Heather Graham

Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress, director, and writer. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy "License to Drive" (1988), followed by the critically acclaimed film "Drugstore Cowboy" (1989). She then played supporting roles in films such as "Six Degrees of Separation" (1993), "Swingers" (1996) and on the television series "Twin Peaks" (1991). She gained critical praise for her role as "Rollergirl" in the film "Boogie Nights" (1997).This led to major roles in "Bowfinger" (1999) and "" (1999).
Graham had leading roles in "Say It Isn't So" (2001) and "From Hell" (2001), and continued to play supporting roles in the films "Mary" (2005), "The Hangover" (2009) and its sequel, "The Hangover Part III" (2013), "At Any Price" (2012) and "Horns" (2013). She has had roles on television series such as "Scrubs" (2004) and "Californication" (2014).
Noted for portraying characters with sex appeal, she often appears in magazine lists of "Most Beautiful" and "Sexiest" women.
Graham is a public advocate for Children International, and supported the climate change campaign Global Cool in 2007.
Early life.
Graham was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at St. Michaels Hospital, the older of two children. Her family is of "three-quarters Irish" descent, with her father's side from County Cork. Her younger sister, Aimee Graham, is also an actress, and writer. Her mother, Joan (née Bransfield), is a teacher and author of children's books and her father, James Graham, is a retired FBI agent. She was raised Catholic, but is non-practicing. Her family relocated repeatedly before moving to Agoura Hills, California, when she was 9 years old. She was introduced to acting during a school production of "The Wizard of Oz".
In high school Graham received straight A’s.
After high school, Graham enrolled in extension classes at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she studied English for two years. Against her parents' wishes, Graham withdrew from UCLA to pursue acting full-time.
Career.
Early work (1984–1988).
Graham's first film appearance was an uncredited cameo in "Mrs. Soffel" (1984). Her first credited film appearance was in the television film "Student Exchange". In 1986, she appeared on a special "Teen Week" episode of the NBC game show "Scrabble". Then she appeared in numerous television commercials, and an episode of the sitcom "Growing Pains" in 1987. Her first high-profile starring role came in the Corey Haim/Corey Feldman vehicle "License to Drive" (1988), as a popular girl named Mercedes Lane, who serves as the love interest of Haim's character. Her efforts won her a Young Artist Award nomination in the "Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Fantasy" category. Her strict parents forbade her to accept a role in the black comedy "Heathers" (1988), which had an expletive-rich script. The same year, she had an uncredited appearance as Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger's mother in "Twins" (during the laboratory conception flashback).
From "Drugstore Cowboy" to "Swingers" (1989–1996).
In 1989, Graham was featured in Gus Van Sant's "Drugstore Cowboy" as Nadine, a young drug-addicted accomplice of the two main characters (played by Matt Dillon and Kelly Lynch). Her performance gave her career an initial boost and earned her a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress. She rejected a steady role in a soap opera and a three-picture deal with a major studio because she thought it would be too restrictive. After "Drugstore Cowboy" she appeared in Lawrence Kasdan's dark comedy "I Love You to Death" (1990), alongside William Hurt and Keanu Reeves and the rock-and-roll coming-of-age film "Shout" (1991), for which she received a nomination for the Young Artist Award for Best Actress Starring in a Motion Picture.
After Graham co-starred with Benicio del Toro in a Calvin Klein commercial directed by David Lynch, the director cast her as Annie Blackburn in "Twin Peaks", where she appeared in the final six episodes. Following the show's cancellation, Graham reprised the role of Blackburn in the 1992 prequel film "".
She featured in "Diggstown" (1992), alongside James Woods; the well-received "Six Degrees of Separation" (1993), alongside Will Smith; and "The Ballad of Little Jo" (1993), alongside Ian McKellen before re-teaming with Gus Van Sant for the critically panned film adaptation of "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues", alongside Uma Thurman. The same year she co-starred as Mary Kennedy Taylor in "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle". In 1995 she starred as Jackie in the poorly received "Desert Winds" and guest-starred in an episode of the television series "Fallen Angels". She had a small but important role in "Swingers" (1996), where she played Lorraine, Jon Favreau's love interest. She also played a small role as Maggie Bowen in "" (1996).
Wider industry and public recognition (1997–2003).
Graham's popularity significantly increased after playing a young porn star in the 1997 critically acclaimed film "Boogie Nights" (1997). The cast received a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The same year, she also starred in the Gregg Araki film "Nowhere", and had a cameo in the horror hit "Scream 2". She was subsequently cast in "Two Girls and a Guy" (1998), a film mainly based upon dialogue between the characters which was shot in 11 days, which co-starred Robert Downey Jr. and Natasha Gregson; and the sci-fi film "Lost in Space", which was met with mostly negative reviews, and grossed $69,117,629 domestically on a production budget of $80 million. The cast was signed on for sequels that remain unmade.
She starred as Felicity Shagwell in the sequel "" (1999), which was a box-office hit. Shagwell is one of her best-known roles and became a fan favorite. Her turn as Shagwell also earned her a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Actress. She appeared in the music video for Lenny Kravitz's cover of "American Woman". Also in 1999, Graham co-starred as Daisy in the movie "Bowfinger", opposite Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy.
The 2000 film "Committed" was her first starring vehicle. She played Joline, a devoted-beyond-reason young wife looking for the husband who left her. While the film itself received mixed-to-negative reviews, critics felt that "Graham shows she can play a central character" but noted "she's not enough to make "Committed" successful". The following year she co-starred as Annie Matthews, an unhappily married woman, in Edward Burns' "Sidewalks of New York". In 2003, she starred with Joseph Fiennes in Chen Kaige's English-language debut film "Killing Me Softly", which received overwhelmingly negative response from critics and a 0% at Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus being: "Respected director Chen Kaige's first English-language film is a spectacularly misguided erotic thriller, with ludicrous plot twists and cringe-worthy dialogue". In 2009, the site also rated it No. 12 on the countdown of the worst films over the last ten years.
Graham's other appearances in mainstream fare include playing a fictionalized version of the Jack the Ripper murder victim Mary Kelly in the film "From Hell" (2001), starring Johnny Depp; "Anger Management" (2003), starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson; the Farrelly Brothers comedy "Say It Isn't So" (2001), opposite Sally Field; "The Guru", co-starring Jimi Mistry and "Hope Springs" (2003), co-starring Colin Firth.
