In the game, Johnny tampers with Susan and Mary's "Real Life Simulator" machine, inadvertently allowing Wacko access to the machine, who uses it to turn the town of Porkbelly into a Medieval city. If that weren't enough, Brain Freezer is holding the twins' beloved Gil hostage. Johnny and Dukey will push all the limits with numerous laboratory gadgets trying to fix this experiment gone wrong. They will have to break some rules in order to stop the bad guys and save Porkbelly – all before his parents find out.

The main story begins in 1937 when brothers Wilfred and Duncan Scrutton run away from their home at Ferring near Worthing on the Sussex coast and travel to London. Wilfred, the narrator, recounts how they had seen an advert in the ''Daily Mail'' which said 'Trams surplus to the requirements of the London Omnibus and Tramcar Company for sale at their depot at Acton, London for £2 each.'

The brothers pool their resources and travel to the depot, where they are told that trams are indeed for sale but have to be collected and cannot be delivered to Sussex. The only candidate is an old horse-drawn tram, for which they manage to secure a horse called Homer from a retired rag and bone man. Unfortunately, the depot has no destination boards for Sussex, but they do have one for Canterbury — for which the brothers set off via the Old Kent Road, accompanied by Homer's companion, a dog called Tiger. They gain fare-paying passengers at Harbledown and begin a regular if slow service between there and Canterbury, and also acquire a conductor called Hattie, but rival companies eventually force them to move on due to the lack of a PSV operator's license. They travel back to Worthing and gain the support of the wealthy resident of Goring Hall, who, inspired by their determination, funds the purchase and transport of an electric tram from Acton; this is renovated and put into service in Worthing town centre.

The second half of the novel concerns events during World War II, the brothers volunteering for both the LDV and ARP and Hattie for the VAD.

An American corporation sets up operations in Mongolia to search for shale oil by pumping superheated water into the earth. The project encounters mysterious mechanical failures and delays. At the same time, the on-site manager, Patrick, is worried that the equipment failures and delays will attract too much attention from corporate bosses. The drilling operations have disturbed a nest of Mongolian death worms known in the legends of the indigenous people. They are monstrously long and lethal creatures that tunnel underground, similar to the Graboid creatures seen in ''Tremors'', though slimier looking, with an enormous maw of teeth, poisonous venom, and the ability to generate an electromagnetic field that interferes with communications and other equipment. One of the oil field workers is attacked and killed. Frightened by the rumors, other workers avoid showing up for work. With the drilling operation (and his side deal) threatened, Patrick starts to panic when Mr. Bixler, a corporate boss, shows up to find out what's going on.

At the same time, a group of volunteer medical workers, Doctors of Hope, is trying to stop a disease outbreak in a Mongolian village caused by the worms contaminating the water sources. The lead doctor, Alicia, encounters Daniel when she and a colleague, Phillip, need transportation for themselves and their medical supplies to the village where the rest of her team is working. Daniel is a target of the chief crime boss in the area, Kowlan, because of Daniel's treasure-hunting forays into their territory. We eventually learn that Daniel already knows about the legend of the worms and has found artifacts with engraved images of the creatures. He believes his finds will lead him to a treasure—Genghis Khan's tomb.

While transporting the two doctors to the village of Sepegal, Daniel's truck breaks down, and they are taken captive by Kowlan's men. A friend of Daniel's, local police officer Timur, finds Daniel's abandoned vehicle by the road and starts searching for him. Back at Kowlan's camp, Daniel creates a distraction so that the two doctors can escape. During a gun battle, worms emerge from the ground and eat Kowlan and his men. Daniel fires into a fuel tank and blows up one of the worms. Alicia and Phillip return to get the medical supplies from Daniel's truck and continue to Sepegal, where the epidemic is raging. Another doctor, Steffi, tells Alicia that sick, elderly people have been insisting that the "death worms" cause the epidemic. Alicia and Phillip have not seen any worms, but they heard Kowlan and Daniel talking about them.

Patrick, desperate to still make his black market deal, reveals his duplicity when he pulls a gun on Bixler, who is on the phone with the corporation. Patrick ties him up in the office. Soon, another corporate manager shows up and, while looking through the plant for Bixler, is promptly eaten. Still unaware of the worm threat, Patrick takes Bixler down to the lower level, where he binds him to a support column and gags him. Daniel reaches his truck and then goes to Sepegal to warn Alicia about the worms; he insists they need to move the temporary clinic and its patients somewhere else. One of the local people, a nurse, says they could find a phone and help at the oil drilling facility not far away. When they arrive at the plant, Daniel and Alicia are confronted by one of Patrick's people, Bana, who only participated in the theft scheme to help his people; he lets Daniel and Alicia inside when a worm appears behind them ready to kill. Alicia theorizes that the worms are a type of organism released from stasis because of hot water pumping deep into the earth. If the pumping stops, no new worms should be "hatched." In Sepegal, Phillip and the nurse, Thuan, are drawing water from the well when Thuan is sucked in by a worm and killed. Phillip and Steffi run back to the clinic as the worms begin to surround it.

Daniel and Bana shut down the pumps, then Bana panics and runs away, leaving Daniel behind. As Bana emerges from the plant, Patrick and the other accomplice return from taking a crate of stolen loot to another hiding place. Bana yells at them to leave, but Patrick shoots him in the back as he runs to the truck. He then discovers Alicia in the plant office; she is on the phone with Officer Timur, explaining that Sepegal needs help. Timur rushes to Sepegal and kills several worms. He tells the staff that more help is on the way, then he waits in the clinic with the staff and patients.

Daniel goes down to the lower levels of the plant, where he finds what he has been seeking, Genghis Khan's treasure. Patrick shows up, gun drawn, while his associate has Alicia at knifepoint. Daniel has to put his gun down. He distracts Patrick by pointing out Bixler's remains, and they get into a wrestling match. Daniel shoots Patrick in the shoulder. The ground shakes, and worms begin to emerge from the walls. Patrick's henchman is eaten, and Daniel realizes that this is the queen worm's nest. Timur arrives at the plant to find Daniel and Alicia and discovers Bana's body outside. Daniel discovers the room full of crates holding the treasure from the tomb. He breaks open a box, and artifacts and gold pour onto the floor. Alicia reminds him that it isn't worth dying for, and he agrees that they must obliterate the plant. Patrick limps into view, bleeding badly. Timur appears with a shotgun in hand. Behind him, the queen creeps up and eats Patrick. Daniel and Alicia attempt to build up the pressure in the generators and pipes. More worms show up just as they are about to escape from the building. Timur shoots them, but the queen eats him. Daniel and Alicia rush outside as the explosions go off. Daniel returns Alicia to Sepegal and her colleagues. He says he is going back to collect the treasure from the field around the plant and drives away.

The USSR in the early 1970s. Sasha, Daughter of CPSU dignitary, after a successful high school graduation passes her exams at a medical institute and accidentally meets a girl called Gerda along with her hippie friends. She soon falls in love with the leader of their community nicknamed ''Sun''. Her new friends are a blacksmith nicknamed ''Maloy'', a Chilean revolutionary Juan, a long-haired man nicknamed ''Skeleton'', and a talented artist called ''Korean''.

Sasha's father, as a reward for entering the institute, gives Sasha a ticket to a holiday in Bulgaria, but Sasha stops the bus on its way to the airport. Her and the company of new friends take a train to Crimea. Sasha learns to drink wine from the bottle and suffers from the alienation of Sun, who’s constantly absent. In Crimea, hippies stop in a rented house, go to improvised discos and dance to rock music, which is broadcast on the pirate radio by a mysterious "Trouble Woman" (as it turns out, the daughter of the chief in the local militsiya). The hippies, as well as the ''Korean'', are being watched by a KGB officer, who was sent from Moscow; as a result, the ''Korean'' gets arrested at the bus station when he buys the ticket to return to Moscow.

After a brawl with demobilized border guards hippies get to the militsiya. To rescue them, Sun first goes to his father, a Soviet Admiral. Here it turns out that Sun is terminally ill and needs urgent treatment in Moscow. Then he turns to the "Trouble Woman", who gives him the money to bribe her mother — militsiya officer. After the release of the hippies, on the beach by the bonfires the party begins. Meanwhile, Sun burns his cabin ("house of the sun"), which he showed only to Sasha.

Episode I

November 1939. Gertrud Habersaat is a maid in the house of the Leßtorffs, the richest farmers in Rakowen, a village in Mecklenburg. She is pregnant with Jürgen Leßtorff's baby, and hopes he will marry her. But after returning from the war in Poland, he forsakes her in favor of Countess Palvner and joins Hans Frank's staff in the newly formed General Government. Gertrud is forced to have an abortion and to marry Emil Kalluweit, a landless worker. Willi Heyer, a communist recently released from prison who was on probation in Rakowen, escapes to join the underground.

Episode II

Kalluweit is given a farm in Poland, where he and his wife are to be part of the new 'Master Race'. They witness the brutal deportation of the local Poles. Gertrud saves a little girl, Mala, who is harassed by SS men and adopts her. Heyer, who is now imprisoned in a concentration camp, saves Polish professor Pinarski from the AB Action; they escape the camp. When Gertrud discovers that Mala is Jewish, she finds Leßtorff and convinces him to arrange fake papers for her; he agrees, on condition that she takes in another child, Stefan. Kalluweit volunteers to join the Wehrmacht after SS officer Schneider wants to draft him to his organization.

Episode III

In 1945, Gertrud and the children flee the Red Army. She returns to Rakowen, where Heyer is appointed mayor by the Soviet authorities. Leßtorff returns, after hiding his wartime activities from his British captors. Heyer confiscates the rich farmers' cows to provide milk for the starving children of the refugees. When Heyer leaves to meet the Soviet commandant, the wealthy villagers seize power again. Schneider, who hides in Leßtorff's farm, threatens Gertrud not to reveal his identity. She leaves the village, but the returning Heyer convinces her to stay. He confronts the villagers and wins them over. Gertrud exposes Schneider, who kills Jürgen while trying to escape. Countess Palvner, who owned most of the village's land, is deported and her possessions are re-distributed to her former serfs.

Episode IV

The need to modernize and to maximize production leads most of the villagers to agree to the formation of an agricultural cooperative. Gertrud resists the plans to hand over her land, but Heyer convinces her to accept it, and she eventually becomes the chairperson of the new cooperative.

Episode V

Emil Kalluweit, now a rich West German businessman, returns to the village and tries to convince Gertrud to leave with him. Stefan's mother is revealed to be alive, and visits her son, who is torn between her and his German upbringing. Gertrud decides to remain in Rakowen, starting a new life with Heyer.

DCI Tom Cutler and the now Sergeant Andy Davidson return to investigate a series of deaths around the apparently defunct Torchwood Institute. It also features the return of Suzie Costello who misused the Resurrection Gauntlet in the first season.

A homicidal escaped mental patient with a brain tumor with only a month to live meets a childlike, mentally challenged man, who becomes her traveling companion for a cross-country car trip that brings unexpected meaning to both their lives.

Andrew (Jase Blankfort) and his older brother Carl (Trey Rogers) enjoy listening to ghost stories that the local undertaker, Mr. Bennett (Frank Langella), tells them. One night Bennett tells the tale of a local farmer whose wife gave birth to conjoined twins, one being good-natured while the other was clearly evil. The farmer, ashamed of them, kept the twins locked in their room. Eventually the twins got sick from a liver disease and died together, so the farmer sawed them in half and buried the good twin in a cemetery and the bad twin in a shallow grave near the house, at the end of an old dirt road called Cry Baby Lane, as whoever is caught out there at night will hear the cries of the deceased twin. Later, Andrew, Carl and a group of friends decide to hold a séance in the cemetery where the good twin is supposedly buried, but during the séance, a weed is cut near the grave and a creepy phenomenon occurs around the town soon afterwards. When Andrew consults Mr. Bennett about it, he confesses that when the twins were separated, the bodies were mixed up, with the good one being buried in the field and the bad one being buried in the grave where the séance took place, and that he knows this because he was the undertaker who separated the bodies. Therefore, the good twin is crying for help - not vengeance, and the bad twin possesses nearly everyone in town, and it is up to Andrew to stop him. Bennett's assistant Gary informs him of a legend, which he himself believes is just superstition, that weeds near people's graves in fact contain their souls, which are then set free if the weed is cut.

However, during the time Andrew and Carl journey into Cry Baby Lane, the evil twin intervenes and possesses Carl who then tries to attack his brother. The evil twin, speaking for Carl, tells Andrew he cannot stop his doing as the cries of the good twin become louder and more desperate. Andrew eventually escapes the evil twin's spell and journeys into the good twin's grave where he must cut a root that was wrapped the good twin's skeleton in order to regain peace. The evil twin showers dirt onto the grave, attempting to bury Andrew alive, but Andrew manages to cut the root and save the good twin. The evil twin disappears in a flash of light and everybody returns to normal.

The next day, Andrew wakes up outside of the grave where he finds the good twin's grave with flowers, alluding that the twin is now at peace. Andrew then picks a flower from the grave and gives it to Kathy as they leave Cry Baby Lane.

In 1945, the Second World War is about to come to an end. Meanwhile, the Australian military has come across an ancient device which can be used to travel through time. It is imperative that the Allies have it and the Axis powers do not.

The experienced aviator Lt. Harris (John Hargreaves) gets assigned to transport the precious item to Washington, D.C. Reverend Mitchell (Simon Chilvers), Mitchell's lovely daughter Melanie (Meredith Phillips), General Hackett (Alex Scott) and Major Savage (Max Phipps) are aboard the Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport. During the flight the power of the magic cargo makes the laws of nature fade, hereby causing a tremendous tempest which leaves Harris no other choice than to ditch the aircraft.

In rescue boats they discover a weird and misty area full of wrecked ships of different eras. Rev. Mitchell claims there was a connection to the so-called Philadelphia Experiment. Harris remains unimpressed and concentrates on the survival of Melanie and his crew, even for the price of immolating the arcane freight against Savage's explicit orders.

Back home Savage has Harris sentenced for insubordination by a military court. Harris escapes and seeks to unveil the background of these occurrences. He beseeches Rev. Mitchell's daughter Melanie to team up with him. Together they strive to retrieve the lost magic item. They disclose and confound Savage's hidden agenda before they become a happy couple.

Dave Calvin, handsome and well built, with a charm that women would fall for, but divorced, dishonest and greedy, is appointed as manager of the bank in Pittsville when the existing manager falls ill. On the advice of his simple and innocent secretary Alice Craig, he soon finds lodging with widowed Kit Loring staying with her young daughter who is in love with Ken Travers, the local police deputy sheriff, waiting for a breakthrough to marry his lover.

Soon Calvin decides to steal a huge payroll of $300,000 from the bank and get away with it, and ropes in Kit for the same. But things do not go their way, and soon they find themselves in a puddle of troubles full of treachery, deception and even murder. And to make matters worse for Calvin, he soon realizes that Kit is an alcoholic who can spill the beans anytime.

Meredith Appleton (Miranda Otto) arrives on South Solitary island with her elderly uncle George Wadsworth (Barry Otto). Her uncle has been sent as the new Head Lighthouse Keeper after the suicide of the last one. Her uncle is shown to be a gruff man very critical of the slightest disorder. Meredith meets the local girl Nettie (Annie Martin), whom she asks to care for her lamb. She then meets the mother, Alma Stanley (Essie Davis) and her two sons, Tom (Reef Ireland) and Robbie (Benson Adams). The father, Harry Stanley (Rohan Nichol) takes George for a tour of inspection where George disapproves of the state of loose animals, the absence of lighthouse keeper Jack Fleet (Marton Csokas), and a previous history of lighthouse outages.

The first night, as Meredith is preparing tea for her uncle, she hears baby birds chirping in the stovepipe so she douses the fire and is not able to prepare hot tea for her uncle. Jack Fleet has a panic attack on his watch, brought on by his war trauma. Nettie introduces Meredith to the unreliable emergency message system using homing pigeons. When Nettie tries to send a routine message that all is well on South Solitary the birds return to their coop thus rendering the system useless. While having afternoon tea with Alma, Meredith reveals she is unable to give birth to the unsympathetic mother. She lost her fiancé in the war, then became pregnant through an affair with a married man, but complications meant her womb was removed. Making friends with South Solitary’s strange residents is hard for Meredith who finds the isolation difficult. Harry visits her during her bath, and seduces her. Sent to fetch her dad, Nettie sees Meredith and Harry in bed together and tells her mother who tells George, and the family is next seen quitting the island on the next passing ship.

While pushing up a store of supplies from the beach without Stanley to help, George overly exerts himself, becomes very ill with a heart attack and dies. Jack must keep solitary watch as there is no one else and proves himself a sensitive and capable keeper. Together the pair bury George and provide a eulogy for him. A whole gale quickly forms stranding Meredith at the lighthouse with Fleet for several days during which she learns how to turn the light and the Flag semaphore system and gets to know him. She conveys her sense of loneliness to Jack and her desire for a sense of permanence, with more conversation than Jack is used to, causing him to have a panic attack with hallucinations of a ship in distress, so that he runs off into the wilderness. Covering the island, Meredith finds her lost lamb which Jack helps her to recover. Meanwhile Jack sees a ship in the distance and signals for it to pick up Meredith who wants to stay. She begs him not to send her away, but he finds it too stressful having close company and refuses. As she leaves they kiss, and arrange to keep in touch, even that Jack will visit when he next has leave. Meredith looks out for him from the water then catches sight of the semaphore message he has displayed; she is seen smiling as she draws away from South Solitary.

In 1998, a man named Thomas drives his truck into Dampier, Western Australia late one night, having transported a previously ordered statue of William Dampier to the town. Upon entering the town pub he sees the silhouettes of a group of men, one of whom is holding a gun. Believing it is a murder, he rushes into the next room, where he sees that the men are trying to put down an apparently sick dog. Unable to bring themselves to carry out the euthanasia, the men, with Thomas, retreat to the bar.

Publican Jack Collins tells him the dog's name is Red Dog and narrates his story. Upon arriving in Dampier in 1971, the dog befriends many of the employees of Hamersley Iron, who have a major iron ore excavation in progress. Various miners relate their stories of Red Dog to Thomas, but state that, while Red Dog was a dog for everyone, he had no real master.

The men then tell of an American, John Grant, a bus driver for Hamersley Iron who became Red's master. He eventually starts dating a woman named Nancy, a secretary at Hamersley Iron. After living in Dampier for two years, John proposes to Nancy. On the night of the engagement, John tells Red Dog to stay until he returns from Nancy's caravan. Early the next morning, John rides his motorcycle from Nancy's caravan, but he is killed in an accident on the way after hitting a kangaroo.

In the shock of John's accident, Nancy and the Hamersley men forget about Red Dog. Three days after the funeral, they find him still waiting where John told him to stay. After three weeks, Red Dog decides to look for John, first at Hamersley Iron, then the bar and other places where John was known to go, until all of Dampier is explored. He continues across much of the Australian North West Pilbara region, from Perth to Darwin. He is even rumoured to have caught a ship to Japan in search of John. Finally, the grief catches up to him, and he decides to return to Dampier. When he arrives, he returns to Nancy at the caravan park where she is staying, and she is overwhelmed to see him. The caretakers of the caravan park, however, do not allow dogs in the park, and threaten to shoot Red Dog. Nancy and John's friends at Hamersley then travel to the community of Dampier in support of Red Dog and, after a "civilized chat" with some of the miners, the caretaker and his wife leave, leaving their cat, Red Cat, behind. A great fight between Red Dog and Red Cat ensues, and in the end, they resolve their differences and become mates but still have their ups and downs.

Back in the present day, miner Jocko asks the gathered crowd why the town should have a statue of the town's namesake, William Dampier, when all he did in relation to the place was say that there were too many flies, and suggests that they should instead erect a statue of someone who represents the town – Red Dog. During the celebrations that follow, Red Dog gets up and walks out of the bar, unnoticed by everyone. Upon realizing that the sick dog has left, everyone in the town begins looking for him, eventually finding him lying dead in front of John's grave.

One year later, Thomas once again drives up to Dampier with a new puppy for Nancy, a new "Red Dog" and the whole town unveils a statue of Red Dog, a statue which still stands today.

In the 1960s, Mercurio Arboria founded the Arboria Institute, a New Age research facility dedicated to finding a reconciliation between science and spirituality, allowing humans to move into a new age of "Serenity Through Technology" and perpetual happiness. Now, in 1983, Arboria's work has long since been taken over by his protégé, Dr. Barry Nyle. Outwardly a charming, handsome scientist, Nyle is a psychopath who has been keeping Elena, a young girl, captive deep within the lower levels of the institute. Because there is no sunlight or sense of time in this place, the facility operates in "Day Mode" and "Night Mode." Elena only communicates through telepathy and demonstrates psychic capabilities, which Nyle suppresses using a glowing, prismatic device located somewhere in the bowels of the institute, from where it emanates a deep, droning hum.

In an effort to understand Elena's abilities, Nyle subjects her to daily "therapy" sessions, during which Elena begs to see her father, but Nyle tells her she is very ill, and "not ready" for the world. By night, Elena is kept in her room, where she uses her psychic abilities to surreptitiously watch television shows through a video monitor in the wall. Nyle spends his nights at home with his wife Rosemary, a docile woman who appears to exist in a state of marijuana-induced stupor, yet seems to genuinely care for Nyle despite his lack of tenderness towards her. Nyle takes significant quantities of prescription medication, smiling at his insane reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Attempting to elicit an emotional response from Elena, Nyle speaks about her dead mother, whom he calls "beautiful" and "desirable". He hints that a photo of her might be in Elena's room, which she later discovers under her bed.

That evening, Elena's nurse Margo discovers Nyle's case notes on Elena in a hidden recess in the wall, finding strange symbols and images that indicate Nyle's violent sexual obsession with Elena. Fearful of what the notes contain, Margo puts them back. Afterward, Nyle receives a mysterious phone call and rushes back to the Institute where he discovers ash from Margo's cigarette near the case notes. Nyle takes a psychedelic drug to calm himself.

Suspicious of Margo, Nyle informs her that Elena has smuggled contraband into her room. Margo later harasses and verbally abuses Elena, destroying the photo, and Nyle deactivates the suppressor device. Elena kills her by telekinetically causing her brain to burst through her eyes. Nyle, having monitored these events, is intrigued by this blatant display of psychic ability and pleased at Margo's death. He allows Elena to leave her cell and reactivates the prism, causing her to convulse and fall to the floor. Nyle then releases an anaesthetic gas into the facility. As Elena lies unconscious, Nyle electronically summons an entity in a helmeted red environment suit (identified as a "Sentionaut"), who injects a tracking device in Elena's neck before carrying her back to bed and removing all traces of Margo's brutalized corpse.

Nyle goes to see Arboria in another area of the institute. Displaying signs of senility and drug addiction, Arboria does not acknowledge Nyle's psychosis, regarding him as his best protégé. A flashback to 1966 reveals that Elena's mother was Arboria's wife Anna, who was present when Arboria led a young Nyle through a procedure meant to allow him to achieve transcendence. As a part of the procedure, Nyle was submerged in a vat of black liquid and experienced otherworldly, hellish visions. Nyle emerged insane and killed Anna. Unperturbed, Arboria submerged the infant Elena in the black liquid. Back in the "present" of 1983, Nyle murders Arboria by administering a fatal drug overdose, which Elena experiences via telepathic link with her father.

Nyle returns home, while a television broadcasts an address from President Reagan. He reveals that he disguises his complete lack of hair and his black irises with an elaborate wig and contact lenses. Presenting himself to his wife without these appliances, and dressed in a strange black outfit, he declares his primacy as an evolved being from "Beyond the Black Rainbow," and pushes his thumbs into Rosemary's eye sockets, killing her.

Meanwhile, Elena escapes, having used her psychic powers to render herself undetectable to the prism. She rides an elevator, evades a Sentionaut, and traverses a deep ventilation shaft on her journey upward through the Arboria Institute. Along the way, she encounters and narrowly avoids a bound, monstrous humanoid as her defense against the suppressor briefly fails. As she arrives at an upper level, she is confronted by another Sentionaut, whom she influences with her telepathy, prompting it to remove the visor on its helmet to reveal a mutated, childlike face. Arriving in a staff lounge, Elena finds that no other people seem to be working at the institute. Walking through the Arboria Institute's "award-winning gardens," she at last arrives outside the walls and sees the night sky for the first time in her life.

Nyle, having at last shed the pretense of humanity, dissolved his final contact to the material world, and wielding a ceremonial dagger he calls "The Devil's Tear-Drop," arrives back at the institute to find Elena gone. He produces a transponder receiver and departs. While pursuing Elena through the wooded areas surrounding the institute, he encounters a pair of "heshers," whom he kills after insisting one of them had sex with Elena.

Having located her using the tracking implant, Nyle eventually corners Elena in a clearing and repeatedly implores her to come to him. Elena uses her psychic abilities to keep Nyle's feet planted on the ground and as he tries to approach her, Nyle falls, hits his head against a rock, and dies instantly. Free of her captor, Elena finds herself on a suburban street, guided by the light generated by a television set.

A post-credits scene reveals a Sentionaut action figure, ostensibly in a child's bedroom.

An experiment on an isolated island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean results in the enlargement of a group of komodo dragons. However, the dragons break free, and kill most of the scientists, the only survivor being Rebecca Phipps, whose father Nathan is part of the program on land. Later, a military team is dispatched to kill the dragons, although all are killed except soldiers Hanson, and Jason Blake, who hide in Rebecca's private house with an electric gate. Nathan, and his colleague and girlfriend Dawn Porter are soon sent to rescue the survivors.

On an island in Hawaii, a group of criminals consisting of Drake, and Reece, and Drake's girlfriend Tiffany, rob a casino, and escape in a helicopter with their pilot Jack. However, they're forced to land on the island due to a storm. The next morning, Dawn collects evidence that proves the komodo's venom has the ability to infect humans, turning them into zombie-like creatures. Jack tells the criminals he needs spare parts to fix damage inside the helicopter's engine. As they begin wandering the island, they find Dawn, Nathan, Rebecca, and Hanson fighting one of the dragons, which has infected Jason. The group manages to evade the dragon, and Nathan reluctantly lets the criminals reside in the house. Nathan attempts to negotiate a rescue with military officer Foster on land, although Foster keeps pushing back the rescue mission.

Later that night, Reece, who had come in contact with the komodo's saliva earlier, slowly becomes infected. The komodo returns, and the men desperately attempt to fight it off. An infected Reece walks outside, and is eaten by the komodo, which heads back into the jungle. The next day, Nathan becomes fed up with Foster's negotiations, and convinces the group to make a break for the helicopter, which Jack reveals was never damaged. During the trip to the helicopter, Tiffany and Hanson were killed, and Nathan becomes infected, slowly turning into a zombie. The group soon reaches the helicopter, although encounter the komodo. Nathan sacrifices himself by distracting the komodo long enough to allow Jack, Dawn, Drake, and Rebecca to reach the helicopter.

On land, Foster initiates a bombing of the entire island in order to eliminate witnesses of the experiment's creations. The survivors are about to take off, although Drake goes back for a bag containing the casino money, which he had left behind. The bombing soon occurs, forcing Jack, Dawn, and Rebecca to take off, leaving Drake on the island. Upon learning that three survivors have escaped the island, Foster commits suicide. On the island, Drake is revealed to have survived the bombing, also is soon eaten by a group of komodo offspring.

The kingdoms of Margoth and Karlova, age-old rivals, negotiate a marriage alliance between royal heirs Princess Mary of Margoth and Crown Prince Boris of Karlova. Each resists the idea of wedding a hereditary enemy. Meanwhile, in America, lovers Gwendolyn Bass and Hemmington Main find their matrimonial hopes thwarted by Gwendolyn's mother, who dreams of her daughter marrying into European nobility. Mrs. Bass takes Gwendolyn to Europe with this project in mind. Her husband, the wealthy Abner Bass, who does not share her lofty ambitions, encourages Hemmington to follow.

Boris's father King Constans has him confined to his quarters for his rebellious attitude, but the prince escapes, planning to rendezvous with friends at Peter's Inn, a disreputable establishment he often visits incognito. On the way he is waylaid by the Rider, a notorious highwayman. Boris turns the tables and captures the brigand, whom he takes on to the inn to impress his friends. The Rider, whose cronies also habituate the inn, is agreeable to this, hoping to revenge himself on his captor.

At the inn, Boris meets his friends, officers of the Karlovian army's crack Black Guard. The Rider, seeing his own confederates there, calls on them to free him, but they are overcome by the guardsmen. The barmaid Bakla, hearing the prince's true name mentioned, prevents one of the customers from shooting him. Boris magnanimously invites his late foes to supper. On hearing the Rider's tales of adventure, he envies the brigand's life; the Rider, for his part, envies the prince's. Impulsively, Boris suggests they exchange identities for a week. The Rider can travel in his stead to Margoth in his place to woo his unwanted intended while he himself lives the romantic life of the highwayman. The guardsmen object, fearing his joke will lead to war, but Boris, though personally inclined to peace, is willing to risk it to avoid wedding Princess Mary.

Boris's friends accompany the disguised Rider to the Margothian capital of Demia, where Princess Mary, in cahoots with her nurse Carlotta, is herself plotting to get out of the proposed marriage. The unmannerly Rider commits a social ''faux pas'' in the town which alienates the populace. Hemmington Main, drinking in a hotel with a chance acquaintance, witnesses the disturbance. He and his drinking partner, who calls himself Kargovitch, become friendly. Main learns that while he is in Margoth to seek his love, the other has come to avoid one. Kargovitch suggests they help each other further their goals. Gwendolyn and her mother enter the hotel, and Main remarks that if he can only separate the two, he can wed Gwendolyn immediately. Kargovitch comes up with a plan to make it happen.

In the palace, the phony prince disgraces himself by his boorishness, but gets through the all-important meeting with King Alexis. His encounter with Mary, who has made herself up to appear old and ugly to repel her suitor, goes less well. Unfortunately, her subterfuge kindles her father's wrath against her, making him all the more determined on the marriage. The rebellious Mary seizes the first opportunity to slip from the palace.

Learning that Gwendolyn, with whom she went to school, is in Margoth, Mary meets her incognito at the Royal Hotel. Outside, a stranger approaches her car and asks the chauffeur if it is that of the Bass family. To keep the princess's cover from being blown the driver pretends it is. Later Prince Boris, in his new role as the Rider, stops the car. Sending the chauffeur back to Demia on his own horse, he drives off with Mary and Carlotta. Mary, finding she has been mistaken for Gwendolyn, does not enlighten her captor. She marvels at the highwayman's surprising good manners. Later the car is abandoned, and the three continue to the Rider's hideout on foot.

Meanwhile, the true Rider, disenchanted with his royal masquerade, pleads food poisoning as an excuse to go back to Karlova. One of his minders manages to insult King Alexis by implying that the prince's distaste for Mary is the true reason for his early departure, whereupon the king finally reveals his own negative opinion of the prince. When Mary's escape is uncovered Alexis is initially unconcerned, as he no longer favors the marriage. But when the princess's chauffeur returns with the news she has been kidnapped by the Rider, he quickly orders a large party of the Guard out in pursuit.

Meanwhile, the true car of the Bass family has broken down on the highway, where it is encountered by the phony Prince Boris, who is bound for the true prince's hunting lodge to re-exchange identities with the latter. Recognizing the party and knowing of the Bass fortune, the Rider offers them a lift to Sovgrad in Karlova. His minders concur to maintain the pretense he is the prince. Revealing to the Basses his distaste for Princess Mary, the "prince" intimates he might look more favorably on Gwendolyn as a bride. Gwendolyn is not happy, but her mother is ecstatic, and readily agrees to an immediate ceremony at the hunting lodge. Stopping briefly at Peter's Inn, the Rider tells Peter, the proprietor, to send a priest on to the lodge. But no sooner has the innkeeper sent for the priest than an unknown foreigner (Hemmington Main) shows up with one already in tow. He shows Peter a note from the Rider commanding him to take them to the lodge, no questions asked. Peter thinks it odd for the priest to appear so soon, but complies. At the lodge Main encounters the Basses and the phony prince. He is surprised to see the latter, having expected to meet his friend Kargovitch. Main and the "prince" discover they both share the goal of marrying Gwendolyn, whereupon the "prince" draws a gun on Main. Main does the same; they fire, and the "prince" falls. Mrs. Bass cries out that he has killed the crown prince of Karlova.

Meanwhile, the real Prince Boris, as the Rider, finally gets Princess Mary and Carlotta, whom he still thinks are Gendolyn and her mother, to the bandit's camp. The prince and princess both feel attracted to each other, but conceal it. Asked how much he expects for their ransom, Boris tells them his price is that "Miss Bass" marry Hemmington Maine. To his surprise, she does not appear pleased at the prospect. Larger concerns soon loom, however. One of the true Rider's men present in the camp, having overheard the conversation, slips out to inform his fellow bandits. Loath to lose a potentially lucrative ransom, they revolt against their ostensible leader, besieging him and the Basses in the hut. Mary is mystified why the "Rider" would protect the women against his own men, but helps him hold off the bandits. Finally, when the defenders face defeat, Boris confesses his love for her. At this point the Margothian Guard appear and defeat the bandits. Boris now discovers for the first time that his captive is Princess Mary, but he continues to conceal his own identity, and is arrested as the Rider. Mary attempts to protect him as he had protected her, but to little avail. The three are returned to the capital, and where Boris is cast into prison.

On witnessing the apparent death of "Prince Boris," the priest who came with Hemmington Main flees to take the news to Karlova. In his wake, innkeeper Peter's henchman and the priest ''he'' was sent for arrive. Aware of the false prince's true identity, and realizing he is only wounded, not dead, they spirit him off, to the confusion of those remaining. Mrs. Bass, still believing her ambition has led to tragedy, reconciles herself to Main and his suit, and suggests they escape to Margoth. But Margoth proves no refuge: there the supposed assassination of Prince Boris of Karlova and its possible connection to the abortive abduction of Princess Mary of Margoth by the Rider are all over the newspapers, and Main and the Basses are arrested and separated.

Main finds himself in the same cell as his erstwhile friend Kargovitch (actually Prince Boris). Comparing notes on their adventures, they are at a loss on how they managed to confuse the parties of the Basses and Princess Mary, though the rest seems plain enough: Main will die for assassinating "Prince Boris" and Kargovitch for kidnapping the princess. Kargovitch is torn; if he reveals his secret, he might secure their freedom, but probably at the cost of war between Karlova and Margoth—and his own humiliation as perpetrator of a cruel joke against the princess he rejected—with whom he is now in love!

Meanwhile, the Rider, nursed by Bakla at Peter's Inn, also receives the news. While sorry for his impersonator's predicament, he understandably feels unable to do anything about it. Bakla, however, is of another mind, and leaves at once for the Karlovan capital.

In Margoth Princess Mary secures the release of Mrs. Bass and Gwendolyn. Main initially remains incarcerated as the reputed assassin of the prince of Karlova, but then King Alexis mysteriously decides to free him as well. Main pleads for Kargovitch's life with the princess; she, moved as well by her own feelings for him, does the same with her father. But King Alexis is adamant, stating he has already shown the Rider clemency by commuting his hanging sentence to death by firing squad. Later Mary visits Kargovitch in his cell, and they confess their love for each other. She begs him to save his life by revealing his secret, whatever it may be—she has learned of its existence from Main. He tells her he cannot, and she leaves in despair.

The next morning Kargovitch is removed from his cell to be shot, but before the execution can take place it is stopped, and he is whisked to the palace. There he is astonished to find his father, King Constans of Karlova, awaiting him. Having been told everything about the double imposture and the ensuing misadventures by Bakla, Constans had come to Margoth and intervened with Alexis. The charade of the execution had been allowed to proceed almost to the end in order to teach Boris a lesson. After a general reconciliation, Prince Boris meets Princess Mary and they pledge their love anew, and the hoped-for peace between their countries is cemented. Hemmington Main and Gwendolyn Bass marry. And the Rider? The author rhetorically asks his readers if they would like him to say the highwayman reformed and wed Bakla, teasingly says he will say so, and then blandly states that it is not the truth.

Jules Daly (Katie McGrath) is an antique store worker in Buffalo, New York who becomes the legal guardian of her niece Maddie (Leilah de Meza) and nephew Milo (Travis Turner) after the loss of her sister and brother-in-law in a tragic accident. Maddie is a fun-loving girl and Milo is a rebel and troublemaking teenager.

After Jules gets fired by Arthur (Michael Damian) due to financial problems and the children's babysitter Mrs. Kelly (Maria Junghietu) quits following Maddie's pranks, Jules reprimands Maddie for driving Mrs. Kelly away and grounds Milo for sneaking out, shoplifting a game, and decapitating Maddie's doll to keep her quiet. In addition, Milo doesn't want to go get a Christmas tree with Jules due to the fact that Christmas reminds him of his parents' death.

Paisley Winterbottom (Miles Richardson), the butler of the children's wealthy grandfather Duke Edward (Roger Moore), appears with an invitation for Milo and Maddie to spend the Christmas holidays with his employer in the country of Castlebury. Jules initially refuses, as the Duke disowned his son because he married Jules's sister and has never even met the children. However, she decides to go for the children's sake when Paisley claims that the Duke is ill.

Arriving at the palace where the Duke is in good health, and Paisley admits to Jules that he "embellished" the Duke's illness a bit to get them to come. The Duke is however, overcome briefly with emotion when he sees Milo and Maddie. "The children look just like Charles." Jules also meets Prince Ashton (Sam Heughan), the brother of her sister's husband Charles and falls in love with him. Looking around, she finds no Christmas trees and asks the Duke why there are none. He replies he doesn't like them. However, Jules takes Maddie out to get a tree and then they all decorate it. Edward finds out and becomes furious until Maddie hands him an ornament, which turns out to be the same one his brother had given him when they were children. Finally appreciating the spirit of the season, he tells Paisley to send invitations out for a Christmas Eve ball.

While teaching Milo archery, Ashton talks about his brother Charles and how the Duke disowned him for marrying Jules' sister which led to Jules' resentment towards the Duke. Milo manages to enter a room that he noticed earlier was locked. It turns out to be his father's room. When Milo asks Ashton why the Duke keeps it locked, Ashton sadly tells him that the Duke locked the room due to both his grief and shame. Grief over losing his oldest son and shame over the fact that he never tried to reach out due to his own pride before his tragic death. Milo tearfully confides in Ashton that he is terrified of forgetting his father, thus explaining his troublemaking behavior. "Every day, his face gets further and further away!" Ashton assures Milo that he won't forget his father because his father lives inside him. He also tells Milo that he is just like Charles. Maddie meanwhile manages to warm her grandfather's heart enough to get him to change his opinion towards Christmas. As their stay continues, both Jules and the children continue to bring life and joy back to the castle. Something that hasn't happened since the Duke disowned Charles.

Overhearing Ashton and Edward speaking disapprovingly of someone "untitled" and "crass" they'd rather not invite to the ball, Jules mistakenly believes it to be about her, though they are actually talking about someone else.

When the staff accidentally burns Jules' dress, she takes this as an excuse not to attend. Jules, feeling unwelcome, decides to go back to the USA early only telling the children. Despite their efforts to make her stay, she leaves, asking them not to tell anyone until she is gone. The housekeeper Mrs. Birch (Razvan Oprea) finds that Jules is missing. So she and Paisley lead some members of the staff to retrieve her. They pick her up the train station while also having a dress brought in from Vienna.

Meanwhile at the ball, Ashton verifies his girlfriend, Lady Arabella only wants him for his title. Jules arrives at the ball. When Ashton finds her, she says she is trying to not be an embarrassment. Confused, he asks for an explanation. After Jules explains her eavesdropping, Ashton clears things up, noting that the woman they called an "awful grizzly woman" was Bunny McCracken (Anva Varlan), who hates children. They then dance. Arabella and her parents unsuccessfully attempt to turn Edward and Ashton against Jules, then storm out. Ashton asks Jules to extend their stay and she agrees.

The family then goes and "catches" Santa putting gifts under the Christmas tree. Sometime later, Jules and Ashton are married, and their friends and family watch as they ride off in a coach together.

Taking place in a futuristic city called Mardock City, Rune Balot is a former prostitute turned vigilante who was taken in by the notorious gambler Shell Septinos. One night, Shell abandons Rune and attempts to murder her in an explosion. However, she is rescued and transformed into a cyborg by Dr. Easter under regulation Mardock Scramble 09, an emergency ordinance where experimental technologies can be used to preserve life. An Artificial intelligence who takes the form of a mouse accompanies her to adapt to her new life. Rune is trained to use the advanced technology fitted on her to defend herself against Shell's attempts to have her killed to stop her from testifying against him.

Simon Miller (Loren Dean) outwardly appears to be a geologist who must frequently take business trips, which has strained the relationship with his family, including his wife Meredith (Robyn Lively) and teenage children Sarah (Skyler Day) and Kevin (Drew Koles). When Simon suddenly does not return from his latest trip, they go looking for him. They receive assistance from Amanda (Christine Baranski), another covert operative who initially appears to be a friend, but appears to have her own motives.

Two models, Marlis and Peggy, are on a Caribbean Island for a photoshoot. One night Peggy is found dead and her body seems eaten by rats.

The victim's sister, Terry, arrives on the island and helped by a mystery novel writer met at the airport starts to investigate. Meanwhile, Marlis and the photographer find other corpses in the jungle. Searching for help they stopped at an isolated house just to discover that the landlord is a scientist who created a ferocious mutant half-ape, half rat.

The game starts in the far future. Due to ecological disasters life is only possible in caves deep under the ground. Many lifeforms and organisms have become extinct and even the human race is about to disappear. Some inventors were able to develop a time machine which uses some kind of radiocarbon dating. They now send some researchers back in time by using some sample which was made in the year 2050. Fay and her coworker arrive in a ruined San Francisco. Fay contacts the other time travelers, but they all end up in some natural disaster and most of them die. Salvador concludes their team must travel back in time to a year where ecological problems already exist, but still can be solved. In their search they find an article about Bent Svensson who invented a biofuel based upon blue algae. They also find an article how earth got partially destroyed after a nuclear reactor exploded in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. This event destroyed the rain forest causing to start a chain reaction in which the earth went into a nuclear winter. The team travels back in time. However, it turns out Bent had to go on retirement due to health issues. The project is now led by his son Duve. Fay must convince Bent she really is from the future, the biofuel is the only solution to save the planet and the product must go in production right away. However, everyone has some reason to manipulate things for own purposes. This might fail the rescue of earth—or not.

Porky and Sylvester are camping in the desert in the Superstition Mountains. As they prepare to settle down for the night, Sylvester (who is already frightened merely by the location) suddenly hears a howl that causes him to wrap himself around Porky for safety. Porky peels him off and points out that the sound was from a coyote howling at the Moon and forces the cat to sleep outside, while Porky himself sleeps in his tent.

