heart with the murder weapon. An examination shows he has the hands of a tramp, that he died before Renauld's murder from an epileptic fit, and that he was stabbed after death. Giraud arrests Jack on the basis he wanted his father's money; Jack had admitted to police he had argued with his father over wishing to marry Mme Daubreuil's daughter Marthe, whom his parents found unsuitable. Poirot reveals a flaw in Giraud's theory, as Renauld changed his will two weeks before his murder, disinheriting Jack. Soon afterwards, Jack is released from prison after Bella Duveen, an English stage performer he loves, confesses to the murder. Both had come across the body on the night of the murder, and assumed the other had killed Renauld. Poirot reveals neither did, as the real killer was Marthe Daubreuil. Poirot elaborates on his theory. Paul Renauld was really Georges Conneau; fleeing France, he changed his name in Canada to start a new life for himself. After gaining a wife and a son, and making a fortune in South America, he returned to France to settle down with his new family. By misfortune, he found that his immediate neighbour would be Mme Beroldy; like him, she changed her identity to become Mme Daubreuil. Blackmailed by her over his past, Renauld's situation worsens when Jack becomes attracted to her daughter. When a tramp died on his grounds, he saw an opportunity to escape Mme Daubreuil. He will use the same ruse from before, but with one difference: this time, he would use it to fake his own death. His plan was simple - staging his own kidnapping at night, he would disfigure the tramp's body with the pipe, and then bury both beside the golf course, before fleeing the area by train. Anyone who would recognise the body was not his would be sent away, so as to assure that Eloise will falsely identify the body as his. Poirot suspected her involvement in the scheme, as her reaction to her husband's death was not genuine until she saw his body. However, the plan was discovered by Marthe, who overheard the Renaulds discussing it together - as she stood to gain financially if she married Jack, the success of this scheme would ruin this. Thus she decided to follow Renauld and stabbed him after he dug the grave for the tramp's body, before he had retrieved it. To expose Marthe as the killer, Poirot asks Eloise to openly disinherit Jack. That night, Marthe attempts to kill Eloise when Jack leaves her alone in the villa, but dies trying when Eloise is saved by Cinderella. Marthe's mother disappears again. Jack and his mother plan to go to South America, joined by Hastings and Dulcie Duveen — who is his Cinderella and Bella's twin sister. 

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The King of Navarre has vowed to avoid romantic entanglements to spend three years in study and contemplation. His chief courtiers agree to follow him in this vow, though one (Berowne) argues that they will not be able to fulfill this plan. Berowne's claim is proven correct almost instantly. The Princess of France comes to Navarre to discuss the status of the province of Aquitaine. Though the King does not grant them access to his palace (they are forced to camp outside), each of the courtiers falls in love with one of her handmaidens, and the King falls in love with the Princess herself. The men attempt to hide their own loves and expose those of their fellows. After a masked ball in which the pairs of lovers are comically mismatched, all the amours are revealed. Costard leads a musical number with the King's court, which eventually includes the entire cast. But as the song closes, a messenger arrives with news of the King of France's death. As the year of mourning that will proceed for the princess and her ladies means further courtship is impossible, and the women had until this point treated the men's courtship as nothing but a mocking merriment to entertain their guests, they request demonstrations of humility and constancy from the men, with a promise to marry them at the end of the 12 months if they carry out these acts. Newsreel footage shows the character's lives over the course of that year, which takes place in the context of World War II. The montage ends with all those who survived the war (Boyett we specifically see die in some covert military action) reuniting in celebration on what appears to be VE Day. The comic underplot of the original play, in which Costard and others attempt to stage a play (rather like that of the rude mechanicals in A Midsummer Night's Dream, though with more pretensions to learning) is severely curtailed, as is the boasting of the Spaniard, Don Armado. 

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Eleven episodes of eleven different directors on the tragedy of September 11, 2001, each lasting 11 minutes, 9 seconds, and 1 frame: 11'09"01. 