Focus on independent films and television (2004–2008).
During this period, Graham starred in the independent films "Gray Matters", "Broken", "Adrift in Manhattan" (all 2007) and "Miss Conception" (2008), which received negative-to-mixed reviews and most of them went largely unnoticed at the box-office. Her 2005 film "Mary" holds a 63% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, her first "Fresh" film since "Bowfinger". The film premiered at the 2005 Venice Film Festival where it won the "Special Jury Prize" as well as three smaller awards. The film also played at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, Deauville Film Festival and San Sebastián International Film Festival and co-starred Juliette Binoche, Forest Whitaker, Marion Cotillard and Matthew Modine. In 2006, she co-starred in "Bobby" as Angela; the film's cast was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
During this period Graham also spoke about developing a comedy film titled "The Accidental Virgin" which would have focused on "female sexual confusion", telling the story of a woman who has not had sex in a year. The film has not been made. She also stated she would be interested in directing in the future if there is "something that, its burning in my mind that I need to do".
On television, Graham played herself in an episode of the TV series "Sex and the City". She was given special guest-star status on nine episodes of NBC-TV's "Scrubs" during its fourth season (2004–2005), and also appeared as George Michael Bluth's ethics teacher in an episode of Fox's television series, "Arrested Development" in 2004. She played Emily Sanders in "Emily's Reasons Why Not", however, the sitcom was canceled after airing only one episode.
"The Hangover" and after (2009–present).
In 2009, Graham played the stripper with a heart of gold, Jade, in "The Hangover", which was released to critical and box office success. She won the role after Lindsay Lohan turned it down. Though she did not return for the sequel "The Hangover Part II", she reprised her role in the final installment of the trilogy, "The Hangover Part III". In 2010, she starred in "Boogie Woogie", followed by roles in the unsuccessful films "Father of Invention", "5 Days of War", "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer" (all 2011) and "About Cherry" (2012).
Graham voiced the character of Antonia Bayle in the online role-playing game "EverQuest 2".
She played Meredith Crown in "At Any Price", which stars Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron and was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival, and later screened as an official selection at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals. Upcoming roles include mob lawyer Annette Stratton-Osborne in "Behaving Badly" and short story writer Mary Bellanova in "My Dead Boyfriend" (both 2014). She wrote a comedy screenplay called "Half Magic", which she stated she wants to direct. She said the story focuses on "these female friends and sexuality and about people having a sense of shame about sexuality and learning how to have a healthier attitude about it [...] It also deals with male/female relationships and sexism".
In 2012, she was a member of the jury of the 15th Shanghai International Film Festival.
In 2014, she starred in the second adaptation of the V. C. Andrews novel "Flowers in the Attic" on the Lifetime network. She played the character of Corrine Dollanganger; an evil mother who locks her four children in an attic in order to receive an inheritance from her dying father. Graham also appeared in two TV-movie sequels based on the V.C. Andrews' series: "Petals on the Wind" and "If There Be Thorns"; continuing to play the role of Corrine Dollanganger. She appeared in the final season of "Californication" as the mother of David Duchovny's long-lost son.
In 2018 she co-starred in the David Cross dark comedy series "Bliss", which was released by the BritBox streaming service. It stars Stephen Mangan as Andrew, a fraudulent travel writer, who is struggling to maintain long-term relationships with two partners, Kim (Graham) and Denise (Jo Hartley), who are not aware of one another.
Activism.
Besides her acting work, Graham is also an activist who serves as a public advocate for the NGO Children International. She stated that what she likes about Children International is that "you are helping a child have a better life. It's great for that child to know that someone who lives in another country cares about them". Graham works with the Cambodian Children's Fund, also an NGO, which provides supplies and education, and campaigns to stop slavery. "There's a lot of human trafficking in Cambodia," Graham has said. "Women are dying because they don't have $15 to give birth in a hospital. The [Children's Fund] provides free education, clean water and healthcare for communities... We're creating future leaders who will be able to help themselves." In 2007 she supported the climate change campaign Global Cool and appeared in Shekhar Kapur's short film "Global Cool" alongside Sienna Miller.
In the media.
Graham was considered a sex symbol. She was ranked at number 40 in "FHM"'s "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list in 2000, number 95 in 2001 list, number 97 in the 2002 list, number #74 in the 2005 list and at number #98 in 2006 list. In 2001 she was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" by "People". In 2003 she posed for a photoshoot by photographer Sam Jones during which she was levitated several feet into the air by a magician who later also sawed her in half. Also in 2003, Graham appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine for an article titled "The Science of Meditation". To promote "Emily's Reasons Why Not", she had posed for a "Life Magazine" cover story, printed weeks in advance of the assumed series schedule, referring to her as "TV's sexiest star" which appeared in the January 27, 2006 issue.
Graham is often cast in sexual roles, including those of Felicity Shagwell ("Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me"), porn stars Rollergirl ("Boogie Nights") and Sharonna ("The Guru"), prostitute Mary Kelly ("From Hell"), porn director Margaret ("About Cherry") and stripper Jade ("The Hangover" and "The Hangover, Part III"). She stated she finds these types of roles and the issue of sexuality fascinating, and believes that "our culture sends out mixed messages to women about sex. Are women supposed to be sexually alive people, or are we supposed to be 'good' mothers who would never do those things?" and that she likes "the fact some of my roles maybe help people open their minds about the way they think about sex".
In 2005, Graham became the spokeswoman for the Garnier brand of hair care products.
Personal life.
Graham has been estranged from her parents in the past, supposedly due to their strict Irish Catholic beliefs and her rebellion as a teenager, further exacerbated by her role in "Boogie Nights". Regarding the media's perception of her relationship with her parents, she stated: "I don't really like to talk about my parents. Because I just feel that it gets misinterpreted in the press ..."
Graham has been practicing transcendental meditation since 1991 after being introduced to it by David Lynch. She has also expressed her dislike of reality television, stating in a 2007 interview: "I think some of it, it seems strange – why do we all want to watch people be so miserable? Other people's pain and misery – it seems kind of sad."
From 2011 to 2018, Graham was in a relationship with Israeli screenwriter Yaniv Raz.