Suddenly, a UFO carrying a tall, birdlike alien (later used as the design for the Instant Martians from ''Hare-Way to the Stars'' (1958)) from the planet Jupiter arrives on Earth, with his mission being to collect some "Animal Life" for an experiment. After sizing up the samples he finds (Sylvester and the tent with Porky inside), the alien manoeuvers his spacecraft to a position where it is able to bore through the ground and remove his specimens in one round slice, which is carried off on top of the UFO.

Once in space, but still within the pull of Earth's gravity, Porky wakes up extremely cold. He gets himself a blanket, remarking to himself as he passes the open tent flap, "Golly, the stars are so bright tonight you can almost touch them." In due course, the alien comes out to take a look at Sylvester, who is waking up. The alien clamps a 'hand' on the cat's head and turns it so they are looking right at each other. Naturally, Sylvester is terrified and races into the tent and into Porky's bed. After Porky drags him out of the bed, Sylvester wraps himself around his head. Porky demands to know "What's the matter with you, anyway?" Sylvester mimics the alien, which results in him being ridiculed and punted so far out of the tent that he nearly falls off the edge of the spacecraft. Scared out of his wits, Sylvester ends up in the alien's arms. Then, realizing where he is, he scrams back into Porky's tent and hides under the bed.

The alien is standing at the tent opening as Porky lectures Sylvester and the cat points this out. Porky, however, mistakes the alien for a Navajo Native American and tells him to go back in his 'wigwam', on the supposed pretense he and Sylvester will look at his 'beads and trinkets' in the morning. Confused, the alien goes back inside the UFO to get some pointers on his specimens from a book entitled ''Denizens of the Planet Earth and Their Behavior''. The spacecraft then leaves Earth's gravity, so at this point everything begins floating. Porky, again waking up cold, gets up to have a drink of water, but notices nothing amiss. Sylvester realizes that they are floating in space and begins to pray. Shortly, they, their car, their campfire and two cacti land on an alien world. Porky wakes up declaring, "What a wonderful sleep."

Outside the tent, Porky comments on the "beautiful morning" and says to Sylvester, "Things sure look different after a good night's sleep, eh Sylvester?" He sees Earth in the sky, but fails to recognize it. ("Hey, that's a funny looking planet. I don't think I've ever seen that one before.") Porky suggests that they should easily make Albuquerque by that night, as he obliviously drives between two giant bird-like aliens who are observing him and Sylvester, who is cowering in the back of the car.

Alex, a young man struggling with migraines, is sent to a hospital where he is told his brain uses the frontal lobe more than any normal person. Soon after, he begins hallucinating apparitions while murders are occurring around the city

Daffy works as an unscrupulous hotel-keeper and requires only a dime from Porky to stay at his hotel initially. He then proceeds to send various animals up to disturb Porky's sleep (in room #16) and makes Porky pay a fee per animal to get rid of them while Daffy slowly increases the fee amount as each new animal causes problems.

It initially starts with Daffy sending a mouse to Porky's room via a pneumatic tube; the mouse eats a stick of celery loudly thereby disrupting Porky's sleep. Porky calls for its removal, the extermination of which by cat has a $5 pussy cat fee. The cat, which refuses to leave the bed, is then eliminated by a boxer dog for a fee of $10, which repeatedly box-punches Porky after Daffy sounds a hidden boxing bell for room #16. The dog is then evicted by a $26 lion, which tries to eat Porky; the lion is eradicated by an elephant for a $72 fee; the elephant engulfs the whole room and is exterminated (driven off) by the celery-eating mouse for a $666 fee, thereby wrecking Porky's room in the elephant's panic and causing the whole loop to repeat.

Eventually, Porky gets fed up with the lousy service and decides to leave without paying Daffy the initial room fee of 10¢. In response to Porky's "deadbeat" behavior, Daffy holds Porky's baggage which has Acme blasting powder in it, which Porky deliberately sets off shortly after he starts his car (the exhaust pipe lights the powder leaking from the briefcase) as Daffy walks inside the hotel. Just as Porky departs, the lit fuse follows Daffy into his hotel office; the hotel explodes and has to be closed for repairs. The short ends with Daffy asking the composer for “a little traveling music, please” (a reference to ''The Jackie Gleason Show'') before running out of the now-ruined hotel and running away with his trade-mark laugh in pain as his tail feathers are on fire.

As a mother reads Little Red Riding Hood to her son, she is killed before his eyes. Later, five young actors including Sophie Jeanne and her four friends are invited to the castle of Axel de Fersen to act in a modernized stage-play of ''Little Red Riding Hood''. They are greeted by the gamekeeper Stephane, Baron Berléand Fernsen, the owner who uses a wheelchair, and his deaf son Nicolas. After dinner, their host retires to bed as the five friends settle in for a night of drinking and dancing but soon find that the Baron has vanished, leaving only a blood stain. The actors return to party which upsets Sophie as she feels their behavior is disrespectful and oblivious to the danger. Sophie wants to leave the strange castle, but the others say that she could too easily get lost in the woods. Her friends are slowly killed one by one: Matilda is stabbed in the shower by a man disguised as a wolf and later Jeanne is killed. The three survivors begin to panic and try to find Stephane who they believe is the killer. When their other friend Wilfried is killed, Sophie accuses Matthew of being the murderer. This upsets Matthew, but the two soon meet up with the wolf: Axel de Fersen. Sophie manages to kill him and flees the castle with both Matthew and Nicolas.

A dual sword-wielding treasure hunter named finds herself stuck on a mysterious and dangerous island. While rich with bounty, the island is also caught in the throes of Chaos magic. Ayumi soon discovers that it is also the home of thousands of long-held secrets, including special powers and abilities that she can gain for herself. Using everything she can, she must find a way to defeat armies of menacing villains and a multitude of treacherous traps in order to break free of the possessed island's grasp.

Jackie Lai (Wayne Lai), a famous erotic movie star, decides to quit his career in order to take better care of his daughter Winsy (Jenny Shing). He hires his neighbor Pearl (Nadia Chan) to tutor Winsy. While then, he slowly wins Pearl's approval despite her aversion to his sordid past.

A group of civilians and a mysterious agent are trying to stop illegal nuclear tests.

Mu-myeong is a bounty hunter during the Joseon Dynasty who lives day-to-day by catching fugitives. His life is forever changed when, on one of his missions, he meets a beautiful noblewoman, Min Ja-young, and falls in love with her. Several years pass and Ja-young enters the royal palace to be married to Emperor Gojong as the next queen of Joseon. Lovesick, Mu-myeong joins the royal guard to be near Ja-young, staying loyally by her side as she navigates court politics and rises to the throne to become the Empress Myeongseong.

Myeongseong tries to modernize the dynasty by breaking it off from its hermit kingdom past while avoiding being colonized by Russia and Japan. She becomes embroiled in a political power struggle with the court's conservative Confucian faction, led by her own father-in-law, the regent Daewongun. As threats against the queen grow, Mu-myeong tries to protect her by fending off assassination attempts from foreign and domestic enemies.

The film initially focuses on João (João Arrais), an orphan boy at a school run by the priest Father Dinis (Adriano Luz) during Portugal's Revolução Liberal. João becomes ill after being bullied by another boy who tells him he is a criminal's child. He awakens in a delirium to find a lovely woman watching over his bed. After João recovers, Dinis takes him to see the woman who is indeed his mother, Countess Ângela de Lima (Maria João Bastos). For João's entire life, she has been imprisoned in her own home by her husband, the Count of Santa Bárbara (Albano Jerónimo). Dinis helps Ângela flee from her husband's house when he's away fighting the revolutionaries.

We finally learn João is the love child of Ângela and Pedro da Silva (João Baptista), a young nobleman without a fortune. Ângela's own father, the Marquis of Montezelos (Rui Morrison), rejects da Silva's offer of marriage, and even hires the assassin "Knife Eater" (Ricardo Pereira) to kill the impoverished young nobleman. Before dying, da Silva manages to find refuge with Dinis, and tells him his story. Dinis dons the guise of a gypsy and follows Ângela into the country where she gives birth to João. Dinis also intercepts and buys off Knife Eater, who has orders from Ângela's father to abduct and kill the baby. Dinis sees to the baby João's upbringing, and Ângela is summarily married off to the Count of Santa Bárbara by her father.

In the present, the Count of Santa Bárbara spreads rumors that Ângela is Dinis's lover. When Dinis tracks him down to make him recant, he finds the Count on his deathbed, tended by his maid and lover Eugénia (Joana de Verona). Dinis also encounters Knife Eater again, who has returned from Brazil after using Dinis's money to seek an ill-gotten fortune there. Knife Eater now goes by the name Alberto de Magalhães, and mocks the Count's slander. When the Count finally dies, Ângela, who never believed she was the Count's proper wife, refuses the inheritance. She leaves João with Dinis, and goes to live in a convent.

Dinis is himself the son of an illicit aristocratic affair. He finds this out when Friar Baltasar da Encarnação (José Manuel Mendes), the priest who gave the Count his last rites, recounts his own story. In his past, Friar Baltasar was Álvaro de Albuquerque (Carloto Cotta), who seduced and fell for the Countess de Vizo (Maria João Pinho), the wife of an acquaintance. They ran off together to Italy where she died while giving birth to Dinis. Álvaro then gave young Dinis to a friend to raise, who then gave Dinis to someone else, and so on, until finally Dinis is being raised by a French nobleman. The young Dinis fights for Napoleon's army in Spain under the name of Sebastião de Melo.

De Magalhães (the former Knife Eater) is now happily married to Eugénia, the former mistress of the Count of Santa Bárbara. However, in the past, he once paid a widowed French duchess, Elisa de Montfort (Clotilde Hesme) for sex, and Elisa tries to disrupt his marriage by returning his money. When Dinis tells Elisa the story of her mother's death, de Magalhães bursts in. He nearly strangles Elisa to death after she threatens to shoot him, but Dinis talks him out of the murder. Elisa is the daughter of Dinis's own tragic love, Blanche de Montfort (Léa Seydoux), who married Dinis's comrade-in-arms Benoît (Julien Alluguette), but took a lover, Lacroze (Melvil Poupaud). Lacroze was a man who was saved by Benoît and Dinis from a roadside firing squad during the war. Overcome with jealousy, Benoît sabotages Blanche's relationship with Lacroze, causing him to commit suicide, and ultimately kills Blanche in a fire.

João grows into a young poet (José Afonso Pimentel) and encounters Elisa, who vaguely resembles his mother. When he falls for her, Elisa enlists his aid to avenge her honor by challenging de Magalhães to a duel. De Magalhães complies but gets João to call it off by revealing the role he played in his past, including the accidental death of Elisa's twin brother, Arthur, after being sent by Elisa to kill de Magalhães. João leaves Portugal for a far-off colony, falls ill, and dictates his memoirs from his own supposed deathbed. His final vision is his memory of his mother looking over him when he lay sick as a child.

The first president depicted in the movie is Kim Jeong-ho, an elderly president at the end of his term. He is a respected leader whose great legacy is bringing democracy to the nation and serving the working class throughout his political life. But Kim is at a moral crossroads when he becomes the unlikely winner of a lottery jackpot just before retiring. The huge amount of money would guarantee a comfortable life in his old age. However, he remembers announcing to his constituents, smiling before cameras, that if he were to win the lottery, he would donate it to charity. He agonizes in silence, wondering whether to keep it for himself or to make good on his words.[http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/program/program_movie_detail.htm?No=1911 "Good Morning, President"]. ''KBS World''. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 2012-11-18.

Kim’s successor is Cha Ji-wook, the youngest Korean president in history who demonstrates excellent diplomatic skills in handling foreign policies. But even this charismatic president, who is a widowed single father, has three major fears — getting injections, questions from his five-year-old son, and candlelight rallies. One day, a young man asks the president to donate one of his rare tissue-type kidneys, which he says can save his father's life. The president struggles to decide whether or not he should go through a fearful medical procedure. He also reconnects with a childhood crush.

Last but not least, there is Han Gyeong-ja, the country's first female president who is constantly at odds with her troublemaking husband. She finds it more difficult to resolve personal problems related to her reckless husband than to manage state affairs. Entangled in a big corruption scandal involving her husband's real estate speculation, she is offered a divorce to save her presidency. She is now forced to choose between her family and her country.

Gordon Slide and Blythe Holloway are two platonic best friends at a college, both from single-parent families. They are so devoted to each other that the headmaster of the school is considering banning them from seeing each other.

Gordon then decides to spend the Easter holiday at his mother's beach pad. Blythe accompanies him, with Gordon impersonating the college headmaster on the phone to Blythe's senator father, so that Blythe gets permission.

Gordon and Blythe settle into a domestic routine. One day they take Gordon's yacht out and get caught in a storm, and the Coast Guard have to rescue them. One of the Coast Guard, Giuseppe, falls for Blythe, which provokes feelings of jealousy in Gordon.

Matters come to a head when Gordon and Blythe have a party. Giuseppe brings along a "fast" girl to set up with Gordon so he can be with Blythe. However this causes Blythe to be jealous. When Giuseppe makes a move on Blythe, she resists. Then another man, a drunken sailor, tries to molest Blythe, but Gordon rescues her.

Gordon and Blythe kiss – only to be busted by his socialite mother and Blythe's father. Everyone has a talk and Gordon's mother and Blythe's father realise how much they have been neglecting their children; they vow to do better. Blythe tells an apologetic Giuseppe that she will continue to write to him.

Blythe and Gordon return to college, now a couple, although the old routines of their relationship are still in play.

Woo Joo-young (Seo Young-hee) is the eldest daughter in the family and have come through hardships in life thanks to her bright and caring personality. Her husband Tae-kyung has an affair which ends in their divorce. One day, Joo-young takes her son Chan-noh to a soccer game and meets Jang Woo-bin (Ji Hyun-woo), a former national soccer player who's now a sports agent. Chan-noh warms to Woo-bin and this leads to a close friendship between Joo-young and Woo-bin. Woo-bin romances the divorced single mom, but their differences in age, social status and life experience create obstacles to their relationship.

Jang Byung-doo (Lee Soon-jae) is the chaebol head of a resort group who falls in love with his caregiver Yoo Ji-sun (Cha Hwa-yeon), and they marry.)

Meanwhile, the chaebol's son Jang Woo-jin (Ryu Jin) is the cold and haughty planning manager at his father's resort, who has a strained relationship with his father marked by lingering resentment — he feels Dad showed little kindness to his mother, who died of a hereditary illness. Woo Joo-mi (Kim So-eun) is a freelance reporter for a magazine who doesn't remember her own mother's face, having been raised by her older sister Joo-young and grandmother. She falls for Woo-jin at first sight despite their 9-year age difference, and thanks to her proactive personality, tackles her crush head-on. Rather than suffering from lovesickness on her own, she goes after him assertively, and wins him over by melting his icy exterior with her optimistic, affectionate nature.

In the 1980s, a girl named Luli McMullen lives with her neglectful mother and alcoholic father in a small Nebraska town. On her 13th birthday, she receives a revolver as a gift. Shortly thereafter, Luli sees a commercial for Las Vegas and decides to run away there. She hitches a ride from Eddie, an erratic drifter with a damaged leg. They argue and she leaves the car. She eventually convinces another passerby, Glenda, to give her a ride. When Glenda asks Luli her name, Glenda makes fun of it and tells her how much of a “hick” name it is. Moments later, Glenda gives Luli a bump of cocaine and Luli begins to experience minor visual hallucinations as they drive down the backroads. They bond after Luli helps Glenda rob a store and spend the night in a trailer behind a bowling alley, where a little boy named Angel lives and who Glenda seems to take care of on some level. Luli again encounters Eddie that night in the parking lot of the bowling alley.

The next day, Glenda takes Luli to the house she shares with her husband, Lloyd. Luli discovers that Eddie works for Lloyd, and also that Glenda knows Eddie and is quite upset to see him. While Lloyd initially appears friendly, his true nature shows through when he viciously berates Eddie for a perceived mistake (Eddie retaliates by urinating in Lloyd's drink, which goes undetected by Lloyd). Eddie tells Luli that Lloyd and Glenda want to be alone, so he takes her to a bar. Eddie is interrupted while hustling pool by Luli, and when his hustle fails, the man that he was hustling makes a deal with Eddie on terms uncertain to the audience. The man then follows Luli into the bathroom and tries to rape her. She fights him before Eddie comes in and savagely beats the man to death.

As they leave the bar, Eddie says that Glenda has asked him to take Luli to a Motel 6 to meet Glenda because she got in a fight with Lloyd, but not before Luli walks in on Eddie doing drugs with two junkies. At the motel, Eddie tells Luli that Glenda actually gave him a thousand dollars to take her off Glenda's hands. Heartbroken by this news and unnerved by Eddie's behavior, Luli goes outside, where she meets a boy named Clement and has a nice time playing a drinking game with him. Eddie interrupts them in a drunken outburst, and the two leave the motel. When Eddie insinuates he's fallen in love with Luli, she tells him she will never love him back and asks him to pull over, leaving the car despite Eddie begging her to stay. While she's walking away, Eddie suddenly gets out of the car and chases Luli into a cornfield, where he rapes her off screen.

The next day, Luli wakes up to find herself tied to a bed in a rented cabin at a resort and dressed differently, with shorter hair that's been dyed black. Luli shouts for help to no avail. Eddie arrives with flowers, unties her and professes his love for her, promising to never rape her again. They are interrupted by the proprietor, Beau, who briefly talks with both of them and leaves. The next day, Luli, tied up again, wakes up to find Glenda in the room. Glenda confesses that Eddie was her lover, that Angel is their son together, and that she's spent years running from him. Luli also finds out that Eddie lied about Glenda giving him money and that he essentially kidnapped her from Lloyd's house; Glenda has been looking for her ever since. They are soon caught by Eddie, who accidentally shoots and kills Glenda with Luli's revolver. Luli picks up the gun and kills Eddie before falling to the ground. Later, Beau happens upon the scene. He then feeds Luli eggs and talks about his sister and how "she always wanted a daughter", insisting that Luli "look her up".

Beau then drives Luli to the bus station, her plan being to reunite with her own family. After she calls home, she learns her mother was barely concerned with her being missing and her father has also disappeared, a fact also met with relative indifference by her mother. Luli realizes she will be no better off if she goes back. While on the bus, she looks through her notebook of drawings and finds a note from Beau reading "Dear Luli, in case you change your mind" on a picture he drew of his sister's home in Los Angeles with her address written on the picture. She manages to get off by telling the bus driver that she needed to take her medicine and simulates an epileptic attack. Once off the bus, Luli runs all the way back to the station and buys a ticket to Los Angeles.

A young chef, Huang Da Xia (Namewee) struggles to get the patrons he's looking for. However, contradicting his unpopular cuisine, he is also well known as "Hero Huang" in the local neighbourhood, because he carries out good deeds in helping the community, including filming videos and putting them on his YouTube account. One day, he meets Xiao K (Karen Kong), who asks for his help. Xiao K's father, owner of a famous Chinese restaurant, is fighting with her aunt for the ownership of the restaurant. After some complicated discussions, they decide to hold a contest to see who can cook the best Chinese dish. Desperate to get his life and the restaurant business back on track, Chef Huang decides to help Xiao K. Huang seeks help from a mysterious hawker stall lady (Adibah Noor), who summons him to embark on an extraordinary journey of his life. During this self-enlightening experience, he will also meet many "local heroes", each lending their support to help him rediscover his roots and the real hidden message of "Nasi Lemak".

Anne, 10 years old, is an energetic girl with more important affairs than falling in love. But when she meets Jørgen, the new boy in class, she falls in love immediately. Some grown-ups do not think you can fall in love for real when you are 10 years old, but Anne knows better: You can! Jørgen is moving into the mysterious and scary Bandit House. A house none of the kids dare to come close. But that is of no hinder for Anne, she is willing to go further than most to win him over. When done in the name of love, everything is allowed, isn't it? Anne cuts Ellens hair.

The club pays a high price for Tasmanian recruit, Geoff Hayward. Geoff does not play well initially, infuriating the dedicated coach, Laurie Holden (Thompson). With the club playing so badly, Laurie's coaching days look to be over soon.

Club president Ted Parker is forced to resign following an assault on a stripper. The incident could have been kept quiet but for backstabbing from various board members, especially Jock and Gerry.

Laurie discovers that the board wants to sack him (arising from a long grudge held against Laurie by Jock), so Laurie inspires Geoff to start playing well. It is later revealed that Jock used to be Laurie's coach when Laurie played for the club. Jock was jealous because Laurie nearly surpassed his club record of 282 games. He also lost a Grand Final by making poor decisions under the influence of alcohol. Laurie told the members that Jock was drunk. After being dismissed as coach, Jock was replaced by Laurie and tried to sabotage the club to exact his revenge. Laurie vows to make the Grand Final.

Derek Flint agrees to teach a pretty young woman named Benita Ryders (Gay Rowan) how to be a private eye. Their first mission together has them facing a group of terrorists called B.E.S.L.A. ("Bar El Sol Liberation Army"), who have kidnapped an oil executive. They rescue him and put B.E.S.L.A. out of business.

In modern-day Japan, the young Jubeh Yakyu practices his pitching and catching with his father only to discover that he has super powers by accidentally killing his father with the ball. This is seen by his younger adopted brother, Musashi Nakagawa. Some time later, Jubeh (Tak Sakaguchi), now 17, has become a juvenile delinquent responsible for 50 murders within a week. After being caught for his crime, Jubeh is sent to the Pterodactyl Juvenile Reformatory, run by governor Mifune (Ryosei Tayama), until his trial date. Jubeh shares a cell with the 16-year-old killer Shinosuki Suzuku, (Mari Hoshino) and also comes gets into conflicts with the chief warden Ishihara (Miho Ninagawa), who is the granddaughter of a World War II collaborator in the Nazis' genocide programme. In prison, Jubeh finds out that Musashi was also a prisonmate at one point but died there. Ishihara organises the prison baseball Juvie League and wants Jubeh to take his place in the prison's team, known as the Pterodactyl Gauntlets. Jubeh has not played baseball since the accidental death of his father, but after Ishihara threatens to kill Shinosuki he agrees to play on the condition that the prison food is improved and all the players are pardoned of their crimes. The next day the Pterodactyls take on the St. Black Dahlia High School team, composed of young female psycho-butchers.

The government panels are cancelled after PhiCorp and the world's governments implement a categorization system regarding life. Those who should have died and are brain-dead are assigned Category 1 status, and those who have persistent injuries/diseases are to be given Category 2 while Category 3 status are normal people who have no or minor injuries. Category 1s and 2s are sent to Overflow Camps which resemble concentration camps where there are hidden modules not appearing on satellite footage, and Torchwood suspects that these modules have a dark purpose.

Appalled by growing governmental control over life and death, Vera travels to California to assist Torchwood. As he survived a fatal injury, Rex investigates a camp in California as a Category 2 patient while Esther sneaks in and administratively assigns Rex a Category 1 status and smuggles him a camera to film evidence.

Using her medical panel credentials, Vera attempts to inspect the treatment of Category 1 patients and discovers that many conscious people are being assigned Category 1 status, essentially being declared non-living by the government. Vera threatens to prosecute Colin Maloney, the man overseeing the overflow camp, after she sees the inhumane conditions which conscious Category 1 patients are enduring. He panics and shoots her. To cover up his actions, he and soldier Ralph Coltrane transport her to one of the modules and place her inside.

Elsewhere, Jack tries to convince Oswald to use his fame to expose PhiCorp's advanced knowledge of the Miracle, but Oswald goes ahead with his pro-PhiCorp televised speech to a packed stadium. Meanwhile, Gwen returns to Wales to rescue her father from an Overflow Camp. During the escape attempt, her father suffers another heart attack and the doctors later give him Category 1 status, which Gwen struggles to challenge. When her husband Rhys reveals to her that the camp's personnel are taking Category 1 patients to the "burn unit", Gwen deduces that the modules are in fact incinerators used to burn the Category 1 patients. This is grimly confirmed when, back in the California Overflow Camp, Maloney activates the incinerator on the module containing Vera. Rex comes across Vera but cannot free her, and is forced to watch her being burned alive, reluctantly video-recording her agony.

A group of people decide to be a part of a reality television show based around a treasure hunt on an island. Whichever contestant is lucky wins the ultimate prize. Unbeknownst to the contestants, an ancient curse from the ghostly pirate Blackbeard exists on the island. They unwittingly unleash the curse which results in a bloodbath.

In 1972, an abandoned Mexican prison sits alone in the dusty Chihuahua desert. KGB mole Nikolai Dzerzhinsky waits for his contact from ''The Washington Post''. Dzerzhinsky holds explosive evidence against the CIA; information he will trade for asylum in the United States. Special Agent Robert Harper must obtain this evidence and kill Dzerzhinsky or risk the end of his CIA career. As the two men hunt each other, they discover that the sins from their past destined them for this deadly confrontation.

The movie opens with the title card "bushland symphony", followed by sounds and vision of the Australian bush. The subsequent action involves a series of various subplots centered around a "selection" in South West Queensland owned by Dad Rudd: he owes some money to his rich neighbour, old Carey, who is determined to break Dad financially; his educated daughter Kate is pursued by two men, the poor but devoted Sandy and Carey's villainous son, Jim; one of his workers, Cranky Jack, has a mysterious background; comic visits from a parson and country dentist who removes Dad's tooth; his dim son Dave proposes to his girlfriend, Lily; his other son, Joe, causes slapstick havoc; Dave gets married and moves out with his wife and tries to borrow money from his father; Dad's daughter Sarah is pursued by the high-voiced Billy, who Dad doesn't like; Dad Rudd runs for parliament opposite Carey; and his horse wins a race.

The main story concerns a murder mystery. Jim Carey attempts to blackmail Kate into being with him by lying about what she did in the city, and Sandy knocks him out. Carey later turns up dead and Sandy is suspected of the murder. The Rudds hold a dance and a police officer turns up to arrest Sandy when Cranky Jack confesses he killed Carey because the dead man stole his wife. The film ends with Dad and Mum happily watching the sun come up.

Joan Enderby runs her family sheep station but is about to lose it because she can't afford to buy the lease from the Sherringtons, who run the neighbouring station, Waratah. While Ironbark Sherrington has been away in London looking for a cure to save his sight, his son Clive and overseer, Fletcher have planned to bankrupt Enderby station. Joan is helped by a mysterious newcomer, Wayne Ridgeway, who is actually the rightful heir to the Sherrington estate.

There is a subplot about Joan's crippled brother Jimmy, who is in love with Zena, daughter of Jebal Zim, an Afghan trader. When Zim tries to tell Ironbark that Ridgeway is the true heir, Fletcher kills him and abducts Zena. Joan and Ridgeway manage to fight a bushfire that threatens Enderby, deliver sheep, rescue Zena and capture Fletcher.

Cyril Maitland is a clergyman living in a small seaside town, who impregnates the beautiful Alma Lee despite being engaged to another woman. When Alma's father Ben finds out about the pregnancy, he attacks Maitland and is killed in a fall. Mailtand's best friend, Doctor Henry Everard, gets the blame, and spends twenty years in jail while Maitland's career thrives.

When a Norwegian couple are instructed by a policeman to take a detour through the Swedish forests, a series of strange and horrifying events follow.

The film follows the journey of Waris Dirie (played by Liya Kebede) from a nomadic pastoralist background in Somalia to a new life and career in the West as a fashion model and activist against female genital mutilation.

The movie's plot is similar to that of the play: Dad Rudd (Bert Bailey) has become a successful father but is very tight with his money and oppresses his sons Dave (Fred MacDonald), Joe (William McGowan) and Dan (George Lloyd). The sons eventually stand up to their father and manage to persuade him to give them a wage increase – but he increases their rent by an equal amount.

As in the play, there is a serious subplot about Dad's grandchild Betty (Elaine Hamill) who becomes engaged to a corrupt neighbour, Henry Cook (John D’Arcy), despite the true love of another farmer, Tom Dalley (John Cameron). The climax involves a comic cricket game involving the Rudds.

The story is set twenty years after the events of the 1912 play, ''On Our Selection'': Dad has become a prosperous farmer and member of Parliament, while Dave has married Lily and become a father. Dad tries to bully Dave and his other son Joe (who has also married), but their wives encourage them to rebel against their father.

There were subplots involving a love triangle between Dad's granddaughter Nell, handsome Tom Dalley, who has invented a potato harvester, and unscrupulous produce agent Henry Cook; the return of a prodigal son, Dan Rudd, keen to claim Dad's estate, and his romance with Amelia Banks; and their neighbours, Mrs Regan and the Banks family.

A Canadian horse trainer, Joan, is the adopted daughter of horse trainer and breeder Ma Dawson. She buys an unwanted thoroughbred colt named Stormalong. Joan nurses the horse back to health with the help of Ma's son Tommy, and Stormalong starts to win races. He becomes the favourite to win the Melbourne Cup which attracts the interest of a gambling syndicate who try to dope the horse and kill it in a stable fire. They then kidnap Tommy prior to the race.

Stormalong manages to participate in the Cup, and although is mortally wounded by a sniper, lives long enough to come first place. Tommy escapes and helps the police capture the gangsters.

The ''HeartCatch PreCure!'' team: Tsubomi and Erika receives an invitation from Chypre and Coffret to Fairy Park, where mascots and other fairies were working as they were handing out the Miracle Lights, and Coco and Nutts are presenting the Rainbow Jewel in their human forms. Then they encounter ''Fresh Pretty Cure!'' team: Love, Miki, Inori and Setsuna, whom are searching for other friends, which Tsubomi agrees to help. As exploring, Northa, Uraganos, Kintoleski and Mucardia appears before them. Both ''HeartCatch'' and ''Fresh'' team transforms, which shocks Blossom and Marine. As they're fighting, they learn that the villains were revived by an evil entity named Bottom, whom is seeking the Rainbow Jewel. As the latter Pretty Cures shows up, the villains retreat.

As the girls get to know each other, Bottom shows up and takes over the Fairy Park, separating the girls from their mascots. As other revived villains tries to attack Tsubomi and Erika, each teams assists them reuniting with Chypre and Coffret, one team at a time. As Blossom and Marine arrives where the Rainbow Jewel is located, Bottom absorbs the jewel and transform into a gigantic being. Remembering the promise that they've made, Blossom and Marine sparkles the Miracle Lights and all Pretty Cures receives Rainbow forms, and defeats Bottom with "Rainbow Jewel Solution". With everything back to normal, the girls enjoy themselves at the park.

In the post-credit scene, Tsubomi seems to freak out that she has woken up late, but Erika notices that the girls are waiting for them in front of their house.

Sergeant Grischa Paprotkin of the Imperial Russian Army has been captured by the Imperial German Army during World War I, and is interned in a prisoner-of-war camp. When his chance comes to escape, he takes it, ending up staying with a young Russian refugee, Babka. However, after a time, he longs to return to his home in Russia. Babka, even though she has fallen in love with him, agrees to help him. Since he cannot travel under his real name, being an escaped POW, Babka obtains the credentials of a dead Russian soldier, Bjuscheff.

After leaving Babka's, on his way back to his home in Russia, he stops at a friend of Babka's, who lives in Mervinsk. When a German soldier arrives at the house, Grischa hides in the basement. As he is about to leave, the soldier notices the Russian soldier's cap which Grischa has dropped on his way to the cellar. Grischa is captured, after which it is discovered that his false identity is that of a Russian spy, for which he is sentenced to execution.

While in captivity, Grischa's real identity is uncovered, but the German command refuses to reverse his sentence. Babka and her friends make plans to help him escape once again, at the same time as a powerful general in the German army, von Lychow, hears about his case and decides to intercede on his behalf. Grischa refuses the help of Babka, putting his trust with von Lychow. When von Lychow meets with the German Commander-in-Chief, General Schieffenzahn, they argue over Grischa's case, von Lychow pleading for leniency, while Schieffenzahn wanting the execution to go forward as soon as possible. They end their argument without seeing eye-to-eye, but after von Lychow departs, Schieffenzahn changes his mind and sends an order to cancel the execution. However, a storm has caused the wires to be down, and the message never arrives. Grischa is executed by firing squad.

Having decided to leave their old life behind and to settle down to raise their child, Ted and Martha Graham put their trailer house on sale. Over a phone call they are offered a house in exchange for their trailer, and are shortly after lead to the tour of the house by its owners Clint and Raimee Rush. Although suspicious of the deal, as the house is worth several times more and of the Rushes themselves who claim to be foreigners (Basque), they still decide to go forward with the deal.

As soon as they said yes, the Rushes disappeared and a strange man entered their new home informing them that they are now under the Rojac sovereignty. Rushes, aliens from another planet, have cleverly realized that the only way to be free from Rojac is to find willing substitutes for their position in the sovereignty, a position of taxcollectors in a house that travels around galaxies. However, because of Martha's pregnancy, they realize that the child did not agree to the exchange. They are compelled to contact the Rojac, realizing that this will bring Earth, a world yet unknown to them under Rojac's domain.

Lawyer Frank Bigelow discovers he has been poisoned and has only weeks to live. He spends the time tracking down his own murderer.

The starting scenes from George Raynolds (Raymond Rakubian) was stealing a piece of iridium and selling it to Mr. Phillips. At the same time, Mr. Bigelow prepared to go for one week vacation, due to Mr. Bigelow (the accountant) did not get well with his girlfriend (the secretary Paula). While George and Philips were trading the iridium, they asked Mr. Bigelow to notarize the transaction.

After Mr. Bigelow arrived at the place of vacation, he went to a nightclub called "Pink Panther" with a couple he meets in the hotel. However, he did not notice that someone had changed his drink while he was talking with a charming lady at the Nightclub. After he went back to the hotel, he felt stomachache and went to hospital. The doctor explained he was being poisoned by a luminous toxin and there was no antidote had found yet. It is hard to say how much time he left in the world, but for sure it will be less than a week. After Bigelow felt the diagnose is telling the truth and the doctor mentioned someone wanted him dead, Bigelow decided to find out who killed him. Meanwhile, Bigelow received a call from Paula that Mr. Phillips had tried to reach him many times. However, Bigelow had no idea about who was Philipps until Paula told Bigelow he committed suicide.

In order to find the person who is trying to kill people, Mr. Bigelow went to Sydney and met Mr. Philips's controller (Mr. Halliday) and secretary Miss Foster. They told Mr. Bigelow that Philips committed suicide by jumping from his apartment. In order to make sure if Philips died by suicide or something else, Mr. Bigelow went Philips's house however, Philip's wife and relatives did not know anything about it. At this time, Miss Foster provided an important information which is Philips had called a model (Marlo Stevens) before he died. By using this information, Mr. Bigelow finally found the person who tried to buy the iridium—Bradley Taylor.

However, the truth is the person around Bradley, no one was told to kill Philips or Bigelow. Bradley explained he was doing business, though he was deceived by Philips and his nephew George. Because Bradley finally found his nephew stole his iridium and sell to Philips, and Philips sell to Bradley again. Therefore, at this time, Mr. Bigelow came to ask why he was trying to kill Philips and they others, Bradley is very angry and feels like Bigelow know too much. Thus, Bradley asked his subordinates to kill Bigelow, though Bigelow already is a dead person.

Luckily, Bigelow escaped Bradley's kill and went back to Philips' home, but he found Mrs. Phillips and her brother had poisoned as well. He had been told Philips' controller (Mr. Halliday) had been here before. Now he realized the first person who was trying to kill him is Philips' controller. Because after Philips sold the iridium to Bradley, Philips got $60,000 and Halliday stole it. After Bradley found the problem on his iridium, he wanted to get the money back from Philips. But Halliday already took the money and to avoid Phillips told Bradley the truth, he decided to kill the person who know the transaction. But Bigelow is brave than every seconds in his life, he killed Halliday and went to the police office.

The plot revolves around a 32-year-old psychotherapist as he begins to suspect that the local religious cult has been murdering the town's citizens. He soon becomes sucked into a web of mysterious happenings, with the cult of the 'Bryans' being the focal point. The film uses the 'found footage' format, and claims that the film is a compilation of security footage.

Tsukiko Izumikawa (Moe Arai) is a member of the photography club in high school. On her way home with friend Yoshie Kazuya (Aika Ota), Tsukiko runs into her elder stepsister Tomie Kawakami (Miu Nakamura) who goes to the same high school. Tomie is also with Toshio Shinoda (Kensuke Owada) - a guy that Tsukiko has a secret crush on. Tsukiko is consumed with jealousy over her stepsister, but at the same time is intoxicated with Tomie's beauty. Per Tomie's request, Tsukiko takes a few pictures of her. At that time Tomie tells her stepsister that she knows what she is feeling. When Tsukiko stops taking pictures, Tomie is crushed on her neck by a steel cross that falls from a building under construction, killing her.

One year later, Tsukiko's daily life slowly returns to some sense of normality, but she still suffers by recurring nightmares over her stepsister's death. On Tomie's 18th birthday, her parents and Tsukiko stand around a birthday cake in her honor. At that time someone knocks on their door. Tomie stands in the doorway with her beauty shining even more brightly than before. Her parents are delighted to see Tomie and welcomes her back in joyful tears. Meanwhile, Tsukiko still jealous stands there unable to believe what is transpiring. Tomie manages to get her father Masashi (Kouichi Ohori) to whip Tsukiko across the back with a steam iron cable as punishment for not showing affection towards her.

Tomie's behavior starts becoming increasingly bizarre and abnormal as she shows Tsukiko the scar on her neck that begins to evolve into a deranged, talking tumor. Tsukiko grows fearful of Tomie's tumor and she calls Tomie a "monster". Offended, Tomie decides to leave but is prevented from doing so when her father stabs and kills her with a butcher knife.

The next morning, Tsukiko witnesses her mother Kimiko (Maiko Kawakami) dismembering Tomie's body in the bathroom. Kimiko then disposes of Tomie's head by throwing it away in the trash bin and goes to prepare Tsukiko's school lunch, accidentally dropping several chunks of Tomie's flesh and hair in it. At school, Tsukiko notices a girl who looks exactly like her dead stepsister walk into class. Later on, during lunch break, Tsukiko opens her lunch pack and sees several miniature Tomie heads in it. She runs off and throws the lunch pack into the trash. When Yoshie goes to look for Tsukiko, she hears noises in the trash and leans over to investigate. Suddenly, the miniature Tomie heads appear and strangle Yoshie with their abnormally long tongues, killing her.

Meanwhile, at home, Tomie's head rises from the trash bin and convinces her father to kill his wife and feed her body to her. Back at school, Tsukiko encounters Yoshie with a tumor on her neck and runs off in panic. When Yoshie enters the Judo club's room while looking for Tsukiko, she is decapitated by the members who mistook her head for the tumor's. Her headless body comes back to life and starts chasing the Judo club members. Tsukiko then walks into Toshio stabbing Tomie's body, and a new Tomie forms out of the blood and begins kissing Toshio. Tsukiko kills Toshio and runs off into a locker room and encounters several versions of Tomie.

Just as she is about to be cornered by the Tomies, she wakes up in her bed. Her parents inform her that she is an only child and that she never had a sister. Tsukiko sighs in relief, believing she just had a bad nightmare which proves to be false when her father starts eating hair and her mother's head appears to be upside down. Her mother chases her with a knife but is attacked by a carnivorous centipede made out of Tomie's heads. Tsukiko runs upstairs and encounters Toshio and Yoshie who tell her that they never liked her and were pretending to be her friends all along. She pushes them down the stairs and they are both attacked by the centipedes. Tsukiko then encounters a huge giant Tomie head in her living room, and after a brief conversation the Tomie centipedes begin crawling over her.

The movie ends has Tsukiko is shown walking out of the house, resembling Tomie. As she walks through the streets of Japan, she observes other women she passes by, many of them also being Tomie. She walks up to a man, smiling, and is then shown being murdered by him in an apartment. Lying on the floor, she looks at a mirror and Tomie's reflection asks her "Are you happy now, Tsukiko?"

The story concerns very successful retired businessman Earl Fenton and his wife, who worked their entire lives to get where they are. The day they return from a trip around the world and move into their brand new house with all the modern conveniences, an old friend from college, Charlie, arrives in town and calls from a local hotel. He has come into town to visit Fenton. The two went to college, where Charlie was one of the rich kids, while Fenton had to work hard, in looking back on the time Fenton perceived that his need to work his way through college made him a "second class" person in his fraternity, but when questioned by his wife could not remember any specific things that the "rich" fraternity brothers said or did. Now Fenton, who is very proud of what he has accomplished in his life, wants to show this to his former college frat brother. He takes the opportunity that comes up to show off his new house and talk about his success. Later his wife points out that Charlie doesn't appear as well-off as Fenton and a discussion ensue about the possible causes of this downfall, all of which reflect poorly on Charlie. After Fenton spends considerable time bragging about his current state he and his wife come up with an excuse to ask Charlie to reconsider their invitation to stay at the house, Charlie thanks him for his hospitality and leaves. Later, Fenton discovers that Charlie spent his fortune, and dedicated his life to treating poor people in China, until he was jailed and then kicked out of the country. This discovery caused Earl and his wife to regret the way they treated Charlie and wish for a way to start the day over and do a better job of it.

Category:Short stories by Kurt Vonnegut Category:1952 short stories

Chul-min's family consists of himself, his police detective father, his sick mother, and a dog. Chul-min calls the dog "Mutt" or "Stray Dog," but his father calls Chul-min "Mutt" too. The dog is Chul-min's best friend. He doesn't cry when his mom dies, but he does get furious when his dog is eaten by the older boys in his soccer club. He takes his revenge, but his father's patrol car awaits him. Although he now must live on his own, Chul-min wins renown as the one who beat up 21 people all by himself. Many of the town's thugs start to hang around Chul-min, fascinated by him, and he becomes a leader of small-time gangsters. One day his father takes in a young orphan named Jung-ae who was a thief. Eventually Chul-min and Jung-ae develop feelings for each other and Chul-min confronts the gang who killed his beloved dog.

The film deals with the relationship of the police and an informant in the drug scene.

Season 1 (2013)

Frank Underwood, a power-hungry Democratic congressman from South Carolina and House majority whip, celebrates the 2012 election of President Garrett Walker, who had agreed to appoint him Secretary of State in exchange for his support. However, Underwood learns that the President wants him to promote his agenda in Congress and will not honor their agreement. Inwardly seething, Underwood presents himself as a helpful lieutenant to Walker. In reality, Underwood begins an elaborate plan behind the President's back. Frank's wife Claire runs an NGO, the Clean Water Initiative, which she uses to cultivate her own power; she seeks to expand its scope to the international stage, often using Frank's connections. Claire shares her husband's cold-hearted, ruthless pragmatism and lust for power, and they frequently scheme together to ensure the success of each other's ventures. They both work with Remy Danton, a corporate lobbyist and former Underwood staffer, to secure funds for their operations and expand their influence.