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Julián Estaban, who is impersonating the Mayan god Kukulcán, fights and escapes from a powerful gold hungry conquistador, Hernán Cortés. Kukulcán's followers captured Rodrigo Perdoza, a bishop carrying a message to Cortés to detain Julián. Julián wants to be a priest and asks the bishop many times to make him one, but in the end he lets the Mayan priest sacrifice him, and Julián takes the bishop's amethyst ring. Cortés attacks and captures Kukulcán's city, the City of the Seven Serpents, but Julián escapes to a friendly large village and helps them harvest and trade pearls. He then goes to a smaller trading town and partners with Tzom Zambac and they have a successful feathered cloak business. Fearing betrayal from Tzom, he leaves and eventually finds Francisco Pizarro, a conquistador who is taking a band of Spaniards to get gold from the Inca. They capture the Incan king Atahualpa, who has a room filled with gold to pay his ransom. The Spaniards try and kill him anyway. Julián leaves the group because of his disagreements with the trial. He searches for Chima, a daughter of Atahualpa, whom he has fallen in love with. He finds her and she rejects him because he is a Spaniard. Julián then uses all of his gold to sail back to Seville. There he meets Cantú the Dwarf, who is now very wealthy from gold. Cantú gives Julián a lot of gold, but he joins the Brothers of the Poor and gives it all to them. Category:Historical novels Category:1983 novels Category:Houghton Mifflin books 

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The story is set in 1970, six years in the future at the time of the film's 1964 release, and the Cold War is still a problem (in the 1962 book, the setting was May 1974 after a stalemated war in Iran). U.S. President Jordan Lyman has recently signed a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union, and the subsequent ratification by the U.S. Senate has produced a wave of dissatisfaction, especially among Lyman's opposition and the military, who believe the Soviets cannot be trusted. A Pentagon insider, United States Marine Corps Colonel "Jiggs" Casey (the Director of the Joint Staff), stumbles on evidence that the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led by its charismatic chairman United States Air Force General James Mattoon Scott who was a former fighter pilot, a war veteran, a flying ace, Medal of Honor recipient and an honorable patriot, intend to stage a coup d'etat to remove Lyman and his cabinet in seven days. Under the plan, a secret Army unit known as ECOMCON (Emergency COMmunications CONtrol) will seize control of the country's telephone, radio, and television networks, while Congress is prevented from implementing the treaty. Although personally opposed to Lyman's policies, Casey is appalled by the plot and alerts Lyman, who gathers a circle of trusted advisors to investigate: Secret Service White House Detail Chief Art Corwin, Treasury Secretary Christopher Todd, advisor Paul Girard, and Senator Raymond Clark of Georgia. Casey uses the pretense of a social visit to General Scott's former mistress to ferret out potential secrets that can be used against Scott, in the form of indiscreet letters he had written her. Meanwhile, the alcoholic Clark is sent to Fort Bliss near El Paso, Texas, to locate the secret base, and Girard leaves for the Mediterranean to obtain a confession from Vice Admiral Barnswell, who declined to participate in the coup. Girard gets the confession in writing, but is killed when his return flight crashes, while Clark is taken captive when he reaches the secret base. However, Clark convinces the base's deputy commander, Colonel Henderson, a friend of Casey's, not to be a party to the coup and to help him escape. They reach Washington, DC, but Henderson is abducted during a moment apart from Clark and confined in a military stockade. Lyman calls Scott to the White House to demand that he and the other plotters resign. Scott denies the existence of the plot, but takes the opportunity to denounce Lyman and the treaty. Lyman argues that a coup in America would prompt the Soviets to make a preemptive strike. Scott maintains that the American people are behind him. Lyman is on the verge of confronting Scott with the letters obtained from Scott's mistress when he decides against it and allows Scott to leave. Scott meets the other three Joint Chiefs, demanding they stay in line and reminding them that Lyman does not seem to have concrete evidence of their plot. Somewhat reassured, the others agree to continue the plan to appear on television and radio simultaneously on the next day to denounce Lyman. However, Lyman first holds a press conference, at which he is prepared to announce that he has fired the four men. As Lyman is speaking, Barnswell's hand-written confession, recovered from the plane crash, is handed to him and he delays the conference for half an hour. In the interim, copies of the confession are delivered to Scott and the other plotters. As the broadcast of the press conference resumes, Scott prepares to go forward with the coup anyway, but then gives up when he hears President Lyman announce that the other three plotters have tendered their resignations. The film ends with an address by Lyman to American people on the country's future, and leaves unanswered the question of General Scott's fate. 

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The story surrounds an aspiring singer, Shuichi Shindou, and his band, Bad Luck (formed with his best friend Hiroshi Nakano, who is on guitar). Shuichi wants to become Japan's next big star, and follow in the footsteps of the famous idol Ryuichi Sakuma, lead singer of the now-disbanded legendary group Nittle Grasper. One evening, Shuichi is looking over lyrics for a song he was writing when his paper is blown away by the wind and picked up by a tall, blond haired (light brown in the manga) stranger. The man dismisses Shuichi's hard work as garbage, which hurts Shuichi deeply. Despite his anger, he is intrigued by the stranger. This will be their first encounter as Shuichi becomes fascinated by the stranger, who soon turns out to be the famous romance novelist, Eiri Yuki (real name: Uesugi). Both the manga and the anime follow this plot. 