Les Norman (baseball)

Leslie Eugene Norman (born February 25, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played for two seasons. He played in 24 games for the Kansas City Royals during the 1995 Kansas City Royals season and 54 games during the 1996 Kansas City Royals season.
Norman appeared as a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune" on January 5, 2018.


Judd Rose

Judd Rose (1955 - June 10, 2000) was a television journalist.
While a college student at UCLA, Rose was a reporter for the student newspaper, during which time he also appeared as a contestant on the final episode of the ABC game show "Split Second" in 1975.
He rose to prominence as an investigative reporter for ABC News, where Rose spent 16 years working on shows such as "Prime Time Live" and "Good Morning America". His first Emmy came in 1987 for covering the fall of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, and he would go on to receive a total of four Emmy awards. He ended his career as co-anchor of the CNN program "Newsstand". Rose died in June 2000, while undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.
His father was radio talk show host Hilly Rose. His mother was Sondra Gair, a 1940s radio actress turned award-winning NPR broadcaster and host of "Midday with Sondra Gair". His brother is Roger Rose, an actor, voice actor, and former VH1 VJ.


Saka Kana Aa Saka

Saka Kana Aa Saka is the Zimbabwean version of "Deal or No Deal", seen on the ZBC television network. Hosted by Tande Newton and Isaac Smith, it is the second version of DOND to have two hosts (the first being Linda DeMol and Winston Gerschowitz of the original "Miljoenenjacht" from the Netherlands). Prizes will go from as little as Z$1 (about US$0.004, €0.004, £0.003 and ¥0.468) to as big as Z$50,000,000 (about US$200,000, €189,900, £160,000, and ¥23,400,000).
The prizes will be in second Zimbabwean dollars, based on (official) exchange rates. (Foreign rates listed here as of August 2007.)


Come On Down! The Game Show Story

Come on Down! The Game Show Story is a British documentary that aired from 10 to 31 August 2014 on ITV and is presented by Bradley Walsh.
External links.


Yamada joseki

In shogi, the Yamada joseki is a joseki for a Rapid Attack Static Rook vs Fourth File Rook opening.
It is named after Michiyoshi Yamada.
The Yamada joseki starts after the Static Rook player has developed a Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack formation with a Boat castle and the Ranging Rook player has constructed a Mino castle and kept their bishop diagonal closed.
After this position, the joseki details balanced play for four different responses to the Static Rook formation initiated by the Fourth File Rook opponent.


Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time

Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time was a special tournament series of the game show "Jeopardy!" that took place in January 2020. The tournament was produced for ABC and aired on the network in prime time; this was the first time any "Jeopardy!" competition aired on network television since 1990, when the special tournament series "Super Jeopardy!" was carried by ABC.
The tournament featured former champions Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer competing for a $1 million top prize and the recognition of being the show’s greatest champion of all time.
Jennings won the tournament on January 14, 2020, with Holzhauer finishing second and Rutter third. With the $1 million prize added to his previous winnings across several game show appearances, Jennings surpassed Rutter as the highest-earning American game show contestant of all time, a record he had previously held twice.
Format.
The tournament began on January 7, 2020, and each match consisted of two games. Each game was played as normal with the Jeopardy! and Double Jeopardy! rounds followed by Final Jeopardy!; the exception was that the scores were in points and not dollars. The contestant with the highest combined score from the two games would win the match, and the first one to three match wins won the tournament.
Production.
On November 18, 2019, ABC announced that the three highest-earning "Jeopardy!" contestants of all time—Jennings, Rutter, and Holzhauer—would compete in a best-of-seven prime-time tournament, "Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time". The first contestant to win three matches receives the title and a grand prize of $1 million; the others receive $250,000 each. The series was produced by Sony Pictures Television, with Harry Friedman executive producing and Alex Trebek hosting. This is the first time "Jeopardy!" has aired on network television instead of in syndication since ABC carried 1990's "Super Jeopardy!" tournament. ABC Owned Television Stations group has been the lead broadcaster of the syndicated version for most of its run. In addition to ABC, the tournament was broadcast in Canada on Yes TV and two of its partner stations, CHEK and NTV, all of which also carry the syndicated version. The series began taping on December 10, 2019.
Match summaries.
Match 1.
Jennings leads series, 1–0–0
Match 2.
Holzhauer and Jennings tied, 1–1–0
Match 3.
Jennings leads series, 2–1–0
Match 4.
Jennings wins series 3–1–0


Hans Pilgaard

Hans Pilgaard (born 2 August 1963) is a Danish journalist and television host. Since 1995 he has worked in Nordisk Film. However, he is usually rented to TV2.
After his training as a journalist in Berlingske Tidende, he started working in TV2 and the first program he hosted was the game show "Eleva2ren"
In 1997 Hans Pilgaard started hosting the morning program "Go'Morgen" on TV2 as well. As of 2007, Hans Pilgaard is hosting game show "Hvem vil være millionær?" and "Gi' Mig 5".
Besides working as a TV host Pilgaard had a minor role in the movie "Sprængfarlig bombe".