Underwood begins a symbiotic, and ultimately sexual, relationship with Zoe Barnes, a young political reporter, secretly feeding her damaging stories about his political rivals to sway public opinion as needed. Meanwhile, he manipulates Peter Russo, a troubled alcoholic congressman from Pennsylvania, into helping him undermine Walker's pick for Secretary of State, Senator Michael Kern. Underwood eventually has Kern replaced with his own choice, Senator Catherine Durant. Underwood also uses Russo in a plot to end a teachers' strike and pass an education bill, which improves Underwood's standing with Walker. Because the new Vice President is the former Governor of Pennsylvania, a special election is to be held for his successor. Underwood helps Russo get clean and props up his candidacy, but later uses sex worker Rachel Posner to break his sobriety and trigger his downfall shortly before the election. When Russo decides to come clean about his role in Underwood's schemes, Frank kills Russo and stages his death as a suicide. With the special election in chaos, Underwood convinces the Vice President to step down and run for his old position of governor – leaving the Vice Presidency open to Underwood, as was his plan all along. Underwood is introduced to Missouri billionaire Raymond Tusk, Walker's friend and advisor. Tusk reveals that he has been influencing Walker's decisions all along and convinced him to cancel the original agreement, and explains he will influence Walker to nominate Underwood for vice president if he does a favor benefiting Tusk's interests. Underwood counter-proposes to Tusk that they work together to fulfill both their interests, which Tusk accepts. Meanwhile, after ending their affair, Zoe begins piecing together clues about Underwood's various plots. The season ends when Underwood accepts the nomination for Vice President of the United States.

Season 2 (2014)

Zoe and two colleagues, Lucas Goodwin and Janine Skorsky, continue investigating Frank and ultimately locate Rachel. As a protective measure, Frank's aide Doug Stamper brings Rachel to a safe house while Frank lures Zoe to a Metro station and, unseen by witnesses or security cameras, pushes her in front of an oncoming train. Zoe's death compels Janine to abandon the investigation, but Lucas continues the search alone. He solicits the help of a hacker to retrieve Frank's text history. However, the hacker, Gavin Orsay, actually works for Doug and frames Lucas for cyberterrorism. Later, Gavin uses Rachel to extort Doug. Rachel, fearing potential harm and Doug's growing obsession with her, ambushes Doug and leaves him for dead, fleeing into hiding.

After Frank begins his vice presidential duties, Claire becomes close with the First Lady and learns Walker's marriage is strained. Meanwhile, Frank aims to drive a wedge between Walker and Tusk. He meets Xander Feng, a Chinese businessman and ally of Tusk's, to engage in back-channel negotiations that Frank intentionally scuttles at the expense of Tusk's credibility. In the resulting trade war with China, Tusk opposes Walker's efforts to deal with the crisis and begins having a tribal casino funnel money into Republican PACs in retaliation. When Frank discovers that Feng is the source of the donations, he gets Feng to end his partnership with Tusk in exchange for a lucrative contract for a bridge over Long Island Sound.

The Justice Department investigates the White House's ties to Feng and Tusk. Frank manipulates Walker into volunteering his travel records, which reveal his visits to a marriage counselor and raise questions about whether the donations were discussed. Wishing to avoid public disclosure of his personal issues, Walker has the White House Counsel coach the counselor, which the special prosecutor interprets as witness tampering. As the House Judiciary Committee begins drafting articles of impeachment, both Walker and Frank offer Tusk a presidential pardon in exchange for implicating each other. Tusk sides with Walker at first, leaving Frank no other option than to regain the president's trust as a friend. Walker then calls off his deal with Tusk, who testifies against him. With Walker forced to resign, Frank is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States .

Season 3 (2015)

Six months into his presidency, Frank pushes for a controversial jobs program called America Works. Determined not to be a "placeholder" President, Underwood reverses his previous pledge and runs in the 2016 election, competing against Heather Dunbar in the Democratic primaries.

Meanwhile, Claire is named the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and faces a crisis in the Jordan Valley, which pits Frank against Russian President Viktor Petrov. When Petrov has an American gay rights activist arrested in Russia, the Underwoods persuade him to secure a release. However, Petrov demands that the activist apologize on Russian television, leading the activist to kill himself while being visited by Claire. Later, after Russian troops are killed in the Jordan Valley, Petrov convinces Frank to remove Claire as Ambassador in exchange for a peaceful resolution. Claire resigns, giving the reason that she wants to be more active in Frank's campaign.

When Frank refuses to reinstate Doug as his Chief of Staff, Doug appears to switch sides and begins working for Dunbar. Gavin helps Doug track down Rachel and delivers findings purporting that she is dead, causing Doug to suffer a relapse. When Gavin reveals that Rachel is really alive, Doug brutalizes him into divulging her location. Doug finds Rachel living under a false identity in New Mexico, drives her into the desert, and eventually kills her. He returns to work as Frank's Chief of Staff after Remy resigns.

Throughout the season, a writer named Thomas Yates is hired by Frank to write a biography for the purpose of promoting America Works. Yates, a fiction writer with a dark past of his own, decides to put a different spin on the book and writes less about Frank and more about his marriage with Claire. Yates reads Frank a prologue that he does not understand at first, but agrees is a decent beginning. By the end of the season, Yates has the first chapter written and Frank, not liking the direction the book is taking, fires Yates. By the season finale, tensions between the Underwoods reach a point where Claire states her intent to leave Frank.

Season 4 (2016)

Claire relocates to Dallas and runs for Congress in her home district. The incumbent, Doris Jones, plans to retire and endorse her daughter Celia as her successor. Claire offers them federal funding for a key Planned Parenthood clinic in exchange for stepping down, but they refuse the offer. Frank wins back Claire's support by promising not to sabotage her campaign in Texas, but he later publicly endorses Celia in his State of the Union address. Frank and Claire travel to South Carolina for a primary, but a series of scandals causes Frank to narrowly lose the state to Dunbar. Frank discovers that Claire had been leaking information to Dunbar, and she threatens to continue unless he names her as his running mate. Frank refuses.

Lucas Goodwin is released from prison, and seeks revenge against Frank for having him framed and Zoe Barnes killed. He explains his story to Dunbar, but she turns him away. Desperate, he attempts to assassinate Frank, severely wounding the president in the abdomen and killing bodyguard Edward Meechum, but not before Meechum fatally wounds Lucas. While Frank remains comatose, Donald Blythe is sworn in as Acting President of the United States. Blythe is indecisive during a military crisis involving Russia, and turns to Claire for guidance. Claire goes against Frank's wishes by convincing Blythe to involve China and secure a meeting with Petrov, where she brokers an ambitious peace deal. Doug leaks information about Dunbar's secret meeting with Lucas and forces her to suspend her campaign. Frank recovers and resumes his position as President, agreeing to put Claire on the ticket for the upcoming election.

Tom Hammerschmidt, Zoe and Lucas's former news editor, digs deeper into the latter's claims of Frank's misdeeds. He approaches Remy and, with his help, starts to piece together Frank's corruption. Tom also meets with Walker, convincing him to help by appealing to his anger for being forced to resign. Remy Danton and Jackie Sharp also decide to go on the record against Frank to lend credibility to the story. An American family is kidnapped in Tennessee by two supporters of a radical Islamist group called the Islamic Caliphate Organization (ICO), who agree to negotiate only with the ambitious Republican nominee, Governor Will Conway. Frank invites Conway to the White House to assist in the negotiations as a publicity stunt, and Conway helps buy critical time in locating the suspects. However, tensions between the Conways and Underwoods lead to the governor ending his role in the crisis.

Frank and Claire allow the kidnappers to speak to the deposed leader of ICO, Yusuf al Ahmadi, after successfully obtaining the release of two of the hostages. Instead of defusing the situation as he agreed, al Ahmadi urges the kidnappers to kill the remaining hostage and broadcast the killing to the public. Meanwhile, Hammerschmidt publishes his story and threatens to end Frank's campaign weeks before the election. Claire urges Frank to use a heavier hand in the situation, and they decide to fight back by creating chaos. Frank addresses the public declaring that the nation is at total war, ordering the full force of the military be used to combat global terrorism regardless of the cost. The season ends with Frank and Claire watching the live execution of the hostage together, and Claire breaking the fourth wall for the first time by looking into the camera along with Frank.

Season 5 (2017)

In the weeks before the 2016 election, Frank uses ICO as a pretext to enacting martial law in urban areas and consolidating polling places in key states. Done mainly through back channels with Democratic governors, this is officially done in the name of safety, but in practice disenfranchises rural Republican voters. To keep the strategy of fear going, Doug blackmails hacker Aidan Macallan into launching a massive cyberattack on the NSA, slowing down Internet traffic and wiping out hundreds of thousands of files. The Underwood Administration pins the attack on ICO. On Election Day, the result hinges on Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Ohio. The early returns seem to favor Conway. Underwood's political machine stages a terrorist attack in Knoxville, Tennessee, which is pinned on a local suspected ICO sympathizer. With Pennsylvania secured by Conway and Ohio seeming to swing his way, Frank unofficially calls Conway directly to concede. However, this is merely a tactic to put Conway off guard, as the Underwoods contact Ohio's governor and convince him to close the polls early on the pretense of a terrorist threat. Ohio and Tennessee refuse to certify the election, and neither candidate reaches the requisite number of electoral votes.

Nine weeks after the unresolved election, the Twelfth Amendment is invoked, with the vote being put up to members of Congress. During a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus, cracks begin to appear in Conway's facade as he loses his cool. In spite of this, Frank's own baggage and 12% approval rating only allows him a tie with Conway in the House, while Claire manages to secure the Senate vote, becoming Acting President of the United States. In light of the tie, Claire orders a special election for Ohio and Tennessee. Meanwhile, Jane Davis, a low-ranking Commerce Department official who has a wide-ranging network of connections and influence, begins working closely with the Underwoods. As a private citizen for the time being, Frank attends a meeting of powerful men at a secret society known as Elysian Fields, in an effort to secure their influence for votes in the upcoming special election. Meanwhile, Conway has a mental breakdown on his private plane due to feeling that the election was stolen from him. Eventually, this and other leaks from his campaign are slowly dripped to the media in a manner that seems unconnected to the Underwoods. Seeing that his candidate is losing, Conway's campaign manager, Mark Usher, switches sides to the Underwoods. The Underwood ticket wins both Ohio and Tennessee, and Frank is sworn in as President and Claire as Vice President.

Meanwhile, Hammerschmidt continues to investigate Zoe's death, and is given information by an unknown leaker within the White House. Major document dumps are made available to Hammerschmidt, which, among other charges, prompts an impeachment hearing against Frank. In response, the Underwoods set up extensive surveillance on all White House personnel. Eventually, the leaker makes a voice-modulated call to Hammerschmidt, implicating Doug in Zoe's murder. The Underwoods convince Doug to take the fall for killing Zoe, and the leaker is revealed to be Frank himself. The leaks are revealed to be part of Frank's master plan to resign the presidency to Claire, believing his thirst for power can be better achieved in the private sector, working alongside his wife's presidency. Frank, concerned about Secretary Durant's intention to testify at the impeachment hearing, pushes her down a short flight of stairs upon accepting her resignation, hospitalizing her. Claire poisons Yates with an overdose of Gelsemium provided to her by Jane, concerned that he knows too much. Finally, contractors working for the Underwoods eliminate LeAnn by ramming her car off the road into a guard rail. Frank resigns as President, leaving Claire as the 47th President of the United States. The two await the proper moment for Claire to pardon him. This comes in the form of a military special operations unit finding and taking out the leader of ICO, which moves media focus away from Frank. Standing in the Oval Office, Claire appears to reconsider pardoning Frank, and ignores multiple concerned calls from him regarding the matter. The season ends with Claire ignoring Frank's call, then breaking the fourth wall to tell the viewers, "My turn."

Season 6 (2018)

One hundred days after Claire takes office, she faces increased scrutiny, particularly in light of her husband's death following his resignation. The brother-sister duo of Bill and Annette Shepherd seek to influence Claire. The Shepherds are connected with Mark Usher, whom Claire has made Vice President, and who is having an affair with Annette. Annette's son Duncan puts pressure on Claire through his media company, Gardner Analytics. Claire and the Shepherds battle over deregulation measures, and Claire uses a chemical leak from one of the Shepherd's operations to embarrass the two. Doug, meanwhile, is in therapy following his confession to Zoe's murder, and Claire uses Assistant Director Green and his psychiatrist to monitor him.

The Shepherds decide to influence Claire by other means, including through a Supreme Court justice they convince her to nominate. They and Seth Grayson also develop a mobile application which can secretly be used to monitor the user's activity, including their location. Secretary of State Durant also comes within the Shepherds' sphere of influence, and they persuade her to speak with prosecutors investigating the Underwoods as the Shepherds become increasingly distant from Claire. As Durant's testimony proves more threatening, Claire and Jane Davis plot to assassinate her, but she fakes her death and flees the country. Following Durant's fake death, Claire and President Petrov forge a deal on Syria. Claire then discovers that Durant is alive and living in France with Petrov's help. Following this, Claire disappears for three weeks, prompting questions of her ability to lead, and leading Usher to plan to use the 25th Amendment to remove her from office. Claire foils Usher's plan and fires her Cabinet, replacing it with an all-female Cabinet, much to Annette's surprise. Annette plans to use Claire's prior abortions against her, but Claire retaliates by revealing to Duncan he is not Annette's biological son.

With her new Cabinet in place, Claire decides to undertake a new, progressive, agenda. The Shepherds, meanwhile, continue to plot her downfall, enlisting the help of Brett Cole, an ambitious Congressman who seeks to become Speaker of the House. They also seek the help of Doug, but he refuses, initially. Doug meets with Hammerschmidt, providing him with information on Frank's actions. Determined to strike back against her enemies, Claire frames Usher for Yates's murder, claiming he colluded with Russia to do so. She also has Hammerschmidt, Davis, and Durant killed. Claire then reveals to Doug that she is pregnant with Frank's child, who will become his heir even though Frank secretly left his assets to Doug.

Four months after the murders, Claire reverts to her maiden name and continues her progressive agenda. Annette, now strained from Bill, plots with Usher, no longer Vice President, to assassinate Claire. She asks Doug to perpetrate the act, but he is reluctant, mainly desiring to protect Frank's legacy. Claire, through now-Speaker Cole, blackmails Justice Abruzzo into recusing himself in a case dealing with her power to launch nuclear weapons. Janine Skorsky and Doug continue to work to uncover the Underwoods, with Doug leaking contents of Frank's secret audio diary while Claire blames everything on Frank. Claire then uses the pretense of ICO obtaining a nuclear weapon to create a crisis, leading the Shepherds and Doug to accelerate their plans. After sending a copy of Frank's audio and letter opener to Claire, Doug visits her in the Oval Office where he admits that he killed Frank because he was undermining his own legacy. Doug threatens and wounds Claire with the letter opener, but when he draws back, she grabs it and stabs him in the stomach. As he lies bleeding on the floor, she covers his mouth and suffocates him.

A broken and pennyless newspaperman takes part in an experiment where two crazy millionaires are offering a prize of $10,000 to anyone that can spend $1,000 a minute, every minute, for 12 hours straight.

Leaving for vacation, Mickey Mouse and Pluto arrive at a train station in Burbank, California (home of Walt Disney Productions headquarters). They board a west-bound train to Pomona, but are both immediately kicked off by the conductor, played by Pete, stating that dogs aren't allowed (side gag reveals Pluto's luggage to contain bones). Pete then rambles off the train's destinations and forces his watch to tell him when the train is ready to leave. When the watch does show the time for the train to go, Pete calls "All aboard!"

Mickey, at this point, decides to smuggle Pluto on board by squeezing him inside the suitcase. At first, the handle breaks, making Mickey almost leave Pluto behind, but he recovers the suitcase and manages to make it aboard the caboose just as the train is leaving the platform. Later, Pluto barks, wanting to be let out. Mickey reminds him that he will be thrown off if Pete finds out that Pluto's on the train, so he takes Pluto out and unsquashes him. The freedom is only short lived, however, as Pete is coming through the train to collect tickets, forcing Mickey to squash Pluto back into position in the suitcase. After biting "OK" in Mickey's tickets, Pete sees Mickey's suitcase containing Pluto in the seat and forcefully throws it into an overhead baggage net. This causes Pluto to bark, making Pete suspicious.

He then recognizes Mickey, who tries to hide behind a large newspaper and make it look like the barking was coming from him. Realizing that Pluto has been stowed in the suitcase, Pete menacingly asks Mickey if he is alone, which Mickey states that he is alone, Pete then makes up a story about owning a little cat who'd cry when he was all alone and screams a loud "MEOW!" (even making his face closely resemble a real cat) at the suitcase causing Pluto to leap out barking at the "cat". Realizing that his cover's been blown, Pluto ducks back into the suitcase, but Pete has already figured it out. Before he can catch the pair, Mickey and Pluto run away and a chase ensues on board the train.

Mickey and Pluto first hide in a sleeping car where Pete mistakenly intrudes on a female passenger and gets assaulted. Pete then stumbles into another bed where Mickey and Pluto (disguised as babies) are hiding. Pete apologizes for the intrusion, but quickly finds out after covering up Pluto's tail. Just as Mickey and Pluto think that they fooled Pete, Pete bursts in and threatens to beat them to a pulp, but sudden darkness from the train running through a tunnel allows the pair to escape, leaving Pete to beat the mattress to a pulp and experience a brief entanglement with the springs.

Mickey and Pluto masquerade as the conductor by hiding in Pete's own coat and hat they had removed in the tunnel. After getting false directions from Mickey with a deep voice, Pete catches on and threatens to catch them, but ends up disturbing the female passenger again. Pete receives another beating and, unintentionally taking the passenger's hat, gets pricked by one of her needles. Mickey disguises himself as an Indian chief with Pluto in his papoose, but Pete sees through their disguise after Pluto bites his hand.

While Mickey and Pluto are next to an open window, Pluto is caught on a passing mail hook which whisks him outside the train. Mickey runs after him through the train, and is just able to grab Pluto as he exits the caboose. Pete throws their luggage after them and they fall to the ground from the mail hook. Mickey then looks up at the station sign and is pleasantly surprised that they have arrived at Pomona.

Dr. Henry Jekyll (Udo Kier), where the doctor is being feted before his engagement to the austere Miss Fanny Osborne (Marina Pierro). The guests, who are various dignitaries and officials, then arrive. After a meal, the doctor is summoned to his laboratory to get his will. He returns to the living room when a scream is heard where one of his guests has been discovered to have been raped and murdered.

Henry Jekyll transforms to his alter ego, Mr. Hyde (Gérard Zalcberg), by taking a bath filled with a chemical cocktail. He emerges physically transformed. His alter ego has none of the restrictions of morality, and he proceeds to rape and torture various guests.

Eventually Fanny witnesses one such transformation. She leaps into the bath to be transformed as well. The two transformed leave the house and in a carriage they depart, undertaking blood letting of each other and engaging in love making.

''The Robber Hotzenplotz''

The smart robber Hotzenplotz attacks Kasperl's Grandmother and steals her coffee grinder, which is very valuable to her as it was a gift from Kasperl and Seppel. Moreover, the coffee grinder plays her favorite song “May Makes Everything Anew” while turning the crank. Kasperl and Seppel try to catch the robber Hotzenplotz, as they do not think that police officer Alois Dimpfelmoser is capable of catching Hotzenplotz. They procure a wooden box, fill it with sand, bore a tiny hole on the bottom and stuff it with a match to find out where Hotzenplotz lives by leaving a trail of sand. After carrying the wooden box into the forest as a fake gold transport, Hotzenplotz appears immediately and takes it. At the same time, Kasperl and Seppel pull out the match and get themselves to safety.

Trusting that there is gold in the wooden box, the robber brings it to his den. However, once Hotzenplotz discovers Kasperl and Seppel's trick, he creates a second track with the remaining sand from the wooden box. As soon as Kasperl and Seppel find the second track, they decide to separate, and in order to deceive Hotzenplotz, they switch their hats. As they follow the trails separately, Hotzenplotz captures them one after the other. Kasperl begins playing the fool, so Hotzenplotz sells him to the wizard Petrosilius Zwackelmann. In the meantime, Seppel has to work for Hotzenplotz in his den, and in a fit of cruel fun Hotzenplotz throws Kasperl's hat into the hearth fire.

Zwackelmann needs a servant who peels his potatoes, as he is not able to peel them with magic. Kasperl continues playing the fool so that Zwackelmann gets very angry and thinks that it is a proof that Kasperl is too stupid to discover his magic secrets. In the night, Kasperl tries to escape from the wizard's castle of the wizard, but finds that is impossible to get past the ground's perimeter owing to Zwackelmann's magical wards.

When Zwackelmann visits a friend in Buxtehude one day, he leaves Kasperl in the castle. While Kasperl is alone, he suddenly hears somebody crying. Following the sounds down to the basement of the castle, Kasperl discovers a toad in a pond, which speaks human language. It turns out that the toad is a fairy named Amaryllis, who has been transformed into a toad by Zwackelmann; she asks Kasperl to get a certain plant, the fairy herb, which can be found only at a certain place during moonlight. Furthermore, she tells him how to escape from the castle by leaving a part of his personal clothes in the castle. Kasperl leaves Seppel's hat and starts his journey to find the fairy herb.

In the meantime, Zwackelmann returns from Buxtehude and notices that Kasperl has disappeared. Searching the grounds, he discovers Seppel's hat. He uses a magic spell on the hat to make Kasperl appear, but instead gets the real Seppel. Since Seppel was cleaning one of Hotzenplotz boots, Zwackelmann uses it to summon Hotzenplotz and begins berating him for burning Kasperl's hat, which renders him unable to get him back. When heated words are exchanged between them, Zwackelmann transforms Hotzenplotz into a bullfinch and puts him into a cage before leaving the castle to search for Kasperl.

In the meantime, Kasperl returns to the castle with the fairy herb. As it makes him invisible, he can return to the basement without any problems. The herb transforms the toad back into the fairy, just as Zwackelmann returns and finds Kasperl in the basement vault. Shocked, Zwackelmann drops his wand, and as he lunges after it, he falls down in the pond and dies. Grateful for her rescue, Amaryllis gives Kasperl a ring with three wishes, and after Seppel and the enchanted Hotzenplotz are recovered, she destroys Zwackelmann's castle and returns to the fairy world. Kasperl and Seppel go home, using two wishes to recover Kasperl's hat and Grandmother's coffee grinder, which now plays “May Makes Everything Anew” in a duet because of Amaryllis’s magic. Bringing the enchanted Hotzenplotz to Dimpfelmoser's office, they use the last wish to turn him back to human form, whereupon Hotzenplotz is arrested and (in lack of a proper prison in town) locked into the local firehouse.

''News from the Robber Hotzenplotz''

By pretending that he suffers an appendicitis, Hotzenplotz overpowers Dimpfelmoser, takes his uniform and successfully escapes from the firehouse. Hotzenplotz plans on taking revenge on Kasperl and Seppel by blackmailing them into giving him the reward money for his capture. After donning Dimpfelmoser's uniform, Hotzenplotz seeks out Grandmother (who is strongly nearsighted) and eats the dinner she prepared for Kasperl and Seppel before revealing himself, causing Grandmother to faint.

Kasperl and Seppel show up at the firehouse to look after Hotzenplotz and find Dimpfelmoser asking them for help. Initially not believing his pleas, they later discover what happened to Grandmother, return to the firehouse and release Dimpfelmoser. After donning a spare uniform, Dimpfelmoser, Kasperl and Seppel attempt to lure Hotzenplotz back into the firehouse with the help of a false treasure map. Hotzenplotz discovers the ruse and locks Kasperl, Seppel and Dimpfelmoser into the firehouse, but they free themselves by using the fire truck to break through the walls.

In the meantime, Hotzenplotz returns to Grandmother's house, kidnaps her and brings her to his hideout, where she is forced to be his housekeeper. Dimpfelmoser, Kasperl and Seppel find a letter from Hotzenplotz demanding the reward money. As per the instructions, Kasperl and Seppel are supposed to bring the money alone. In order to keep an eye on them without Hotzenplotz knowing, Dimpfelmoser consults Mrs Schlotterbeck, a local widow and fortuneteller, and uses her crystal ball to observe the transaction.

Kasperl and Seppel surrender the money, but Hotzenplotz takes them prisoner as well. In his anger, Dimpfelmoser accidentally disrupts the crystal ball, rendering it temporarily useless. In order to find Hotzenplotz's hideout, Mrs Schlotterbeck lends her dog Wasti to Dimpfelmoser. Originally a dachshund, Wasti's body was transformed into a crocodile by a botched spell by Mrs Schlotterbeck when she had once dabbled in magic. Wasti leads Dimpfelmoser to Hotzenplotz's cave, where the dog - with its rather fearsome appearance - scares Hotzenplotz into surrendering himself and his captives. After their triumphant return, Hotzenplotz is transferred to the next district capital prison, and Grandmother cooks a sauerkraut and bratwurst dinner for everybody.

''Hotzenplotz 3''

Hotzenplotz is released from prison for good behavior and decides to give up his job as a professional bandit. He visits Kasperl and Seppel's grandmother to apologize for his previous attacks. However, Grandmother does not trust him and locks him up in her closet. Dimpfelmoser, now promoted to chief inspector, appears and is forced to release Hotzenplotz when the latter provides an official discharge letter. However, still distrusting him, Dimpfelmoser, Kasperl and Seppel visit widow Schlotterbeck to spy on Hotzenplotz with the help of her crystal ball. They observe him retrieving a supply of gunpowder and weapons from his old den. Unfortunately, night falls and the crystal ball turns dark, making them unable to see more.

Dimpfelmoser asks Schlotterbeck to observe Hotzenplotz as soon as the sun rises. Kasperl and Seppel set out to catch Hotzenplotz, as they assume that he intends new crimes. On their way to the den, they build a trap by rigging a trip rope and a sand bag to fall on their intended victim's head. When Seppel tests their trap, the sandbag falls on his head, knocking him out cold. Hotzenplotz arrives, and after helping Seppel recover, he convinces the boys that he wants to go straight, and proves his claims by destroying his remaining gunpowder before their eyes and then throwing his weapons into a moor. Afterwards, the three sit together to talk about Hotzenplotz's future. Hotzenplotz does not know what he wants to do, because he did not learn anything besides robbery.

As the night falls, Kasperl, Seppel and Hotzenplotz return to town, but on the outskirts they find a current “Wanted” poster of Hotzenplotz accusing him of having stolen Schlotterbeck's crystal ball. Kasperl and Seppel hide Hotzenplotz at Grandmother's house until they can prove his innocence. During the night, Kasperl receives a dream message from the fairy Amaryllis, who tells him that he needs a certain herb he knows to turn Wasti, Schlotterbeck's transformed dachshund, back into his old form.

The next day, Kasperl and Seppel go to Schlotterbeck to solve the case. There, they find out that Dimpfelmoser is looking for them with Wasti's help. Kasperl and Seppel find the crystal ball in Wasti's dog house, and conclude that Wasti has believed it to be a pumpkin after they had previously fed him some bits of an experimental pumpkin breed by Grandmother. When Kasperl and Seppel return to Grandmother's house to release Hotzenplotz, they only find a letter from Hotzenplotz, saying that he wants to go to America to become a gold digger.

Kasperl and Seppel want to find Hotzenplotz, but they need Wasti's help, so that they have to look for Dimpfelmoser first. In the meantime, Dimpfelmoser was led by Wasti to the moor where Kasperl and Seppel buried Hotzenplotz's weapons, and is stuck in the mire. Kasperl and Seppel just arrive in time and save him after convincing him of Hotzenplotz's innocence. Kasperl and Seppel continue their search with Wasti, find Hotzenplotz in the high heath near Zwackelmann's ruined castle, and convince him to stay. During their talk, Kasperl and Seppel realize that Amaryllis was talking about the fairy herb Kasperl once used to cure her of Zwackelmann's curse, and after finding the herb, they use it to cure Wasti. Schlotterbeck invites all to a celebration and takes a look into the future for Hotzenplotz, where she foresees that he will open a tavern called “The Robber's Den”.

It is remarkable that in ''Hotzenplotz 3'', Preußler turns around the pattern of the classical robber tale and introduces a subversive profile with the innocent suspect, who has to hide from the police.

Conan and his caretakers, Ran Mori and Kogoro Mori, are given a free trip to London after finding a cat that belongs to Diana Kingstone, a rich British woman. For the trip, Conan is given two pills by Ai Haibara; the pills will temporarily suppress the poison which turned him into a child allowing him to use his teenage identity, Shinichi Kudo, to bypass airport security. After the medicine wears off, Conan rendezvous with Ran and Kogoro to visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street. There, Ran phones Shinichi (Conan using his voice-changing bowtie) and is upset about his apathy. Shortly after, Conan overhears a child named Apollo Glass who is searching for Holmes. Posing as Holmes' apprentice, Conan befriends Apollo who reveals a man has given him a list of riddles which needs to be solved in return for sparing someone's life. Meanwhile, Ran is walking by the Statue of Sherlock Holmes where she meets Minerva Glass, a professional tennis player and Apollo's elder sister; Minerva tells Ran to give up on love relating it to the tennis mantra "Love is Zero". Ran decides to call Shinichi; during the conversation, the latter accidentally reveals he is by Big Ben. Ran corners Conan forcing him to take the medicine for the return trip to protect his identity. Believing that Shinichi was hiding from her, Ran is hurt and repeats Minerva's words. In return Shinichi confesses his love for her and rebukes Minerva's statement by exclaiming that everything starts from zero.

The next day, the man distributing the riddles in London is identified as Sabara Hades, an international serial bomber. Conan begins decoding the riddles in order: "A rolling bell rises me" refers to Big Ben; "My portion is like a chilled boiled egg like a corpse," leads them to City Hall where dolls engraved with Mazarin Stone are found. Referring to ''The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone'', the group beheads the doll where they discover the letter T; "I finished up with a whole pickle," leads them to 30 St Mary Axe where they find scratched up pens labeled as Dancing Men. As in ''The Adventure of the Dancing Men'', matching the top and bottom caps to reveal the letter N; "It rings again for my hatred" leads them to cross the Westminster Bridge towards Big Ben. On the bridge, they find a drain engraved with Valley of Fear. Referring to ''The Valley of Fear'', they find a drain cover with the letter A in the river; "Now I remember to ask a cake to celebrate in advance" leads them to St Bride's Church where they find envelopes entitled A Scandal in Bohemia. Soaking the envelope in water reveals the letter S; "I'm a long nosed wizard in a castle" leads them to Elephant & Castle tube station where they find a man carrying a suitcase with the word identity on it. Referring to ''A Case of Identity'', they find the letter U on the inside of the man's pants; "It tells me to finish everything piercing a white back with two swords" refers to the logo of a local porcelain store which displays an ornament with strings and bells attached on the end. Referring to ''A Study in Scarlet'', they locate a red string with the letter R. Rearranging the letters results in Saturn, a reference to Saturday. Connecting the riddle's locations on a map forms a tennis racquet referencing the Wimbledon championships.

Conan enters the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club during the Wimbledon finals. Minerva has been serving "help" in braille into the court. Conan calls out to her revealing he understood her message. In response, Minerva serves more messages revealing Hades intends to kill her mother with a bomb when the match ends. Conan deduces Hades is directly opposite of Minerva's mother, as he intends to record her death, and is able to locate him. Conan coincidentally finds his parents, Yusaku Kudo and Yukiko Kudo, who assists him in apprehending Hades; Conan is then given another pill, by his parents, to bypass airport security to return home. With Hades incarcerated, Minerva is able to focus and win her match. As Conan and friends prepare to return home, Ran converses with Minerva and repeats Shinichi's words. Minerva, having made up with her lover, acknowledges that everything starts from love.

''Sur le rythme'' is a romantic comedy about the world of dance. Delphine Lamarre (Mylène Saint-Sauveur), a 20-year-old student has to choose between medicine, her parents' (Paul Doucet and Marina Orsini) wish, and her dreams of a career in dancing.

The beginning of the film parodies the Falklands War when a small British colony is invaded by its neighbour, the fictional country of Maguadora, whose dictator General Mosquera is played by Herbert Lom. The new president of the United States, Barbara Adams, tries to sort out the mess, but the peace talks are sabotaged by Lacrobat (Michael Richards), the world's leading terrorist. The British, under the leadership of PM Sir Mortimer Chris, send in a task force to seize the islands back. For revenge, Mosquera hires Lacrobat to kidnap the British Princess Wendy, to hold her for ransom to get the British out. Sir Mortimer then threatens that unless she is returned in 48 hours, he will release a nuclear strike. So now President Adams not only has to deal with Mosquera and Lacrobat, but she must also deal with Sir Mortimer, and also with the fact that Mosquera decides to align himself with Russia, and this whole thing could start World War III.

Loretta Swit is Barbara Adams, the first female president. She was only sworn in office when the previous president, a former circus clown (a parody of Ronald Reagan's entertainment career), died after asking a journalist to hit him in the stomach with a crowbar as a test of physical strength (a take on the death of Harry Houdini). As comical satire, Swit plays the role straight. Adams, while trying to maintain the peace, is shown to be incompetent, especially when trying to handle questions from the press. Her husband runs a weapons company which hired Lacrobat to start the war in the first place.

The film also features Peter Cook playing Sir Mortimer, an insane conservative British prime minister (an insane PM being one of the few similarities between the film and the series), who claims that unemployment is caused by evil invisible pixies. Later, he hands out Union Flag umbrellas to Conservative voters to protect them from nuclear bombs, and plans to reduce unemployment by pushing employed people off of cliffs, creating new jobs. Despite the fact he is clearly insane, the public adore him and follow him blindly. The rest of his party attempts to assassinate him, but he only loses his hand, getting a hook, instead. He then takes up a new policy of crucifying disloyal party members in Wembley Stadium.

Princess Wendy is a parody of Princess Diana, who was at the height of her popularity at the time. When kidnapped by Lacrobat, Wendy is placed in increasingly odd disguises, including bondage gear and a King Kong outfit. Rik Mayall is featured playing the commanding officer of an inept SAS squad, most of whom are massacred in a shootout in a wax museum when attempting to rescue Wendy, who has been disguised as an exhibit. Rik Mayall had a small role in the original as Biff, a guitar player. Michael Richards plays Lacrobat, the only character from the original series to appear. Lacrobat is partly responsible for the war between the two countries beginning, and is seemingly the only intelligent character in the film. He dies when a tiger - that the SAS have for no reason - rips his throat out. Alexei Sayle, who also appeared in the original series, has a different role in the movie as a Soviet soldier who is hiding nuclear weapons on a Caribbean holiday island.

Other characters include two tabloid journalists who discover the Communist weapons, but are killed; a rear admiral who is openly homosexual (appropriately enough, since "rear admiral" is also apparently slang for a man who practices anal sex), two security guards who accompany President Adams everywhere (even when she is going swimming) and a former president (a parody of Richard Nixon), who is now in prison and authored the book ''Commie Bastards I Have Known''.

Although Wendy is rescued, Sir Mortimer ignores Adams' pleas to call off the nuclear strike. She then calls the rear admiral (whom Lacrobat hypnotised to imagine he was in a burning building when fingers are snapped). He ponders calling off the strike, but when a sailor snaps his fingers, he calls "Fire!", the strike is launched, and the film ends.

The film reuses some jokes from the series, like Lacrobat's absurd disguises (at one time going by the name Dr. Thesius Lyndon Penis), a dying Soviet leader, a crucifixion sight gag, the president being unable to decipher other people's technobabble, an insane prime minister, and an overly macho CIA agent with ludicrously complicated plans. An SAS sequence is in the series, as well, and another gay military character. The following mock news story was used in both, as well, "A woman who secured a lock of Frank Sinatra's hair twenty years ago today sold it back to him for an undisclosed sum."

Christian O’Connell has met the girl of his dreams in Allison Marx. Unfortunately, Christian told Allison (who happens to be a rabbi’s daughter) that his name was Avi Rosenberg, and that he was Jewish—neither of which is true. Desperate to keep up the illusion, he turns to his childhood best friend, Adam Lipschitz, to teach him how to "act Jewish", but Adam has problems of his own, with a fiancée pushing him closer to a mental breakdown as their wedding approaches. With the best intentions, Adam and Christian attempt to help each other out, but things quickly get out of hand.

Ernie Holley runs away on his wedding night because he thinks he has killed a wedding guest. His father Newt and his bride Pearl find him in New Orleans and persuade him to come home.

The film is told from the perspective of Cindy (Jennifer Garner) and Jim Green (Joel Edgerton), as they explain their experience with Timothy (CJ Adams) in an effort to persuade an adoption agency to allow the couple to adopt a child.

Cindy, who works in the town's local museum, and Jim, who is employed at the town's historic pencil factory, reside in the fictitious town of Stanleyville, self-described as "the pencil capital of the world". The Greens are informed by doctors that they are unable to conceive. Distraught by the news, Jim convinces Cindy to dream up their ideal child and write the child's characteristics and life events on slips of notepad paper.

The couple place the notes inside a wooden box and bury it in their backyard garden. After an immediate thunderstorm, which seemingly affects only their property, a ten-year-old arrives at their home claiming the Greens as his parents. After finding the box they buried smashed to pieces around a large hole in the ground where they originally buried it, and finding the boy inside their house, covered in mud, they realize that the boy, named Timothy, is actually a culmination of all their wishes of what their child would be. The Greens also discover that Timothy has a startling feature: he has leaves growing on his legs, which he can only cover up by wearing long tube socks.

The next day, at a family picnic, Timothy is introduced to members of his family: Brenda Best (Rosemarie DeWitt), Cindy's pompous sister; James Green Sr. (David Morse), Jim's estranged father; and Mel (Lois Smith) and Bub (M. Emmet Walsh), Cindy's paternal aunt and uncle. The parents take Timothy to their friend and town botanist, Reggie (Lin-Manuel Miranda), where they learn that Timothy's leaves cannot be removed.

Timothy begins to attend school, where he meets Joni Jerome (Odeya Rush), a girl he encounters during a bullying incident. Jim takes Timothy to confront the bullies and Timothy is invited to a birthday pool party. There Joni Jerome tries to take off his socks, and is kicked in the head by Timothy. They later become friends. Meanwhile, the town's pencil factory, the largest employer in Stanleyville, begins laying off its employees. Timothy convinces Cindy and Jim to design a prototype for a new pencil in an effort to keep the pencil-producing business viable.

Unbeknownst to the parents, one of Timothy's leaves falls off each time he fulfills one of the qualities listed on the original slips of paper. Timothy eventually reveals to Cindy and Jim that his time of existence is short and that he will eventually disappear. During another intense thunderstorm, he vanishes from their house and all they can find of him is the pile of paper slips.

The Greens' meeting with the adoption counselor concludes with Cindy presenting a letter that Timothy left them before leaving. In the letter, he explains to them what he did with each of his leaves that fell off, with a montage sequence showing each person whose life Timothy touched. After an unspecified amount of time, the adoption counselor is shown pulling up to the Greens' house in a car with the little girl who is to become the Greens' daughter, Lily.

Liz, Marianne, and Gunilla are three actresses who have been hired to perform in a touring production of ''Lysistrata''. Each woman faces challenges leaving their homes in order to tour. Marianne has left her married boyfriend and finds it difficult to leave her toddler in the hands of babysitters as she goes on tour. Liz's husband is having an affair and wants her to leave while Gunilla, a mother of four young children, is urged not to leave by her husband who wants her to stay at home to help with the children.

Along the tour they are met with polite indifference as audience members either fail to grasp the meaning of the play or are bored by it. After one performance Liz asks members of the audience to stay behind to discuss the meaning of the play but when she tries to speak to them of the importance of women they don't react and a male member of the company acts as if it is just a continuation of the play and ushers her offstage. Liz's stunt attracts attention from the press but as Liz is not able to identify any one incident that led to her outburst they are dismissive of it. Later all three of the leads go out to dinner and talk over the problem of no one relating to the play wondering if perhaps it would be better if they held a woman only show. At dinner they are bothered by several men and when they turn down the men's advances the men become hostile and only leave after Marianne threatens them.

On the road, a friend of Liz's husband urges her to come home on behalf of her husband, saying he needs a wife to properly support him and his work. Liz argues that she is tired of putting her husband first but her husband's friend argues that her husband's work is more important than hers. She stays on till the end of the play.

The tour finishes and the women return home feeling as though they while no one is willing to change they have at least made people more aware of the misery of their lives. At a party celebrating the end of the play Liz tells the company that she wants to get a divorce.

In eighteenth century London, the celebrated Angelo family of fencing instructors are employed to protect a visiting Ambassador from French assassins.

Fizz is a young woman from the "Eco-community" - a future sect which abandons science and technology. Her father has left this community and invented a time machine. Driven by curiosity about the physical world, Fizz borrows her father's time machine and visits many past physicists from Aristotle to Stephen Hawking.

Each chapter combines some discussion of physics with some fictional plot and personal development of Fizz. Eventually Fizz returns to the future to choose between life inside or outside the eco-community.

In New York City, Ruth Rogen is on death row for murdering three of her former lovers. Her fourth lover, a charlatan psychic named Paul Bavian, betrayed her to the police. Dr. Carl Houston believes the evil spirit of an executed murderer goes abroad to commit more crimes after death, and gets permission to experiment on Rogen's body after she is executed via the electric chair.

Meanwhile, heiress Roma Courtney is contacted by Bavian, who claims her recently-deceased twin brother, John, wants to send her a message. When Bavian's landlady threatens to expose him, he murders her with a ring that has a poisoned needle. Roma and her fiancé, Grant Wilson, attend a séance performed by Bavian. Bavian tricks Roma into believing her brother was murdered by Hammond, manager of the Courtney estate. Roma and Grant leave the séance, and visit Dr. Houston. He is busy in his laboratory trying to reanimate Rogen's body by pumping the corpse full of electricity. When Rogen's eyes open, the shocked couple are asked to leave the lab as Dr. Houston explains what he is attempting to do. Suddenly, a wind bursts through the room and the spirit of Rogen tries to enter Roma's body, leaving fingerprints on Roma's neck.

In an attempt to prove Bavian a fraud, Grant schedules a second séance at Roma's home. Once more, Bavian uses tricks to convince Roma that Hammond is a murderer. Hammond scuffles with Bavian, and Bavian uses his ring to kill Hammond. At that moment, Rogen's spirit enters Roma's body. The possessed Roma agrees to leave with Bavian. They go to her former apartment. Bavian doesn't realize Roma is possessed and Bavian declares is disdain for Rogen and his desire for Roma. When the landlord tells them to leave, Bavian suggests they adjourn to Roma's yacht. They passionately embrace. Meanwhile, Grant aided by John's ghost, realizes Roma is possessed and rushes to the yacht. At the yacht during afterglow, Bavian and Roma exchange chatter and Bavian gets spooked by Tom's mannerisms that seem familiar to Rogen's. Grant arrives just in time to prevent Rogen/Roma from strangling Bavian and Bavian from killing Roma. Exposed, Bavian runs and as he tries to leave, Rogen's spirit follows and wraps a rope around his neck, hangs him. Rogen's spirit departs. John's spirit subtly urges the two to marry.

Burned out from his career as an investigative reporter and devastated by the suicide of his wife, Douglas Elmore decides to take a job as the temporary caretaker of a dilapidated apartment complex called "The Hagstone." His daily existence soon descends into an alcohol soaked obsession with his dead wife. Late one night, the ghost of Julie appears to him, striking palpable terror into his banal existence.