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Desperate to get Archie back from Cheryl, the girls convince Ethel to disguise herself as a Pembrooke Academy student to convince her to stop seeing Archie. The plan backfires as it only convinces her that to be with him she has to attend Riverdale High with him. The girls then come up with another plan to break them up by making Archie jealous. Betty and Veronica invite Archie and Cheryl to go to Lodge's ski resort with them and plan to get him jealous by having him see them with Jughead and Reggie, respectively. However, Jughead asks Jason, Cheryl's twin brother, to be Betty's date and this causes Archie to become jealous. After Archie makes of fool of himself, Cheryl dumps him and Betty and Veronica go to comfort Jason after he gives him a black eye. Then after having a nightmare depicting Jason and Betty so in love with each other, Archie decides that Betty is the only girl for him and vows to tell her before it is too late. Upon finding her at Riverdale High he learns that Jason got on her nerves so much she almost gave him another black eye. Before he can tell her how he feels he gets distracted by a new girl, Savannah Smythe from Mississippi. Archie then gives her a tour of Riverdale High and tells Betty he will talk to her later. 

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Lawyer Philip Gault (Carleton G. Young), due to a college football injury, lost his voice and can only speak in an eerie whisper. Gault infiltrates "the syndicate" in his native Central City to bring down organized crime from within; to the underworld, he becomes known as the Whisperer. Later, his voice is restored through surgery, but he continues to lead a double life as the Whisperer, relaying instructions by telephone from the syndicate bosses in New York (who don't know he's a mole) to their lackeys in Central City, whom Gault is actually setting up. In the prologue to the final episode from September 30, 1951 titled "Strange Bed Fellows", Philip Gault explains his history as follows: "It all began ten years ago when I was kicked in the throat while playing college football. After the bandages were removed I opened my mouth to speak and all that came out was this rattling hiss. After a bakers dozen of women fainted when I spoke to them and countless babies went into paraclisms of crying, I disappeared from my usual haunts and went to work for a group which I later discovered were known as the crime syndicate. I decided to stay with them and collect sufficient evidence to help destroy them. Then one day I met Dr. Lee and through a miracle of surgery he restored my voice enabling me to resume my real identity as Philip Gault, Lawyer. This dual identity makes life very interesting. For if the syndicate ever finds out that the Whisperer, who passes on their orders, is really Philip Gault, the man who has wrecked so many of their plans, there'll be slow walking and low moaning. But I won't be around to comment on it." Betty Moran portrayed Gault's girlfriend, Ellen Norris, the only person who knows Gault's double identity, other than Dr. Lee. Paul Frees occasionally appeared as Gault's "friend on the force", Lt. Charles Denvers. William Conrad frequently appeared in different supporting roles under his alias, "Julius Krelboyne", as he was under exclusive contract to CBS radio at the time. Bill Karn was the producer-director (and occasional writer), and organist Johnny Duffy supplied the background music. The radio actor Carleton G. Young is sometimes confused with the film actor Carleton Scott Young. 