Video games in the Czech Republic

The video game industry in the Czech Republic has produced numerous globally successful video games such as and the subsequent ArmA series, the Mafia series, Truck Simulator series, , the Samorost series and others. There were 300–400 video game developers and around 30 video game companies focusing on video game development in 2014. In 2017 it was 1,100 developers and 47 companies. Video games are also considered by some experts to be the country's biggest cultural export. The video game industry did not enjoy a good reputation and was unsupported by the state until 2013, when the Ministry of Industry and Trade started to seek ways to kickstart the economy. By 2014, programs were planned to support the video game industry. Another problem is a lack of video game development specialization at any university.
In 2014, Czech video game site Bonusweb made a survey for the best video game developed in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The victor of the survey is that received 3866 votes out of 13,143. was second and Vietcong third. In 2019, Games.cz made a list of the 15 best video games developed in the Czech Republic. It was also topped by Mafia: City of Lost Heaven.
History.
The first games were developed in Czechoslovakia during the late 1970s as part of experimentation with Czechoslovak computers SM 52/11 (minicomputer version of PDP-11). These titles lacked graphics and were not meant for wider distribution. Card games were particularly popular. Card games were played through printer due to lack of displays. There were also games based on chances such as electronical version of Rock–paper–scissors. Some games were competitive such as Dělostřelba (Cannonade) in which player had to count the trajectory of his cannon shot to hit his rival. Some games were developed on universities. Some universities taught programming at the time. Games at universities included Chess and Plivátko. The first real-time game was Přistání na měsíci (Landing on the Moon). One of the first games for character displays was Zombíci (Zombies). Players had to run for zombies and stay alive as long as possible.
In the 1980s, the first graphic video games development in the country were mostly part of the Svazarm clubs. The most popular video game platform of the time were ZX Spectrum, Czechoslovak computer PMD 85 and Atari 8-bit computers (mainly Atari 800XE). Hobbyists could come explore computing and teach themselves programming. Games developed by members of these clubs include "Hlípa" and "Flappy". Text adventures were very popular, accounting for more than half of the total output of Czechoslovak programmers. Czechs produced games for these platforms even in 1990s when were outdated. After 1989, the market changed, improving opportunities for programmers and gamers alike.
In the 90's, the most known Czech video games are of the adventure type. During this period, the company Vochozka Trading was established, which first distributed games for Amiga computers, such as "Světák Bob". The game was not successful; however, in 1994 Vochozka Trading released the first Czech commercial games for PC, two adventure titles – "Tajemství Oslího ostrova" ("Donkey Island") and "7 dní a 7 nocí" ("Seven Days and Seven Nights"). Both were developed by Pterodon and widely regarded as successes. This was followed by adventures like "Dračí Historie" ("Dragon History", the first Czech dubbed game on CD, 1995), "Gooka" (the first Czech game on Windows, 1997), "Horké léto" ("Hot Summer", 1997) and "" (1999). Games released in the 1990s also include real-time strategy game "Paranoia" (1995) and RPG "Brány Skeldalu" ("Gates of Skeldal", 1998). Among the most widespread Czech logical DOS games were also "Vlak" ("Train", 1993), "Achtung, die Kurve!" (1995) and "Boovie" (1998). The game "Polda" was released in 1998, this was the beginning of the most popular Czech adventure series.
The first internationally successful Czech game was "Hidden & Dangerous" by Illusion Softworks, a third person action game released in 1999. More notable games by Illusion Softworks include "Flying Heroes" (2000), "" (2002) and "Vietcong" (2003). In 2008 American publisher Take-Two Interactive acquired Illusion Softworks and renamed it to 2K Czech. The dark adventure "Black Mirror" from 2003 was a great success abroad, but two more sequels have already been made in Germany.
Bohemia Interactive became the most successful Czech developer with its worldwide bestseller "" and the series of "ARMA" games, first released in 2006. The success of Bohemia Interactive is regarded as having overshadowed other independent development studios.
Czech development studios such as Amanita Design along with their "Machinarium" from 2009, Altar Games with its "Original War" and "" and SCS Software with its "Euro Truck Simulator" were established in these years.
In July 2011, several people formerly of 2K Czech and Bohemia Interactive opened Warhorse Studios, which produced "" (2018).
Consumer availability.
The video game market in the Czech Republic is currently growing, with a spend of 2.202 billion Czech koruna (CZK) across both the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2011. The corresponding total for 2012 was 2.436 billion CZK, a growth of 10.6%. Purchased video games made up one third of this amount.
The most popular genres among Czech players are action and sports games. The growth of the market is expected with next-generation consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.
Video game associations.
Czech Games is a community of video game developers in the Czech Republic. It was established in 2001 and since then it has supported video game development beginners. It has its own phorum where developers can share its experience and show their work. The association also organizes Game Developers Session and GAMEDAY Festival.
Video Game Industry Association of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic exists to promote video games in the two named countries. Video game developers, publishers, importers and distributors all belong to the organization. The association also organizes the BOOOM Contest.
MU Game Studies is an association composed of Masaryk University students and graduates. It aims to improve
and support video game education at Czech universities.
Education.
Some Czech universities offer programs of study related to video games. These universities are Masaryk University in Brno, Charles University in Prague, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Technical University in Prague and Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
Appearance of the Czech Republic in video games.
The country has been featured in numerous games written by Czech developers, such as Euro Truck Simulator, Euro Truck Simulator 2 and .
Command & Conquer takes place in Central Europe and some missions occur within the country's borders. The country was also the inspiration for fictional countries featured in and ARMA 2.
In , a fictionalised uprising occurs in Prague. The city also features in a mission from .
In Forza Motorsport 5, one of the tracks available to play was based in Prague.
In , the title character is sent to save kidnapped Czech scientist Dr. Kio Marv. One character, Smoke (real name Tomas Vrbada), in Mortal Kombat is also Czech originating from Prague.
In , a huge part of the story takes place in cyberpunk Prague, where the mix of modern architecture and historical building is very apperent from each other.
As part of Czechoslovakia.
There are some missions in Contract J.A.C.K. that are set in Czechoslovakia. The former state also appears in the game Hidden & Dangerous.
World of Tanks released Pilsen map in December 2015. Ths update also features Czechoslovak Tanks.
Video game events in the Czech Republic.
Game Developers Session is a game development conference that has been held annually since 2003. Video Game Culture figures including Developers have Presentation there about Video Gaming and players can meet Video Game developers for Chat about their project. They can also sometimes try video games that are in development.
Game Access is a game development conference that has been first held in Brno in 2010. Since 2016, Game Access is held annually. It includes speeches of developers from all around the world, Indie Expo where all its participants compete for Game Access Awards, Business Expo and networking events. Since 2017, the organizers included workshops in the Game Access conference.
GameFFest is a Game Festival held in Prague. Video Game Players can try Video Games for various Platforms and look around a Video Game history Museum. The Festival is a Part of PragoFFest.
The GAMEDAY Festival has been held every May in Třeboň since 2010, part of Anifilm Třeboň. .
The Czech Game of the Year Awards are annual awards that recognize accomplishments in video game development.Awards were part of Gameday Festival until became independent in 2017.
The Booom Contest was held annually from 2011 to 2013. Prizes were awarded in various categories, including Game of the Year, Best Czech Video Game and Computer Game of the Year. It was replaced by Player's Awards for next years.
The Central and Eastern European Game Studies conference is held in Brno as an event designed to allow the discussion of video gaming by academics, journalists, developers and members of the public. It is organized by the "Game Studies" civic association.
Game Jam Prague is annually held in January as part of almost 200 Game Jams over the World.
Game Brew Plzeň is a meeting of video game developers, graphic designers and business enthusiasts. It has been held in Plzeň since 2015.
Gamer Pie is a video game festival held in Brno.