The next day, an odd tenant named Mr. Thompson accosts Douglas and demands that he remove a homeless prostitute named Karna from the basement of the Hagstone, along with her hairless cat Victoria. Douglas takes pity on Karna and tells her she can stay in a small apartment near the laundry room.

Douglas visits his priest brother-in-law Carl and informs him of Julie's spectral visitations. He returns to the Hagstone only to discover one of the tenants brutally murdered. An unfeeling Karna asks Douglas to repair something in her apartment. Douglas then decides to follow Karna in secret on one of her nightly excursions through the city, where he witnesses a disturbing encounter between Karna and a pale, sinister looking man in a deserted alley.

Back at the Hagstone again, Mr. Brennan corners Douglas and accuses Karna of foul play. That evening Douglas informs Karna of Mrs. Brennan’s suspicions, but she remains aloof and easily seduces him.

The next day, Douglas goes about his duties in a state of post-coital euphoria, until he discovers Mrs. Brennan’s bloody corpse in the rear stairwell of the building. A no-nonsense detective named Willis interrogates Douglas, making it clear that he is now the prime suspect in both murders. He also informs Douglas that he plans to dig up Julie’s grave and re-open the investigation into her death. Determined to clear his name and to protect Julie, Douglas confronts Karna and accuses her of the murders, yet succumbs to her overwhelming sexual power. Karna slips a mickey into Douglas’ drink and whisks him away to a bizarre satanic sex ritual that culminates in a human sacrifice.

Douglas wakes up in the apartment of another tenant named Barbara Halloway, who urges Douglas to leave the building for good. Douglas refuses and instead breaks down Karna’s apartment door, only to find an abandoned, empty room. Barbara drives Douglas’ to his brother-in-law, Carl. Douglas is convinced that demonic forces are attempting to use the police to dig up Julie’s body, so that her corpse can be re-inhabited by them. The three then travel to the cemetery, where they find Detective Willis murdered at the foot of Julie's grave.

Douglas, Barbara and Carl return to confront the demonic forces that inhabit the Hagstone building. Together they defeat the fully demonized versions of Karna (the succubus) and her incubus pimp, Mr. Thompson. Douglas then discovers Julie’s corpse buried in the bowels of the Hagstone sub-basement. Julie's corpse re-animates before Douglas' eyes. She overpowers him and escapes, killing Carl in the process. Douglas and Barbara then confront Karna's monstrously transformed cat Victoria in the boiler room. With the last of the demons defeated, Douglas and Barbara leave the Hagstone for the last time. Julie is seen contemplating her next victim.

Amiruddin, the son of a village leader in Sipirok, falls in love with his cousin Mariamin, the daughter of a formerly-rich family. Having been friends since childhood, Amiruddin and Mariamin promise to get engaged once Amiruddin has a job. In order to find a job, Amiruddin goes to Medan; upon finding a job, he sends a letter to his parents, Mariamin, and Mariamin's parents declaring that he wishes to marry her. Although Mariamin is thrilled and both mothers agree, Amiruddin's father Baginda Diatas disagrees with the proposal; Baginda Diatas wishes for his son to marry a woman from an equally rich and respected family.

After taking his wife to a ''dukun'' (who, as previously arranged, says that Amiruddin will be met with disaster if he marries Mariamin), Baginda Diatas convinces her that Amiruddin should not marry Mariamin. They instead choose another, wealthier, girl from the Siregar ''marga'' to be Amiruddin's wife. Baginda Diatas escorts her to Medan to marry Amiruddin, much to Amiruddin's disappointment. Pressured by ''adat'', Amiruddin marries her and tells Mariamin that he cannot be with her; Mariamin is heartbroken.

A year later, Mariamin is engaged to Kasibun, a divorcé from Medan. After being brought to Medan, Mariamin discovers that Kasibun has a sexually transmitted disease and attempts to avoid his advances; her attempts are met by torture at Kasibun's hands. The torture becomes worse after Amiruddin visits one day, causing Kasibun to become jealous. Taking advice from Amiruddin, Mariamin reports Kasibun to the police and receives permission to divorce him. Returning to Sipirok, Mariamin dies alone.

The Coming of the Martians

The narrative opens by stating that as humans on Earth busied themselves with their own endeavours during the mid-1890s, aliens on Mars began plotting an invasion of Earth because their own resources are dwindling. The Narrator (who is unnamed throughout the novel) is invited to an astronomical observatory at Ottershaw where explosions are seen on the surface of the planet Mars, creating much interest in the scientific community. Months later, a so-called "meteor" lands on Horsell Common, near the Narrator's home in Woking, Surrey. He is among the first to discover that the object is an artificial cylinder that opens, disgorging Martians who are "big" and "greyish" with "oily brown skin", "the size, perhaps, of a bear", each with "two large dark-coloured eyes", and lipless "V-shaped mouths" which drip saliva and are surrounded by two "Gorgon groups of tentacles". The Narrator finds them "at once vital, intense, inhuman, crippled and monstrous". They emerge briefly, but have difficulty in coping with the Earth's atmosphere and gravity, and so retreat rapidly into their cylinder.

A human deputation (which includes the astronomer Ogilvy) approaches the cylinder with a white flag, but the Martians incinerate them and others nearby with a heat-ray before beginning to assemble their machinery. Military forces arrive that night to surround the common, bringing with them field artillery and Maxim guns. The population of Woking and the surrounding villages are reassured by the presence of the British Army. A tense day begins, with much anticipation by the Narrator of military action.

After heavy firing from the common and damage to the town from the heat-ray which suddenly erupts in the late afternoon, the Narrator takes his wife to safety in nearby Leatherhead, where his cousin lives, using a rented, two-wheeled horse cart. He then returns to Woking to return the cart when in the early morning hours, a violent thunderstorm erupts. On the road during the height of the storm, he has his first terrifying sight of a fast-moving Martian fighting-machine; in a panic, he crashes the horse cart, barely escaping detection. He discovers the Martians have assembled towering three-legged "fighting-machines" (tripods), each armed with a heat-ray and a chemical weapon: the poisonous "black smoke". These tripods have wiped out the army units positioned around the cylinder and attacked and destroyed most of Woking. Taking shelter in his house, the Narrator sees a fleeing artilleryman moving through his garden, who later tells the Narrator of his experiences and mentions that another cylinder has landed between Woking and Leatherhead, which means the Narrator is now cut off from his wife. The two try to escape via Byfleet just after dawn, but are separated at the Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry during a Martian afternoon attack on Shepperton.

One of the Martian fighting-machines is brought down in the River Thames by artillery as the Narrator and countless others try to cross the river into Middlesex, and the Martians retreat to their original crater. This gives the authorities precious hours to form a defence-line covering London. After the Martians' temporary repulse, the Narrator is able to float down the Thames in a boat towards London, stopping at Walton, where he first encounters the curate, his companion for the coming weeks.

Towards dusk, the Martians renew their offensive, breaking through the defence-line of siege guns and field artillery centred on Richmond Hill and Kingston Hill by a widespread bombardment of the black smoke; an exodus of the population of London begins. This includes the Narrator's younger brother, a medical student (also unnamed), who flees to the Essex coast, after the sudden, panicked, pre-dawn order to evacuate London is given by the authorities, on a terrifying and harrowing journey of three days, amongst thousands of similar refugees streaming from London. The brother encounters Mrs. Elphinstone and her younger sister-in-law, just in time to help them fend off three men who are trying to rob them. Since Mrs. Elphinstone's husband is missing, the three continue on together.

After a terrifying struggle to cross a streaming mass of refugees on the road at Barnet, they head eastward. Two days later, at Chelmsford, their pony is confiscated for food by the local Committee of Public Supply. They press on to Tillingham and the sea. There, they manage to buy passage to Continental Europe on a small paddle steamer, part of a vast throng of shipping gathered off the Essex coast to evacuate refugees. The torpedo ram HMS ''Thunder Child'' destroys two attacking tripods before being destroyed by the Martians, although this allows the evacuation fleet to escape, including the ship carrying the Narrator's brother and his two travelling companions. Shortly thereafter, all organised resistance has collapsed, and the Martians roam the shattered landscape unhindered.

The Earth under the Martians

At the beginning of Book Two, the Narrator and the curate are plundering houses in search of food. During this excursion, the men witness a Martian handling-machine enter Kew, seizing any person it finds and tossing them into a "great metallic carrier which projected behind him, much as a workman's basket hangs over his shoulder",Wells, ''The War of the Worlds'', Book Two, Ch. 1. and the Narrator realises that the Martian invaders may have "a purpose other than destruction" for their victims. At a house in Sheen, "a blinding glare of green light" and a loud concussion attend the arrival of the fifth Martian cylinder, and both men are trapped beneath the ruins for two weeks.

The Narrator's relations with the curate deteriorate over time, and eventually he knocks him unconscious to silence his now loud ranting; the curate is overheard outside by a Martian, which eventually removes his unconscious body with one of its handling machine tentacles. The reader is then led to believe the Martians will perform a fatal transfusion of the curate's blood to nourish themselves, as they have done with other captured victims viewed by the Narrator through a small slot in the house's ruins. The Narrator just barely escapes detection from the returned foraging tentacle by hiding in the adjacent coal-cellar.

Eventually the Martians abandon the cylinder's crater, and the Narrator emerges from the collapsed house where he had observed the Martians up close during his ordeal; he then approaches West London. ''Enroute'', he finds the Martian red weed everywhere, a prickly vegetation spreading wherever there is abundant water but slowly dying due to bacterial infection. On Putney Heath, once again he encounters the artilleryman, who persuades him of a grandiose plan to rebuild civilisation by living underground; after a few hours, the Narrator perceives the laziness of his companion and abandons him. Now in a deserted and silent London, slowly he begins to go mad from his accumulated trauma, finally attempting to end it all by openly approaching a stationary fighting-machine. To his surprise, he discovers that all the Martians have been killed by an onslaught of earthly pathogens, to which they had no immunity: "slain, after all man's devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth".

The Narrator continues on, finally suffering a brief but complete nervous breakdown, which affects him for days; he is nursed back to health by a kind family. Eventually, he is able to return by train to Woking via a patchwork of newly repaired tracks. At his home, he discovers that his beloved wife has, somewhat miraculously, survived. In the last chapter, the Narrator reflects on the significance of the Martian invasion, its impact on humanity's view of itself and the future, and the "abiding sense of doubt and insecurity" it has left in his mind.

The game begins with the vampire Shuggy inheriting a haunted Scottish mansion from his grandfather. In order to make it a livable space he must evict the undesirable creatures currently living in it. To do so he must collect all the gems in a given room to acquire a key. The keys are spread across five areas: The Dungeon, The Boiler Room, The Gallery, The Graveyard and The Clocktower. Once all keys are obtained Shuggy can evict the evil tenants and claim his mansion.

Harry Griffin, an ace pilot in Californian Air Transport Corporation, is fired from service and is in a relationship with ex model and actress Glorie Dane, who has seen many a man come and go in her life, but loves Harry more than herself and does not want to lose him. Harry soon decides to steal a set of diamonds worth 3 million dollars from a passenger plane leaving CATC, which he was supposed to fly before being dismissed, to which Gloria reluctantly agrees. Soon they rope in Glorie's ex-boyfriend Ben Delaney, who is now a gangster with connections and money, under disguise by name "Harry Green". Ben agrees to provide them men and money to do the job, and 50000 dollars in exchange for the diamonds. But things don't go the way Harry and Glorie expect, especially because of Harry's greed and deceitful ways, and soon begins a deadly hide and seek game, with Glorie and Harry struggling for survival with murderers and cops behind them, and all amidst lies, deception, treachery, blackmail and murder.

Apti, a slow-witted but likeable street cleaner lives and works in a neighborhood of İstanbul. His superior Şakir, a corrupt, and abrasive Zabıta (Municipal Inspector) officer, purposely makes Apti's life miserable by berating him for most minor offences and making him to go errands for Şakir's annoying mother. Apti is in love with Hacer, a feisty house cleaner but his attempts to court her usually fails due to Hacer's overprotective brothers.

It is also revealed that Şakir and Hacer have feelings for each other but Şakir's overbearing mother refuses to allow her son to marry a "lowly cleaner". Şakir nevertheless wants to marry Hacer and after Şakir confronts her, Hacer's brothers beat him up.

Had enough of Şakir's indecision, Hacer's father decides to marry her to Apti. Apti visits Hacer's house and despite the very low impression he left on them, Hacer's father allows them to marry. After Şakir hears the news, he attacks Apti then forces him to catch all the cats in the neighborhood for revenge. He also has Hacer's brothers arrested.

Angered, Hacer attacks Şakir but the two make up during the fight after Şakir assures her that he will convince his mother. Şakir once again tries to talk his mother into allowing him to marry Hacer but she once again, rudely refuses. Şakir finally snaps and comically attempts to kill her by pushing her off the window. She survives after she falls on Apti.

Next evening, Apti visits Hacer's house to finalize the marriage but unbeknowst to him Şakir and his mother, who is in bandages, are also in the house and they ask for Hacer's hand in marriage. Believing that a Municipal official has a more promising future than a street cleaner, Hacer's father breaks off her engagement with Apti. Angry and disappointed, Apti causes a scene but kicked out of the house. In a famous scene, Apti starts walking back home, throws flowers on the ground and eats the lokum by himself. ("Fuck your Flowers!")

Next day, Apti's doorman friend İsmail convinces him to kidnap and have sex with Hacer so her father would have no choice but marry her to him. Apti then sneaks into Hacer's house and attempts to rape her. However he is quickly beaten back by Hacer's kid brother and escapes. Chased by Hacer's father and brothers, Apti accidentally enters a nightclub and finds himself on the stage. In panic, he starts singing some popular folk songs and audience starts cheering for him. Owner of the nightclub quickly hires him as the lead singer.

Few days later posters with Apti's face fill the walls of the town. Realizing that she just rejected a rich husband for Şakir, Hacer falls ill. Hacer's father also tries to make things up with him but Apti, still angry over the earlier treatment he received, rudely rejects them and walks into the stage. His singing debut does not go well however, as his clumsiness gets the better of him and he causes accidents on the stage: he almost chokes a customer with mic's cord and accidentally removes the toupee of another. He is immediately fired and returns to his previous job of garbage man.

Some time later, Hacer and Şakir are now married but it is soon revealed that the marriage is not a happy one after Hacer causes a scene in the morning. Şakir's life turns absolutely miserable, now stuck between his bickering mother and foul-tempered Hacer. Apti breathes a sigh of relief, realizing that he just dodged a bullet by not marrying an insufferable woman like Hacer. Film ends with Apti happily noticing another young cleaner lady on a nearby window, implying that he might find love again.

''The Magician King'' follows two story lines, beginning at the same time as the beginning and end of ''The Magicians''. In one, following her unsuccessful interview at Brakebills, Julia returns to Brooklyn. A poorly constructed alibi reveals to her the memories of her interview and the world of magic that wasn't available to her. After a significant amount of searching, she finds her way to a safe house where low-level spells are taught. Gradually, she works her way up the levels, learning more and more magic, until the safe houses have no more to teach her. She makes contact with Free Trader Beowulf, a group of people like her: self taught magicians with significant psychological issues. She moves to Murs, in France, to work with them, where they teach her more magic.

Julia and the others in Murs, in order to attain significantly more magical power, attempt to summon Our Lady Underground, a local goddess. They instead summon Reynard the Fox, a trickster god who kills most of them while warning them that no one has summoned a god in 2000 years, that all the gods heard them including the ancient ones, and they might as well be dead when the gods come. He intends to kill the last two, but Julia sacrifices herself to save her friend Asmodeus. Reynard proceeds to rape Julia, leaving her with severe trauma and an extra spark of god-like magic.

In Fillory, Eliot, Janet, Quentin, and Julia rule as Kings and Queens, and life is good, if somewhat boring. Seeking a quest, Quentin and Julia travel to the outer islands of Fillory to collect back taxes, where they discover a golden key and are accidentally returned to Earth. Searching for a way back, Quentin and Julia discover Josh in Venice, where he has sold the button he had which allowed travel between worlds to the dragon in the grand canal. With him is Poppy, an Australian magician who studies dragons. Quentin visits and speaks to the dragon, who warns him of the old gods' return and the impending closure of the Neitherlands, the city in between the worlds.

Quentin and Julia are able to return to Fillory, unintentionally bringing Poppy and Josh with them. There they encounter Eliot, who has been on a quest to find the remaining golden keys. In an attempt to return Poppy to Earth, Quentin and Poppy end up in the Neitherlands, where Penny, Quentin's erstwhile classmate, finds them.

As Penny explains, access to magic is through a loophole that was never intended, and the old gods, who are effectively just magicians operating on a titanic power scale, have returned to close that loophole. Fillory is the loophole through which magic escaped, and the end of magic will mean its end too. The founders of the Neitherlands did build a back door through which magic could come if the gods ever returned to shut it down, and it is locked by the same seven golden keys Quentin and Eliot have been searching for. Quentin and Poppy return to Fillory.

Quentin and Julia travel to the underworld, where they collect the last key and where Julia is made a dryad by Our Lady Underground. They open the door at the edge of the world, allowing magic back, and opening the way to the far side of Fillory. Quentin cannot go through as he used his passport in visiting the underworld, and when he accepts the debt Julia owes for causing the catastrophe, allowing her through, he is forced to give up his throne and leave Fillory. Alone, he returns to Earth.

An evil businessman is secretly setting fires to some of the old buildings of a dilapidated neighborhood, while at the same time three women become the new recruits at a local fire station. Life is not smooth at the new firehouse, as the women are teased and harassed by their male coworkers. But they learn to stand up for themselves against the torment while also solving the mystery of who is starting the fires.

Hermann, Prince of Cherusci is beset from two sides. The Suebi, Maroboduus stands in the southeast of his country and calls a toll on him. The Roman general Varus threatened him with three legions from the West and offers his help against Marbod, but he has secretly offered to act with him against Hermann. The Germanic princes gather with Hermann, and force him to make war against the Romans, which he refuses, because of the military inferiority of the Germans.

Hermann's wife Thusnelda is courted by the Roman legate Ventidius, who secretly cuts off a lock of her blond hair. Ventidius brings about an ultimate offer of help to the Romans, Hermann accepts the offer eventually. At the same time, however, this is in conjunction with Marbod, whom he informed about the duplicity of Varus together against him and offers him to join the battle. The Romans marched into the land of one Cherusci village and destroy it. Hermann uses the behavior of the Romans to stir up hatred among the people against them. He encounters Varus in Teutoburg, who can be fooled by him.

Marbod is reluctant to ally with the Cherusci, but is convinced firstly by the escape of his Roman advisors, and secondly because, as proof of his loyalty, Hermann put the lives of Marbod's two sons into the hands of Suevenfürsten. The rape of a girl gives Germanic Hermann an occasion to call the people to revolt against the Romans. He shows Thusnelda a letter from Ventidius, in which he promises the Empress Livia a lock of Thusnelda's blond hair. The Romans wander through the Teutoburg Forest and are abandoned by their Germanic allies. Thusnelda gets revenge on Ventidius by luring him into the enclosure of a bear that then kills him. In the battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the Roman legions of Varus are defeated and their commander killed.

Set in the Muromachi period in early 16th-century Japan, the young ninja Rantaro (Seishiro Kato) is born into a family of low-ranking ninjas. Rantaro is sent by his father and mother (Shido Nakamura and Rei Dan) to attend the six-year course at a Ninja Academy run by Denzo Yamada (Susumu Terajima). Rantaro's homeroom teacher is Hansuke Doi (Takahiro Miura) and head of the Ninja Girl classes at the school is Shina Yamamoto who appears as either a beautiful young woman (Anne Watanabe) or an older woman (Tamao Nakamura). After going home to his parents' farm for the summer holidays, Rantaro is joined by his schoolmate Shinbei (Futa Kimura) but they later decided to stay with Kirimaru (Roi Hayashi) and teacher Doi. One day, some Usutake ninjas arrive at the house of flamboyant hairdresser Yukitaka Saito (Takeshi Kaga) and his son Takamaru (Takuya Mizoguchi) in order to kill both of them. Yukitaka and Takamaru used to belong to the Uuetake clan, but Rantaro and his friends aim to save them by joining a contest that ends with a race to ring a bell on top of a mountain.

Story

The year is 20XX, and in an alternate universe from the first game, where Arfoire is dead, a force known as ASIC (Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime), a group solely dedicated towards the deceased Arfoire, has risen, led by CFW Magic. Over the years, the influence of ASIC has become increasingly powerful, currently affecting many residents of Gamindustri. As such, in response to the threat, the CPUs and Nepgear travel to the Gamindustri Graveyard to combat ASIC. However, the five of them are overpowered and captured. Three years later, IF and Compa arrive to find Neptune. With the power of the Sharicite, a crystal made from the hopes of people, the two manage to free Nepgear and escape, though the Sharicite is broken in the process. Retreating to Planeptune, Nepgear must recover her strength and free Gamindustri from the influence of ASIC, though she must first locate the mascots of the landmasses, who can provide the power to potentially assist the captive CPUs.

As she travels Gamindustri to find the mascots, she crosses paths with Nisa, Gust, 5pb, Cave, and Falcom, as well as the other CPU Candidates, who she befriends. They eventually join Nepgear's party, and together with the power of the mascots, they manage to free their captive sisters. The members of ASIC fall by their hand as well, though they uncover a sinister plot to use their power to revive Arfoire. Making their way to the Gamindustri Graveyard for the last time, Nepgear's party defeats Arfoire, and the CPUs attempt to seal the entity forever.

Settings

Because of the game being in a new dimension to the first one, the four landmasses have undergone changes. Each area introduces new NPC's, and certain NPC's have moved landmasses from the first game.

Planeptune

The original hub world used in the first game, as well as Neptune's first location. The entire landmass contains more of a futuristic feel compared to the first game. Histoire, as its Oracle, has saved the landmass numerous times, and has become famous among the citizens because of it. Due to Nepgear's work, Planeptune has become the least affected of the four landmasses. Nepgear (Purple Sister), Compa, IF, Neptune (Purple Heart) and various NPC's reside here.

Lastation

A direct reference to the PlayStation series, due to the majority of the landmass's buildings being colored black. It is usually described as steampunk, and has become slightly more industrialized since the first game. Least affected by the influence of ASIC, due to preparations beforehand. Acts as a major trade center for the other landmasses. Uni (Black Sister), Nisa, Noire (Black Heart) and various NPC's reside here.

Lowee

A direct reference to the Wii, due to the majority of the landscape being colored white. Compared to the first Lowee, it seems more colorful. Highly threatened by the influence of ASIC. Houses various icons of the 2D era as well as previous CPU's of Lowee. Ram (White Sister), Rom (White Sister), Gust and Blanc (White Heart) reside here.

Leanbox

A direct reference to the Xbox, due to all the brown and bloom scenery. The buildings seem more simple, yet futuristic since the original Leanbox. They have employed a variety of countermeasures against ASIC, though it was only a temporary fix. Generally viewed as a military nation, and is a rival/trade partner of Lastation. Cave, 5pb., Vert (Green Heart) and various NPC's reside here.

Gamindustri Graveyard

This is an entirely new landmass created by Arfoire herself, due to her new powers. The landscape contains the ruins of notable artifacts in video game history, such as the Game Boy Advance. Not accessible through normal means. Three mysterious fairies, as well as ASIC (Arforie Syndicate of International Crime) reside here. This is also the location of the opening battle between the goddesses and Magic the Hard (CFW Magic in English version), though they are defeated, and the four goddesses and Nepgear are captured. However, three years later, Compa and IF help Nepgear escape.

At the Arts for the Living Center in New York, Candice Norman (Olga Karlatos) oversees the latest dance routine choreographed by Margie (Geretta Marie Fields). Candice tells Margie that the act needs even "more perfection" in preparation for a visit from three talent agents. The academy director Dick Gibson (Claudio Cassinelli) meets with TV producers Bob Steiner and John Morris, who watch a video of the dance, and Candice learns that the men will only select three dancers for an upcoming TV show. That evening after the dance class is over, one of the dancers, Susan, is murdered in the locker room by an unseen person who chloroforms then stabs her in the heart with a long hairpin needle. NYPD Lieutenant Borges (Cosimo Cinieri) arrives on the scene to investigate. Also with Lt. Borges is the police profiler and psychotherapy professor Dr. Davis (Giuseppe Mannajuolo). With Candice nowhere to be found, suspicion begins to focus not only on her but on the victim's boyfriend Willy Stark (Christian Borromeo), as well as Dick Gibson.

Candice arrives back at her apartment, where she finds Dick waiting. He wants to talk about the potential relationships between the students, and tries to convince Candice that there is nothing going on between him and any of the other students. While he is there, the DJ from the studio, Bob, phones Candice and updates her on the murder at the academy.

The next day, the routine at the campus continues as normal, causing Dick a great deal of upset, since nobody seems to care about Susan's death. At a nearby coffee shop, Lt. Borges talks to Dick about a possible rivalry between the dancers. That evening at a local nightclub, another student from the academy, Janice, dances alone for an audience and then walks home to her apartment. She finds Willy waiting and wanting to talk. In her bedroom, Janice finds a photograph of Willy and Susan, but when she calls out to him, he is gone. Janice finds her pet canary dead with a hairpin needle through its body. Panicked, she runs to the front door, where she is attacked and killed by the unseen assailant who thrusts a hairpin needle into her heart.

Candice begins having nightmares of being attacked by a handsome young man (Ray Lovelock) wielding a long, ornamental needle identical to the one used in the killings. Candice becomes more obsessed with the dream assailant when she sees an advertising billboard which features him prominently. Unable to shake the feeling that they are in some way predetermined to meet, Candice tracks down the man in the poster to the seedy Fulton Hotel, and bribes the desk clerk for the key to "Mr. Robinson's" room. She explores the room, but is shocked when the handsome model returns suddenly. The man introduces himself as George Webb who, to Candice's repulsion, is a drunken and disheveled wreck. With what seems like disappointment mingled with terror, Candice flees from the room, leaving her purse and ID behind.

Meanwhile, Lt. Borges records a phone call to the police station from a person claiming be the killer. When a voice analyst identifies it as Bart, one of the dancers, Borges arrests him. Bart confesses to the phone calls as well as to killing Susan because she was crazy, and Janice because she was Hispanic. Borges, however, states his belief that Bart is not the killer, but a pathological liar.

George goes to the academy to return Candice's purse where another dancer, Gloria, recognizes him from a modeling show they appeared in years earlier. Dick sees George and Candice on a security monitor and calls Borges saying that George must be the killer. Over lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, the relationship between Candice and George becomes closer when she confides in him about an incident years earlier, when a man on a motorcycle ran her over in a hit-and-run putting an end to her dancing career and forcing her to teach. Back at Candice's apartment, she gets a phone call from Phil (Lucio Fulci), a local talent agent, who has made a background check for her on George and informs her that he once had an affair with a young girl who later died. At the studio, Candice is attacked by Margie, using the killer's M.O., but she is subdued by Dick, who turns Margie over to the police.

A few days later, Jill, another dancer, baby-sits for the wheelchair-bound Molly, who takes pictures of her. When Jill answers a knock on the front door, the killer forces his way into the apartment and stabs her with the hairpin. Molly frantically snaps away, but does not get a clear view of the killer's face. The police arrest Dick when he's found running away, claiming that he only arrived after the attack to find Jill dead. The following night, the killer attacks and kills Gloria in the locker room in the same manner.

At George's hotel room, Candice lets herself in and finds a hairpin and bottle of chloroform in his drawer. Candice rushes out to her car and drives away. George arrives and seeing what Candice found, tries to call her at her apartment, but she is not home. At the police station, Candice tells Borges of her discovery and that George is the killer and names the hotel where he is staying. Candice then goes over to the academy which has been closed down for the night, and finds Gloria dead in the locker room. She calls Borges and tells him to meet her at the academy.

Candice runs to the manager's room and finds George there. He turns on the music and a video showing all the dancers who have been killed. George walks in with the hairpin murder weapon and asks Candice why she planted this evidence in his hotel room, thus connecting him to the murders. Candice then reveals that she has known from the very start that it was he, George, who was the hit-and-run motorcycle rider who ran her over, ruining her career, her future and her life. She tells him that she killed the young dancers out of jealousy of their talent, their beauty and their rising careers, all the while planning to frame him for the killings as her final act of revenge against him. She grabs George's pin-holding hand and intentionally impales herself on it. Just as she falls to the floor, breathing her last, Lt. Borges and Dr. Davis arrive on the scene but, before George can begin to explain, they reveal that they already know he is not the killer. When they saw the photo slide Molly took of the killer's jacket, they noticed that the buttons on the jacket were on the left side, indicating that it belonged to and was being worn by a woman. In addition, Candice told them details about the lion's head hairpin needle used in the killings, information that, since it had never been made public, only the killer could know. George leaves with Lt. Borges as the police seal off and investigate the scene.

Ham and Ex are reading a press release about their uncle Beans who is flying north to explore an old galleon. Outside, Beans is preparing his aircraft for his trip to the north. Without their uncle's knowledge, Ham and Ex board the backseats. Beans himself finally hops in and flies the aircraft.

Beans arrives at the Arctic, parking his plane just near the frozen ship. Ham and Ex show themselves, much to their uncle's surprise. Nevertheless, Beans takes them along. The three young explorers set foot on the rickety old vessel. Ghostly forces toss Beans around while Ham and Ex get tangled with a skeleton. Finally the trio end up in the hull. In a room, they find a treasure chest with booty. Beans then notices a couple of buccaneers who have been frozen for a very long time. Beans then takes the chairs they are sitting on and lights a fire in the stove, causing the buccaneers to defrost and awaken, while Beans loads his plane with the treasure.

The two buccaneers give chase to the trio, until Ham and Ex land inside the plane and take off. Meanwhile, Beans dodges one of the buccaneers who hurls a powder keg at him and it explodes, launching him the air. Ham and Ex manage to rescue him in midair. After some rejoice the three explorers fly back home.

The Rainbow Celebration is almost near as everyone in Ponyville prepares and awaits the first rainbow of the season. Meanwhile, at the magical city of Unicornia, Cheerilee is teaching a young unicorn pony named Rarity about being a Rainbow Princess and her duties to make the First Rainbow of the Season using the magic wand. Rarity is still young and she accidentally uses the wand, which in turn teleports her into the middle of Breezie Blossom. Cheerilee, Brights Brightly and Whistle Wishes venture outside Unicornia in search of her. Rarity befriends the Breezies and they visit Ponyville and later Rarity feels homesick. Pinkie Pie, Minty, Rainbow Dash, Spike and the Breezies help her get home, just in time for the first rainbow of the season.

In 1984, in the small town of Namanga, Kenya, a young girl is found alone in the wilderness. Jack Ringtree, who found the girl, brings her to the local school to find out more about her. Namanga is going through a severe drought, which causes water to become scarce. Jack visits a nearby mining outpost to ask if they have water. the owner, Chris Tucker, tells him off. Jack's wife, Lee, arrives in Namanga that night, and has sex with Jack. Meanwhile, a local boy is kidnapped by a troop of baboons.

The next morning, one of the miners, Claud Gagnon, is mauled by a troop of baboons. The grandfather of the missing child calls up Jack and Chris, asking if they can help him find his grandson. Chris leads the miners and a group of Maasai women to looks for the missing child. They find both the bodies of the child and Claud. The group massacres a troop of baboons while Jack takes images as proof.

Jack and Chris pled to the local district officer, Tshombe, to evacuate everyone in Namanga to Nairobi, but Tshombe dismisses them. Jack then travels to Nairobi to find someone who can eradicate the baboons, but is also dismissed. Lucille, Claud's wife, griefs over his death and plans to leave Kenya. Meanwhile, two electricians tries to fix a broken telephone line. A troop of baboons attacks them and kills one of the man, while the other escapes.

The next day, Lee is attacked and almost killed by a troop of baboons, but is saved by Jack. The mining outpost is also attacked by a large troop of baboons, but everyone escaped. Chris gets a report of a supply truck that crashed 10 miles away from Namanga. Chris, Jack, and two miners, Odom and Uto, travels to the site. Uto explores the area and finds that almost everything has been stolen. The others find a troop of baboons with the supply. Chris scares them off and Jack explores the flipped supply truck. The troop of baboons returns, now more fierce, Chris, Odom, and Uto takes of on the jeep, leaving Jack behind. Meanwhile, Tshombe flies Lucille flies out of town, but are attacked and killed by a stowaway baboon.

When Chris returns, he gets a report about a local school getting attacked. He sends Odom and Uto to take care of the situation. Jack bribes the troop of baboons and successfully escapes. He hot wires an abandoned bus and meets up with Chris. They all head to the school and successfully saves everyone.

The entire town is barricaded inside a local hotel, with the miners guarding the area. The teacher, Linda, is suddenly killed by a baboon that broke into the hotel. The miners protect the locals, while Chris and Jack fights off the horde of monkeys. Chris is knocked out when it suddenly rains. The rain scares away the baboons and causes the town's drought to finally be over.

Yuuta Segawa is in his freshman year of college. He and his older sister Yuri were orphaned as children but when their relatives tried to separate and send them to live in different foster homes, Yuri chose to raise him on her own. Now, many years later, Yuri, who has since married, asks Yuuta to babysit her daughter, Hina, and two step-daughters, Sora and Miu Takanashi, while she and her husband go on a trip. Unfortunately, the plane Yuri and her husband are on crashes and they are both reported missing and presumed dead. A similar event unfolds, and in order to prevent the girls being separated from each other, Yuuta takes it upon himself to look after the girls in his small apartment, thus begins Yuuta's story of sharing his everyday life with his three nieces.

Captain Dike Conger, an officer with the Thirty-first Cavalry Regiment is instructed to determine whether the unit should use tanks instead of horses. Along with his mechanic, Master Sergeant “Three Star” Hennessy, Conger is opposed by those who want to continue using horses.

Meanwhile, Conger agrees to go on a blind date arranged by his friend Captain Bob Marvin on the condition that his date be a civilian, not an "army girl", i.e., the daughter of an officer or soldier. Due to a misunderstanding, his date turns out to be Julie Armstrong, daughter of camp commander Colonel Armstrong who is among those not wanting to convert the unit from horses to tanks. Despite his misgivings about "army girls", Conger falls in love with Julie.

Subsequently, a contest shows that tanks are more effective thank horses. As the regiment awaits a final decision from Washington, Conger and Julie decide to marry, but as Conger is about to tell Colonel Armstrong, the colonel reveals the decision and then tell Congers he will replace him as post commander. Julie, angered by the decision, breaks the engagement.

Upset at the decision to replace horses, Sergeant Ross, a rival of Three Star, sabotages the tank which is to carry Conger and Three Star at the transition ceremony. On the day of the ceremony, the colonel decides to drive to the ceremony with Three Star instead of Conger and both are killed in the wreck caused by Ross’s actions. Captain Joe Schuyler, a rival for Julie's affections, reaches the tank, and hears Three Star's dying words implicating Ross, but he decides not to tell anyone. Instead, Conger is court martialed for negligence and held responsible for the accident. Schuyler then proposes to Julie. When she refuses him, he realizes that she never will love him. He then forces Ross to confess before military judges, exonerating Conger who reconciles with Julie.

Infested

"Infested" was a series of six back-up stories that were at the end of regular issues of ''The Amazing Spider-Man''. They were in issues #659, 660, and 662–665. These stories featured the Jackal and his experiments that led to the "Spider-Island" story. These were compiled in a comic book reprint called ''Amazing Spider-Man: Infested'', which was released on August 31.

Spider-Island

The prologue outlines Peter Parker's life up to the start of Spider-Island. He is seen effortlessly neutralizing a robbery by Hydro-Man, as well as stopping a normal robbery. He puts in some time at Horizon Labs; finally, he visits Shang-Chi, his martial arts mentor who is teaching him "The Way of the Spider", as seen in the Free Comic Book Day edition of ''The Amazing Spider-Man''. Madame Web warns Spider-Man of the events that are to come, but Spider-Man dismisses the warnings as nonsense. Meanwhile, the Jackal is seen recruiting spider-powered criminals for his project, along with a severely mutated Kaine, now called Tarantula. He has a large secret lab, in which clones of Miles Warren are seen to be working. The Jackal has a mysterious female benefactor called the Spider Queen.

Peter's girlfriend, Carlie Cooper, shows him she has spider-powers. He and Carlie hear a news report telling of several hundred New Yorkers who have manifested spider-powers. The Jackal is behind the disturbance, as he has collected several prominent crime figures with spider-powers and given them Spider-Man outfits. The Avengers attempt to defend the city against spider-powered hooligans.

Although Shang-Chi is able to confirm Spider-Man's identity to the other heroes, he is nevertheless ordered to stay out of the fight due to the inability to distinguish him from the other Spider-Men. However, inspired by a conversation with Mary Jane, Peter is able to rally various other New Yorkers to help him stop the villainous Spider-Men by posing as another random spider-powered citizen. As Anti-Venom works on curing various Spider-People of their powers, Madame Web reflects on the need for both Venom and Anti-Venom to fix the Spider-Island problem. Meanwhile, Carlie and Peter attempt to investigate the Jackal's lab, reasoning that he is the most likely candidate to have caused this event, unaware that they are being watched. Jackal is seen working on the Spider King by filling with tiny spider embryos.

Horizon Labs works with Reed Richards to find a cure for the spider-powered people while the Avengers and other heroes try to keep Manhattan quarantined. While at an abandoned lab at Empire University, Peter and Carlie are attacked by Chance, Scorcher, and White Rabbit, who all have spider powers. When White Rabbit attacks Carlie, Peter uses some moves he learned from Shang-Chi to knock out the villains. Carlie takes the villains to the precinct and tells Peter that she wants to have a talk with him and Spider-Man, to Peter's dismay. Jackal has been watching them and tells Tarantula to study the tape of the fight as he will soon be tested. The Avengers close off Manhattan keeping everyone in the city. Reed Richards develops a vaccine that can keep people from gaining spider powers, but does not cure people who already have them. Just as J. Jonah Jameson is about to get the vaccine, Reed tells him he has been infected. Anti-Venom continues to cure the victims of Manhattan, while Madame Web passes out from too many spiders accessing the web of life. Carlie is told that Spider-Man is waiting for her at the top of her precinct. Carlie and Spider-Man head to take down another spider-powered villain as Carlie becomes suspicious of where Peter is. When they arrive at the scene, they find a six-armed Shocker. Shocker reveals that he wants money so that Mad Thinker can cure him. Shocker then pulls off his mask to reveal he is slowly mutating into a spider-like creature. Just as Spider-Man tries to piece everything together, Carlie begins to mutate. The Spider-Queen tells the Jackal that all the infected people of Manhattan are beginning to mutate, and New York will soon belong to her.

Mary Jane Watson evades the citizens who have been transformed into spider-like creatures. When Spider-Man tries to get a mutated Carlie to Mister Fantastic, more spider-like creatures begin to appear, making it hard to find out which one is Carlie. As Jameson ends up becoming a spider-like creature and defeats a Spider-Slayer, the Spider-Queen uses her Web of Life to control the spider-like creatures. Mary Jane also develops spider powers, while Madame Web loses her precognition.

Despite Jackal's contrary advice, Reed Richards and Horizon Labs manage to develop a serum from Anti-Venom's symbiotic antibodies, able to kill the Spider-Virus and instantly reverse the mutations. The Spider Queen sends Tarantula to break into Peter's personal lab. Peter discovers the break in and stops Tarantula from poisoning the serum. As Tarantula, now more physically powerful and still enabled with a functioning Spider-Sense, starts gaining the upper hand, Reed Richards mentions to the Horizon Labs scientists how Spider-Man lost his special sense. The Horizon Lab scientists manage to jury-rig a counter-frequency, restoring Peter's Spider-Sense to an enhanced level (due to Shang-Chi's kung fu training being merged to his reflexes). Now fully empowered, Peter bests Tarantula, drowning him in a pool of serum. Tarantula emerges from the pool with his mutation gone and his clone degeneration reversed. The now healthy Kaine shakes off Spider Queen's mind control and offers to help Peter. Meanwhile, a side effect of the counterfrequency used on Peter restores Madame Web's and Spider Queen's connection to the Web of Life. Spider-Queen uses an evolved version of her sonic scream to kill Jackal (later revealed as yet another clone), and realizes she has been given the whole powers of the Web, becoming a Spider-Goddess.

By the time Captain America and Venom reach the Spider Queen, she uses her enhanced powers to evolve into a massive spiderlike creature of enormous strength, siphoning new power from every individual infected by the Spider-Virus. Mary Jane discovers her long-term relationship with Peter has given her a partial immunity to the Spider-Virus, and uses her newly acquired spider powers to reach the Horizon Labs and reunite with Peter. Meanwhile, Peter has Kaine outfitted with the Spider-Armor from "Big Time", which deflects Spider Queen's sonic scream. Kaine, Mary Jane and Spider-Man join the fight, as the whole heroic community of New York tries to prevent Spider Queen and Madame Web's apocalyptic prophecy. When Spider-Man seems about to lose, Mary Jane reminds him that as powerful as Spider-Man could be, she had always trusted the brain power of Peter the scientist. Leaving Kaine behind to fight with the other heroes, Spider-Man and Mary Jane flee to the police precinct and steal Doctor Octopus' Octobots, which Spider-Man converts into a small army of Spider-Slayers, each one carrying a dose of the cure. While Mary Jane bravely defends him, Peter uses the antenna on the Empire State Building to reverse the mutation of a large part of New York's population at once. Emboldened by Spider-Man's example and seeing Spider-Queen losing her powers, Kaine has himself thrown in her mouth using the Spider-Armor to deflect the sonic scream and spider-stingers (similar to the ones held by Peter Parker during ''The Other'') to slay the Spider Queen. While Madame Web claims that her prophecy entailing "The Hand of Spider-Man" felling the Queen must had been wrong, Kaine (now fully reconciled with Peter) claims that he was merely an executor and Spider-Man's bravery and quick thinking enabled him to deal the final blow. The Jackal, in disguise as part of Damage Control, harvests some of the deceased Queen's marrow for use in future cloning experiments. Atop the Empire State Building, Mary Jane admits her love for Peter, but he does not hear her. They stay there to rest, musing about the aftereffects of having the whole of New York walk a mile in Spider-Man's shoes.

The following day, Peter discovers from Doctor Strange that the psychic blindspot that was put in place to protect his secret identity has now been compromised. This was due to Peter revealing his spider-powers in a viral video to encourage other New Yorkers to use their new spider-powers for good. As a result of this, Carlie is able to deduce who Peter actually is. Tired of being lied to, Carlie accuses Peter of being a mask for his "true self" and breaks up with him. Peter locates Mary Jane and administers the antidote to her, albeit with some reluctance on her part. The two bond with each other over their recent experiences. Mary Jane tells Peter to look at the Empire State Building, onto which is projected a red and blue color scheme. This is the citizens of New York's way of saying "thank you" to Spider-Man for his heroic deeds during the crisis.