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Mima Kirigoe, a member of a mildly-successful J-pop group named "CHAM!", decides to leave the group to become a full-time actress. She is joined by her long-time manager and former pop-idol Rumi Hidaka, and her agent Tadokoro. Mima's first job is a minor role in a television detective drama called "Double Bind". Some of her fans are upset by her change in career and persona from a squeaky-clean and innocent teen girl, including a terrifying-looking male stalker who goes by the alias "Me-Mania". Mima receives an anonymous fax calling her a traitor, and even a letter bomb that injures Tadokoro. Following directions from a fan letter, Mima discovers a website called "Mima's Room" containing public diary entries written from her perspective, and which accurately discuss her daily life and thoughts in intimate and exacting detail. Mima confides in Rumi about the site, but is advised to ignore it. Tadokoro lobbies the producers of Double Bind, and succeeds in securing Mima a larger part; however, this involves her character being raped in a strip club. Rumi is distressed by the scene and warns Mima that it will irreversibly change her public image, but Mima accepts the role despite her own misgivings. Though it is apparent that Mima tries her best and is treated professionally, the atmosphere and experience of filming the rape scene is traumatic. Between the ongoing stresses of filming Double Bind, her lingering regret over leaving CHAM!, her paranoia of being stalked, and her increasing obsession with "Mima's Room", Mima begins to suffer from psychosis: in particular, struggling to distinguish real life from her work in show business. Several people who had been involved in the so-called "tarnishing" of Mima's reputation are murdered. Mima finds evidence which makes her appear to be the prime suspect, and her mental instability makes her doubt her own memories and innocence. Mima manages to finish shooting Double Bind, the final scene of which reveals that her character killed and assumed the identity of her beloved sister due to trauma- induced Dissociative identity disorder. After the rest of the filming staff have left the studio, Me-Mania attempts to kill her under emailed instructions from "the real Mima" to "eliminate the impostor", but Mima knocks him unconscious with a hammer in self-defense and flees. Me-Mania is murdered soon afterwards; Tadokoro is also killed. Mima is found backstage by Rumi and taken back to Rumi's home, only to discover that Rumi was the culprit behind "Mima's Room", the serial murders, and the folie à deux that manipulated and scapegoated Me-Mania. Sometime in the past, Rumi developed a second personality who vicariously believed herself to be the "real Mima" (her pure- hearted and forever-young idol persona), using information from Mima's confiding in her as the basis for "Mima's Room". Rumi's "Mima" personality attempts to murder Mima to preserve "her" pristine image forever, and following a chase through the city, Mima incapacitates Rumi in self-defense and saves her from being killed by an oncoming truck. Much later, Mima has become a well-known actress following the critical success of her performance in Double Bind. She visits Rumi, who is alive but lives in a psychiatric hospital with her "Mima" personality dominant. Due to her fame, Mima is mistaken as a lookalike by two nurses. However, Mima confidentially proclaims to herself that she is "the real thing". (In the Japanese version, this final line is delivered in Rumi's voice. In the English dub, it is delivered in Mima's voice.) 

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Virgil Starkwell's (Woody Allen) story is told in documentary style, using fake stock footage and 'interviews' with people who knew him. He begins a life of crime at a young age. As a child, Virgil is a frequent target of bullies, who snatch his glasses and stomp on them on the floor. As an adult, Virgil is inept and unlucky, and both police and judges ridicule him by stomping on Virgil's glasses. Virgil falls in love with a young lady, Louise (Janet Margolin), a laundry worker, they marry and later have a baby. Virgil attempts to rob a bank, but is arrested when he is embroiled in an argument about the handwriting on a demand note he hands to a cashier. He is sent to prison, but attempts an escape using a bar of soap carved to resemble a gun. Unfortunately for him, it is raining outside and his gun dissolves. He does escape, but by accident. Joining a mass breakout plan, Virgil is the only inmate not warned that the scheme had been called off. Outside but unemployed, Virgil finds no way to support himself and his family. Eventually, he is rearrested and sent to a chain gang, where he is undernourished (the single meal of the day is a bowl of steam) and brutally punished (consigned to a steam box with an insurance salesman). Virgil again escapes but is eventually captured when attempting to rob a former friend who reveals he is now a cop. He is sentenced to 800 years, but remains upbeat knowing that "with good behavior, I can get that cut in half". In the last scene, he is shown carving a bar of soap and asking the interviewer if it is raining outside. 

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A musician named Dixie Dwyer begins working with mobsters to advance his career but falls in love with the girlfriend of gangland kingpin Dutch Schultz. A dancer from Dixie's neighborhood, Sandman Williams, is hired with his brother by The Cotton Club, a jazz club where most of the performers are black and the customers are white. Owney Madden, a mobster, owns the club and runs it with his right-hand man, Frenchy. Dixie becomes a Hollywood film star, thanks to the help of Madden and the mob but angering Schultz. He also continues to see Schultz's gun moll, Vera Cicero, whose new nightclub has been financed by the jealous gangster. In the meantime, Dixie's ambitious younger brother Vincent becomes a gangster in Schultz's mob and eventually a public enemy, holding Frenchy as a hostage. Sandman alienates his brother Clay at The Cotton Club by agreeing to perform a solo number there. While the club's management interferes with Sandman's romantic interest in Lila, a singer, its cruel treatment of the performers leads to an intervention by Harlem criminal 'Bumpy' Rhodes on their behalf. Dutch Schultz is violently dealt with by Madden's men while Dixie and Sandman perform on The Cotton Club's stage. 

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The story is divided into ten parts. 

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