Shisima

Shisima is a two-player abstract strategy game from Kenya. It is related to tic-tac-toe, and even more so to three men's morris, Nine Holes, Achi, Tant Fant, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3-in-a-row. Unlike those other games, Shisima uses an octagonal board.
"Shisima" means "body of water" in some language spoken in Kenya. The pieces are called "imbalavali" which translates to "water bugs" as the pieces move quickly on the board as water bugs do on the surface of a lake.
Setup.
The board consist of an octagon, and four diametrical lines connecting each corner of the octagon to its opposite corner. The four diametrical lines intersect at the middle of the octagon forming the central intersection point of the board. Each of the eight corners of the octagon is also an intersection point, therefore there is a total of 9 intersection points (here-in-forth called "points").
Each player has 3 pieces. One plays the black pieces, and the other plays the white pieces, however, any two colors or small objects will suffice.
Each player places their 3 pieces on three successive vacant points along the octagon's perimeter. There must be a vacant point on both ends of each player's set of pieces. This leaves three vacant points at the beginning of the game including the central point of the board.
Variants.
Rota was proposed to be an old Roman game by Elmer Truesdell Merrill in his article "An Old Roman Game" in "The Classical Journal" (1916). Merrill observed that there were several diagrams scratched into the steps and pavements of Roman buildings in the design of a wheel. He conjectured that they were games and of the tic-tac-toe variety, and conjectured the rules for the game since no rules had been discovered. He also named the game Rota but its actual name is unknown. The game as described by him is almost the same as that of Shisima, except that in Rota each player may place one of their pieces in turn on any vacant intersection point at the beginning part of the game, and it is only when a player has placed all of his 3 pieces on the board that he may begin to move them; whereas in Shisima the initial positions are pre-determined thus causing the movement phase to commence at the beginning. He does not mention if game pieces were ever discovered with any of the wheel diagrams. He does mention that the first player can win every time if played optimally.


Domino Man

Domino Man is an arcade game released by Bally Midway in 1983. The player controls Domino Man, a bespectacled, balding man wearing a beat-up turtleneck sweater and sporting a mustache who attempts to set up a number of giant dominoes across the screen. The background music is "Maple Leaf Rag" by Scott Joplin.
Gameplay.
The goal of "Domino Man" is to set up a domino on every site marked by a black dot. Meanwhile, pedestrians meander throughout the playfield and may wander into dominos, knocking them over. Domino Man can shove them away from the dominos. A killer bee constantly appears trying to sting Domino Man. There is also a neighborhood bully who is much larger than Domino Man (who can be stunned but not shoved) and an invincible walking clock. Domino Man can set up dominos, swing a domino as a weapon, and remove placed dominos (which can be used to stop a cascade of falling dominos). A Domino Man is lost if he is stung or the leftmost domino is disturbed.
After the player has set up all the dominoes, they will have a choice to either knock down all the dominoes or continue play in hopes of increasing the domino bonus value. After they have made the choice, they will move on to the next screen.
When the game is over, a poem is displayed to evaluate the player's performance. For example:
The main character in this game is very similar (if not the same) as the bartender in "Tapper" and one of the "Timber" lumberjacks.


The Pit (video game)

The Pit is a 1982 arcade action game released by Zilec in the United Kingdom, and licensed to Centuri in North America and Taito in Japan. The game was designed by Andy Walker and Tony Gibson, and developed by AW Electronics. The objective of "The Pit" is to descend into an underground labyrinth, retrieve a gem, and escape.
A game similar to "The Pit", programmed by Chris Gray, inspired Peter Liepa to create "Boulder Dash".
Gameplay.
The player's avatar (described as "The Astronaut-Explorer" by the game manual) lands in a spaceship and must dig his way into a series of tunnels. While there, he must avoid being crushed by rocks, eaten by monsters, impaled by arrows, or melted in a vat of acid. In lieu of a traditional timer is a tank (the "Zonker") shooting away a mountain near the player's spaceship. If the player dallies too long in the maze, the Zonker will destroy the player's spaceship, and the player loses a life.
After collecting the treasure, the only route back to the spaceship is by crossing "The Pit", which is a room with a sliding retractable floor underneath which is a monster that will devour a player who tarries too long.
The player receives 200 points for shooting each enemy, 1000 points for each crystal collected, 2000 points for collecting buried treasure, and 1000 points for crossing "The Pit" safely and reboarding the ship.
Release.
"The Pit" was released in April 1982. It was part of a so-called "dig 'em up" genre that was emerging at the time. It was developed independently from, but released close to, another similar "dig 'em up" game, "Dig Dug" (1982), developed by Namco and licensed by Atari, Inc. "Dig Dug" was released in March 1982 in Japan, just a month before "The Pit" released, with "Dig Dug" releasing internationally the same month in April 1982. This led to some controversy, with Atari threatening legal action, but Centuri registered their US copyright for "The Pit" three weeks earlier than Atari did for "Dig Dug". "The Pit" designer Andy Walker claimed that he had demonstrated a prototype of "The Pit" at a preview show where it was seen by some Japanese people who he believed may have been from either Namco or Atari.
Ports.
The tank is labeled "Zilec" in the U.K. version, and "Taito" in the Japanese version. In addition, the game map layout as well as the color palette differ between the regional versions.
The game was ported from the original 6502 (Tangerine) processor board to Centuri's Z80 board in 1982.
A port for the Commodore 64 was released in 1983 and one for the VIC-20 in 1984.
Bandai created a portable VFD handheld version of The Pit in 1983. It is called "FL Exploration of Space Zackman: The Pit". It was also sold by Tandy in the US and some European countries as "Zackman, Tandy Space Explorer".