Spider-Island: Amazing Spider-Girl

As Anya Corazon tries to figure out her past, she and her friend Rocky are attacked by the Sisterhood of the Wasp (a misguided monster sect who are "fabled enemies of the spiders") who are targeting Anya. Anya gets Rocky to safety and changes into Spider-Girl. She ends up getting an unlikely ally in the Hobgoblin who flies her to Kingpin. When Spider-Girl asks why Kingpin wants her help, Kingpin reveals that he and his men have developed spider powers, and are being targeted by the Sisterhood of the Wasp. He tells Spider-Girl where he has found the location of the Central Wasp Nest. Madame Web tells Spider-Girl she will need to team up with her "enemy" when the Sisterhood's leader All-Mother plans to release a poison that will kill anyone with spider powers. Spider-Girl and the Hand end up fighting the soldiers of the Sisterhood of the Wasp to keep them from releasing the poison. When the soldiers take to the skies, they are shot down by the Hand archers. Spider-Girl rushes to take down the All-Mother, but runs into Madame Web. She tells Spider-Girl she still needs to team up with her "enemy". Spider-Girl realizes she has to team up with the All-Mother to halt the mob of mutated New York natives. They are successful. Hobgoblin does not acknowledge the end of battle and attacks the All-Mother. This angers the Kingpin, but Spider-Girl convinces him to let Hobgoblin live. The story ends with Spider-Girl getting administered the cure, though it is seen that she still has retained some spider powers when she swings away from the Kingpin.

Spider-Island: Avengers

When the infestation of Manhattan began, Ms. Marvel, Jessica Jones, and Hawkeye survey the people with spider powers. When Jessica calls up Squirrel Girl on the status of her daughter Danielle, Squirrel Girl discovers that Danielle has developed spider powers. Frog-Man witnesses terrorists with spider powers attacking the United Nations and gains the assistance, and eventual grudging respect, of Ms. Marvel, Jessica, and Hawkeye.

Spider-Island: Cloak and Dagger

When Cloak and Dagger see an advertisement of them on a billboard, Cloak tells Dagger they would be able to come to anyone's services. They are approached by the New Avengers who are on their way to handle a riot involving people with spider-powers. While stopping the people dressed as Spider-Man, Cloak and Dagger recall the time they worked for Norman Osborn's Dark X-Men. Mister Negative is told of a prophecy that he is destined to be killed by Dagger. Mister Negative captures Dagger and corrupts her with his Negative Touch. This turns Dagger into a dark version of herself who must consume all light and life. The corrupted Dagger uses her powers to plunge Chinatown into darkness. Tyrone begs Mister Negative to save her; Mister Negative uses his negative touch on Cloak, altering his Darkforce powers into that of Dagger's. After Cloak and Dagger heal themselves and Chinatown, both of them come to the conclusion that they must deal with their altered powers themselves.

Spider-Island: Deadly Foes

Norah Winters is disappointed when she sees Betty Brant has beaten her to the Spider-Island story. Unbeknownst to Norah, she is being spied upon by Phil Urich who is jealous of her relationship with Randy Robertson. This causes Phil to become Hobgoblin and go after her. At Potter's Field, it is shown that Jackal has found Kaine emerging from his grave following the events of the ''Grim Hunt''. Jackal manages to knock out Kaine and drag him back to his lair and turns him into a spider monster.

Spider-Island: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu

Shang-Chi is told by Madame Web that people with spider powers are running amok in Manhattan. When he sees Iron Fist fighting the Spider-Man imposters and Peter Parker nearby, Shang-Chi springs into action. Bride of Nine Spiders inexplicably starts attacking and abducting her teammates in the Immortal Weapons. When trying to figure out what his recurring dream means, Shang-Chi learns from Silver Sable that she has found possible locations in Manhattan for Bride of Nine Spider's lair. Although Shang-Chi manages to defeat Bride of Nine Spiders and frees Iron Fist, he discovers that the person behind this is the demon Ai Apaec who seeks to feed off the Immortal Weapons. As Shang-Chi fights Ai Apeac, Iron Fist scrambles to free the other Immortal Weapons. Shang-Chi mutates into a spider during the battle as a result of the infection, but Iron Fist uses his Chi force to cure Shang-Chi, leaving Iron Fist in a weakened state. After making sure Iron Fist and the rest of the Immortal Weapons are evacuated, Shang-Chi collapses the mansion hide-out on Ai Apeac, leaving him immobilized for the Avengers to put back into custody.

Spider-Island: Heroes for Hire

Heroes for Hire is called in to help with the quarantine of Manhattan. They end up fighting spider-powered versions of Flashmob (Chemistro III, Cheshire Cat, Commanche, Dontrell "Cockroach" Hamilton, Mr. Fish II, Nightshade, and Spear) and Cottonmouth I when they try to cross a bridge to leave Manhattan.

Spider-Island: Spider-Woman

When the civilians who gained spider powers start to turn into half-spider creatures, Spider-Woman is fighting some of them while Mister Fantastic states in the communication that HYDRA once used a corrupted version of her DNA on Alicia Masters as part of their super-soldier experiment. Mister Fantastic then has Spider-Woman look for Alicia Masters.

Herc

The Greek owners/operators of the bar where Hercules works have fled the dangers of New York City and returned to Greece, leaving Hercules in charge. He befriends an elderly African man named A. Nancy who loves stories. Herc is bitten by a bed bug that gives him spider powers, which he uses to fight crime. The Queen of Spider Island reveals herself to Herc and makes him her slave. She sends Spider-Herc against the X-Men, who are in town after fighting lizard people in the sewers. They try to reason with him, but he attacks them with the Sword of Peleus. Due to the mutagenic properties of Spider-Man's powers, Spider-Herc mutates into Herc-Spider. Suddenly the X-Men are trapped in a magic web and the Greek goddess Arachne appears. Instead of fighting, it is revealed that Arachne is very attracted to Herc's new form and they embrace while the X-Men are forced to watch. While Arachne is preoccupied, A. Nancy breaks into her home and steals her mythical tapestry. He reveals himself as the African spider god Anansi, a collector of stories.

Venom

When the people of Manhattan start developing spider-powers, Venom is sent in to capture a spider-like beast that is fighting Firestar and Gravity. Venom manages to capture the Spider King and discovers that he is Steve Rogers enslaved. Venom disguises himself as the Spider King to track the infestation to its source. The Queen and Jackal send him to kill Anti-Venom because he is curing people who have gained spider-powers, but his superiors order him to take him to Mister Fantastic to help develop a cure. Flash and the Venom symbiote fight each other because Flash wants to bring Anti-Venom to Mister Fantastic and the symbiote wants to kill Anti-Venom for previously rejecting it. Flash wins the fight and delivers Anti-Venom to Mister Fantastic. At Project Rebirth, the scientists there are able to replicate the Anti-Venom cure using samples from Venom which is tested on the Spider King. As Flash finally reaches the hospital, Betty gives him a letter that was written by his late father before Flash is called back into action. He attacks the Queen and is backed up by Rogers later in the battle. They take down the Queen, but she transforms into a bigger, stronger spider form and is taken down by Venom, Rogers, Spider-Man, Kaine, and the assistance of the Avengers.

Scott McCall (Tyler Posey), is an average teenager suffering from asthma and living with his single mother in Beacon Hills. One night, he and his best friend Stiles Stilinski (Dylan O'Brien), the son of the local sheriff, Sheriff Stilinski (Linden Ashby), learn about half a corpse found by police in the woods. The two set out to find the other half, but Scott is attacked and bitten by a werewolf. With his new-found lycanthropy, Scott gains supernatural abilities, such as enhanced speed and heightened senses, enabling him to excel as the captain of his Beacon Hills High School lacrosse team. He gains respect from popular girl, Lydia Martin (Holland Roden) and the envy of her lacrosse-playing boyfriend Jackson Whittemore (Colton Haynes). Scott also develops a romantic relationship with school newcomer, Allison Argent (Crystal Reed); however, he discovers her father Chris Argent (JR Bourne) is a werewolf hunter.

Scott and Stiles meet Beta werewolf Derek Hale (Tyler Hoechlin), whose family perished in flames during a mysterious house fire 6 years ago. They uncover the second half of the missing corpse and discover it is Derek's sister, Laura Hale. Scott learns the Alpha werewolf, the most powerful of all wolves, is on a murdering spree and was responsible for biting him. Realizing the consequences and dangers of his new life, he is forced to protect his peers and loved ones, including his girlfriend Allison, who does not know she belongs to a family of werewolf hunters.

Allison's cruel werewolf-hunter aunt, Kate Argent (Jill Wagner), arrives into town. Derek suspects Scott's mysterious veterinarian boss, Dr. Alan Deaton (Seth Gilliam) is the Alpha, but after it is confirmed that he is not, Alan concedes he is aware of the supernatural world and becomes Scott's ally. Jackson learns Scott is a werewolf and devises a plan to become a werewolf himself to rival Scott's success at lacrosse. The Alpha werewolf is revealed to be Derek's uncle, Peter Hale (Ian Bohen), who was the only survivor of the fire. Kate reveals to Derek that it was she who started the fire, and she also reveals the existence of werewolves to Allison.

Chris Argent finds out that Scott is a werewolf, but realizes he is innocent. Peter bites Lydia, who becomes catatonic, and it later turns out that she is mysteriously immune to the bite. Allison discovers that Scott is a werewolf, but this does not change her romantic feelings about him. Scott finds out that Peter had killed Laura (his niece) to become an Alpha werewolf. Allison sees that her aunt Kate is actually cruel and remorseless, and Peter gains revenge for the fire that killed his family by finally killing Kate. However, Derek kills Peter, and becomes the new Alpha werewolf. At the end, Jackson demands Derek bite him and Derek complies.

Adrian Harris (Adam Fristoe), Coach Bobby Finstock (Orny Adams), Danny Mahealani (Keahu Kahuanui), Melissa McCall (Melissa Ponzio) and Victoria Argent (Eaddy Mays) also appear during the season.

Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) and Allison Argent (Crystal Reed) conceal their renewed relationship from Allison's parents, who oppose it because they know Scott is a werewolf. Lydia Martin (Holland Roden) suffers chronic hallucinations since bitten by Peter Hale (Ian Bohen), now dead because Derek Hale (Tyler Hoechlin) killed him to become the new Alpha werewolf. Derek recruits abused teen Isaac Lahey (Daniel Sharman) into his pack. Jackson Whittemore (Colton Haynes), bitten by Derek Hale at the end of Season 1, shows signs of rejecting Derek's bite, but the reason is a mystery. As Allison's grandfather Gerard Argent (Michael Hogan) comes to town for his daughter Kate Argent's (Jill Wagner) funeral, he decides to avenge her death by declaring war against all werewolves, innocent or not.

Isaac discovers his abusive father was killed by a strange creature. To keep close watch over Allison, Gerard replaces the Beacon Hills High principal and Allison's mother Victoria Argent (Eaddy Mays) becomes a substitute teacher. Lydia's hallucinations center on a mysterious young boy at the school. Derek recruits epileptic loner Erica Reyes (Gage Golightly) and a lonely Boyd (Sinqua Walls) to his pack. Derek discovers the unknown creature who killed Isaac's father is a Kanima, a lizard-like shape shifter created by a mutation in lycanthropy.

Jackson is revealed to be the Kanima, controlled by an unknown master who can make it kill or otherwise harm on orders. Lydia discovers that the Mysterious Young Boy (Michael Fjordbak) she hallucinated about does not exist and is actually a younger Peter Hale. Although dead, Peter is able to use her to lure Derek to him at the old Hale house in order to become resurrected. To save Scott from danger after Victoria Argent learns Scott and Allison are still together, Derek ends up biting Victoria, who commits suicide before she turns into a werewolf. Blaming Derek for his daughter's death, Gerard manipulates Allison's grief over her dead mother, making Allison become a ruthless hunter.

The Kanima's master is revealed to be Matt Daehler (Stephen Lunsford), one of Jackson's high school friends. Matt uses the Kanima/Jackson to seek vengeance against the people who left him, with no swimming ability, to nearly drown years ago at a swim team pool party held by Isaac's swim coach father. Because of the connection between the Kanima and his master, Jackson discovers he now fears water. Held hostage by Matt at a local police station, Scott, Stiles, their parents, and Derek are able to escape, although Scott transforms for the first time in front of his mother, Melissa McCall (Melissa Ponzio), leaving her horrified.

Gerard drowns Matt and becomes the Kanima/Jackson's new master. Derek learns from Peter that the Kanima's weakness is the love interest of its human form, in this case Lydia. Meanwhile, Jackson is hospitalized whilst developing a new stage of the Kanima, whereby he ends up in the hands of his former friends. Meanwhile, Boyd and Erica try to flee from Derek for their own safety, but are captured and tortured by hunters. Realizing his father, Gerard, corrupted his daughter Allison, Chris Argent (JR Bourne) helps Scott and his allies stop the Kanima from evolving. Gerard tries to confront the group by forcing Derek to bite him and cure his cancer, but Scott reveals he switched his medication with mountain ash. Gerard's body rejects the bite and he quickly disappears. Before the Kanima/Jackson can kill Allison, Lydia reaches out to him and saves him with her love. He evolves in to a new werewolf, as the Kanima is now dead.

Feeling guilty over her grandfather and his influence over her, Allison breaks up with Scott but she promises to come back. While Erica and Boyd are leaving Beacon Hills, they encounter a pack of menacing Alphas. Peter and Derek reveal to Isaac that Derek was building a pack to combat the impending Alpha Pack and Peter knows that they have arrived.

Also appearing during the season are Dr. Deaton (Seth Gilliam), Adrian Harris (Adam Fristoe), Coach Bobby Finstock (Orny Adams), Sheriff Stilinski (Linden Ashby), Danny Mahealani (Keahu Kahuanui), Marin Morrell (Bianca Lawson) and Mr. Lahey (John Wesley Shipp).

Kali, Ennis, Ethan and Aiden make a brief appearance in the season finale, "Master Plan", as the members of the Alpha Pack that kidnapped Boyd and Erica. As of Season 3, they become recurring characters, with their leader Deucalion introduced in "Tattoo", the first episode. These characters are played by Gideon Emery (Deucalion), Brian Patrick Wade (Ennis), Felisha Terrell (Kali), Charlie Carver (Ethan) and Max Carver (Aiden).

Eight months after being imprisoned for driving his car into Cuddy's living room, House has five days before he is granted parole, to which he has become eligible due to space issues and relatively good behavior. He is faced with prison bullies, mainly their leader (Jude Ciccolella), who extorts him into paying them "twenty Vicodin" as "exit tax", and meets Jessica Adams (Odette Annable), a young prison doctor who becomes fascinated with his medical skills. When a fellow prisoner collapses due to mysterious symptoms, House races against the clock and the head prison doctor to find the cure. During his imprisonment period, House has not had any phone calls or visitors; as House explains, human contact is what brought him there to begin with. In the end, House cures the man, but not without punishment from the parole board.

Once a successful Hollywood screenwriter, Stan is now a depressive alcoholic who spends most of his time mooching about his house whilst pouring out his troubles to his drinking partner. The only thing that keeps him going is his love for his teenage daughter, Charlotte, but she despises him, believing him to be responsible for the accident in which her mother died. Stan's one hope is to patch things up with Charlotte.

In Padang in the early 20th century Dutch East Indies, Samsulbahri and Sitti Nurbaya–children of rich noblemen Sutan Mahmud Syah and Baginda Sulaiman–are teenage neighbours, classmates, and childhood friends. They begin to fall in love, but they are only able to admit it after Samsu tells Nurbaya that he will be going to Batavia (Jakarta) to study. After spending the afternoon at a nearby hillside, Samsu and Nurbaya kiss on her front porch. When they are caught by Nurbaya's father and the neighbours, Samsu is chased out of Padang and goes to Batavia.

Meanwhile, Datuk Meringgih, jealous of Sulaiman's wealth and worried about the business competition, plans to bankrupt him. Meringgih's men destroy Sulaiman's holdings, driving him to bankruptcy and forcing him to borrow money from Meringgih. When Meringgih tries to collect, Nurbaya offers to become his wife if he will forgive her father's debt; Datuk Meringgih accepts.

Writing to Samsu, Nurbaya tells him that they can never be together. However, after surviving Meringgih's increasingly violent outbursts, she runs away to Batavia to be with Samsu. They fall in love again. Upon receiving a letter regarding her father's death, Nurbaya hurries back to Padang, where she dies after unwittingly eating a lemang rice cake poisoned by Meringgih's men on his orders. Receiving news of her death by letter, Samsu seemingly commits suicide.

Ten years later, Meringgih leads an uprising against the Dutch colonial government to protest a recent tax increase. During the uprising, Samsu (now a soldier for the Dutch) meets Meringgih and kills him, but is mortally wounded himself. After meeting with his father and asking for forgiveness, he dies and is buried next to Nurbaya.

Unlike the previous three specials, ''A Very Pony Place'' features three different stories, each of them focusing on the new characters exclusively released in the special. These were: Lily Lightly, Storybelle, Star Flight, Heart Bright and lastly, Puzzlemint.

Come Back, Lily Lightly

The first story, ''Come Back, Lily Lightly'' focuses on the main heroine Lily Lightly. The story begins when Lily Lightly announces the event called the Night of the Thousand Lights. Part of the event is the Rainbow Lights party, in which each unicorn pony in Unicornia decorates the place with lights. After nighttime falls and the whole place is decorated with lights, Cheerilee gave Lily Lightly the title "Princess of All that Twinkles and Glows", but her horn starts to glow and then runs off, leaving some of the ponies confused. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie and Minty were going to Unicornia by balloon. Minty said she left the map at home and she doesn't need it. Back at Unicornia, Lily Lightly was embarrassed when everyone ran away from Unicornia after seeing her horn glow. Back at Pinkie Pie and Minty, both ponies were now getting lost through a sea of clouds while Minty said they need to see the bright lights of Unicornia to get there. Back on the ground, Brights Brightly and Rarity goes to search for Lily Lightly at the outskirts of Unicornia.

Two for the Sky

The second story, ''Two for the Sky'' focuses on Storybelle and her story about Star Flight and Heart Bright. Pinkie Pie, Minty and Sunny Daze all went to Storybelle's house to listen to one of her stories. Storybelle herself picked her favorite story, Two for the Sky, a story about two ponies who were so close that they were almost twins. As she explained the story, both of them play together, eat sundaes together and wished that they can gain wings so they can fly to the sky. Both of them did several attempts to fly, but ended not lifting up in the ground, until they asked the Breezies in Breezy Blossom on how they can fly. However, the Breezies answered that they can actually fly, but not knowing why or how. As both ponies returned to Ponyville to get some sleep, they both wished and wanted to dream they wanted to fly. As they woke up, they both gain wings and both flew to the sky, not expecting that flying is not easy as it looks.

Positively Pink

The third and final story, ''Positively Pink'' focuses on Pinkie Pie, Minty, and Puzzlemint. Minty looked at the Birthday Book and found out it's Pinkie Pie's birthday. Everyone hold up a meeting at Sweetberry's Sweet Shoppe and decided they plan a surprise party for Pinkie Pie by making everything pink. As Pinkie Pie enters the shop, everyone kept their mouths shut about the party and left the place. Feeling confused, Pinkie Pie asked Sweetberry what's going on, only answering that she needs to consult Puzzlemint to "Solve some kind of puzzle". As everyone in Ponyville prepares for her surprise party, Puzzlemint halts everyone on the preparations and goes on to distract Pinkie Pie so the preparations can continue.

Anchorwoman Seo Hye-rim (Go Hyun-jung), who gets fired while protesting about her husband's undeserved death, enters politics through the proposal of Kang Tae-san (Cha In-pyo), a member of the ruling party and a strong candidate for the next presidential elections. With the help of Ha Do-ya (Kwon Sang-woo) whom she's known since childhood, Seo becomes the first female president of South Korea. With political pressure and threats of potential impeachment from her rival Kang and his allies, Seo faces the crises and challenges of her term.

''Oceans'' presents details and facts about the journey of the ocean. The film begins on a beach and there are boys and one of them wonders what the ocean is. The scene cuts to the Galapagos where a clan of marine iguanas and horseshoe crabs wander.

Then at night a rocket takes off and surprises the two clans. Meanwhile, the rocket takes off to outer space. Then goes to the trench where the larvae of sea urchin and the crustacean egg lie. Then comes to a swarm of moon jellyfish.

Then at day a different type of jellyfish float along the current. Later at the coast of South Africa, a hungry mob of common dolphins, gannets, bronze whaler sharks, and brydes whales hunt sardines. After the feast, manta rays gobble down a few sardines. moments later a blanket octopus swims quietly along the current. Meanwhile, the sardines start making odd shapes. At a beach sea lions rest in the sun. In deeper water, a humpback whale and her calf start to flipper slap, spyhop, and breach. Meanwhile, the sea lions start hunting. the others on the beach watch sally lightfoot crabs crawl on the sand. The hunting sea lions are returning home, but some are eaten by a great white shark and a killer whale. In the deeper waters, a blue whale feasts on some krill. At twilight, birds are flying back to their nests. At night carnivores are out to hunt on the reef including the mantis shrimp who kills a crab in the movie. In Australia, a Spanish dancer comes out of its home. At day, bottlenose dolphins are leaping on the waves. Meanwhile, a dugong and green sea turtle are feasting on sea grass. On the beach, baby sea turtles have to make it to the ocean without being eaten by frigatebirds, which only one baby turtle survives. In the sea, sailfish are feasting on fish.

At a coral reef, creatures are minding their own business Beyond the reef a cuttlefish is eating crabs. After that, garden eels and razorfish act really smooth. After that, spider crabs start war. Meanwhile, humpback whales, blue whales, sunfish, blue sharks, sperm whales and whale sharks migrate. Then a bunch of spinner dolphins, yellowfin tuna, and manta rays swim for a long time. Far away, an Asian sheepshead wrasse is mating. Miles away, a sea otter is smashing clams. In Alaska, the humpback whales have made it to the feeding grounds. The scene cuts to netted sea animals including tuna, whale sharks, sailfish, sea turtles, and sunfish. Along the way the fishing boat has a hard time fighting the waves. Then a satellite shows the trash in the ocean. Underwater tons of trash is destroying a fur seal's home. The scene cuts to the 2 polar regions Arctic and Antarctica. Then, divers are discovering the ocean, and one of them swims with a great white shark. At the end, the narrator says we shouldn't ask what exactly is the ocean, we should ask what exactly are we.

''Angels'' is a trilogy. The three episodes featured in the films are: "Angel of Mine", "Daddy's Angel" and "Angel of Love". "Angel of Mine," directed by Gina Alajar, features a career woman forced to attend a child left by this problematic mother. "Daddy's Angel" follows the bitter father-and-son relationship between a (dying) ex-convict and this affectionate young boy who bore miserable stigmas of a brutal past. A young man is imprisoned for killing a close friend, who raped his wife on his wedding day. While in prison, his wife gets pregnant, giving birth to this angelic boy. The wife dies before his sentence is due. In "Angel of Love", Bianang, a frustrated musician, is caught in a tangle of family concerns. Orphaned by their mother and abandoned by their father. She is left to look after her two younger siblings and fend for their needs by finding her niche in the music industry. By some twist of fate, guised through Kerubina, her path crosses with Jude, a guy from a matriarchal clan of aristocrats who battles with repercussions of ending a heavily laden relationship.

The Grand Prince Suyang attempts to build an alliance with his brother King Munjong's trusted prime minister, Kim Jong-seo's family. He proposes a marriage between his eldest daughter Se-ryung and Jong-seo's son, Kim Seung-yoo. Learning of this, Se-ryung's curiosity regarding her prospective husband is piqued. On hearing that Kim Seung-yoo is going to take over as her cousin Princess Gyeonghye's's new tutor, she persuades her to swap places with her so that she can catch a glimpse of her intended. Her first impression is not favorable and she is convinced that he is an arrogant womanizer. Later, as she attempts to master her current obsession with riding a horse, her horse runs away with her and Seung-yoo arrives in the nick of time to rescue her from being thrown off a precipice.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong-seo rejects Suyang's proposal because he knows the Prince's aspirations regarding the throne and allies himself firmly with King Munjong. King Munjong is impressed with Seung-yoo as a capable teacher and sees merit in having him on his side as a son-in-law, who is strong enough to protect the Crown Prince. He announces that Seung-yoo has been chosen as the Prince Consort. Seung-yoo, who still believes Se-ryung is the Princess, is glad of the decision because of his growing feelings for her. Beginning to understand her passion to escape the confines of her cloistered life, he offers to teach her how to ride. Their blissful time together is cut short, by an unexpected attack by bandits sent by Suyang to assassinate Seung-yoo as revenge against Kim Jong-seo. Seung-yoo is injured and as Se-ryung risks her life to save him, the Chief Magistrate of the Capital's Police Bureau, Shin Myeon, chances to pass by and saves them. Shin Myeon also happens to be Seung-yoo's best friend, along with Jung Jong, whose noble family has fallen on harsh straits. Meanwhile, Seung-yoo and Se-ryung meet outside the palace again. Even though Shin Myeon senses his friend's growing admiration for Se-ryung, he too finds himself drawn to the brave and beautiful girl. His dilemma grows when Grand Prince Suyang offers Se-ryung's hand in marriage to him in the hope of building an alliance with his politician father.

Se-ryung learns that Seung-yoo is chosen as the candidate for Prince Consort and is devastated. Her cousin, Princess Gyeonghye understands the political import of marrying Seung-yoo and orders her not to meet Seung-yoo again, suspecting that the two are falling in love. Meanwhile, Seung-yoo and Se-ryung meet outside the palace again. However, they are tailed by Suyang's spies. Following their time together, Seung-yoo writes a letter to Se-ryung and sends it to the real Princess Gyeonghye understanding that they met despite her orders, is furious. At the next lesson, she locks up Se-ryung and takes her place, thereby revealing the deception to Seung-yoo. However she hides Se-ryung's identity from him by calling her a palace maid who took her place.

The letter discarded by Princess Gyeonghye falls into the hands of Suyang. Using the letter, he demands that Seung-yoo be disqualified as a candidate for Prince Consort, insinuating that he dishonored the Princess by meeting her outside the palace. When interrogated, Seung-yoo says he did not meet the Princess outside but hides Se-ryung's part in it to spare her danger. Learning of the danger to Seung-yoo's life, Se-ryung begs Princess Gyeonghye to intercede for Seung-yoo. Despite her intercession, the penalty for Seung-yoo's transgression is death. Suyang discovers Se-ryung when she secretly visits Seung-yoo in prison and is horrified to learn of their dalliance. Relieved that Seung-yoo does not know who she is, he agrees to save Seung-yoo if she never meets him again and never reveals her identity to him. Kim Jong-seo, desperate to save his son, approaches Suyang for help and agrees to pay the humiliating price of resigning his Vice Premiership. Seung-yoo's sentence is commuted to temporary exile. In place of Seung-yoo, Jung Jong is chosen as Prince Consort, bringing a drastic change in his fortunes. He is smitten with the Princess from the beginning; however, she detests him. Se-ryung's relationship with Gyeonghye is also strained, with the Princess blaming her cousin for all the misfortunes she has undergone.

King Munjong collapses on the day of his daughter's wedding and his health takes a turn for the worse. Seung-yoo is summoned back by his brother, in order to assist their father in safeguarding the interests of the king. Seung-yoo runs into Se-ryung on his return but coldly severs all ties with her. However, Se-ryung's concern for her cousin coupled with the fact that Jung Jong is Seung-yoo's friend, force the two to meet again. Both find it hard to repress their feelings and finally Seung-yoo declares his love for her. However, at exactly the same time, King Munjong dies. Suyang and his cronies arrive at the palace, jubilant that they can now control the Crown Prince. However, their plans are thwarted by Kim Jong-seo, who was reinstated by the dead king to protect his son from Suyang's machinations. Furious, Suyang vows to kill Kim Jong-seo.

As Se-ryung and Seung-yoo blissfully revel in their love, Suyang prepares to stage a coup against Kim Seung-yoo. Se-ryung stumbles on the plot too late and is foiled in her attempts to warn Seung-yoo and his family by her parents. Supported by Shin Myeon, Suyang ruthlessly murders his opponents, including Seung-yoo's father and brother. Shin Myeon, believing that Seung-yoo is dead, stops the other men from beheading him claiming he wishes to do it himself. As he is about to bury him, Shin Myeon realizes that Seung-yoo is (barely) alive and attempts to kill him but fails. He turns around and leaves, giving Seung-yoo the chance to escape with his life.

Seung-yoo wakes up and walks into the town to find that his father has been beheaded. Reeling from his best friend's betrayal, he tries to kill Suyang, only to be shocked to discover that Se-ryung is his daughter. Seung-yoo is sentenced to be killed. However, a last minute intercession by the Crown Prince saves his life and he is exiled to Kanghwa Island, along with the rest of Suyang's enemies. When Se-ryung visits him in prison on the eve of his exile, his fury gets the better of him and he nearly chokes her to death. Se-ryung admits her identity and begs him to survive, even if it is just so that he can kill her.

En route Kanghwa Island, the ship is sunk to ensure that none of Suyang's enemies survive. However, aided by a fellow prisoner, Jo Seok-joo, Seung-yoo manages to escape and return. Taking refuge at the gisaeng house Bing Og Gwan, owned by Seok-joo, Seung-yoo plots his revenge. Meanwhile, Se-ryung learns that Seung-yoo's ship sank. Despite her mourning, her parents fix the date of her wedding with Shin Myeon.

In an attempt to bait Suyang, he kidnaps Se-ryung on the day of her wedding. He is mercilessly cruel to her, and reveals her father's part in the sinking of the ship. Suyang shows up to claim his beloved daughter but he survives Seung-yoo's arrow because of his armor. Meanwhile, Shin Myeon shoots an arrow at Seung-yoo, which is intercepted by Se-ryung who takes the brunt of it. Shaken by her sacrifice on his behalf, Seung-yoo is shell shocked and he escapes only because Seok-joo and his friend Noh-gyul save him by forcibly dragging him away from her prone body.

Se-ryung is taken home by her father and Shin Myeon is suspicious because she took the arrow on behalf of her kidnapper. However, the encounter with Seung-yoo and the kidnapping changes Se-ryung's attitude towards her father and Shin Myeon, now that she is aware of the extent to which they will go for power. Seung-yoo reveals that he is alive to Jung Jong and he is relieved to have an ally in the fight against Suyang. Foiled in his attempt to kill Suyang, Seung-yoo starts assassinating those who were privy to his family's murder. He leaves behind the alias of his deceased general father, Great Tiger, at each site to stir fear among his enemies. Se-ryung's attempts to atone for her father's atrocities gradually melts Seung-yoo's anger, especially when he learns that she saved his sister-in-law and niece's lives in the reprisal against the members of the rebel nobles' families. Grand Prince Suyang forces King Danjong to abdicate, and becomes crowned King Sejo of Joseon. Se-ryung refuses to be crowned Princess and continues to bravely defy her father.

Seung-yoo gives up his vigilante assassinations at the behest of his old teacher, who urges him to join the larger cause of dethroning Sejo and restoring Danjong. Se-ryung inadvertently learns of the plot and is caught in a terrible dilemma. Saving her father comes at the cost of her love and vice versa. However, the rebellion which was led by Six Scholars of the Hall of Worthies, including Seung-yoo's teacher fails, leading to their deaths and the exile of Princess Gyeonghye and her husband Jung Jong.

Seung-yoo manages to escape, but Shin Myeon discovers his identity. King Sejo learns that Seung-yoo is alive and that Se-ryung may have had knowledge of the plot. The rift between father and daughter grows. Se-ryung in a symbolic move, cuts her hair and renounces her ties to her father. When she takes refuge in a temple after leaving the palace, Seung-yoo takes her with him to Bing Og Gwan. However, when Shin Myeon and his guards nearly tear apart the place searching for her, she surrenders herself up to them. In his rage, King Sejo sentences her to become a slave of Shin Myeon. However, Seung-yoo and his friends rescue her in the nick of time. Shin Myeon refuses to give up his quest to possess Se-ryung and follows the pair to Princess Gyeonghye and Jung Jong's place of exile. In the course of Jung Jong protecting the pair, Shin Myeon comes to learn that Jung Jong is plotting yet another rebellion. He is arrested and executed, leaving behind a devastated and pregnant Gyeonghye.

Meanwhile, in addition to their grief over the loss of Jung Jong, the lovers face more obstacles. The rebel leaders with whom Seung-yoo continues the plan for the attack refuse to accept her, because of her link to King Sejo. Seung-yoo and Se-ryung pledge their love as husband and wife and agree to separate till the battle is over. However, when Shin Myeon plans to use Se-ryung as bait to lure Seung-yoo, she escapes and warns her husband. In the battle that follows, Shin Myeon is killed and Seung-yoo's side wins. Seung-yoo moves forward with his plan to assassinate the king and nearly succeeds, but for a momentary distraction caused by learning of Se-ryung's pregnancy. Seung-yoo is sent to jail, and Se-ryung goes to see him, wanting her baby to at least know who his or her father is. Seung-yoo nearly dies and Se-ryung accepts her fate. However, Se-ryung's mother orchestrates their escape.

Years later Seung-yoo has become blind after his brush with death. However, both of them now have a lovely daughter and are happy, even if they are poor. In the backdrop of their bliss, we see an aged King Sejo who has let go of his bitterness and who watches his daughter's happiness in secret.

In a 1988 prologue, David Wozniak is at a Quebec sperm bank making a donation. Twenty-three years later, in 2011, he is a hapless deliveryman for his family's butcher shop, pursued by thugs to whom he owes $80,000. His girlfriend Valérie is pregnant with his child. One day, David returns from work to find a lawyer from the sperm bank who tells him he has fathered 533 children. Of those, 142 have joined a class action lawsuit to force the fertility clinic to reveal the identity of "Starbuck", the alias he used as a sperm donor.

David's friend and lawyer represents him as he tries to keep the records sealed. He provides David with profiles of each party to the lawsuit: David tracks down several of them, finding moments for providing help or encouragement. One is a severely disabled young man he visits in an institution. At one point, tailing one of them, David finds himself at a meeting of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against him. David decides to identify himself, but after the thugs assault his father, he agrees with his lawyer to sue the sperm bank for damages. He wins the lawsuit, receives $200,000, and keeps his identity secret.

David has regrets, but his lawyer advises him that revealing his identity would require him to return the money he won from the lawsuit. After his father gives him his share of the family business so he can pay off his debt, David sends an e-mail identifying himself to the media. He goes to Valerie's house as she is going into premature labour. At the hospital, his baby is born, he proposes to Valerie, and many of the children show up to see him.

Penniless socialite orphan Lily Bart is living with her wealthy aunt who insists that she take to herself a rich husband. Balking at this idea and remaining faithful to her impecunious sweetheart Lawrence Selden (Henry Kolker), Lily is desirous of maintaining her luxurious lifestyle: she accepts the financial "favors" of some married millionaires but refuses to surrender her virtue in return – until she discovers that her saintly Selden has been fooling around with another man's wife.

In the original novel, Lily Bart dies after taking poison to commit suicide; however, in the film, the ending remained open as Selden's cousin comes to rescue her after she poisoned herself, and the film ended here, without further explanation.

The serial was inspired by Peyami Safa's novel Canan, published in 1925. This TV series broadly outlines the hard life of a woman overwhelmed by vicissitudes encountered in the past.

At an early age, Canan was taken forcibly from her mother's arms by Renknaz Karahan, a conceited and vain woman. Canan was adopted into the Karahan family in order to keep the company of Renknaz's heartsick daughter. During her time at the Karahan mansion, she went through repulsive events, such as the rape that was witnessed by her best friend Bedia. Bedia remained silent, never giving away the name of Canan's rapist. The rape left Canan pregnant and subsequently she was banished from the Karahan mansion by Renknaz. In order to preserve the family honor Renkaz made Canan marry a seedy man, Kazim, who abused Canan constantly. Kazim, her husband lied to her that her daughter was stillborn when in fact the little girl was left in an orphanage by Renknaz Karahan. After this Canan left her evil husband which forced her to live on the streets again. There She met Mahir, an amiable teenager, who helped her out for several months. But soon he got a job in France where he also managed to find a babysitting job for Canan.

Several years later Canan, now a very wealthy woman, returns set on revenge. Once Canan discovers that her daughter is alive things take an unexpected turn. Canan gives up her plans of revenge and makes every effort to find her daughter. She is determined to retrieve affection, friends and dignity lost in her obscure past. It turns out that Elif, Selim's adopted daughter is Canan's lost daughter. Selim was the great love of Canan's life and he was her boyfriend at the time of the rape. Canan tries to approach Elif but her efforts are stonewalled by Elif due to the lies told by Renkaz Karahan.

Karahan family is the subject of a series of misfortunes which are all being blamed on Canan. Blinded by vengeance and malice, Abdullah and Karahan spouses plan to get rid of Canan. But events take an inescapable turn, Canan being ravished by ruffians paid by Abdullah.

The documentary film was shot at the preamble to the football international match of June 30, 2000, between Tibet and Greenland. For the Tibetans in exile this was the first international match after many decades since the former national team had broken up.

The film starts from the moment of the first training sessions in Dharamsala in northern India and ends with the last whistle of the match in Copenhagen, Denmark. The match was won by Greenland with 4–1.

The Tibetan Buddhist background of the players is notable in the game mentality of the players who don't show any aggression. This invokes scenes of the trainer. He believes in discipline, hard-working and a strong winners mentality.

Frances Robinson, a fifteen-year-old daydreamer, lives in Dayton, a small town in Tennessee. When the summer starts, she wants only to play tennis and drink Coke. However, things bounce out of normal range when her father, the school board chairman, arrests local teacher (and Frances' friend and love interest) John Scopes for teaching Charles Darwin's evolution theory in class, in an effort to attract publicity to the town. Scopes is put on trial. Frances takes Scopes' side and defies her father, even though the case is not completely genuine.

Notable people such as politician William Jennings Bryan (prosecutor of Scopes), lawyer Clarence Darrow (defender of Scopes), and journalist H. L. Mencken arrive in Dayton, along with a horde of reporters, and drama stirs.

The cartoon opens with an introduction of Petunia Pig; Petunia is shown as nervous, tripping on her lines and being unable to pronounce them correctly while on stage, leading an off-screen announcer (voiced by Alan Reed) to quietly tell her not to get excited. This causes her to go into an explosive rant and then the curtain closes on her and the main part of the cartoon starts.

Porky is shown buying some flowers, candy, and then eventually a diamond ring. He proceeds to go over to Petunia's house and knock on the door, then Petunia goes to answer the door with her spoiled dog, Fluffnums. When she sees Porky, she is disgusted to see him so she disdainfully tells him to go away. This causes him to leave crying out of sadness and he then walks away, but Fluffnums sees the candy Porky has and alerts her to this fact.

Petunia proceeds to run out after Porky and take him into her house, where she rips open the candy container and starts eating the candy. Porky tries to help himself to the candy several times but is constantly harassed by Fluffnums, who snarls and growls at him each time he tries to reach for the candy box. Porky finally gets a piece of candy, winks at the audience, and then finds out that Fluffnums ate it. He eventually tries to propose to Petunia, but as he is starting to do so, Fluffnums pulls a mean-spirited trick on Porky by pulling the rug out from under him. The fickle and selfish Petunia laughs at him, causing Porky to leave the house and walk off in shame. He proceeds to write a suicide note and tries to hang himself from a tree, but the branch the rope is on snaps due to Porky's weight, knocking him out and causing him to go into a dreamlike state.

Porky dreams that he is at a church marrying Petunia. After the ceremony, they head off on their honeymoon and the couple get together there as a message "Time... munches on!" is displayed on screen, and sounds of Petunia eating candy can be heard. The screen then shows Porky having to do all the housework while Petunia is essentially a couch potato; she has become fat and lazy, and Fluffnums has done the same thing. Eventually, Porky's kids (all of whom are named "Porky Pig Jr.") are woken up when a stack of dishes accidentally fall over on him from the kitchen counter. He tries to put them back to sleep after Petunia yells at him to "shut those kids up". He meekly tells her he is trying his best to do so, but Petunia yells at him for back-talking her and she beats him over the head repeatedly with a rolling pin while the kids cheer her on.

Porky awakes from the dream by Petunia gently brushing him and accepting his proposal. When he remembers Petunia's horrid treatment of him in his dream and fears what his future could hold for him if he marries her, he proceeds to take his gifts and runs off. He returns to punish Fluffnums for his ill behavior toward him by kicking him in the rear, making the dog yelp in pain while Porky runs off again, leaving a dazed and confused Petunia behind.

Montine McLeod (Melissa Leo) is a flight attendant who gets stuck with nine-year-old Pakistani-American Omar Hassan (Anthony Keyvan) after their flight from New York City to Los Angeles gets grounded in Longview, Texas on the morning of 11 September 2001. Omar is an unaccompanied minor; in the chaos that ensues, Montine becomes his temporary guardian. Montine later discovers that Omar's father works in the World Trade Center. She decides to drive the boy home after he informs her his father is at home waiting for him in New York. On the journey, they begin to bond and learn more about each other. Montine makes a stop on the way to New York as she receives a call that her mother is dying. Upon arriving at her mother's house, she finds her mother already dead. After dealing with her mother's death, she continues on the road to take Omar home. When they get there, they learn Omar's father has not been home in the two days since the destruction of the Twin Towers. Later that night, Montine receives a call from her employer and is forced to bring Omar with her. At the ensuing meeting, Montine is terminated for the unauthorized trip; Omar is taken from her and given to his school head master for the night before leaving for a new school the following day (the reason he was on the original flight). The day Omar is set to leave for Los Angeles, he locks himself in the bathroom and refuses to come out. Montine is asked to come; she coaxes Omar out of the bathroom and she walks him to his flight to Los Angeles.

The scene starts with many bulls, romping together and butting their heads, however, Ferdinand is different; all he wants to do all day is go under a shady cork tree and smell the flowers. One day, his mother notices that he is not playing with the other bulls and asks him why. He responds, ‘All I want to do is to sit and smell the flowers!’ His mother is very understanding.

Ferdinand grows over the years, eventually getting to be the largest and strongest of the group. The other bulls grow up wanting to accomplish one goal in life; to be in the bullfights in Madrid, Spain, but not Ferdinand. One day, five strange-looking men show up to see the bulls. When the bulls notice them, they fight as rough as possible, hoping to get picked. Ferdinand doesn’t engage and continues to smell the flowers. When he goes to sit, he doesn’t realize there is a bumblebee right underneath him. The pain of the bee's sting makes him go on a crazy rampage, knock the other bulls out, and eventually tear down a tree. The five men cheer as they take Ferdinand to Madrid.

There is a lot of excitement when the day of the bullfight comes. On posters, they call him Ferdinand the Fierce. The event starts and out into the ring comes banderilleros, picadors and the matador who is being cheered on. As the matador bows, a woman in the audience throws him a bouquet of flowers which land in his hand. Finally, the moment comes where Ferdinand comes out and he wonders what is he doing there. The banderilleros and picadors are afraid and hide, but the matador gets scared stiff because Ferdinand is so big and strong. Ferdinand looks and sees the bouquet of flowers, walking over and scaring the matador away, but just starts smelling them. The matador becomes very angry at Ferdinand for not charging at him. But Ferdinand is not interested in fighting; he is only interested in smelling the beautiful flowers. Eventually, he is led out of the arena and taken back home where he continues to sit under the cork tree and smell the flowers.

The story surrounds four men who are cursed by a voodoo priest for stealing a sacred idol from his temple. Soon after being surrounded, evil 'doll' people begin to kill their family members.

The story of ''Trese'' fuses Philippine horror mythology with dark, graphic storytelling and follows Alexandra Trese, a mysterious detective who deals with crimes of supernatural origin mainly occurring in the capital region of the Philippines.

Because of her specialization in the supernatural, Alexandra is often called when the police cannot handle paranormal crimes, by Captain Guerrero, a man who prefers to lean on her knowledge and specialized skills. Alexandra is supported by two mysterious and magical creatures with uncertain powers known as the Kambal and together, they protect the streets of Manila from various creatures of Filipino folklore.

Volume 3 explores Trese's past, when, at 15-years old, she joins her father Anton on her first case. The origins of the Kambal are also revealed in later issues.

''Trese'' was originally planned for 13 chapters or ''cases''. Volumes 1 and 2 comprise self-contained chapters (Cases #1 - #8) and introduce the paranormal world of Manila. Most cases are standalone, with the exception of the third issue, ''Mass Murders,'' where Cases #9 - #13 are related and use different cues from previous books. Beginning with Volume 5, the ''komik'' series takes on a more serialized progression while continuing to incorporate aspects of episodic storytelling in each issue.

''Trese'''s plot, world-building, and characters have garnered comparisons with American comics such as ''Hellblazer'' and ''Planetary,'' while writer Budjette Tan cited the former, as well as Batman, X-Files, CSI and Constantine as some of the main inspirations going into the creation of ''Trese''.

Tan also named the anime film ''Ghost in the Shell'' as a major source of inspiration for ''Trese''.

''When a big fiery dog razes a village, the bravo company discovers the paranormal is involved. Trese, the Kambal, and a former agent help, but not without a huge sacrifice that would change their lives.''

Siffredi, a prominent gangster in 1930s Marseille, learns that the murder of his associate and closest friend Capella was ordered by a new arrival in the city, Volpone. In revenge, he kills Volpone's brother by throwing him from a moving train. A gang war ensues. Volpone's men win, capturing Siffredi and putting his mistress Lola in a brothel. Siffredi is humiliated by the gang by turning him into an alcoholic wreck who is shut up in a psychiatric hospital. Rescued by the only other survivor of the gang, he escapes by boat to Italy. Left supreme in Marseille, Volpone is backed by the government of Nazi Germany and has the police in his pocket.

Three years later, Siffredi has recovered his health, made some money and assembled a new gang. Returning to Marseille, they free Lola from the brothel and in a new war eliminate most of Volpone's men. Capturing his right-hand man together with the police commissioner who kowtows to him, Siffredi makes the two roaring drunk and calls in journalists to publicise the shameful spectacle. A new police commissioner decides to let Siffredi finish the job. When Volpone tries to flee to Germany, Siffredi captures him on the train and stuffs him into the firebox of the locomotive. Not wanting to start again in Marseille, with Lola and his gang he then takes a ship for the United States.

Mitch, a rookie LA cop is having nightmares and meets Keiko a girl he had believed to be a figment of his dream. An irresistible Japanese naïf and runaway daughter of a Yakuza boss, Keiko reveals surprising skills that save the day. Against all odds, together they ace Mitch's jaded sergeant Diesel, and bring down the erudite though brutal Kazimir, a disillusioned Russian mobster.

Based on the true story of the death of Joan Robinson Hill, this film tells of a plastic surgeon who was suspected of causing the death of his first wife, the daughter of a wealthy member of Houston society. The circumstances of her death - which was never solved - are clouded by a suspiciously hasty embalming and a hurried burial. The doctor then marries his mistress. In spite of two autopsies showing that his daughter died of natural causes, Ash Robinson, convinced that his daughter was murdered, sets out single-handedly to find out the true cause of her death, determined to see that the doctor is punished.

The film proceeds as the flashback of an ex-convict Harilal narrated to a man he meets at a bus stop on a rainy night. It is revealed that Harilal (whose nickname is Lalu) is a poor young man who works for the local sand mafia as a driver. He is friends with Kurudi, whose real name is Nelson Mandela PP. One day while at work, Kurudi draws Lalu to a fight leaving the sand smugglers without a driver that causes them to get caught by the police. Now jobless, Lalu and Kurudi join the group of Chaver Vavachan, who is a financier, and take up the job of retrieving vehicles for non-repayment of loans.

Chaver Vavachan is the younger brother of a notorious former goon 'Chaver Antony' who dies due to a cracker burst by a young lad. Vavachan swears revenge and, after a wait of long 25 years, Vavachan finds the lad (who is now a man) at a hospital and tries to kill him by taking off his oxygen support. Just then, a nurse enters and tries to prevent vavachan from doing it, but she is pushed out. She tries to enter again, but Lalu blocks the way. Angered, the nurse slaps him. Next, she is shown lying on a stretcher, unconscious and having three red lines on her cheek, which reveals that Lalu had given her a tight slap in return. Vavachan completes his revenge by bursting crackers on that man. But unfortunately, he killed one of the henchmen of Vishnubuddhan, an influential smuggler. As revenge, Vishnubuddhan kills Vavachan. Vishnubuddhan's henchmen try to kill Vavachan's men (including Lalu and Kurudi). Lalu and his friends come to know about Vavachan's death and try to flee, but Lalu fears Vishnubuddhan's henchmen might come to his house and harm his mother. So, he leaves his mother at his uncle Janardhan's house. He lies to his mom and uncle that he is the manager at Sastha finance. Janardhan makes Lalu meet the latter's cousin Geetu or Geetanjali, who was the nurse he had slapped earlier that day. He threatens her not to reaveal anything about the hospital incident to his mother. Lalu and Kurudi leave and reach a spot where they meet their friends, but they are confronted by Vishnubuddhan's henchmen, who attacks them. Lalu fights against them. Impressed by his courage, Vishnubuddhan takes Lalu into his gang. During one of Vishnubuddhan's deals, Lalu is betrayed by Vikadan, one of his friends and Vishnubuddhan mistakes Lalu for making away with the goods. Vishnubuddhan's son and friends severely thrash Lalu. When he is admitted in a hospital by his friends, one of his friends receives a call from Sachi, one of Buchan's henchmen and a constable of police. He is forced to move away. After riding far long, he and his friends reaches in his another friend Sethu's house. There he lives with his friends by owning a tea shop. On the next day, his friend Kurudi, who got a job as a taxi driver, comes wired differently than before. He says to others that he met with Bhuddhan's son and beaten him and also that all are his, including his phone. They receive a call from Bhuddhan thinking that it is his son itself and says a load is coming on his way. From here, Lalu and his friends start to fight against Bhudhan. In between, Lalu proposes to Geetu, but she denies it, saying that she cannot fall in love with a goon. But Lalu's uncle was planning to have Geetu married to Lalu. Finally, Geetu accepts his proposal. Lalu, however, returns as a smuggler in his own right and starts overshadowing Vishnubuddhan. Angered by this, Vishnubuddhan kills Kurudi, and Lalu avenges his friend's death by killing Vishnubuddhan and taking over his business. One day, his friend Sachi comes to meet him and tells Lalu to meet the new Commissioner of Police. When Lalu sees him, he learns that Sachi is the Commissioner of Police Sachin R. Menon. Eventually, he is jailed.

Lalu loses everything except his mother, who still had faith and love on him. Geetu married some other man. He also lost his business. Back in the present, as Lalu finishes his narration, he says that he was released that day and was returning home. At that time, he sees a suspicious car parked nearby. Realising it is a trap, Lalu becomes alert, but the man to whom Lalu had just narrated his story shoots him. Before leaving, the man reveals that he was actually sent by Vishnubuddhan's son to kill Lalu. The final scene shows Lalu lying badly wounded, but his hand moves slightly, revealing that his chapter is not yet over.

The novel describes the historic period in the Balkans from the beginning of World War I in 1914, to the end of World War II in 1945 through the lives and destinies of the Saloms, a Sephardic Jewish family from Sarajevo. The leading characters are the five courageous Salom sisters whose struggle to fulfil personal desires and aspirations run contrary to the strict conventions of the multicultural and religious societies — Bosnian Jew, Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic — of the time, living side by side in the small town of Sarajevo.

Allen Meneric (Nick Stahl) is sent to a hospital for the criminally insane to be evaluated after he brutally murders his girlfriend’s alleged rapist. He very quickly becomes surrounded by evil psychopaths, people with seemingly mild personality disorders, sarcastic guards and indifferent doctors.

In a courtyard Allen has a chance meeting with Ben (Pruitt Taylor Vince). Ben's outgoing pleasant nature helps to initiate a friendship with Allen who is more inclined to keep to himself. Ben's state of mind, however, fluctuates and leads to endless droning, short-term memory loss, and occasional catatonic episodes as the film progresses.

Ben introduces Allen to Carl Tarses (Dash Mihok) who strikes fear into everyone he meets. He has deeply rooted emotional problems from parental abuse in his childhood. Terrorizing people gives Carl a sinister form of satisfaction. Things erupt between Carl and Allen after Carl describes some of his prior heinous acts to him.

Allen's good behavior gets him transferred to a minimum security section of the hospital where low risk males and females are able to interact. There he meets Mia (Olivia Wilde) who is both beautiful and bipolar. Mia and Allen instantly fall for each other and their budding romance causes them to smile and laugh for the first time. In a tragic twist of fate, Allen and Mia's private encounter, arranged by Mrs. Standings (Joanne Baron), a sincere and caring staff member, is violently interrupted by Tarses as he attempts to escape from the hospital.

Recently graduated journalist Jeff Flavin gets a scholarship of six months work for ''The Enquirer''.

Upon his arrival to the paper, Jeff gets the most renowned reporter, Stuart Woodrow, as a mentor. The editor, Vic Archer, hopes this will jumpstart the old man's spark and steer him back on the road to success where he used to be.

However, the result of the pairing-up is that Jeff gets a very harsh treatment during his first time at the paper. Stu is reporting on notorious racketeer Harry "Face" Houseman, who many claim have been indicted just because the district attorney, Hardin S. Kelly, wants to be re-elected.

Everything goes wrong with the cooperation between the old and young reporters. Jeff manages to make Stu late for a date with his fiancé Barbara Shaw, who is in fact Kelly's secretary. Stu gets drunk and scolds Jeff, but when Stu is too hungover cover the story about Face escaping prison, Jeff steps in and does the job.

Jeff starts his own investigation of the case, and becomes witness to murder when Face is shot down in cold blood in his sister's apartment. He reports everything in Stu's name, and the old reporter becomes very grateful. Stu starts caring about Jeff's future career, and is determined to get him out of newspaper reporting, since he deems it unsuitable for a decent man like Jeff.

Stu tricks Jeff to cover a fake story, and the editor is furious when he sees the result, and makes him read funny strips on radio instead of serious reporting. But when Jeff visits the court to meet one of his young listeners, he happens to watch the trial against Face's murderer, Carlos Marquez.

Since Jeff speaks Spanish he discovers that the interpreter translates the accused man's words wrong, saying that Carlos confesses to the murder although he doesn't. When Carlos is convicted of the murder, Jeff tries to correct the wrongdoing by telling his editor about it. No one takes him seriously because of the fake story he reported previously, but eventually Stu agrees to help him look into the matter.

Stu, Barbara and Jeff sneaks into the district attorney's office to look for clues. They find evidence that Kelly is corrupt and has been taking bribes for years. Together they go on to find a witness who can reveal Kelly's involvement in Face's murder and the false conviction of Carlos. When Kelly is arrested, Carlos is released. Jeff continues working as a reporter and also serves as the best man on Stu and Barbara's wedding.

A young lawyer has problems with a case that he's been working on for over a year. The district attorney's niece helps him by first blackmailing, then plotting the murder of the D.A., while having a sexual relationship with the young lawyer, who eventually discovers the truth about her.

High school senior Carson Phillips is struck and killed by lightning. The film is a flashback of recent events of his life. Carson has plans to go to Northwestern University to become an editor for ''The New Yorker'', but has been unsuccessful in making the dreams happen.

During a writer's club meeting, Malerie Baggs asks Carson for advice about her writing. Carson says that she cannot find the ideas, the ideas have to find her. He goes to a student council meeting run by head cheerleader Claire Matthews . Everyone in student council ignores him because of his objections to their ideas. As Carson's mother Sheryl is picking up prescriptions, she makes small talk with the new pharmacist April Adams, who is pregnant and Carson's future step mother. Carson also visits his grandmother, but she does not know who he is due to Alzheimer's disease.

As Carson is finishing up the school paper at night, he catches wealthy student Nicholas Forbes and the drama club president Scott Thomas kissing. Nicholas begs Carson not to tell anyone of his homosexuality. Carson agrees on the condition that they will contribute to the paper until they both graduate.

Carson's father, Neal, and April visit a lawyer to straighten out legal issues. April, who is unaware about Carson or Sheryl, storms out when she learns Neal is still legally married and has a child.

Carson's guidance counselor informs him that to improve his chances of getting into Northwestern, he needs to submit to a literary magazine. He gets permission to start the magazine from his principal . He announces at a school assembly that all entries will be taken, but later finds the submission box filled with nothing but trash. When Malerie suggests that others will join because Carson convinced Scott and Nicholas to write for the school paper, Carson tells her the real reason behind their participation. She reveals that she caught Claire having sex with Coach Walker, who is the brother of her boyfriend, Justin. Malerie says that everyone in their school probably has an embarrassing secret that they would not want exposed.

Sheryl meets April filling a prescription. April recognizes Carson's name on the anti-depressant prescription. She goes home to Neal and demands to meet his son. During the homecoming parade, Carson is forced to pull the writer's club float after the cheerleaders take the car he was assigned. Feeling more humiliated, Carson blackmails several of his peers into writing for his literary magazine. Together, he and Malerie blackmail fellow school paper members Dwayne, yearbook president Remy Baker, Vicki, and a supposed foreign exchange student Emilio (Roberto Aguire).

During a meeting with the other students and Coach Walker, Carson extorts agreements that everyone must offer something to put in the magazine if they want their secrets to stay quiet. Carson also tells Claire and Coach Walker that they must have each cheerleader and football player submit something, as a way to make the issue more popular among the student body.

After school, Carson gets a call from Neal, who tells him about April and the baby. He wants them to get together soon. During dinner with Neal and April, Carson realizes that his father is trying to sound like he has been more present in Carson's life, which quickly dissolves into an argument. Carson leaves in anger. During a student council meeting with the principal, Carson opposes a ban on clothing logos. As punishment, the principal revokes all off-campus privileges for students.

During another encounter, Sheryl tells April that she gave her husband everything, and was left with nothing. She says that she was just like April and had a child to keep him, but it didn't work. Carson completes the literary magazine, but it fails. Carson learns that he was accepted into Northwestern, but he never confirmed his admission. He has to reapply. Carson assumes his letter was lost in the mail, but Sheryl admits she threw away his acceptance letter to protect him from the reality that his dreams will never come true.

While Carson and Malerie pack up the unread literary magazines, Carson asks her why she likes to film everything. Malerie tells him about her beliefs about the present being the most important thing, not the past. As Malerie is leaving, she asks Carson if they are friends. He says they are best friends. Carson decides that there is one story left to write; his own. He explains how he realized, despite everything he went through, he did get other students to write for the literary magazine. Now he is truly happy. He leaves, going outside as thunder starts.

It takes over three days for people to find Carson's body. Many people, including the principal and the students who hated him, come to the funeral. It is shown that Carson did leave an impression on everyone he knew. Malerie takes over as president of the writers' club, while Sheryl visits her mother in assisted care.

The musical takes place in Yalta, Ukraine, during the Yalta Conference, while Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Franklin Roosevelt were dividing the world. Three valets have arrived to Yalta with them: the Russian, Griša; the American, Larry; and the British, Stanley. They were in charge of guarding and airing out of laundry for the Big Three.

The valets are all placed in the old Aramovski villa, in which the housekeeper Nina Filipovna takes care that everybody lives in friendship and unity. They, too, start to discuss the dividing of the world, and maybe they would succeed if there wasn't for the "Green Meadow", a small piece of land in the Antarctic of which the Big Three are completely oblivious.

In the meantime, the generals and delegates attending the conference start to notice strange things on the great map of the world located in the recreation room. A mysterious green spot is forming in the Antarctic. All the generals and delegates become upset.

There is a silent war among the valets. They keep getting into conflicts over everything. Nina tries to be the mediator of the group. She splits everything to three equal parts, even a branch they use to dry their clothes. But, open conflict develops among the valets because of that branch. Griša, unbeknownst to the others, starts hanging his clothes all over the whole branch. The others catch him red-handed and a big fight ensues. There is a danger that all of the valets will leave the villa. So, Nina intervenes. She decides to be gentle to each and every one of them. However, it is discovered that she is gentle only with Larry and Stanley. Griša is infuriated. He was betrayed. Open conflict ensues among the valets. A duel.

While they are fighting, a bomb, which is located in the garden of the villa, activates. It starts to spin out of control, begins to smoke and make strange noises. Everybody panics and escapes before it explodes.

Meanwhile, the green spot on the map keeps growing. The generals manage to find out that Nina Filipovna knows something more about that spot. Agents act at once, and arrest Nina. They question her, but she doesn't say anything.

The day of departure comes. Valets are packing. The Aramovski villa is damaged in the bomb explosion, and all of the valets wear bandages.

The agents and generals wish to know everything about the "Green Meadow". Valets don't say a thing. Then Nina is brought in the room with her hands tied behind her back. Out of fear for Nina, valets agree that they are ready to say everything about the "Green Meadow", under the condition that Nina is let go. The generals persuade all of them that they have no intentions of dividing the "Green Meadow". They just wanted to know if there was grass, flowers or butterflies there. When they are told that there was all of those things there and more, the generals are thrilled that there is a piece of land in the world which belongs to no-one and which won't be divided.

Nina is released. She and the valets make a deal that all of them will go to the "Green Meadow" together some day. And who knows, maybe the whole world will become a green meadow some day.

The musical ends with all of the participants singing the song "Neka cijeli ovaj svijet" ("Let This Whole World").

It is closing time at an animation studio and all the staff members are calling it a day. Meanwhile, an animator chooses to carry on with his work while a custodian keeps on watch. In his drawing, he sketches a dungeon scene where Beans the Cat encounters a goblin. Weary for working several hours continuously, the animator decides to take a little snooze. Before ending the session, he draws a steel barricade between the two characters to prevent the goblin from reaching Beans. Suddenly, the goblin comes to life and pulls him into the drawing. The goblin carries the animator away, heading somewhere beyond the scene.

Shocked and terrified, the animator tries in vain to break out of the goblin's grasp. He is then brought into a mystic chamber where painted portraits of various villains are displayed on the walls. The villains happened to be the animator's creations as well as those of his colleagues. They too come to life and emerge from their illustrations. As revenge for how he and other cartoonists made them get subdued in the end of each film, the villains give the animator a pencil and force him to draw a deep pit in the floor where they toss him inside. Upon falling in, the animator holds onto a branch, trying to avoid being devoured by the crocodile at the bottom.

Back at the scene still being worked on, Beans still stands behind the barricade, boredly waiting for his artist to come back. Just then, Little Kitty comes to him, offering a lunchbox. Beans is expecting food but is a little surprised to find a saw in the bread. He uses it to cut his way out of the metal fence. Finally freeing himself, he goes around to find his animator.

In no time, Beans finds the chamber where his animator is being tormented. To intervene, he hurls a boot at the goblin, luring the villains away as they try to capture him. Beans manages to lose them somehow when he returns to the place to rescue the troubled man. The animator then receives a pencil from Beans and draws a ladder to climb out the pit. When the villains return, Beans squirts grease from a grease gun between the room's entrance and the pit. The villains slide on the grease mess and fall into the hole, except for the goblin, who attempts to escape from the hole, but is punched by the angry animator into it. To vanquish them for good, the animator removes the hole with an eraser. Beans and the animator shake hands for a work well done.

It turns out that what the animator went through was merely a dream, as he is awaken by the custodian. To his relief, he finds the drawing on his desk unchanged. Not wanting to recall his experience, the animator erases the goblin and the steel barricade, leaving only Beans in the picture. As a compliment to his little friend, he draws a platter with gelatin on top for Beans to eat.

In the pre-credits sequence, PhiCorp COO Stuart Owens (Ernie Hudson) attempts to investigate PhiCorp construction sites in Shanghai but his hired investigator (Eric Steinberg) jumps off a high-story building to end consciousness, rather than tell him the horror of what is really going on. Jack (John Barrowman) later confronts Owens and learns from him that PhiCorp is as much a pawn as any other player in the system, and that whoever orchestrated the miracle has been working towards it for a very long time. He also learns of another term relating to the miracle which Owens' team of investigators have uncovered: "the blessing", dating back to the 1990s.

In San Pedro, Rex (Mekhi Phifer) finishes his video message contained along with the footage of Dr. Juarez's (Arlene Tur) incineration, and Esther (Alexa Havins) begins to suspect something has happened to Dr. Juarez. Rex attempts to pass himself off as a soldier working at the San Pedro Overflow Camp but is unsuccessful and captured. Juarez's killer, camp director Colin Maloney (Marc Vann), briefly considers using Rex's video to expose the death of Dr. Juarez and become a hero, but then attempts to kill Rex. Esther finds them and is forced to strangle Maloney. With assistance from soldier Ralph Coltrane (Fred Koehler), who had been complicit in Juarez's murder, they are able to escape the compound with the footage. They release it, causing a public outcry, but do not affect the government's stance on Overflow Camps and the life and death category system.

In Wales, Gwen (Eve Myles) manages to break her father Geraint (William Thomas) out of the Overflow Camp as Rhys (Kai Owen) runs over the gates with Geraint in the back of his truck. With the Torchwood contact lenses, Gwen publicly broadcasts a message explaining the purpose of the Overflow Camps shortly before blowing up the Modules (where people are incinerated) at the Cardiff facility. However, touching down again in Los Angeles she is unable to make contact with Rhys. A mysterious phone call at the LAX white courtesy telephone tells her to put on her lenses, where she receives a message directly to her line of sight from some mysterious conspirators: they have her mother, husband and child, and to set them free she must deliver Jack.

Harmony runs away to hide in a cave while her village is attacked by the raiders. Inside, she finds a wounded survivor named Anderson, whom she obviously despises. Eventually, she agrees to travel with Anderson in search of food and shelter. On the road, they are captured by a bounty hunter named Dempster, sent out by raider commander Slater. He ties Anderson to a tree and attacks Harmony after she tries to escape.

Hysterical, Harmony kills Dempster with a rock and threatens to leave Anderson to die. He convinces her to let him go so he can get them both to a rumored safe haven, though he doesn't know where it is. They take Dempster's motorcycle and ride until it's out of fuel. They walk until they come to a fortified ruins where a group of insane, diseased cannibals offer them something called "deer meat". Harmony asks to use the outhouse, where she finds a pile of bodies and is almost attacked by one of the cannibals. When she gets back to Anderson she warns him about the meat, throws her food bowl at the cannibal and ties him up.

On the road again, Harmony senses two cannibals are following them, so they hide in the bushes. She sneaks away and is discovered by one of the cannibals, who she then scuffles with. Harmony sneaks up behind Anderson and scares him to be funny. He becomes enraged and they argue. They continue their journey and are ambushed by a mob wearing tattered clothing concealing their faces. It is revealed that they have the plague and after they fight it over, Anderson and Harmony argue again. They decide to camp and find high ground to stay the night.

In the morning, a loud bang followed by a rumbling surprises the two awake. From the edge of a cliff they observe raiders attacking a nearby village. Anderson recognizes Purvis, one of Slater's maniacs, standing on a hilltop with some others. The villagers try to repel the raiders in a gunfight. Many die in the battle, until the raiders break through the fence, swarming into the village through the hole. Anderson and Harmony try to sneak into the area during the battle to steal a motorcycle. They attack an injured biker and steal his motorcycle. While they are escaping on the bike, Purvis recognizes Anderson through his spyglass and sends troops after them.

The raiders almost catch up with the fugitives, so Anderson attempts to ride down into a steep valley, but they follow. Anderson then ambushes the raiders, shooting one. The fugitives try to escape back uphill until Harmony jumps off of the bike, causing the raiders to split up while chasing them.

Anderson stops to check his fuel and is captured by Purvis. He tries to joke with Purvis, stalling until Harmony can rescue him. She sneaks behind Purvis and holds him up with a branch and a small pistol. The two leave him frozen in place, afraid to move because of a rattlesnake sliding over his boot. Back on the road, they find a man stuck on a boulder while a pack of rabid dogs circle below. Anderson scares the dogs off and the traveler climbs down. Orland and his puppy accompany Anderson and Harmony for a while. After saying goodbye to the man and his puppy, they ride away, only to be captured by the raiders. Orland witnesses their capture and follows the truck carrying them.

Anderson and Harmony are brought before Lead Raider Slater, in a cave used as the raider's headquarters. Slater thinks he can have Harmony, so he tries to win her over with the promise of riches and sex, but she just spits in his face. She gets free and grabs a lead pipe and attacks the raiders as Anderson, still held by burly raiders, and concubines look on. She tries to defend herself, but they overpower her, ripping some of her clothes off. Purvis returns and threatens Anderson because of the snake. Slater pushes Purvis down and orders him to take the captives to the cells.

Meanwhile, Orland is still following the truck tracks. He leaves behind his bike and puppy as he races to catch up with the raiders. From the top of a cliff he sees the raiders' outpost. He returns to his bike, but can't find his puppy. While searching for her, he falls into a hole, landing in a small tomb. He finds his puppy there, but is also attacked by a group of strange-speaking dwarves.

Anderson and Harmony are chained to a rock wall, hanging over a fire. Purvis comes in to announce when Anderson is to be executed. They unchain both prisoners and bring them to Slater. Harmony is then chained to a beam set across a roasting fire. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Orland jumps into the cave and begins firing a flamethrower. In the ensuing chaos, Anderson attacks Slater, who runs away and hides behind a tapestry. Anderson grabs a gun and helps Orland kills the rest of the raiders. The three then escape through a secret door while Purvis and others follow them through the fire. They arrive at the dwarves' armory and Orland explains what is going on.

The cloaked dwarves lead the three to a secret hatch above the raider camp, where they begin to shoot at the men, who return fire. The three escape are about to escape when, Orland remembers seeing an oil tanker earlier and lights it on fire. They escape during the confusion caused by the oil explosion. They destroy all the raiders' fuel reserves and escape on foot. Purvis and his raiders emerge from the smokey wreckage and he leads them in a search for the trio. Orland finds an abandoned truck and hotwires it. Raider bikers chase after the truck, shooting at it. They come to a bridge and find the midgets helping them keep the raiders at bay. The three make it safely across the bridge just before the truck explodes, destroying the bridge and blocking the raiders from following.

Orland decides to stay with his new dwarf friends and his puppy. He sees Slater chasing after the other two and starts running and yelling for Anderson and Harmony. They both look back to see what's wrong and discover Slater is still chasing them. Anderson explains,"Here we go again!" as Orland catches up to them and they all start running up the hill as the credits roll.

Princess Helen, sovereign of Thessaly, hates the formality and constraint of court life, while her maid, Anna, daughter of the Chief Steward, Jasomir, is devoted to etiquette and courtly customs. Helen's bibulous uncle Bogumil is Prince Regent. He has so poorly managed the country's finances that the Treasury has run dry. Bogumil and his Prime Minister Gjuro ineptly plot each other's downfall. Gjuro proposes that Helen should marry the wealthy, formal and dignified Prince Nicola of Micholics. A head bailiff is mistaken for a wealthy banker, and the Regent and his creditors pay him extravagant courtesy.

Helen loves her music teacher, Augustin, and detests Nicola, though Anna fancies him. Thanks to the curiosity of Nicola's sister Clementine, it is discovered in an old book in the archive of a monastery that Helen and Anna were switched at birth by their nurse. Helen is free to marry Augustin, and Anna gladly marries Nicola.

The story tells about the young mute girl Rowena Batts who is coming to a new school and is trying to gain friends.

Martin, the narrator, a rich South African businessman, recalls the events of a weekend which settled the future of his family farm: he wants to sell it although he has promised his father on his death-bed that he will never do so, and although his brother wants to take it over. So he visits the farm for a weekend to tell his mother she will be "evicted". For the trip, he calls off a meeting with his lover Bea, who leaves him for that because she wanted to tell him that she is pregnant.

It is a long drive to the farm and he does not often go there. He takes his son Louis along to get closer to him. Louis, an army veteran who served in Angola during Operation Savannah, is traumatized and silent since his return to civilian life. The imagined good talk between them makes matters worse, though - the father begins by asking his son casually about his "trip to Angola", and when Louis finally opens up and talks about the atrocities of the war, they end up arguing about politics.

The farm is extremely drought-stricken, and Martin's mother has invited a water diviner to look for an underground stream. Martin thinks this is ridiculous. When he then visits the family graveyard for one last time, loses his glasses, so that from then on the egocentric man is in every sense of the word "blind" to the events happening around him.

At night, a black worker murders his wife and is taken to prison, leaving a baby and older children behind. This is regarded by the whites as "typical" tribal behavior and helps Martin to underline his opinion that his mother should not run the farm on her own because it is too dangerous - although the real reason is that he will get a good price for the farm. The visit of a few neighbours, who are also farmers, shows that most people in the area are selling their land, which is regarded by those who stay on their family farms as treason.

When Martin – still almost blind without his glasses – gets lost in the jungle on a short walk, almost not making it back to the farm where he was born and raised; he does not belong here. Father and son drive home. The farm will be sold and Martin's mother will live with their family although she and Martin's wife do not get along. Louis gets an ultimatum to find a job, after which he disappears and never comes back.

The former naval lieutenant Chris Waring is awakened by the police late time and delivered to Admiral Curtiss, his former commander. The admiral asks Waring for his support in an undercover operation. The op is about the shipowner Arnold Debrock, who sold ships to the United States but later got manipulated by enemy powers in a mysterious way. Since Curtiss knows that Chris is successful with women, he asks him to flirt with Debrocks's wife Valerie Avancen. Chris initially refuses to participate, but he changes his opinion in a short while after seeing Valerie boarding a ship to Havana and takes up the pursuit of the beautiful woman.

He actually succeeds in flirting viciously with Valerie and to get her to go with him to his cabin. There, however, they both meet, for Chris's great surprise, Joan Millard, the Admiral Curtiss's secretary. Asked by Valerie, Joan introduces herself as Chris's wife, and Valerie also reveals her identity and says that she left her husband. Joan tells speechless Chris that Curtiss has sent her to support him. The couple has to begin with their investigations against its will.

Some time later, the ship finds a man in the sea, Capt. Jonathan Hunt. He tells Chris that he worked at the Debrock shipping company and that his crew mutinied against him after he refused to comply with Debrock's order to moor +in a foreign port. He was then deprived of his position. Capt. Brigham, however, believes that Hunt has fallen victim to the sea. After the ship reaches Havana, Chris and Joan try to get more information from Valerie. Brigham is attacked by Debrock, who is angry that Hunt, as everyone believes, has been sent to certain death. However, Hunt holds back allegations since measures have been taken to prevent him from talking about the incident.

Shortly thereafter, Debrock tries to convince Valerie that he will soon leave the business to retreat to private life together with her. Valerie, however, tells her husband that she does not love him anymore. These words affect him very much, and he tries to shoot Chris but misses. Meanwhile, Chris learns that Carlos Castillo-Martinez, whom he regarded as a craftsman, actually belongs to the Cuban military secret service and is also involved in the investigation against Debrock.

Chris, Joan, Carlos, and Hunt attend a farewell dinner. Debrock sees Hunt and feels deeply insecure as he thinks that Hunt may expose him and prevent further orders to deploy his ships in enemy ports. Carlos arrests all those involved in Debrock's affair, while Chris compels Debrock to order his ships to go to American ports. When trying to get to Chris' weapon, Debrock falls out of the window during the fight between the two. After the case is solved, Chris and Joan want to marry as soon as possible.

In 1990s New York City, teen runaway (and stripper) Froggy is caught in the throes of heroin addiction as she falls in love with a fellow junky, war veteran Baylis. The couple finds comfort in each other, yet they are already far too deep in a wild downward spiral. The possibility of redemption arises, with hope for some semblance of a "normal life", but Bayliss and Froggy are unable to find the strength and control to clean themselves up. Their path leads inexorably toward mutual self-destruction.

Kristien, the narrator, is a white academic who goes back to South Africa to visit her grandmother after an attack by black youths on the old lady which leaves her tied to bed. Before she dies, she wishes to tell Kristien the story of their Afrikaner family, a task which grandmother and granddaughter find very important. Memories of Kristien's past in London show that her life has been aimless until now; she has been passive towards things that happen to her, simply fulfilling the need to be away from South Africa and her parents (who had, during their lifetime, supported apartheid). Giving up her self-imposed exile is, at first, a resignation to Kristien, but gradually she learns that the country of her birth is changing towards the better. The first democratic elections are close, and through meetings with black and white people and the stories her grandmother tells her about their family's origins, which show almost only the female side of events and go back to a black foremother, Kristien learns to see South Africa as her home country. In the night before the elections, Kristien's sister kills her children, her violent, racist husband and herself to escape a life she can no longer bear to live. In the same night, the grandmother dies from the aftermath of the attack. Nevertheless, Kristien is optimistic about her future in South Africa. The grandmother's family farm goes to the family of the black domestic worker.

In this short, Mickey Mouse and his friends Donald Duck and Goofy attempt to build a boat (which they name ''Queen Minnie''), which is made from fold-out parts (the instructions simply say "All You Do Is Put It Together" and "Even A Child Can Do It"), though they encounter problems as they go (such as Donald painting the rudder which keeps being turned by Mickey, and Goofy idiotically thinking the Figurehead is an actual woman). Their maiden voyage turns out to be their last, as the boat collapses as she sets sail, thanks to Minnie Mouse hitting the champagne bottle to christen the boat just a little too hard.

An offer for a trip to see the pyramids in Egypt is shown. The tour then proceeds to leave with a large caravan of camels being used as transportation. Porky then comes running out and chases after the caravan; but he is too late and ends up not being able to catch up to them. He sees an available camel called Humpty Bumpty however, and takes it with the intent of seeing the pyramids, but he ends up lost in the desert and eventually him and weirdly enough, the camel starts to suffer from dehydration. They start seeing various mirages that cause them to go into a dreamlike sequence where Porky and the camel both hallucinate and hear strange voices. The camel then starts acting weird and Porky tries to calm him down, but fails, and the camel grows more and more insane. Eventually, they run screaming from the desert and back into the town, whereupon they lock themselves inside a safehouse. Humpty believes that they are safe, but Porky is then shown to have similarly lost his mind as he begins laughing hysterically, puts on an oversized bicorne hat with the letter N on it (an obvious allusion to Napoleon), and starts dancing in an exaggerated, chaotic fashion as the cartoon irises out.

The novel, set in Glasgow, revolves around the central character, Rilke, an auctioneer who has agreed to quickly process and sell an inventory of largely valuable contents belonging to a recently deceased old man in exchange for a considerable fee. While sorting through some of the possessions in an attic, he comes across a collection of violent and potentially snuff pornography that appears to document the death of a mysterious young woman.

Starting with local pornography trade contacts, Rilke sets out to discover this woman's identity and uncover the story behind her appearance in the disturbing photographs.

Four pathetic narrow minded petty criminals are mistaken for hitmen while ordered to shadow the philandering girl friend of their crime boss Carlito. As a result of a misunderstanding they get hired to accompany Léonore de Segonzac, the heiress of a big asset, on a race through Patagonia and "accidentally" kill her for the sum of four million dollars. They are chased by the principal and the true killers, which for their part are hunted by some UNO blue helmets.

Babysitter Darcy Ann Stevens gets a summer job babysitting three children from the rich Foster family. But the second day that Darcy babysits, they are kidnapped and driven to an old house. No one knows where they are, and the kidnappers are demanding ransom from the Foster parents to let them go. Darcy and the children have to outwit the kidnappers to escape.

After finishing a stand-up set, Louie runs into his old friend and colleague Eddie Mack (Doug Stanhope), whom he hasn't seen since Louie began his rise to comedy stardom and an angry Eddie (who was rejected for the same path) calls Louie a sell-out. Louie is happy to see his friend, but when Eddie becomes unnecessarily aggressive towards a fellow comedian and throws racist insults at a liquor store clerk, it becomes clear that something is wrong with him. It turns out Eddie is struggling with his career, lives in his car and drinks heavily. The two go out together, get drunk, and Eddie does an impromptu set at an open mic event where his routine is both disgusting and very funny (he's the only open mic participants who gets any laughs from the crowd). As the evening comes to an end, Eddie tells Louie that he's planning to end it. Louie thinks he is talking about his stand-up career, but Eddie is actually planning to commit suicide, and sought out Louie because he wanted someone to say goodbye to. His plan is to take sleep-aid medicine that a sympathetic doctor gave him, knowing that mixing the pills with alcohol will kill him. Louie initially states that he has struggled with determining his purpose in life and had to discover it for himself and everyone must discover their own purpose. When Eddie mocks Louie for seeing himself as some kind of brave savior, Louie finally gets angry and tells off Eddie for being selfish and demanding Louie cater to him, yelling "You know what, it's not your life. It's life. Life is bigger than you. If you can imagine that. Life isn't something that you possess, it's something that you take part in, and you witness." While Louie is expressing his concerns, they are both promptly interrupted by a random couple arguing within earshot and thus distracting them in the process. The moment ends with the two chuckling about how they were arguing just like the couple that passed by. Louie gives Eddie a hug and says sincerely that he hopes Eddie won't harm himself, but they part ways with the issue unresolved, and it is not revealed what eventually happens to Eddie.

The book begins with an incident in 1781 when a small detachment of Hessian (German auxiliaries in the British service) soldiers encounter a mentally retarded man, Saul Clamberham, on a Connecticut hill-side. Clamberham follows the Jägers out of confused curiosity, making meaningless markings on a slate. Misunderstanding the situation, an exasperated Hessian officer, with little English, becomes convinced that Clamberham is a spy and has the autistic villager hanged from a tree. Outraged, the local population ambush the Hessians and kill all but a drummer boy who escapes. The narrator of the story: the town physician and a Continental Army veteran, subsequently discovers that the young drummer Hans Pohl is being sheltered in a Quaker family's barn while township authorities hunt for him. Captured, the Hessian boy is tried for murder. Although his role in the earlier death was limited to beating his drum as the hanging took place, Pohl fatally admits that he would have carried out his duty as a soldier and participated directly in the execution if so ordered. The doctor, himself a victim of prejudice as an English-born Catholic in a small Puritan community, watches helplessly while the German boy is hanged.

In Paris, the relationship between Martin (Demy) and Claire (Mastroianni) is at an impasse. His mother's death suddenly calls Martin back to Los Angeles, the town where he spent his childhood, to deal with inheritance formalities. In Los Angeles he is helped by a family friend, Linda, who takes him to his mother's home and the neighbourhood he grew up in. This return to childhood haunts provokes several buried memories that appear to disturb Martin. After speaking with a neighbour, Martin goes to Tijuana in Mexico, looking for Lola (Hayek), a close friend of his mother's. He tracks her down to the Americano, a club where Lola works as a dancer. However, to find resolution, Martin must face up to his past.

Dinah Hunter (Yvette Mimieux) is an advertising executive living in Los Angeles who quits her job after arguing with a client and comes home to find her boyfriend in the swimming pool with another woman. Sick of his constant philandering, she calls a friend and gets her old job back in New York City. Driving cross-country from Los Angeles, Dinah picks up a young man, named Bobby Ray (Robert Carradine), and his pregnant girlfriend Lola (Nancy Lee Noble). That night, Bobby Ray and Lola rob Dinah and steal her car and purse. Dinah walks into an empty bar and asks Dan Oldum, the bartender, to use his phone to call the police to report the robbery, but the barman attempts to rape her, and after she defends herself, a policeman, named Deputy Burt, arrives and Oldum lies by telling him that Dinah attacked him. With no money or identification on her, the policeman believes Oldum and arrests Dinah and takes her to the Jackson County jail.

The next day, Dinah is in a jail cell next to Blake (Tommy Lee Jones), a drifter whom she witnessed getting arrested earlier after a car accident. Sheriff Dempsey explains to Dinah that until he can get through to Los Angeles or New York to verify her identity, she has to stay in jail. He then tells Blake that he is to be extradited to Texas for a murder charge. That evening, the night jailer, Deputy Hobie, assaults Dinah in her cell and rapes her. After he finishes, she grabs a wooden stool and beats him to death. Blake reaches through the bars and takes his keys, opens both cells, and drags Dinah outside to steal Hobie's pickup truck. Sheriff Dempsey witnesses them escaping and gives chase only to run head-on into another car driven by a drunk driver resulting in the deaths of both the sheriff and the other driver.

Blake takes Dinah to a run-down barn out in the hills to hide out where he meets up with some friends who let Dinah clean up and give her a change of clothes. As Blake and Dinah are leaving, two officers from the Bakersfield police show up and tell everybody to surrender. Blake's friends pull out machine guns and hold off the police while Blake and Dinah escape in the pickup truck.

After driving through pastures and dirt roads, they find an empty ranch house to hide in for the night. Listening to the news, they discover that they are both wanted for Hobie's death. Dinah wants to turn herself in, but Blake explains that it does not matter that she was raped; she killed a cop and that with both her rapist and Sheriff Dempsey dead and unable to corroborate her self-defense story, she will be arrested and not receive a fair trial for Blake claims that all small town police are corrupt and will see her put away for life or given the death penalty. He says that, since she doesn't have a criminal record, she could just live the rest of her life as a fugitive, pointing out that her life as she knows it is already over and that no policeman will ever believe her side of the story due to the circumstances.

The next morning, they are awakened by the shotgun-carrying owner of the ranch. Blake knocks the shotgun out of man's hand and the two crash through a window. During the fight, the rancher wounds Blake with a scythe and is about to kill him when Dinah puts a gun to the man's head and knocks him out. Blake and Dinah jump into the pickup with Dinah driving. A police helicopter spots them and radios the Fallsburg police who are all at a Bicentennial parade.

The Fallsburg police chief orders his men to make a roadblock using a tractor-trailer. Dinah drives right into the trap and the police open fire, hitting Dinah in the shoulder. Blake tries to help Dinah to escape on foot, but she is too badly wounded. Blake leaves Dinah behind while he and the police exchange gunfire as he runs through the town and into the parade. The police fatally gun him down as he knocks over a standard bearer and Blake dies lying on the American flag. The police chief drives up with the wounded Dinah in the back seat and she stares at Blake's dead body before he drives away to take her to the town's jail. The film suddenly ends on this bleak and downbeat note.