Kwik Witz

Kwik Witz is an American syndicated comedy program which aired in syndication, mainly on numerous NBC affiliate stations—usually in the time-slot following "Saturday Night Live". The show originated from the NBC Tower studios of WMAQ-TV in Chicago, Illinois and was produced by Beau & Arrow Productions. The show shared studio space with "The Jenny Jones Show", which was located immediately across from "The Jerry Springer Show" studio.
Format.
An improvisational comedy, it featured two teams of two performers competing against each other. The show had a live audience which voted to select the winner at the end of the sketch (usually four in a given program), with teams earning points based on the percentage of votes they got in each sketch. The winning team was given a prize brought by the losing team – a token gift usually of more comedic value than monetary.
Performers were scouted from various improvisational comedy and sketch comedy troupes. Comedians Wayne Brady—frequently teamed with Frank Maciel—and Ron West made appearances on "Whose Line" (West was an occasional performer on the British version; Brady later became a regular performer on the American version and appeared in a few episodes of the British show). Steve Carell appeared as a contestant on at least one episode, that being in March, 1997, along with Robert Covarrubias, Dan O'Connor, and John Rubano. One episode in April 1997 featured Judith Scott, Dave Razowsky, Jackie Hoffman, and Joe Liss. The May 3rd, 1997 show featured Wayne Brady, Dave Razowsky, Theresa Mulligan, and Clare Sera. During this time frame, the emcee was Andi Matheny.
Although the games played on the show were familiar to fans of improvisational comedy, and the show's title and opening suggested that it was improvised, the performers in fact had advance knowledge of the challenges and had already rehearsed the sketches weeks in advance. (As the show's hosts explained at the beginning of each episode while laying out the rules, "we allow [the contestants] to cheat," although how much time the contestants were given to rehearse was never specified on air.)
The show launched with a limited-run pilot season in 1995, which was distributed by Hearst-Argyle Television (via their Milwaukee station, WISN-TV, which helped to coordinate the pilot tapings) and Beau & Arrow to stations throughout the Midwest during the test run. Nationally, the show debuted on September 20, 1996 and was canceled in the midst of its third season in 1999 (during which time the spelling of its title was altered to "Quick Witz").
References.
David Schwartz, Steve Ryan & Fred Wostbrock "The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows – 3rd Edition" Checkmark Books


Mission 660

Mission 660 (a.k.a. The Alphax Z) is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade game released in 1986. The game was developed by Woodplace and licensed for distribution to Taito. The style is a mix of enemies resembling space fighters interspersed with flying mice, cats and skulls, giving the game an unusual feel.


The Mad Bad Ad Show

The Mad Bad Ad Show is a British comedy panel show made by Objective Productions and hosted by Mark Dolan. It aired for one season on Channel 4 in 2012.
Format.
The premise of the show is based around answering questions about and related to advertisements, with the two team captains, Mark Watson and Micky Flanagan, each also making an advertisement of their own for a fictitious product which they also have to invent.
The programme consists of two teams, each featuring, alongside the captains, one other comedian and one advertising professional.
Episode list.
The coloured backgrounds denote the result of each of the shows:


Now You See It (Australian game show)

Now You See It was an Australian children's game show that aired on the Seven Network from 1985–1993. It is based on the US show of the same title and was originally hosted by Mike Meade from 1985 and 1990 and "co-hosted" by a robot named "Melvin", who was a Tomy Omnibot toy, and pitted individual children against each other. Melvin's uncle Morton (another Omnibot) had his own segment on the show entitled "Morton's Mouldy Movies", in which Morton would narrate stories in a grandfatherly voice accompanied by footage from silent film shorts.
From 1991, the show was hosted by Sofie Formica, and ran as a week-long competition between two primary schools. The winning students in each episode would win individual prizes, and the overall winning school would win a larger prize, typically valued at around $2,000.
In 1998, Becker Entertainment, along with Fremantle Ltd. (then known as FremantleMedia), revived the show. Broadcast on the Nine Network, it was hosted by Scott MacRae and produced by Tony Ryan, with Bill Davidson as Executive Producer. In 2000, the show was replaced with another game show, titled "Download", which was also hosted by MacRae.
Format.
Free games.
The host read a clue, and the answer was revealed one letter at a time, sometimes using one or more letters of the previous word. Letters were revealed until someone buzzed in and gave the correct answer and score, or if only one letter was left in the word. Each subsequent word uses one or more letters of the previous word until that line is filled. The first player to guess five words correctly (seven in the 1998 revival) won the round and a prize package.
Two line games are played, and the winners of the line game play the Big Board round.
Big Board.
The host read a question, and the first player to buzz in guesses the line number. If correct, he/she then gives the position number and the word. Players score based on the line number and position of the first letter. In the 1998 revival, points are doubled for the final 60 seconds of the game. The player with the most points when time runs out wins the game.
Solo Round.
The solo round player needs to find seven words in 60 seconds with the help of the clues read by the host.
Products.
A board game was released by Crown and Andrews in 1993.


Flushed (game show)

Flushed is an Australian children's game show, that is produced in Australia by SLR Productions and aired for two seasons from 16 March 2015 to 5 August 2016 on 7TWO. Starting with the third season on 3 July 2017, the show moved to Seven Network. The host for the first season was Shae Brewster; she was replaced by Candice Dixon starting with the second season.