In pre-war Madrid, Julio, a shy writer fails to communicate his feelings towards Paulina, the woman he loves. She instead becomes involved with another writer who has no issue with communicating his feelings. A heartbroken Julio leaves Madrid for Cambridge but is shocked at what he discovers when he returns. The shocking truth is that Paulina has been dead for many years, murdered by her lover in a jealous rage after seeing Julio off on his journey to Cambridge.

Sarah Fittler and her nine-year-old son take a taxi to return home from a cinema, but the driver Bob abducts and brings them to his house. As a result of the abuse his father inflicted on him and his brother, Bob turns into a serial killer who rapes and murders young women. He kills Sarah and imprisons her son, whom he names Rabbit. When Rabbit tries to escape, Bob chains him to a wall.

Years later, the teenage Rabbit remains in Bob's home doing housework and burying the bodies of Bob's victims. While still holding Rabbit captive, Bob tries to become more of a father figure and has Rabbit teach himself human anatomy. To convince Rabbit that nobody else cares for him, Bob reveals that Rabbit's father Brad has remarried. He also releases Rabbit from his chains. However, in bringing Rabbit closer, Bob intends to turn Rabbit into a serial killer like him.

To complete Rabbit's transformation into a serial killer, Bob asks him to pick a victim from a yearbook. Rabbit initially refuses, but when Bob forces him to select, he chooses a girl named Angie and Bob abducts her. Leaving Rabbit and Angie in a room, Bob warns Rabbit that he will kill her if Rabbit doesn't. Rabbit hesitates and starts to bond with Angie, but stabs her in the stomach when Bob barges in. He then drags her body into the room containing the corpses of past victims. Satisfied, Bob agrees to his request to hunt for another girl.

Bob brings Rabbit to the city with his cab and suggests several victims, but Rabbit declines them all. Along the drive, Bob discovers that Rabbit has written the word "help" on the side of the cab. Bob then realizes that Rabbit stabbed Angie in a non-lethal spot using his anatomy knowledge. He knocks Rabbit unconscious and enters the room where Angie is hiding to kill her. Angie manages to cut Bob's Achilles tendon while Rabbit awakens and comes to save her. In the following struggle, Rabbit kills Bob and buries him next to his victims.

With Bob dead, Rabbit tracks down Brad, now living with his new wife Marie and Rabbit's half-brother Colin. Brad feigns delight about his survival until Rabbit, whose real name is Tim, confronts him with the fact that Brad had arranged the abduction of him and his mother. Through a letter he found, Tim discovered that Bob is Brad's brother. Brad, who had urged Sarah to take a taxi on the day of the kidnapping, wanted to get rid of his first wife and son. Brad responds to this revelation by physically assaulting Tim, and then Marie when she intervenes. Tim beats him to death. After Tim leaves at Marie's urging, Marie calls the police and says that a burglar killed her husband.

Tim returns to Bob's house and shuts the garage door. As the closing credits roll, the sounds of him entering the house, opening the fridge, cutting paper, walking back into the garage, entering the cab, and re-opening the garage door are heard.

This tragedy is set in Sardinia. Constantino Ledda is convicted on charges for murdering his wicked uncle. Constantino is innocent, but he accepts the verdict because of his wife, Giovanna. After Constantino is convicted, Giovanna has no economic means to support her family, so she divorces her husband and remarries, this time to a wealthy but cruel landowner. Constantino is released after the real killer confesses, and he and Giovanna start a forbidden romance.

The film opens with a prologue narrated by Stephen Fry, introducing the audience to Benjamin Sniddlegass (Andrew Griscti), a nerdy redheaded orphan from Cockfosters, UK, who lives with his domineering Aunt David Morrissey (Linda Newstead).

After discovering his Aunt has been hiding packages addressed to him, he sneaks down to the mailbox one morning and finds an envelope containing an iPhone, which teleports him to Luna Park in Sydney, Australia. He's met by Mr. Pentangle (Alec Doomadgee), an imposing Aboriginal man, who reveals that Ben is part of an ancient magical sect of Wittertainers.

The pair journey to a small island off the Australian coast, which is home to Fairport Academy, the magic school that Ben will be attending. While moving into his dorm, Ben meets Scarlett McKenna (Catherine Davies), a gorgeous co-ed a few years his senior, who casts a spell curing his near-sightedness.

At the school assembly, Ben is ignored by the student population, but Scarlett comforts him. The new principal, Bavarian filmmaker Werner Herzog (Dorian Newstead), gives the opening address, warning the students that changes will be made with him in charge.

A musical montage shows the next three months of Ben's school life. His initial classes with Professor Mumblecore are a disaster, and Ben is the subject of humiliating gossip among his fellow students. He takes advantage of a history project to deliver a presentation on his idol, skiffle legend Johnny Leroy, which wins over his classmates, who applaud him enthusiastically.

A chat between Ben and Scarlett shows their relationship beginning to grow closer, as Ben's confidence has grown. He is outfitted with a new wardrobe, and is given a suit belonging to his father as a going away present from Pentangle, who is swimming to Germany to take up his new post as headmaster of Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School.

Ben visits Principal Herzog, curious about the history of his family. Herzog tells Ben of his early life, fighting alongside Ben's father Percy (also Andrew Griscti), a secret agent employed by the British government. Percy's career was focused on defeating the machinations of the sinister Lord Emmerich, a vicious mastermind with the head of a gorilla.

In a flashback, Ben's mother Lucy (Sarah Linnegar) is held hostage by Lord Emmerich in his lair, inside a hollowed out Icelandic volcano. Percy breaks into the facility and confronts Emmerich, defeating him and rescuing his bride. Sensing his defeat, Emmerich sets the self-destruct sequence, causing the volcano to erupt and kill them all.

Ben relates his troubles to Scarlett over a game of billiards in the Fairport Academy bar. She reveals she lusted after Ben's father when she was growing up, and they trade innuendo as she beats him decisively. As they get more and more drunk, she delivers a rambling speech to him about hero worship and they almost kiss.

The next morning, Ben invites Scarlett down to the disused concert hall, and shows her his plan to resurrect the school's tradition of concerts, which used to be filled by the ghosts of dead rock stars. Ben's strategy is to run school talent quests, then start to bring in notable living performers, like Bruce Springsteen. An impressed Scarlett joins Ben on the stage and they perform a duet of the Fairport Academy School Song.

The print becomes scratchy and is replaced by a technical difficulties card. The projectionist (Max Newstead) phones the director of the film (Jeremy Dylan) and explains that he's lost the next two reels of the film. Dylan is concerned that this skips a number of important plot points, but they conclude that no one will notice. Kenneth restarts the projector.

Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney have just left the stage as Ben concludes his performance at the school talent quest to rapturous applause. Later, Ben sleeps uneasily.

Ben dreams he's back in the concert hall, watching Johnny Leroy and the Impulsives perform on stage. In the second verse, Leroy transforms into the Lord Emmerich, who leaps down from the stage and menaces Ben, demanding to know the 'secret of the cauldron of penguins'.

Ben awakes with a start. Scarlett comes to his door to check on him, but Ben assures her it was merely a bad dream. A concerned Scarlett calls Pentangle in Germany and relays the news.

Ben is plagued by another dream involving Lord Emmerich and the Cauldron of Penguins, this time more violent, and awakes in a panic. Scarlett comes to his door again, more concerned, and they sit together in his room and resolve to go to Principal Herzog for advice. She comforts him and they have sex.

In his office the next morning, Herzog tells Ben of his concern that Emmerich is using Ben's dreams as a way to regain a footing in the physical world. The only solution is to keep Ben awake indefinitely and Herzog concocts a mixture of energy drinks, coffee and cocaine that Ben reluctantly drinks.

He heads to the school library with the mixture, researching penguins in hopes of discovering the solution to the mystery of the cauldron. As he ingests more the mixture and stays awake longer, he begins hallucinating a talking stuffed penguin (Lauren McKenna), who mocks him. Ben punches him repeatedly in the face.

Two weeks later, a concerned Pentangle arrives at the library, searching for Ben, who has become totally unhinged. Pentangle cleans him up and tells him that Scarlett and Herzog have been kidnapped by Lord Emmerich, and together they search for clues where they were last seen. Ben finds an iPhone and uses the transporter app to follow them.

He appears in Lord Emmerich's hollowed out Icelandic volcano lair, an exact replica of the room where he faced off with Ben's parents. Scarlett is bound and gagged on an operating table and Emmerich stands over her, threatening them with a pistol. He removes his gorilla mask to reveal that he is really Werner Herzog, who created the fictional persona of an eccentric Bavarian filmmaker to escape the authorities after surviving the destruction of his old lair. He reveals his overly elaborate plan in a long-winded speech, then prepares to shoot them both dead. Ben, remembering the layout from the earlier flashback sequence, activates the self-destruct sequence and transports him and Scarlett to safety

Chief Joe Thunderhorse (Barthelmess) is the star of a wild west show at the Century of Progress in Chicago. Though he is the authentic son of a Native American chief, he has lived away from the reservation so long that he has lost all personal connection to them. His ethnic authenticity and physical prowess are exploited by white showmen. His rich white girlfriend (Dodd) flaunts him in front of her curious friends. Joe and his valet (Muse) travel to the reservation where he grew up upon hearing that his father Black Pony is on his death bed. His dying father no longer recognizes him. The terrible living conditions to which Joe's people are subjected to at the hands of white government agents are also revealed to him. Upon the death of his father, Joe's sister Jennie is raped by a government agent and, with the assistance of a college-educated reservation resident named Lydia (Dvorak), Joe decides to take action.

Set in the 1960s through to the early 1970s, ''Vietnam'' is a mini-series about Australia's involvement in the Vietnam war. The Goddard family live in Canberra – Public servant Douglas, Evelyn (Veronica Lang) and their son Phil and daughter Megan. Aged 15, Megan is now a rebellious teenager, infuriating her conservative parents whilst her older sibling Phil is a budding photographer.

Australia joins the war in Vietnam and the strains and stresses it places on the Goddard family mirror the political and social upheavals the country experiences in the 1960s. Phil is called up in the national draft and he reluctantly goes to do his duty with Australian army forces in Vietnam. He encounters the harsh realities of the war when the platoon walks into a minefield in a rice paddy, losing several men including Phil's friend Ritchie. Phil is horrified as his unit is ordered to assist South Vietnamese forces to forcibly evacuate and destroy a peasant village. Phil and his best mate Laurie become romantically involved with Vietnamese sisters Lien and Le. Back home, Douglas' workaholic lifestyle is straining his marriage and both parents are growing distant from their increasingly headstrong daughter Megan. The latter begins a relationship with an older boy Serge and she has to, at first, pretend to be a fellow university student to become involved with him. Serge goes away to University in Sydney and Megan later runs away from home to join him. Phil comes home on leave but the traumatic experiences of the war weigh heavily on him and he can no-longer adjust to normal life.

Phil and Laurie return to the war which is growing ever more bloodier and cruel. Le is gang-raped by a platoon of US soldiers who have been brutalized by their experiences of combat. One American soldier is left behind to execute Le but he cannot bring himself to do it, instead he cuts off one of her ears and fires a shot into the dirt, in order to convince his comrades that he had killed her and taken a 'souvenir'. Outraged by the sufferings of her people, Lien joins the Viet Cong. During the Tet Offensive, her group ambushes an Australian truck, wiping out the occupants including Laurie who is left permanently disabled by his injuries. Phil, increasingly disillusioned with the conduct of the war, joins a unit that specializes in unconventional warfare. After taking part in an ambush of a group of guerrillas Phil is horrified to discover that one of the dead is Lien. Unbalanced by his discovery he later endangers his fellow soldiers with a grenade during target practice and is thrown out of the unit as a result.

Back in Australia, the Goddard family begins to be torn apart. Douglas has become a key figure in the political decisions behind Australia's involvement in the war and he serves under all four prime-ministers who hold office during the Vietnam era, the demands of his job absorbing all of his time and energy. Fed up with the lack of attention from her husband and the unfulfilling existence as a housewife, Evelyn moves to Sydney. Megan goes to live with Serge and both become heavily involved with the antiwar movement. Evelyn later joins the movement, feeling happier in her newfound independence and she and Megan become close again. Serge is called up by the draft but he conscientiously objects, going to prison for his stance.

Phil returns to Australia for good, as does Laurie who is joined by Le who emigrates to become the latter's wife, doing her best to care for her disabled and traumatized husband. Phil grows more isolated, not even seeing his family and he becomes self-centered and bitter. He cannot understand nor accept the anti-war movement and free-wheeling youth culture he sees around him.

Megan has become a leading figure in the anti-war protests and whilst answering questions on a talk-back radio show, her confidence and self-righteous composure is shattered by a surprise call from Phil whose voice she recognizes. Phil's resentment and bitterness makes Megan regret her movement's lack of support for returning soldiers. Le tells Phil about her rape and torture and why her sister joined the Viet Cong and he finally breaks down in tears, Le's story putting his own sufferings into perspective, jolting him out of his isolation. Douglas, Evelyn and Megan have a reunion dinner and afterwards as they are saying goodbye to each other outside, Megan notices some-one watching them from a nearby parked Holden ute. It is Phil. He says 'It's me.....sort of.'

The series concludes with Megan greeting Serge as he is released from prison and the two walk away arm-in-arm to face their future and adulthood together.

In Europe, a peaceful Czech scientist, Professor Marnelle, has unintentionally developed a nerve gas while working on a new fuel. Marnelle doesn't want to use his invention for evil but he's threatened by his Nazi masters, including Von Schweig with a concentration camp. Marnelle destroys his lab and manages to escape with his daughter Elsa – but is then recaptured.

We then meet two members of the British secret service who are in a café – when another man is arrested the two of them flee. They trick a passing German car into stopping and knock them out – to discover Marnelle and his daughter are in the back seat, prisoners. They take the Germans uniforms, drive the prisoners to the airport and manage to escape in a plane. The Marnelles go to Australia but the Nazis find out about it and decide to track him there.

Marnelle starts working for the Australian air force and meets pilot Frank Miller. Nazi officer Von Schweig arrives in Australia and meets up with local fifth columnists who are planning sabotage on Australian planes – Miller's ends up crashing and he winds up in hospital.

By this stage the war has started and there is a scene where Von Schweig and a fifth columnist, Dr Vass, look at some Australian soldiers marching past. Von Schweig says "we did not expect the enthusiasm of the dominions" for the war. Dr Vass says that he has been in Australia for a number of years and still does not understand them, adding that "you expect from their interest in sport that nothing else matters, but in war the greater the danger the harder they fought".

Miller and his friend Ted Jackson visit the Marnelles in their rural hideaway, where they are looked after by a comic Chinaman; Ted has fallen for Elsa. The fifth columnists and Von Schweig meet up with a spy who is revealed to be Frank Miller. Miller tells them where to find the scientist; they capture and start torturing him to find the formula.

The Germans are about to take the Marnelles back to Europe but Mack manages to sneak off and inform the authorities. Ted Jackson rescues Marnelle but Miller's treachery enables the Germans to take off with the formula. Jackson hops in a plane and flies after Miller and Von Schweig, shooting them down in a dog fight. A German U-boat is also destroyed.

In the Australian countryside, five children are best friends, including a set of siblings, an English war evacuee, and Aboriginal Neza. They boast to three strangers, Long Bill (Chips Rafferty), Jim (John Fernside) and Blue (Stan Tolhurst), about the mare belonging to the father of one of them. The next day the mare has gone. Suspecting the three men of stealing it, the children set off to recover it.

They discover the horse thieves and harass them by stealing their food and shoes. They get trapped by the thieves in an old ghost town, but are rescued in time.

A supernaturally gifted monk, "Panasonic" (Kiro Wehara), is sent on a mission by his dying master, "General Electric," to protect the Interzone, the last fertile region left on a post-apocalyptic Earth, against an invading gang of wasteland raiders.

Along the way, Panasonic is helped by Swan (Bruce Abbott), a roguish road warrior who seeks a rumored treasure hidden within the Interzone, and Tera (Beatrice Ring), an attractive slave girl, whom Swan falls in love with. The raiders meanwhile are led by Mantis (Teagan Clive), a female bodybuilder dominatrix and her sadistic partner Balzakan (John Armstead).

After the defeat of the raiders, Swan locates the treasure which is revealed to be a fallout shelter turned archive of some of mankind's greatest achievements. Within are various items such as books, sculptures and paintings, along with a Panasonic-brand videocassette recorder that plays a final message from those who preserved the artifacts before the apocalypse.

''7 Hati'' follows the story of seven women who are unknowingly interconnected. The lead character, Kartini (Jajang C. Noer), is a 45-year-old obstetrician who finds herself increasingly sympathetic with her patients. These patients include Ratna (Intan Kieflie), a hijab-wearing woman who is pregnant for the first time; Rara (Tamara Tyasmara), Ratna's 14-year-old sister; Yanti (Happy Salma), a prostitute; Lili (Olga Lydia), a pregnant Chinese Indonesian woman; and Lastri (Radia), an obese woman.

Each character has their own problems, which they confide to Kartini about. Ratna is overworked and has to support her family, without the help of her materialistic husband. Rara is worried that she may be pregnant after having sexual intercourse with her boyfriend. Yanti suffers from cervical cancer. Lili has been sexually abused by her husband, but thinks of it as an indication of his love. Lastri is newly married and trying to get pregnant. Kartini herself has had bad experiences in her former relationships, making her afraid of commitment.

Out of work actress Eva (Hershey), pays her way by working as a waitress at a diner in Manhattan's Lower East Side owned by Quint (Hart). She makes extra cash by making collections for her ex-husband, loan shark Al (Coltrane). The film also involves Eva's new boyfriend Zip (Leguizamo), wanna-be actress Myrna (Marie), Al's girlfriend Simone (Mazar), gangster Gascone (Perlman), and Al's driver UB (Deblinger).

Eva is ready to give up both the loan collecting and acting, dreaming of a suburban house with a picket-fence lifestyle with her son Augie (Kerkoulas). Al agrees to let her go, but needs her for just one more job, locating the missing $600,000 stolen from him by Flav (Theroux). Al also plans to produce a stage production of David Mamet's ''American Buffalo'', and he offers a role to UB if he will murder Zip.

Ann Carter visits New York City to see her half-brother, and to try to start a music career. He works as a butler for Charles Gerard, a Broadway producer, so Ann gets a job working for him as a maid.

Durbin performs a notable medley of Russian folk songs including "Yamschtschick," "Kalitka" and "Two Guitars." (American Film Institute Catalog)

Hundreds of years in the future, the spaceship Godspeed travels toward a distant, earth-like planet with 100 cryogenically frozen settlers on board. Seventeen year old Amy, frozen along with her parents, wakes early and only to find herself in the middle of a strange, regimented society made up of those born on the ship over generations. With the help of Elder, the ship's only teenager and future leader, she must solve a murder mystery, and save the ship. They must hurry before the murderer kills any more people, and before time runs out of life.

During a day out in the mall, Homer decides to dump Milhouse and Bart at a children's movie so he can eat at the food court. The boys run into the bullies (who are there to see an R-rated remake of a Hong Kong horror film called "Crawlspace") and Bart is forced to chaperone Jimbo Jones' girlfriend Shauna while she sees a Jennifer Aniston movie. Both of them leave shortly after seeing the only part of the movie that appeals to Shauna (the man's ass) and they hang out in the mall. Bart covers for Shauna when she shoplifts and when they escape from an incompetent mall cop, Shauna says that Bart is pretty cool and shows her appreciation by flashing her breasts in front of him, leaving him both traumatized and smitten with her. Both decide to enter a romantic relationship behind Jimbo's back, but he figures out what's going on soon afterwards. Both attempt to hide from a vengeful Jimbo at Comic Book Guy's store, while the bully decides to stake out Bart's home with help from an oblivious Marge, leaving Bart to come home and face Jimbo's wrath. Shauna breaks up with both of them after some good advice from Lisa, and Bart receives his punishment (being held upside down from his treehouse to have the "fear of God put into him") from Jimbo.

Meanwhile, Homer is persuaded to buy a state-of-the-art treadmill from a crafty salesman. When Lisa shows Homer that he can access television shows wirelessly, he takes advantage of the machine and develops an obsession with watching an old television show called ''Stranded'', instead of working out. Eventually Marge, in a fit of rage, gives away all the spoilers of the episodes Homer has not watched yet. He is initially furious at Marge and hints at their marriage failing, but a romantic evening planned by her resolves matters.

The film revolves around the life and incidents of an LTTE cadre and his brother in the Wanni.

Leyla and Mecnun were born in the same hospital and shared the same crib because of a shortage—hence the series' catchphrase, "They found each other from the beginning". They were named after the legendary lovers Leyla and Mecnun. Mecnun, a confused 25-year-old from a middle-class family, lives in an historic Istanbul neighborhood. Mecnun falls in love with Leyla at first sight, and becomes obsessed with her. Leyla, from an upper-class family, leads a different life than others in the neighborhood. She enjoys the time she spends with Mecnun, since life is more interesting with him.

Other notable characters in the series are Dede, Iskender, Ismail, Erdal, Yavuz, and Arda. Dede, a character in Turkish folktales, appears in dreams to provide direction and foreknowledge. A surrealistic element of the show, Dede appears in one of Mecnun's dreams; when Mecnun wakes up, he sees Dede standing by his bed. Afterwards, he lives with Mecnun to help him with Leyla.

Iskender, Mecnun's father, drives an unreliable taxi and is devoted to his family. To make his son happy, he asks Leyla's father for permission for Leyla and Mecnun to marry despite repeated refusals.

Ismail, Mecnun's closest friend, is a colorful character who is loyal and pure at heart. It is learned in one episode that Ismail and his father were abandoned by his mother because her life was not colorful enough. Ismail takes this literally, and dresses accordingly. He was adopted by another family when his father became terminally ill. His father told Ismail that he was leaving to work as a seaman and would return someday, waving from the ship; since then, Ismail has been waving to passing ships every day from the shore. Nothing is known about Ismail's personal life or where he lives. He frequently changes jobs, failing at (or disliking) each one. Ismail is interested in genealogy, and notable people from the past (such as Beethoven, Picasso and Dostoyevsky) appear in his flashbacks as his distant relatives during most episodes.

Erdal is the neighborhood grocer, whose work defines his life. Sometimes greedy and inconsiderate, he neglects his friends and is tactless and pessimistic. With supermarkets springing up everywhere, Erdal personifies an endangered element of traditional Turkish society. His grocery store is a gathering place for the characters.

Yavuz, a friendly neighborhood thief, describes himself as a "performance artist". His justifications for stealing vary by episode and include helping his blind girlfriend, helping his friends and unrequited love. Yavuz' talents are used to benefit the neighborhood; he resents being called a thief, and always retorts: "Am I such a person?" He enjoys reading poetry.

Arda, Leyla's classmate, is also in love with her and his wealthy father tries to persuade her to marry his son. Arda, his father and their servants are the show's main antagonists.

Richard and Kahlan are contentedly enjoying Cara's marriage when a boy named Henrik warns them of dark things to come before scratching them both and running away. Soon after, Cara warns Richard that something or someone was watching her in her room. At first unbelieving, Richard and Kahlan notice the same spooky presence on their own. Shortly after these events, prophecies are given by the most unexpected places and people, but appear equally in a book titled ''End Notes''. After failing to reason with the delegates alarmed by these prophecies, Kahlan and Nicci frighten them into silence with a prediction invented by themselves. Meanwhile, Richard finds a strange machine underground, bearing an emblem exactly as on a wordbook for translating the language of creation, only reversed. It is later revealed that this machine is the source of all the new and strange predictions, and may be an artificial intelligence. Among the delegates is Abbot Dreier, the representative of Bishop Hannis Arc of Saavedra, who becomes the antagonist of this book and its sequels.

The scratch on Kahlan's arm worsens, and Zedd fails to heal it. When Kahlan feverishly wakes from a rest, she finds a pack of dogs surrounding her. A fight and chase then ensues until Kahlan runs away in a carriage. When Richard finds out that Kahlan is gone, he traces her footsteps and sends soldiers to find her. She is ultimately captured by a monstrous 'Hedge Maid': a macabre sorceress associated with necromancy. Richard tries to save Kahlan, but is himself captured. Richard remembers the machine's last warning, protects his and Kahlan's ears, and cuts the leather strips on the Hedge Maid's mouth, whereupon she emits a terrible shriek and dies. Richard and Kahlan are found by Nicci and Zedd, who take them to the Garden of Life to heal them.

The book begins with a scene many years in the future. A professor named Giles MacFarlane is overseeing an archaeological expedition when his assistant, Audrey, finds a little house in an area which is outside the village limits. Inside, Professor MacFarlane finds stories that tell what happens to the Rangers after they return from Nihon-Ja. In the chronicles, Gilan battles several thieves who are trying to kill Jenny, Will's hideous speech ignites a purple fire as he fights a moondarker, Evanlyn and Horace are married and at the end of the book Will and Alyss are married as well.

"Ace" commercial airline pilot Chick Faber (Dennis Morgan) is grounded by Flight Superintendent Bill Graves (Ralph Bellamy) when a flight physical reveals that his eyesight is failing. Aided by stewardess Mary Norvell (Virginia Bruce) and her friend, Nan Hudson (Jane Wyman), Graves persuades Chick to take a job as teacher in the school for stewardesses. While he remains at the airline, along with engineer, Artie Dixon (Wayne Morris), he continues work on the design of a secret research aircraft, he calls the "stratosphere ship" that will revolutionize commercial aviation by flying faster and higher than any current type.

After Farber and Norvell get married, he finds that teaching is too restrictive and yearns to get back to his secret project. When he learns that the US Army Air Corps is going to test his aircraft, he attempts to get permission to make the first flight, but is refused due to his failing eyesight. Coming back after hours, Farber takes off and puts his secret aircraft through a high altitude test although Graves warns him by radio that the aircraft is too dangerous to fly without further development. At height, windows blow in and Farber barely recovers from going unconscious and pulling out of a high-speed dive, to make a crash landing back at his base.

Angrily giving up his pilot's license, he decides to leave his wife and join the newly formed Chinese mercenary air force fighting against Japan. Air Corps officers intercept him in San Francisco and call him back to active duty in the military to keep the secret of the "stratosphere ship" in US hands. Graves rearranges Mary's flight schedule, sending her to San Antonio, where she is met by newly promoted Capt. Farber, now a flight instructor at Randolph Field. The reunited couple are finally at peace, knowing that everything will turn out all right.

Jane Doe (Hatcher) is the real name of arms manufacturer Cy-Kor's recently fired security password employee with top clearance, whose teenage son Michael (Trevor Blumas) is kidnapped. She obeys the bizarre instructions, including getting and learning to use a gun and downloading a secret file (after which her work post starts totally deleting), dumping both in a dumpster and waiting nearby, only to witness the company's CEO Churnings being shot by a sniper using an identical weapon. Michael is released, but the pair is now wanted for the murder and both are abducted by armed men, who bring them to a ranch. There they are welcomed by Michael's father, David Doe (Lowe), who discloses to be an agent of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and so is Michael, who used her clearance as the whole thing is a sting for the kidnapping and murder's brain, Avery (Mark Caven) so he will sell the enemy false data. Alas David's DIA-partner Kurt Simmons and their boss Phelps have a dirty agenda...

Category:2001 television films Category:2001 films Category:2001 action thriller films Category:American action thriller films Category:Action television films Category:American thriller television films Category:Films scored by Brian Tyler Category:USA Network original films

In 1977 in Nice, Albert Spaggiari is arrested by the police and brought to a judge's office for interrogation, but he manages to escape by jumping out of the window and riding off on a motorcycle with an accomplice. He travels to South America where he meets new faces including a mysterious journalist who wants to interview him about the heist and his whereabouts.

Albert and Tania are now happily married, but cannot quite seal the deal with a baby. While Sefa and Leilani have got two kids, they are not married despite Sefa's proposal. Stanley is now a trainee Deacon in the Future Church, Michael has moved to Australia, and Bolo ditched his job with Sefa's failing business to work for Sione. As adulthood drives them apart, a crisis brings them back together: when Bolo disappears, the Minister gathers up the boys to find him, somewhere, in the world's largest Polynesian city.

Jacob van Oppen, an East German who is the former strongest man on earth, and his manager Orsini, a scrawny yet dapper businessman who calls himself "the Prince," makes a good living by travelling around small South American towns and organizing wrestling exhibitions in run-down theaters. Jacob van Oppen is an uncontrollable titan of impressive dimensions who can only be appeased by the soft soothing melody of "Lili Marleen." Once this oddball pair disembark at the village of Santa Maria (in an unspecified country), business really kicks off: the local newspaper is immediately gung-ho on sponsoring the fight, helping hands placard posters announcing the big event and putting an open call for a worthy adversary. Ever so resourceful, Orsini knows how to find the right combatant, but fishing in Santa Maria could lead to a bigger catch than he'd hoped for... Although the cunning editor of the local newspaper is convinced to have sniffed out Orsini's secret, he very well might be on a false track...

Philippe (Magimel) lives on the outskirts of Nantes with his mother Christine (Clément) who is a hairdresser and with his two younger sisters. One day, a local girl mysteriously disappears. Soon after, Philippe's mother introduces her children to Gerard (Le Coq) -- a wealthy local businessman who appears interested in pursuing her. She gives him a sculpture of the Roman goddess Flora that had been in the family garden.

Not too long after receiving the gift, Gerard appears to vanish without a trace, presumably in order to avoid contact with Christine. Philippe makes it his mission to recover the sculpture. He finally tracks it down and places it in his closet without telling anyone. Later, at his sister's wedding, Philippe meets attractive bridesmaid Senta (Smet) and the two quickly fall for each other passionately. She claims to be a model and aspiring actress who lives in a huge villa which she says she inherited from her father. The sexy Senta may be beautiful and irresistible, yet she also invents stories about herself and has macabre ideas about life, love, and death. As their affair intensifies, she asks Philippe to kill a stranger to prove his love. When he refuses, she kicks him out of her house, telling him he doesn't really love her. Philippe presents a news article about a dead tramp as proof that he has done the deed, and Senta, in return, tells him that she has killed Gerard. Philippe, not wanting to believe that she has really done it, goes to Gerard's house and finds that he is still alive. Relieved that Senta is not a murderer, he gives her the sculpture of Flora and asks her to marry him. A police inspector informs Philippe that another man was killed at the same location, and asks Philippe to explain his presence there. When he is released from the police station, Philippe calls Senta and tells her that they should break up. He then meets the homeless man whom he had claimed to have murdered, but whose reported death was a case of mistaken identity.

Philippe returns to Senta's house, and she confesses to him that she has killed a young woman who wanted to steal her previous boyfriend. As the police arrive, Philippe tells Senta that he will never leave her.

Skywriter and stunt pilot Sheila Mason (Myrna Loy) who has to work as a barnstormer because women were not allowed in other aviation fields, is attracted to ace pilot Ken Gordon (Cary Grant). Ken is trying to perfect instrument flying (flying "blind"), with his own design of an autopilot. He has devoted four years to perfecting the system and even mortgaged his aircraft to finance his experiments. Before being able to prove his invention works, a stove accident blinds him. The doctors cannot say for how long.

When Ken retreats from the world, Mac (Hobart Cavanaugh), his friend and partner, brings him Lightning, a seeing eye dog. He first resists any efforts to help him, but with the help of his dog, he learns to navigate around his household and soon keeps busy by writing aviation articles. Sheila, who has fallen in love with Ken, does not tell him that the articles are all being rejected. She gives him money to survive by taking on dangerous stunts arranged by her manager, Nick Williams (Roscoe Karns).

Ken finally regains his confidence and continues to work on his autopilot when the Rockwell Aviation Company, based at Roosevelt Field near New York, repossesses his aircraft. Distraught, Ken accuses Sheila of falling for him out of pity and sends her away. She plans a solo flight from Moscow to New York to win a $25,000 prize so they can marry.

Her last stage from Boston to New York finds Sheila nearly out of fuel and running into bad weather. She navigates by looking down to see where she is, but over Roosevelt Field, the fog is so heavy that she may not be able to land. With help from Mac, Ken sneaks into his old aircraft and takes off, using his autopilot to help Sheila land. While in the air, Ken talks to Sheila about his desperation of being blind and not having any future. His intention is to bring her to the ground and then fly until he runs out of fuel and crashes. Sheila tries to dissuade him, but he is determined. The two pilots make it down, but Sheila deliberately crashes into Ken's aircraft to make sure that he will not try to kill himself.

A huge crowd has gathered at the airport. As the two greet the public and the press, Ken sees flashes of light from the exploding flash bulbs of the photographers. Ken and Sheila embrace as their car continues through the throng of well-wishers.

The film tells the story of a sister and a brother, Inês and Rafael. Since the divorce of their parents, their family hasn't seen Rafael. Inês runs away from home looking for Rafael, only to find out that he is at Guincho Beach, surfing. Rafael is a former surf champion who tests the limits of his life every day by seeking out the most dangerous waves. When the two siblings meet, Guincho makes them come together in a promise of paradise on earth, as it is the last place where their family lived happily together. But Inês is surprised one day when she finds her brother looking fixedly to the Serra de Sintra mountain range, where the Convent of the Capuchos was once his refuge. She fears that she has brought him back memories of their parents' separation. Rafael is in a crisis of faith. When one day he disappears, Inês knows he has gone back to the convent, and she starts doing what she can to bring him back to her.

The film is focused on an innocent young man who later becomes a dangerous killer in the city.

Giles is the roundy son of the respected Earl of Bateson, and he routinely sends his father letters while he is away at school, assuring his father that he is achieving good marks in his classes. However, despite these assurances, Giles is kicked out of school for "Gross Misconduct", and he returns home to his father. Giles at first pretends that his grades were SO good that the Dean has given him a vacation, but the Earl has already gotten word from the school, and Gile's can't lie his way out of it.

Giles is given a tutor, but when the tutor falls asleep, Giles sneaks out, eventually going to his Godfather, Mr. Annesley, and he explains the situation. Annesley has been having troubles himself with someone stealing his Roses, and as he is about to leave town, he asks Giles to watch his Rose garden for him while he is away.

Giles soon learns that Sally, the parsons daughter, has been taking the roses, but when he confronts her about it, she realizes that her motives were pure, and she soon wins him over. Sally thinks he is simply a gardener, and she takes him to meet her father as the two become better acquainted.

One day, Giles pays some Gypsies to give Sally a silver ring, which they call a "Wishing ring" that will grant the wish of whoever wears it, and later, he sneaks behind Sally and kisses her after she wishes for "A kiss from her true love". Nice move by Giles.

After a few days, Giles receives word that Annesley is coming back, and he asks Giles to invite all of the neighbors to a Lawn Party to welcome him home. However, when Giles tells Sally, she realizes that she does not have the proper clothes for a fancy party. Undeterred, Giles goes out to buy her a new dress and shoes, and sneaks it into her home without her noticing, writing "From the Wishing Ring" on the box.

Before the party, Giles receives a letter from his father, telling him that he knows where he is, and that he does not wish to see him until he can earn a Half-crown to prove himself (Kind of a small amount of money even by these times, but ok, sure). Later, at the party, the letter falls out of Giles pocket, and Sally and her father find the note and read it, unbeknownst to Giles.

Sally, with her pure heart, takes it upon herself to reconcile the relationship between father and son, and she goes to the home of the Earl, quickly befriending him as they place chess together. In fact, Sally visits him every day, and she becomes very sad for him as he is pained by a serious case of Gout. She decides to ask the Gypsies about a cure for the Earl, and they tell her to visit the "Devils Cliff" at midnight, by the light of the moon, where she will find a magic herb that cures all disease. Sounds legit.

That night, Sally leaves her house in the middle of the night at travels to Devils cliff, but the next morning, she is found seriously injured, having fallen off the cliff in the dark.

As Sally is taken to her home, word spreads quickly that she has been injured, and the Earl immediately runs out of his house (with his gout) to make his way to her. Along the way though, his horse goes lame and he stops to borrow another horse, paying the man he borrows it from a half-crown. However, the horse actually belongs to Giles, and the man gives Giles the half crown while simultaneously telling him about Sally's fall.

Much like his father, Giles IMMEDIATELY runs to Sally, getting there just before his father, and the two briefly chat before the Earl arrives. Giles at first hides as his father comes in to check on Sally, but soon Giles comes out, angering his father. However, Sally tells the Earl that he must forgive his son, as he has fulfilled his conditions and earned a half-crown. The two smile and embrace each other, and all is well.

The film ends with a celebratory feast at the wedding of Sally and Giles.

"Passin' Through" (Fairbanks) is a benevolent outlaw who holds up trains so that he can provide for fatherless children in the Old West. He knows little of his personal history, but he is pursued by a US marshal (Cannon) who does. Along the way, he encounters Amy (Love), and falls in love with her. A rival bandit, "The Wolf" (De Grasse), is also a rival for Amy, but Passin' and Amy eventually marry.

Wealthy Reggie Morton (Fairbanks) falls in love with Agnes Shannon (Love), a dancer on the Bowery, and takes a job as a bouncer to be near her. His rival is Tony Bernard (Lowery), the leader of a gang, whose henchmen attack Reggie. Reggie fights them off, and then fights the gang leader in an empty warehouse to determine the winner of Agnes's love.

The grasshopper is playing his fiddle, dancing and eating leaves. He notices some ants working hard collecting food. He laughs and calls an ant to him. He tells the ant that there is food on every tree and he sees no reason to work. He dances and sings that ''The world owes us a living''. The ant begins to dance too. The queen ant arrives, carried in a sedan chair, and sees the ant playing instead of working. The ant notices the queen and immediately goes back to work. The angry queen warns the grasshopper that he will change his tune when winter comes. The grasshopper blithely dismisses the queen's warning, saying that winter is a long way off.

Autumn passes and winter arrives. The grasshopper trudges through the snow, cold and hungry. He finds one withered leaf, but it blows away before he can eat it. Meanwhile, the ants are feasting on their stored food. The grasshopper knocks on their door and collapses. The ants carry him inside and warm and feed him. The queen ant approaches him, and the grasshopper begs to be allowed to stay. She tells him that only those who work may stay, and tells him to take his fiddle. Thinking that he is being dismissed, the grasshopper starts to leave, but when the queen tells him to play the fiddle, he happily does and sings ''I owe the world a living!''

One day in Hollywood, actors come to the studio to do their routines - seen are W. C. Fields and Charlie Chaplin. Also coming to the studio is Beans who travels in his rough-riding car, but the guard will not permit him to enter. Not backing out, Beans disguises himself as Oliver Hardy, and passes through the gate without causing suspicion.

Taking off his cover, Beans enters a sound stage where Oliver Owl is directing a film. Looking from a catwalk, Beans watches Little Kitty perform a scene where an actor tries to court her. Suddenly, a passing worker accidentally knocks him off and Beans falls on top of the actor, much to the annoyance of Oliver, who tosses Beans away. Beans lands in a scene room where a Frankenstein-esque robot is on the table. As he frightenedly moves back, the cat lands on a switch. As a result, the robot activates and rises.

The robot goes on a rampage and everyone flees the studio. Beans tries to whack it with an iron bar but the robot is very sturdy and throws him across the sound stage. As Beans lands next to a giant fan, he switches it on, generating a gale force at the robot. The robot resists the draft, but walks straight into the fan getting smashed to bits.

In 16th century Asia, Raphael Cain sees his wife slain and his daughter taken by supernatural villains from the underworld. He vows to pursue the demons through the centuries to kill them all and find his daughter, and with the help of a mystic, he is taught the magic—and samurai swordsmanship—it will require to accomplish this oath. His reluctant squire, Goodwin follows him through time and helps him in his quest. Now in the 21st century, Cain and Goodwin are joined by a psychologist, Sara Beckman, who studies otherworldly anomalies. Cain will need all the help he can get because now the lead demon, Mallos and his henchwoman, Vashista, are gathering power and making life in the 21st century America very uncomfortable.

Natsuko Saeki, a young woman working for an advertising company in Tokyo, returns to her family's home in the countryside. There she finds her brother, Yasuo, searching for a "phantom" rice seed called ''tatsunishiki,'' rumored to create a new form of sake. He finds the seeds, but after he passes away suddenly, Natsuko quits her job and begins working at the sake brewery to realize Yasuo's dream of making the best sake in Japan.

The story picks up where the first book ended. Ash is in Q’os the capital of Lanstrada, the Mannian heartland staking out the Temple of Whispers pursuing his personal vendetta to kill the Matriarch - Sasheen.

The "Diplomat" Ché is also in Q'os. After the successful attack on the Rōshun he is beginning to question his own beliefs. Sasheen has made him her personal diplomat and showing him the Head of Lucian which is kept alive by being immersed in a jar of Royal Milk also gave him his first taste of the Royal Milk which is a powerful narcotic.

Ash attempts to assassinate Sasheen during a procession with a crossbow but doesn't go through with it as she is surrounded with glass, which Ash suspects is strong enough that only explosives can break it. He follows her till she boards a ship and after much thought he follows her by diving into the water.

Ché meets Guan, the priest on the flagship of the fleet heading towards Khos. Guan and his sister, Swan are part of Sasheen’s travelling entourage. Ash is hiding in the bilge of one of the ships staying alive by stealing food and water in the night not knowing where he's heading. Sasheen assigns Ché a diplomatic task, to make an example of the lover of General Romano in retaliation to him slandering her son while intoxicated. The party reaches the island of Lagos, whose entire population was put to death on the orders of the Matriarch. While the General taking care of formalities as they near the harbor (Chir) Ché goes to his room and strangles his lover (Topo) and deposits his body in the water heater not knowing he is still alive once he realizes topo is still alive & and is being boiled alive he leaves him there. An enraged General Romano insults Sasheen's dead son to her face. Her advisers convince her not to punish him (kill him).

The ship Ash is on sinks in a storm and he washes up on a beach. He drags himself to a fire he sees and manages to scare off a few sailors about to assault a group of women before he passes out.

Curl, a survivor from the island of Lagos, who works as a prostitute in Bar-Khos enlists herself in the army as a medic.

On the orders of general Creed of Khos all convicted prisoners and those deemed too unfit for duty are enlisted into the Army. One of them is Bull who was previously discharged from the army for assaulting his senior officer. He later became a pit-fighter. He was found drenched in the blood of Adrianos, a commander who led the last successful offensive against the Imperial Fourth Army.

Ash agrees to become the bodyguard of Mistress Cheer and her group of women who are prostitutes following the army. Ash sneaks away in the night and makes his way to the Matriarch's tent which is heavily guarded. He makes his way to her tent by killing a sentry and stealing his clothes and almost reaches the enclosure. Inside Sasheen and her inner circle are having an orgy with narcotics and slaves in celebration of having landed with the army, Ché is also present although he's not participating. The next morning soldiers looking for the person who killed the guard question Ash but Mistress Cheer covers for him. He parts ways with her after refusing to answer her questions.

Sasheen sends Alarum as her ambassador to General Creed. He lays out the terms of surrender to creed with the threat that if he refuses every person of Khos will be killed and also offers him an ornate ceremonial dagger of Mann whose purpose is to take once own life.

Creed attacks the Mann army in the night at first they make good progress but are later halted taking heavy losses. In the confusion Ash tries to reach Sasheen, Ché shoots Sasheen in the confusion and Ash collapses after he almost reaches her. Ché grabs Ash and they escape.

Sasheen is still alive but barely. The Khos army reaches the city of Tume, they plan for a retreat by destroying the bridge. Ash, Ché and Curl are also in the city. While Ash is recovering Ché meets Curl and they escape from the twins Guan and Swan who were sent to kill Ché as he's been labeled a traitor.

Once it became clear that the Tume cannot be held, Creed and the soldiers abandon Tume, However, there are still several people in the city itself including Ash, Ché and Curl.

Sasheen has been poisoned by Ché's bullet. Only the Royal Milk is helping her survive. General Romano who became aware of this is plotting his coup.

Ash sees the banner of Sasheen and sets out to kill her. Ché and Curl escape the city by swimming through the lake. Ché gives Curl his waterlogged gun and turns back to hunt the twins who are hunting him and kills both. Curl who is waiting near the pickup point sees and picks up Ché who is injured. They both get on the airship but Ash, who changes his mind about killing Sasheen, returns but misses getting on the airship and is stranded in Tume, surrounded by the Mann army. He escapes by diving into the lake, but the Mann soldiers are on the banks and looking for any who try to escape that way.

Sasheen, who is dying from the poison, gives her final order to Archgeneral Sparus that Romano must not be allowed to be her successor and if necessary to kill him. She soon succumbs to the poison. Sparus and Romano meet after her death and Sparus informs Romano of Sasheen's last orders and that he intends to follow them. Romano tries to kill him with poison but fails and flees.

Ash survives his escape attempt and reaches safety in the woods. Ché lets slip to Curl that he's Mannian and Curl turns him over to the Khos Specials.

Bhan and Bull who were captured in the first battle and were tortured for information manage to escape with some other prisoners.

Ash finds Reese and tells her of her son Nico's death. She assaults him in her grief and tells him to leave. Ash eventually makes his way to Bar-Khos and meeting with as old contact learns of the destruction of Sato. Ash wanders around till he reaches Bilge Town, he finds a bar and decides to drink himself out of his misery. He gets drunk and falls asleep outside while its raining from where a man named Meer picks him up and takes him to his home. Meer talks of the teaching of the great fool and tells Ash he will talk about the Isles of Sky if Ash tells him about the land of Honshu. Later Meer tells Ash that he wishes to accompany Ash to Seto to make an offer to the remaining Rōshun and in return he will help Ash with his loss.

In the Temple of Whispers, Kira Sasheen's mother speaks before the other lords and ladies to decide who Sasheen's successor will be and she reveals her plans to concur the land of Zanzahar within a year of the fall of the free ports.

Epilogue

Meer takes Ash to Sato and the remains of the Monastery via an airship. He finds several survivors of the Rōshun order. Coya makes the remaining Rōshun his offer to choose a side and if in doing so they are no longer Rōshun, he reminds them that all things change. Ash later confides with Kosh that Meer has offered him a way of bringing back Nico, a way found in the Isles of Sky.

Han Myung-wol is a North Korean spy who infiltrates the South under orders to kidnap popular hallyu actor Kang Woo, only to end up falling in love with him.

Sci-fiction author Sakutaro Makimura spends his days giving life to his daydreams, and enjoys a peaceful relationship with his wife Setsuko. One day, Setsuko is struck with stomach pains, and is later diagnosed with bowel cancer and given one year to live. After being told by her doctors that laughter boosts the body's immune system, Sakutaro decides to write one short story for his wife every day.

For years the Pirates of the Earth system, under the command of explorer Don Gibson, second-in-command Elsa Young and former UTA scientist Dr. Carl Memford, have been constructing a massive armed mothership named the ''Clockwork'' to take on the warring UTA and Civilian fleets between them and the galactic core. After allying with the Rez miners in the Earth system, the ''Clockwork'' crew blast their way through the UTA blockade at the system's warp gate and head into the wider galaxy. This brings them into conflict with the high ranking UTA commander Admiral Jamison who doggedly attempts to stop them reaching the heavily guarded Core Worlds.

After acquiring the technology necessary to access the Core Worlds the ''Clockwork'' crew discover that the Core Worlds are overrun with a horrific biomechanical pandemic that fuses living tissue into ship systems to create an all consuming hiveminded fleet of Zombies. It becomes apparent that the UTA had been battling this infection for over 200 years and the added security measures for accessing the Core Worlds were not to keep Civilians and Pirates out but to keep the Zombie infection in. The ''Clockwork'' battles on and eventually discovers a hidden alien warp gate into the galactic center - there it discovers an extremely ancient and hostile alien intelligence known as the 'Dark Entity' which is both the source of all Rez in the galaxy and the controlling intelligence of the Zombies.

To the horror of his crew, captain Don Gibson immediately defects to the Dark Entity and the ''Clockwork'' is infected and transformed into a Zombie superweapon. The remaining crew are only saved by the intervention of Admiral Jamison, who then retreat in shock. Don reveals that he had encountered the Dark Entity over 200 years ago and was enslaved and dispatched as a means of securing the success of its infection by destroying the UTA's blockade on interstellar travel, with the Entity prolonging his lifespan in order to do so.

The Zombie infection quickly spreads throughout the entire galaxy, with the crew of the ''Clockwork'' becoming widely hated and cursed for bringing about the apparent end of humanity. Seeking to save the galaxy, and to get revenge on Gibson, Elsa Young takes command of the Pirates and spends the next 2 years creating a new mothership - ''Clockwork 2''. With the help of Admiral Jamison and other allies, the Pirate fleet fights its way back through Zombie space to the realm of the Dark Entity and destroys it, Gibson and the original ''Clockwork''.

The fate of humanity is left in question, as the Rez it so desperately depended on can now no longer be replenished. Choosing not to dwell on this the Pirates instead devote themselves to destroying every trace of the Zombie infection.

''The Pilot and His Wife'' portrays the life of the sailor both at home and abroad and describes varied experiences out on the stormy deep as well as in distant ports. The work is noted for its vigor of description. With a background of ocean waves, it is a story of married life.

Salve Kristiansen loves a beautiful woman named Elisabeth and is evidently loved in return. But for a time Elisabeth is attracted to a young officer who wishes to marry her. The old love for Salve prevails, however, and Elisabeth spurns the officer, but Salve has already left his native land in desperation and is sailing toward foreign shores. When he finally, after some years, returns to his old home, he finds that Elisabeth, after all, has been true to him. He marries her.

It would seem that all is well, but such is not the case. The thought of Elisabeth's momentary hesitation does not leave Salve, and this unfortunate circumstance makes life miserable for both. Ten years elapse before the husband and wife finally come to a clear understanding and a genuine appreciation of one another, and now at last are enabled to lay the foundation for a happy life together. The novel emphasizes the need of implicit confidence and trust, if two persons united in wedlock are to live happily together.

The young composer Mikhail Glinka performs his new work at a soiree at Count Vielgorsky's house. However, the public is accustomed to Western music, and reacts coldly to the creation of the composer. The disappointed Glinka decides to go learn the art of music in Italy.

After returning from Italy, he is full of desire to write a Russian opera. Vasily Zhukovsky proposes a subject: a exploit of Ivan Susanin. Tsar Nicholas I changes the name of the opera to ''A Life for the Tsar'' and assigns a librettist - Baron Georg von Rosen. When Glinka meets him, he is shocked: Rosen speaks Russian with a noticeable German accent. The premiere is successful, but Glinka is still not entirely happy with the libretto: "Rosen wrote the wrong words".

When the tsar learns that Glinka's opera ''Ruslan and Lyudmila'' is based on a subject by Pushkin, he sees it as sedition. This is a bitter experience for Glinka, but he is comforted by the support of "the progressive Russian people."

Prior to World War I, a German officer in China sends for his wife to join him. When war is declared, he is assigned to the ''Emden''. He is reunited with his wife when the ''Emden'' takes aboard passengers from the ''Diplomat'' in the Indian Ocean. The ''Emden'' fights the ''Sydney'' and is destroyed but the German officer survives.

Paloma is an 11-year-old girl quietly and unhappily living in a luxurious Paris apartment with her family. She is intelligent and observant and, sensing disappointment and despair in adulthood, decides to end her life on her 12th birthday, which is 165 days away from when the story begins. Her father's old camera in hand, she records telling moments in the lives of the inadequate humans around her: her antidepressant-dependent mother, her moody sister, and petulant dinner guests. As Paloma prepares to finish her remaining days, Mrs. Michel, the gruff-looking, reclusive concierge, manages the building where Paloma and her family live. She hides her passion for literature from her bourgeois employers, but is found out by the new resident Mr. Ozu, widowed and Japanese, as a beautiful bibliophile in elegant disguise. A fiercely tender attraction grows between the three like-minded individuals, showing Paloma a more lovely side of life than she originally thought possible and forcing her to reconsider her plan of suicide.

A fictionalised story based on historical persons, the series explores the early life of Leonardo da Vinci during the Renaissance in Italy. He is an eccentric genius who has struggled to deal with his inner demons and unruly imagination, as he yearns for acceptance from his estranged father. Their sometimes antagonistic relationship results in Leonardo's working for the House of Medici. While doing so, he becomes embroiled in a political scheme to control Florence, as he hunts for a spy who is revealing information to the Catholic Church and the Pazzi family. He also begins an affair with Lucrezia Donati, Lorenzo de' Medici's mistress. The series depicts many of Leonardo's inventions and subsequent works as a military engineer for the Duke of Milan and the Borgias.

These events coincide with Leonardo's quest to uncover the ''Book of Leaves'', which a mysterious cult known as the Sons of Mithras also consider very important. Mystics and the cult guided him to unlock the 'hidden areas of his mind' by accessing the ''Fountain of Memory'', and inform him that he has the power to see the future and also to shape it.

In terms of historical accuracy, it should be emphasized that the show is ''highly'' fictionalized, and this is already (and deliberately) made explicit the first episode, playing 1475–1476 (persecution for sodomy 1476; before the Pazzi conspiracy of 1478), when potatoes and tobacco (this one even in the very first dialog) are presented as something commonplace – 15 years before America was even discovered. Likewise, Mithraism had already fully disappeared during Late Antiquity.

In an attic full of discarded junk, a pretty doll called Buttercup lives in an old trunk together with her friends, the marionette Sir Handsome, the lovable Teddy Bear, a Mechanical Mouse and the plasticine creature, Laurent. When Buttercup is snatched and taken off to the Land of Evil, her pals set out on a wondrous and daring adventure to rescue her from the all-powerful Head of State. Originally produced in Czech, the meticulously crafted animated feature is set in a magical world of toys and knick-knacks stored in the attic of a home in Prague. Following the symbolism of the Cold War era that impacted director Barta and the Czech Republic, the world of the attic is divided into the land of happy toys in the west and the land of evil in the east. The despotic Head of State rules over the evil empire of the east with a band of sinister minions, insects and rotted vegetables.

Set at the end of 1880, the film depicts the invention of the vibrator. Dr. Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy) is a young physician who has difficulty with his occupation due to constant arguments over modern medicine. He gets a job assisting Dr. Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce), whose practice specializes in the treatment of "hysteria", a popular diagnosis for women of that time. Medical practitioners like Dr. Dalrymple tried to manage hysteria by massaging the genital area, decently covered under a curtain, to elicit "paroxysmal convulsions", without recognizing that they were inducing orgasms. Granville meets Dr. Dalrymple's daughters, Emily (Felicity Jones), and her older sister Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a premodern feminist who runs a settlement house in a poor section of London.

Granville seems to be good at massaging, getting a sizeable following, while at the same time Dr. Dalrymple suggests he might eventually take over the business and marry Emily. One night after work, Charlotte comes in with her friend Fannie (Ashley Jensen), who has broken her ankle. After he helps treat her, Dalrymple forbids Granville from offering any future assistance to Charlotte, hoping to dissuade her from her work in the slums. Meanwhile, the increased clientele at the practice is hard on Granville, and his hand musculature is unable to keep up with the task; an attack of cramp results in his dismissal. Fortunately, his friend, Lord Edmund St. John-Smythe (Rupert Everett), has developed an electrical feather duster, and its vibrations give Dr. Granville the idea of modifying the gadget for use as an electric massager. After successfully using it on the Dalrymple's maid Molly (Sheridan Smith), he persuades Dr. Dalrymple to try the device on his patients, resulting in massive success. Mortimer and Emily then become engaged, while Charlotte struggles with supporting the welfare house.

At the engagement party, Charlotte is arrested while protecting Fannie from a police officer. Emily and Dr. Dalrymple urge Granville to testify at her trial that she is hysterical in order to prevent her from being sent to prison. During the trial, the prosecutor recommends that Charlotte be sent to a sanatorium and be forced to undergo a hysterectomy. As Mortimer speaks, he explains that the symptoms for hysteria are too common to be regarded as a mental illness, and that he himself believes that Charlotte is the most generous and caring person he knows. The judge agrees with Mortimer's argument, and Charlotte is sentenced to just thirty days in prison for her assault on the policeman.

Emily decides to end her engagement to Granville, after realising her only motive was to please her father. The vibrator now enters the stage as a medical device for the treatment of the condition, reducing treatment time while greatly increasing customer satisfaction. The royalties from its sale result in independent wealth for Granville, who has fallen in love with Charlotte. Pledging to use some of his wealth to establish a clinic at her settlement house, he proposes marriage to Charlotte and she accepts.

As described in a film magazine, Boy Leyton (Barthelmess) is second mate on board the ''Lady Spray'', the ship on which his father is Captain Leyton (Power). Boy is often chided by his father for his effeminacy and more often beaten. While in port Boy proposes to Minnie (Gish) and suggests that she go to Glasgow to meet him there to be married. The ship sails and the Captain learns of his son's intention to marry. He calls him in and tells him about his mother, who deserted him, and tries to turn him away from all women, but Boy refuses to listen. The Captain is suddenly taken ill, but before he dies he makes Boy promise that he will not marry until he has found the man who wronged his mother. The Captain is buried at sea and the ship continues on its course. Upon reaching Glasgow Boy tells Minnie what happened. While at the bar, he meets an old woman who comes in begging. During the conversation he discovers that she is his mother, and he forces her to tell him who her betrayer was. Boy learns that it was the first mate from his father's ship who is now its captain. He finds the man and, though greatly outweighed, he finally succeeds in knocking him down. The stunned man falls from the ship into the sea and disappears. When the ship goes back into port, Boy and Minnie are married.

In the nineteenth century, an American visiting Cuba with a friend becomes mixed up with the island's independence movement against Spanish rule.

Five men enlist in the AIF – laid back Bill; World War I veteran Scotty, who pretends to be 37 years old; an "old school tie" businessman Peter, who is running his dead father's business, and whose secretary Miss Lane leaves for overseas service as a VAD; the rebellious "Bluey" William Baker; and Jim, who leaves behind his new wife, Jean.

Bluey and Bill almost get in a fight when Bluey tries to cut into the line during enlistment but the five soon become friends. The five soldiers go through basic training and become good soldiers. Bill falls for a female chiropodist working at the camp.

Bluey, Bill, Jim and Peter get leave and spend a day at Luna Park in Sydney with their women (Bluey has a girl called "Blondie"), then go to a cabaret. They all toast to the future.

The men then go to a pub before embarking for overseas. Scotty tells his four mates that he has been kicked out the army for being too old at 48 years old.

The other four go on board while Scotty works in a munitions factory. The final scene is of the four cobbers going into action, Jim, Peter and Bill thinking of their women.

The movie ends with a quote from Henry Lawson, "I tell you the star of the south shall rise... in the lurid clouds of war".

A series of everyday people talk about their contributions to the war effort. A motor mechanic speaks about how he was working happily in 1939, not thinking much of the crisis in Europe; he subsequently began making aircraft and enlisted in the Volunteer Defence Force.

The factory manager talks about how Australia has increased its industrial capacity and the high rates of tax necessary to pay for it. In peace time he was an engineer in charge of a cosmetics factory. He talks in particular about the munitions and weapons made in Australia.

Old Man Stewart, the farmer, talks about how the war interrupted his life and the importance of getting on with the job of growing food. He speaks about the female land army.

A man on a tractor, a former milkman, talks about his job building roads and aerodromes. His daughter Gwennie is working making munitions. She used to work in a beauty parlour and now pours TNT into munitions. She talks about the varied things women do in the war.

Her boyfriend Bill is in the navy. He talks about the Australia navy, the battles they lost, including the Sydney, Perth and Canberra.

Bill and Gwennie are at a cafe when they meet a merchant seaman who has survived several attacks and sinkings. He talks about the role of the merchant navy in transporting troops, munitions and food.

An RAAF pilot banters with an RAF pilot in New Guinea. They go off on a mission. An RAF mechanic and RAAF mechanic banter and worry about their pilots. Then with an American mechanic "Brooklyn" they remember the bombing of Darwin and talk about how the Allies will defeat Japan.

In the jungle, an Australian and American soldier get cut off together. The Australian soldier reminisces about service in Tobruk, Greek, Greece and the Malayan campaign. He praises his English, Indian and New Zealand allies. The Australian has a brother taken POW in Malaya, the American a brother in Bataan. They vow to get revenge on the Japanese.

The narrator then talks about Peter Lalor, the Eureka Rebellion and the vow taken at the Eureka Stockade.

The story begins with Tom Riley, along with Engine 174, driving through Staten Island. They arrive at a power station that is in flames. They enter the station and Tom is separated from his fellow firemen after accidentally falling into the lower levels of the station through a broken floor. As Tom works his way back up, he sees one of the firemen being attacked and killed by Longlegs. Tom is forced to fight his way out of the station and rescue one of his fellow firemen.

Once outside, Tom learns that the Chimeran invasion is in full swing. Riley then makes his way through the city, eventually picking up a broadcast asking him to assist with the evacuation. Tom follows the directions given by the broadcast, eventually meeting up with a woman named Ellie Martinez, the leader of the self-titled "Minutemen". With the support of Ellie and her ally Mac, Tom fights his way to a highway bridge where Tom reunites with his wife, Natalie, and daughter, Rachel.

Tom sends his family to safety, promising to find them. As more Chimera show up, Riley is forced to stay behind with Ellie to buy the survivors some time. Along the way, Tom and Ellie come across a mysterious shipment in a military truck called Gray Tech, which demonstrates the capabilities of upgrading their weapons. It is revealed that the shipment was being sent to Richard Gorrell. They are again attacked by Chimeran ground forces but Tom and Ellie defeat them. Before they could leave the highway however, an Executioner attacks them. Tom and Ellie are able to destroy the Executioner and escape from bombardment of Spires and Crawlers.

They make their way to a military base in Bayonne, New Jersey, where Ellie introduces Tom to her ally Colonel George Amherst, who notifies Tom that his family has been sent to a Protection Camp in Union City. Immediately after, the Chimera ambush the base. Riley assists in fending off the attack, which includes saving a wounded soldier, and killing a gargantuan Chimeran creature called the Abomination.

As Tom and Ellie progress towards Ellis Island, they sight some Chimeran reinforcements traveling along the George Washington Bridge. Ellie calls in an air strike in an effort to eliminate the reinforcements. Unfortunately, a VTOL crashes on the bridge, but it is too late to call the air strike off. Tom drops onto the bridge and begins to make his way to the crashed VTOL's crew. After searching the destroyed VTOL, Tom discovers an injured soldier trapped inside the VTOL. Tom rescues the soldier, and reunites with Ellie. Tom and Ellie then make their way to the end of the bridge, encountering Grims along the way. They eventually reach the exit, only to find that it has been sealed off by the government. As Ellie attempts to find an escape route, Tom faces off against an Impaler. Tom and Ellie jump down an emergency exit just as another air strike hits the bridge.

Tom and Ellie eventually regroup with Mac, who helps them reach Ellis Island. Tom and Ellie are ambushed by some Chimera. After clearing out all the hostiles, they eventually reach the laboratories where they reach a sealed vault door. A man contacts them asking for help. Tom and Ellie begin to fight their way to the man, only to learn that he has been infected. Once Tom kills the man, he proceeds towards Richard Gorrell's office. Tom and Ellie find a projector, which plays an instructional video. They learn that Gorrell is working on Project Phoenix, and was kidnapping several humans for testing, including Rachel and Natalie.

Tom and Ellie ride a VTOL to a protection camp in Union City, in hopes of rescuing Tom's family. Once at the camp, Tom and Ellie split up. Riley fights his way to a crashed VTOL, discovering an injured pilot. Once the pilot is saved, Tom sets out to regroup with Ellie. He fights his way through Chimeran infested mines and buildings, eventually learning the location of Natalie and Rachel. Tom catches a quick glimpse of a Chimeran carrier taking his family to a nearby conversion tower. Riley and Ellie board a floating Chimera in an effort to follow Natalie and Rachel.

Tom and Riley finally reach the conversion tower. They are separated when Ellie decides to search for Gorrell while Tom looks for his family. After clearing out several groups of Chimera, Tom eventually finds an infected Natalie. Tom performs a mercy kill on Natalie, shooting her with his carbine. Tom continues to search for Rachel and Ellie.

After fighting several Chimera, Tom eventually regroups with them. Ellie and Rachel proceed to help evacuate some survivors while Tom hunts down Gorrell. Once Tom finds him, Gorrell convinces Tom to trust him as he awakens an unfinished Leviathan, in an effort to show Tom his potential power over the Chimera. Gorrell fails to control the beast however, and immediately flees. Once Tom escapes, he is contacted by Ellie, who informs him that some other Minutemen have arrived. Tom confronts the Leviathan, eventually killing it.

While making his way to the tower's exit, he is ambushed by Gorrell. Tom quickly uses his fire axe to finish Gorrell off. Tom reunites with Ellie. He warns her about the desperate government, and how they allowed Gorrell to proceed with Project Phoenix. After ditching all his Gray Tech, Tom parts ways with Ellie as he and Rachel walk off.

A paleontologist named Zack takes his nephew Ricky, whose parents went on vacation to Europe, and niece Jade on a fossil hunt. While alone, Ricky encounters an anthropomorphic raven named Alex, who later turns into his ancestor, an ''Alexornis''.

Alex tells Ricky of a story set in the Late Cretaceous period, 70 million years ago, about his best friend Patchi, who is the youngest and smallest in a litter of ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' hatchlings and is often bullied by his annoying older brother Scowler. Their father Bulldust is the leader of the ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' herd. Alex, who is Patchi's mentor, protector and teacher, tries to help Patchi impress a female ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' named Juniper, but her herd migrated south without him. Patchi is also attacked by a troodon, which attempts to take the young ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' away and eat him, but he is saved by Bulldust, resulting in Patchi having a hole in his frill as an injury which Alex claims that Patchi is "destined for greatness".

Later, Bulldust moves his herd south as well, but when they try to pass through a forest, they are forced to flee when a storm strikes, and a fire erupts. Taking advantage of the chaos, a pack of ferocious ''Gorgosaurus'' attacks the scattered herd. They kill the rest of Patchi and Scowler's family while their leader and alpha Gorgon fights and kills Bulldust, who was trying to defend Patchi and Scowler.

Afterwards, Patchi's herd, which is now led by Bulldust's rival Major, combined with Juniper's as they continued their migration where Gorgon's pack attacks them again. In the ensuing chaos, Patchi, Scowler, and Juniper fall into a river and are swept downstream to the ocean, with Alex following them from above. At a beach, Scowler follows a herd of ''Edmontosaurus'' to find food, callously leaving Patchi and Juniper behind. The two make their way through a forest and eventually are able to find their herd and Scowler.

After years of making the same migration from north to south and vice versa, a grown up Scowler becomes the herd's new leader after defeating Major and chooses Juniper to be his mate, much to Patchi's disappointment. Scowler recklessly leads the herd onto a frozen lake, but Patchi is able to lead the majority of the herd to safety.

Enraged and believing that Patchi is going to be usurping him and also trying to take Juniper from him, Scowler confronts his brother and challenges him for a battle in exchange for leadership of the herd. Scowler, since he is a lot taller and stronger than Patchi, quickly gains the upper hand and defeats his brother by trapping him under a tree before disowning him and ordering Juniper along with the rest of the herd to leave Patchi behind. Despondent and heartbroken, Patchi, who is now trapped underneath the tree and unable to do anything, attempts to accept his fate by allowing predators to kill and eat him, but Alex convinces him to die for something worth dying for as Bulldust did.

Reinvigorated by the advice, Patchi escapes and fights off the predators, before catching up to the herd, only to find them confronted by Gorgon and his pack again. As Gorgon easily overpowers and injures him in battle, a repentant Scowler orders Patchi to save himself and lead the herd to safety. However, Patchi leads them into fighting Gorgon and his pack to save Scowler instead of fleeing. The herd successfully drive off the ''Gorgosaurus'' pack while Patchi defeats Gorgon by dislocating his arm that had gotten caught in the hole of Patchi's frill before knocking out some of Gorgon's teeth with a headbutt, saving Scowler's life and avenging Bulldust's death. The brothers reconcile before Scowler concedes leadership of the herd to Patchi, who goes on to have Juniper as his mate and has eggs with her. One of the eggs hatches in which Alex then asked for it to be named after him.

In the present day, moved by Alex's story, Ricky returns Gorgon's tooth to Zack and Jade, who had discovered Gorgon's skeleton buried in the ground.

Four gunmen emerge from a building in gas masks, having committed a robbery, and leave on motorbikes. At the same time DI Max Lewinsky is reporting by phone to his superiors that "Sternwood is doing it tonight". Lewinsky sets off in pursuit of the gang in his car. He fails to catch them and suffers an injury after being shot in the leg by Jacob Sternwood, who could have easily killed him but seems to have an aversion to killing.

Three years later Lewinsky is still suffering from his wound and has to use drugs for the pain. He works with DS Sarah Hawks, with whom he is on good terms. While escorting a prisoner, Dean Warns, an ex-soldier suspected of being involved in an illegal arms trade, they are met by ambitious Commander Thomas Geiger and DCI Nathan Bartnick who inform them that Warns is to be released due to lack of evidence. Warns had been seen by a security guard in a container yard in connection with the offence but now the guard has retracted his statement.

Lewinsky learns that Sternwood's son, Ruan, has collapsed on an aircraft runway while travelling under an alias and has been hospitalized. Ruan had made a call to an Iceland landline number before he collapsed, leading a police taskforce journeying to Iceland to find Jacob Sternwood, but Lewinsky has no faith in this idea. The police ignore Lewinsky's doubts; they go to Iceland and surround Sternwood's property but he escapes, leaving behind a booby trap bomb which kills several policemen. Lewinsky suggests that Ruan's location be made public to draw Jacob out of hiding, and offers to stay in the hospital with Sarah to await Jacob's appearance. Jacob goes to the hospital to confirm his son's situation and manages to leave without being caught. Ruan dies shortly afterwards but it is decided not to reveal this on the off-chance that Sternwood will return to try to free his son. Lewinsky tracks down the security guard who had retracted his statement, thinking that Sternwood may have forced him to do so, but the guard refuses to help. Meanwhile, Sarah follows Warns to the container yard to look for evidence but is intercepted by Warns who kills her.

Bartnick is contacted by Sternwood. Bartnick arranges to meet Sternwood at a club to tell him who shot Ruan. Geiger, having tapped the phone call, informs Lewinsky about the meeting. Lewinsky goes to the club to anticipate Sternwood's arrival but Bartnick and Warns are already there working together and Lewinsky is caught in a trap. A gunfight follows between Lewinsky, Bartnick and Warns, and Sternwood, during which Bartnick is fatally shot by Sternwood. Sternwood decides to protect Lewinsky, apparently as a result of their previous encounter when Sternwood had shot Lewinsky, however after the gunfight Lewinsky attacks Sternwood but is overcome by him then Sternwood demands to be taken to see his son. Lewinsky complies without revealing that Ruan is dead, and takes Sternwood to the hospital mortuary. Sternwood is heartbroken and incensed by the realisation that his son is dead. Whilst at the hospital mortuary Lewinsky discovers that Sarah is dead when he comes across her body on a stretcher.

Sternwood and Lewinsky now confront Warns at his house. Warns is told that his collaboration with Geiger is known, along with the details of the gunrunning trade. A shootout ensues resulting in Warns being taken prisoner and forced to contact Geiger to arrange a meeting at "The Punch", a section of the container yard. Lewinsky and Sternwood force Warns to go with them to the meeting. When Geiger arrives they ambush him. Lewinsky blames Geiger for Sarah's death and accuses him of complicity in the arms deal among other criminal dealings. Geiger admits "turning a blind eye" on many occasions. Suddenly armed military contractors from Kincade make their presence known by opening fire which is followed by another gunfight during which Lewinsky kills Warns and Sternwood shoots Geiger dead. Lewinsky and Sternwood now face each other and Lewinsky raises his gun, but recalling the earlier time when Sternwood deliberately did not kill him, allows him to flee then presents himself to the arriving police.

Part I

Isaac Bernstein (Pendleton) imagines himself at the brink of an untimely death, and determines to make every subsequent moment a perfect work of art. He carries with him a guitar, trumpet, other instruments, a tape recorder, and a camera. At age 33, he is stuck in an elevator with Ingrid (Weber), a secretary who longs to become a poet. During the hour they are stuck there, Isaac attempts to teach Ingrid his life philosophy.

Part II

Isaac, now 19, and Alice, are locked separately in prison cells. They communicate with each other and the outside through a TV camera and receiver in each cell. They attempt to make love to each other's image, when a newscast interrupts their tryst with a report of Isaac's death at a demonstration. The newscast ends, with the two left with each other's image, unsure if they are alive or dead.

''Broad Arrow Jack'' follows the story of John Ashleigh, nicknamed Broad Arrow Jack on account of an arrow brand on his back. The story begins with Jack falling on hard times in colonial Australia, becoming a notorious outlaw and eventually in England married to a wealthy aristocrat.[http://www.enjolrasworld.com/Jess%20Nevins/League%20of%20Extraordinary%20Gentlemen/Notes%20on%20League%20of%20Extraordinary%20Gentlemen%204.htm Notes on the comic series, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.]

On meeting Brahaspati at the Naga capital of Panchavati, Shiva learns of the evil "Somras", and its ill effects on the people of India. Brahaspati explains that the large amounts of water required to manufacture Somras has resulted in the depletion of the Saraswati River's water. The waste generated in the process of manufacturing the Somras was dumped in the Tsangpo river, which flows through Branga territory as Brahmaputra, and resulted in their disastrous plague. Also the birth of Naga babies was credited to Somras as it results in the multiplication of cells at a very high rate which lead to their deformation and outgrowths.

Shiva travels to the hidden city of Ujjain along with his entourage to meet the chief of Vasudev pandits, Gopal. Gopal explains how the Vayuputra council—an ancient tribe left by the previous ''Mahadev'' Lord Rudra, dwelling in remote land of Pariha in the West—train a member of their tribe as the Neelkanth when "evil" rises. Shiva comes to the conclusion that it was his uncle Manobhu, who turns out to be a former Vayuputra member, trained him as Neelkanth. Seeing that Meluha is the center of manufacturing the Somras, Shiva declares a holy war on the Kingdom and appeals the people to stop using the drink. Parvateshwar decides to join Meluha, since he thinks that it is his duty to defend his motherland; Anandamayi joins him. Shiva also realizes that Maharishi Bhrigu is the mastermind behind the attack on Panchavati, plotting against him along with the Swadweepan emperor Dilipa and Daksha. The preparation for the war mobilizes as Branga, Vaishali and Kashi come to Shiva's aid. He takes the Nagas, the Brangas and the Vasudev elephant corps to attack Meluha, while Kartik and Ganesh attack Ayodhya and successfully prevent them from aiding Meluha. Shiva captures the city of Mrittikavatti and makes the citizens imprison the Meluhan army led by Vidyunmali, who believes Shiva to be a fraud. He escapes and persuades Bhrigu and Parvateshwar to attack Sati's army by a thousand Meluhan troops, and defeat them.

Following this defeat, Shiva abandons the plan of invading Meluha and leaves for Pariha with Gopal; they wanted to procure the deadly Brahmastra weapon, to threaten the Meluhans for peace with them. There he meets the chief of Vayuputras, Mithra, who turns out to be his maternal uncle. Mithra convinces the Vayuputras that Shiva is the real Neelkanth and gives him the Pashupathiastra which acts on a specific target, rather than annihilating everything like the Brahmastra. Meanwhile, Parvateshwar uses decoy ships to give an impression to Kali that he was going to attack Panchavati. Alarmed, Kali takes the bait and leaves with the finest Naga soldiers in their pursuit. However, she realizes her folly and returns.

Daksha plans to assassinate Shiva and sends Vidyunmali to get Egyptian assassins. He frames a peace treaty for Shiva but in his absence, Sati attends the peace conference and learns the truth. She fights the assassins valiantly, but is killed. The war ends with Sati's death, but an enraged Shiva decides to use the Pashupatiastra to finish Devagiri forever. Parvateshwar, Anandmayi, Veerini decide to stay back in the city and die with it, but Kartik persuades Bhrigu to remain alive and share his vast knowledge with future generations. Shiva unleashes the astra and ends Devagiri's history, along with the Somras manufacturing units hidden beneath the city.

In the epilogue, Shiva retires to Mount Kailash where he lives the rest of his days peacefully, though missing Sati every day. Ganesh, Kali and Kartik become renowned as Gods for their prowess, all over India. They take revenge for Sati's death by wiping out the whole clan of the Egyptian assassins. Bhrigu continues teaching and collates his knowledge in a book called ''Bhrigu Samhita''. Sati's death is not forgotten and she is later renowned as Goddess Shakti. It is revealed that in order to ensure that the Somras is not mass-manufactured again, the course of the Yamuna is turned towards the east, thus drying up the Saraswati River.

Joe Dylanne is a plain-clothes NYC cop with a badge and a robust personality. He always resorts to unconventional methods in order to capture the city's slickest criminals. When Dylanne receives a message from Katy, an old sweetheart of his, the news is not as pleasant as he anticipated. Rather, it is an imperative call for help. Dylanne must swing into full action. This cop must travel to a remote location in the northwest in order to investigate the disappearances of his friend's relatives. It turns out that most of Kate's relatives have been murdered in cold blood. The only survivor of the slaughter is Joshua, an angst-ridden survivalist who explains to Dylanne about a sophisticated plan implicating marijuana plant growers. Dylanne and Joshua must trespass enemy territory in the name of revenge.

The intelligent and good-looking Renée d'Anjou-Mézières is promised to the Duke of Mayenne, but she loves his brother, the Duke of Guise, who loves her back. Unfortunately, France becomes convulsed in the Wars of Religion and the leading families are forced to take sides. To the fury of Guise, her parents prefer an alliance with the powerful Montpensier family and she is married to the young Prince of Montpensier. As he has to go off to the wars, he leaves her at his castle in the care of the Count of Chabanes, his oldest and most trusted friend, who is to be her tutor. Chabanes soon falls in love with the girl and, being intrinsically honest, admits it to her. She says they must remain friends and nothing more.

Her peaceful life in the country is disrupted when two great men are riding across the estate and see her in a boat on the river. One is her former suitor Guise, who has not stopped wanting her, and the other is the heir to the throne, the Duke of Anjou. Determined to see more of her, Anjou invites himself and Guise to the castle, where Montpensier arrives as well to be their host. At the dinner table, the princess is surrounded by four men who desire her and, in the case of Montpensier and Guise, hate each other. When the Montpensiers are summoned to Paris, Guise tells Renée he still loves her while Anjou tries to win her favour. At a masked ball, the princess thinks she is talking to Guise and says how Anjou is pursuing her. In fact the man she whispered to was Anjou, who forms a deep hatred for Guise.

Suspicious, Montpensier orders his wife back to their castle and she then prevails on Chabanes, whom everybody trusts, to carry messages to and from Guise. This becomes dangerous when Montpensier returns to the castle. Through Chabanes, Guise says he must see Renée face to face and, when she agrees, Chabanes smuggles him into her bedroom. A noise wakes up Montpensier who, finding Renée 's bedroom door locked, in fury starts breaking it down. When he bursts in, he finds Chabanes standing calmly and the princess fainted on the tiled floor. Chabanes says things are not what they seem and that Renée, in a state of nervous collapse, needs putting to bed.

She never recovers from the shock. Chabanes is murdered by followers of Guise in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and Guise swiftly makes an advantageous marriage. When the princess hears the news, she dies unable to overcome the grief of having lost the respect of her husband, the heart of her lover, and the best friend there ever was.''

A.J., an ex-con who served 13 years in Angola for manslaughter, returns home to New Orleans and fights to protect the woman he loves and her young daughter from his dangerous former best friend. In better times, AJ (Triple H) would have done anything to protect his best friend, Jack (Michael Rapaport), a two-bit gangster and the son of Dr. Vic (Bruce Dern) -- the city's toughest crime boss. While A.J. is in prison, Jack marries Claire (Parker Posey), the love of AJ's life, and together they raise a daughter, Pepper (Juliette Goglia). Pepper is A.J.'s daughter, a fact known to Jack, but Jack pretends to be her biological father. The day Jack picks up AJ from prison, the short-fused thug gets an itchy trigger finger that could land his buddy right back behind bars. The situation grows increasingly tense as Dr. Vic attempts to handle the situation quietly as he comes under investigation by the Louisiana Tax Board agent Martha (Julie White) for dealing in untaxed cigarettes. When Jack flees and Dr. Vic decides that the only way to get the job done right is to do it himself, A.J. realizes that Claire and Pepper are in mortal danger, and races to their rescue.

The story unfolds around presidential elections and Holy Week in the year 2000, which is to say, in a period after the internal confrontations caused by the war against terrorists that took place in Perú in the decades of the eighties and the nineties. Nonetheless, the after-effects of this clash are evident in the novel as is discussed.

The main character, Associate District Prosecutor Félix Chacaltana Saldívar—who as associate district attorney attempts to investigate serial murders supposedly related to resurgent terrorists of ''Sendero Luminoso'' (Shining Path), despite lacking direct, first-hand experience with the armed conflict that battered the country—upon whose return to Ayacucho and while in the pursuit of his duties becomes involved with people that definitely have had experience with ''Senderistas'' like Edith, the daughter of terrorists; with Hernán Durango (a jailed terrorist) and Commander Carrión.

Associate District Prosecutor Félix Chacaltana Saldívar appears at first as someone who has great faith in the formality of procedures. He is organized, precise and pedantic to a “T”, with high regard for proper grammar—in a word, he is "anal"; he is intellectual and even ingenuous, to a certain degree, until he goes about uncovering corruption that exists in different procedures in which he is directly involved: for example, the presidential elections or usurpation of authority. Thus it dawns on him that he is able to use his authority for his own designs and file reports that have nothing to do with reality. The novel's ending chronicles his tragic, yet at times comical, descent into madness.

Narrated in a lineal manner the novel thus begins with the report on the first murder that was carried out and from which there will come a series of murders that the assistant district attorney investigated. From this point on the different events of the story will become known owing to conversations the main character has with others and the reports filed by this prosecutor.

One ought to be reminded that the novel can be understood as a place where different facts are given expression, on one hand as a faithful rendition as they took place, or by use of fiction on the other. Upon reading one can find that the novel reviewed touches on topics that positively have occurred and are validated in detailing events of Uchuraccay, the Quechua Indian myth of the Inkarrí as related cogently by Father Quiroz, festivals like the fertility rite and ''Turu pukllay'' (indigenous bullfight) (''cf''., photo [http://www.bazanphotos.com/reportage/condor/condor11.html]), the Holy Week processions, in mentioning the terrorist practice of hanging dogs from street lamps. The author also bases a character named Edith, albeit quite loosely, on an actual ''Senderista'' martyr of the same first name (Edith Lagos), who was the daughter of a prosperous local businessman and sprung from jail in a ''Senderista'' raid on the ''Centro de Reclusión y Adaptación Social (CRAS) de Huamanga'' (Penitentiary and Social Change Center of Huamanga). [http://www.nodo50.org/mariategui/masalladelamuertededithlagos.htm]

These events definitely occurred in the past and such facts still exist in Ayacucho, and are not a figment of the writer's imagination. A question arises from this commentary: is this novel a resource for historical facts? One should be cautious and keep in mind that the author is not obliged to narrate facts according to the truth; but rather it depends on how he wishes to handle it, by exaggerating it or playing it down. Besides, one should keep in mind the author's note that says:

“The methods for ''Senderista'' attacks described in this book, as well as the counterterrorism strategy of investigation, torture and making people disappear are real. Much of the characters’ dialogue is, in effect, quoted from documents from Shining Path or from the statements of terrorists, officials and members of Peruvian armed forces who took part in the conflict. The dates for Holy Week in 2000 and the description of the celebration are also true. Nevertheless, all of the characters as well as the majority of situations and places mentioned here, are fiction, including the factual details that have been removed from context of place, time and meaning. This novel narrates, as do all, a story that could have happened, but the author does not attest to it having been thus.”

In other words, maybe the events happened, maybe they did not.

Along another plane, the narrative stage upon which ''Red April'' unfolds is in Ayacucho:

“Ayacucho is a strange place. The seat of the Wari culture was here, and then the Chanka people, who never allowed themselves to be subjugated by the Incas. And later were the indigenous uprisings because Ayacucho was the half-way point between Cuzco, the Inca capital, and Lima, the Spaniards’ capital. And independence in Quinua (''cf.'', Quinua, Peru). And Sendero. This place is condemned to be bathed in blood and fire forever, Chacaltana.”(Roncagliolo, p. 245 Spanish edition).

Although there is a slight relation to the capital city, given that the main character despite having been born in the southern city, at the age of nine departed to be reared by relatives in Lima after his mother's death, but later decides to voluntarily return to his place of birth. His opinion of Lima is not very high since he considers it quite competitive, the source of popular consensus and, at the same time, full of smog, and arid gray hills in some parts. Ironically, the protagonist finds his roots planted in Ayacucho, Lima and Cuzco, the latter city being the birthplace of his estranged father and deceased mother.

In a small town in Brittany, a 10-year-old girl is found murdered. The last person known to see her alive was her art teacher and professional artist, René (Gamblin). He becomes the primary suspect in the investigation by the new chief of police , Frédérique Lesage (Bruni-Tedeschi). The investigation destroys his life as the townspeople believe that he is the killer, despite the lack of hard evidence. René is dedicated to his wife (Bonnaire), a nurse whose perpetual happy mood is the polar opposite of his dour personality. Meanwhile, Frederique becomes better acquainted with the eccentric residents of the town, including an arrogant television journalist, (de Caunes), a small-time crook who fences stolen goods (Marlot), and a bizarre pair of married shopkeepers (Ogier and Simsolo).