Great Galactic Conflict

The Great Galactic Conflict, or GGC for short, was a turn based Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) which was available in Australia around 1985.
The game was accessed through a text based dialup service from Telecom Australia (later Telstra Australia) known as Viatel.
Briefly, the game mechanic required players to enter their moves during a one-week period. Once a week the game engine would process all entered moves and compute a result which became the basis for the following week's moves. GGC moves were heavily influenced by negotiation between players which formed a significant portion of the game play. In 1988 the winner of the game was eligible to receive a prize of $2500.
The game was written by Ian Davies for Microtex 666 from 1983 to 1984.
The back-end software ran on DOS-based PCs, using the Viatel "bulk update protocol" to process move outcomes and upload the results. It took several hours to process each move. GGC was engineered to support 1000 players, but peaked at around 600. The game was played approximately three times, each taking around ten weeks.


London System

The London System is a chess opening that usually arises after 1.d4 and 2.Bf4, or 1.d4, 2.Nf3 and 3.Bf4. It is a "" opening that can be used against virtually any black defense and thus comprises a smaller body of opening theory than many other openings. The London System is one of the Queen's Pawn Game openings where White opens with 1.d4 but does not play the Queen's Gambit. It normally results in a . The line can be compared to the Colle System but whereas in the latter system, the queen's bishop remains on c1, the London System develops the bishop to f4 before closing the position, providing a more flexible approach.
Sverre Johnsen and Vlatko Kovačević, in the introduction to their 2005 book "Win with the London System", state:
Essentially, the London is a set of solid lines where after 1.d4 White quickly develops their dark-squared bishop to f4 and normally bolsters their centre with [pawns on] c3 and e3 rather than expanding. Although it has the potential for a quick kingside attack, the white forces are generally flexible enough to engage in a battle anywhere on the board. Historically it developed into a system mainly from three variations:
The corresponding "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings" codes are D02, A46, and A48.
Description.
The line came into fashion in the 1922 London tournament as a way of meeting hypermodern setups. The line gives White a position, and critics of the line refer to it as the "old man’s variation" or the "boring system". Even so, the opening can lead to attacks. Vlatko Kovačević and David Bronstein are among the sharp tactical players who have played the London System.
Early play.
1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bf4.
This line is often known as the Jobava London system, named after Baadur Jobava.
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4.
This position can also be reached via 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4. Black usually plays either 3...c5, 3...e6, 3...Bf5, 3...c6, 3...g6, or 3...Nc6.
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4.
Black usually plays either 3...b6, 3...c5, or 3...d5, transposing above.
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bf4.
Play often goes 3...Bg7 4.e3 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0. As is usual in the King's Indian, Black can strike in the centre with ...c5 or ...e5. After 6...c5 7.c3, Black often plays either 7...b6, 7...Qb6, 7...Nc6, 7...Be6, or 7...cxd4. Black can prepare ...e5 in a number of ways, usually starting with either 6...Nbd7, 6...Nc6, or 6...Nfd7.
Afterwards, if unimpeded by Black's moves, White ideally would like to build a pyramid of pawns centered on d4 and develop all minor pieces. This could be achieved in various orders, for example, 1.d4, 2.Bf4, 3.Nf3, 4.e3, 5.c3, 6.Nbd2, 7.Bd3.


Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives is an American comedy-drama and mystery television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004 until May 13, 2012 for a total of 180 episodes. Executive producer Marc Cherry served as showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season included Bob Daily, George W. Perkins, John Pardee, Joey Murphy, David Grossman, and Larry Shaw.
Set on Wisteria Lane, a street in the fictional town of Fairview in the fictional Eagle State, "Desperate Housewives" follows the lives of a group of women as seen through the eyes of their friend and neighbor who took her life by suicide in the pilot episode. The storyline covers fifteen years of the women's lives over eight seasons, set between the years 2004–2008, and later 2013–2019 (the storyline includes a five-year jump in time, as well as flashbacks and flashforwards ranging from the 1980s to the 2020s). They work through domestic struggles and family life, while facing the secrets, crimes, and mysteries hidden behind the doors of their—on the surface—beautiful and seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood.
The series features an ensemble cast, headed by Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer, Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp, and Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis. The supporting cast included Nicollette Sheridan as Edie Britt, Dana Delany as Katherine Mayfair, and Vanessa Williams as Renee Perry. Brenda Strong narrates the series as the late Mary Alice Young, appearing sporadically in flashbacks or dream sequences.
"Desperate Housewives" was well received by viewers and critics alike. It won multiple Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. From the 2004–05 through the 2008–09 television seasons, its first five seasons were rated amongst the top ten most-watched series. In 2007, it was reported to be the most popular show in its demographic worldwide, with an audience of approximately 120 million and was also reported as the third-most-watched television series in a study of ratings in twenty countries. In 2012, it remained the most-watched comedy series internationally based on data from Eurodata TV Worldwide, which measured ratings across five continents; it has held this position since 2006. Moreover, it was the third-highest revenue-earning series for 2010, with $2.74 million per half an hour. The show was ranked at number fifty-six on "Entertainment Weekly" "New TV Classics" list.
In 2011, it was confirmed that "Desperate Housewives" would conclude after its eighth season; the series finale aired on May 13, 2012. By the end of the series, it had surpassed "Charmed" as the hour-long television series featuring all-female leads with the most episodes.
Premise.
The first season premiered on October 3, 2004, and introduces the four central characters of the show: Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van de Kamp and Gabrielle Solis, as well as their families and neighbors on Wisteria Lane. The main mystery of the season is the unexpected suicide of Mary Alice Young, and the involvement of her husband Paul Young (Mark Moses) and their son Zach (Cody Kasch) in the events leading up to it. Susan fights Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) for the affection of new neighbor Mike Delfino (James Denton), Lynette struggles to cope with her demanding children, Bree fights to save her marriage to Rex Van de Kamp (Steven Culp), and Gabrielle tries to prevent her husband Carlos Solis (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) from discovering that she is having an affair with their gardener, John Rowland (Jesse Metcalfe).
The second season premiered on September 25, 2005, and its central mystery is that of new neighbor Betty Applewhite (Alfre Woodard), who moved onto Wisteria Lane in the middle of the night. She keeps some prisoner in her basement. Throughout the season, Bree tries to cope with being a widow, unknowingly begins dating the man who poisoned her husband, fights alcoholism, and is unable to prevent the gap between her and her son Andrew Van de Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom) from growing to extremes. She deals with her daughter Danielle's new romance with Matthew Applewhite. Susan's love life becomes even more complicated as her ex-husband Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi) is engaged to Edie and has also started to lean towards Susan. Lynette goes back to her career in advertising while her husband Tom Scavo (Doug Savant) becomes a stay-at-home father, and Gabrielle decides to be faithful to Carlos, and begins preparations to have a child. Paul is framed and sent to jail not for the murder he committed in the previous season, but for a fake one.
The third season premiered on September 24, 2006. In the third season, Bree marries Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan), whose past and involvement with a recently discovered dead body becomes the main mystery of the season. Meanwhile, Lynette has to adjust to the arrival of Tom's previously unknown daughter and her mother to the family. The Scavos also experience tension as Tom wants to start a pizzeria. Gabrielle goes through a rough divorce, but finally finds new love in Fairview's new mayor. After being run over by Orson in the previous season finale, Mike falls into a coma and suffers from amnesia when he wakes up. Edie sees her chance to make her move on Mike, and her family relations are explored throughout the season. Susan loses hope that Mike's memory will return and in the process moves on to a handsome Englishman whose wife is also in a coma, while her daughter Julie Mayer (Andrea Bowen) starts dating Edie's nephew. Elderly neighbor Karen McCluskey (Kathryn Joosten) hides something in her freezer. A shooting at the local grocery store leaves two characters dead and changes everyone's lives forever.
The fourth season premiered on September 30, 2007, and its main mystery revolves around new neighbor Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany) and her family, who return to Wisteria Lane after twelve years away. Lynette battles cancer; the newlywed—but unhappy—Gabrielle starts an affair with her ex-husband Carlos; Susan and Mike enjoy life as a married couple and learn that they are expecting a child; Bree fakes a pregnancy and plans to raise her teenage daughter's illegitimate child as her own; and Edie schemes to hold on to her new love, Carlos. A gay couple from Chicago—Lee McDermott (Kevin Rahm) and Bob Hunter (Tuc Watkins)—become residents of Wisteria Lane. A tornado threatens to destroy everything, and everyone, that the housewives hold dear. In the closing minute the characters and their story have flashed forward by five years.
The fifth season premiered on September 28, 2008, with the time period jumping five years after the previous season, with some flashbacks to events which happened between the two periods. The season mystery revolves around Edie's new husband, Dave Williams (Neal McDonough), who is looking for revenge on someone on Wisteria Lane (later revealed to be Mike). Susan deals with being a single mother and having a new romance with her painter, while Mike starts dating Katherine. Lynette and Tom learn that their now teenage son is having an affair with a married woman whose husband's nightclub burns down with all of Wisteria Lane's neighbors inside. Gabrielle struggles with Carlos' blindness, two young daughters, and a financial crisis. Bree and Orson have marriage problems because Bree has become too focused on her career as a successful cookbook writer and caterer, while Orson was in prison her daughter came back for her son. Edie dies of electrocution after a car crash, before she can expose Dave moments after she discovers his secret.
The sixth season premiered on Sunday, September 27, 2009, at 9pm. The main mystery of this season is surrounding new neighbor Angie Bolen (Drea de Matteo) and her family. The first half of the season consists of Julie being strangled by an unknown person, the conflict between Gabrielle and her niece Ana Solis (Maiara Walsh), Karen McCluskey finds new love. Lynette's attempt to sue her new boss Carlos, Katherine's eventual breakdown at losing Mike to Susan, and Bree's affair with Karl, which ends tragically when Karl's hired plane crashes into a building with the two of them and Orson inside. The second half of the season focuses on Katherine experimenting with her sexuality, Lynette inviting the Fairview strangler to stay with them before discovering the truth, the conflict between Bree and a son of Rex whom he had before meeting Bree, and the solving of the Bolen mystery.
The seventh season premiered on September 26, 2010, and its main mystery is Paul's return to Wisteria Lane with a new wife and with plans of punishing the residents for shunning him during his incarceration, while an old nemesis of his still plans to get her own revenge on him. Lynette's best friend from college Renee Perry (Vanessa Williams) moves to the lane and stirs things up among the other housewives. Gabrielle and Carlos learn an unsettling fact about their daughter Juanita Solis (Madison De La Garza) (who was switched at birth), which ultimately takes them back to Gabrielle's home town of Las Colinas. A now divorced Bree starts dating her contractor, and reveals the truth about the death of Carlos' mother, consequently ending the friendship between the Solis family and Bree. Due to financial problems, Susan and her family have moved off the lane, and Susan is forced to earn money by untraditional means. Following a major riot on the lane, Susan is put on the waiting list for a vital organ donation. Lynette persuades Tom to take an exciting new job, which leads to unprecedented problems in their marriage.
The eighth and final season premiered on Sunday, September 25, 2011. The main mystery of the season is the death of Gabrielle's perverted stepfather Alejandro Perez (Tony Plana) at Carlos' hands, and its cover-up by the four housewives, which occurred in the previous season finale. After the murder, Bree receives a blackmail letter from an unknown person similar to the one Mary Alice had received in the first season. Due to her relationship with detective Chuck Vance (Jonathan Cake), Bree becomes the main character affected by the cover-up of Alejandro's murder, and is eventually accused of killing Alejandro herself. A new neighbor, Ben Faulkner (Charles Mesure), moves into the lane, attracting Renee along the way. Ben is going through severe financial problems, and resorts to a dangerous and unruly loan shark to bail him out. Mike meddles in the business of Ben's loan shark in an attempt to protect Renee, but he pays the ultimate price. During the first half of the season, Susan struggles with the guilt of her involvement in the Alejandro case, and during the second half, she tries to deal with both Julie's unexpected pregnancy and Mike's death. Following the cover-up of Alejandro's murder, Carlos develops an alcohol problem, but Gabrielle persuades him to recover in rehab, which eventually results in Gabrielle and Carlos switching house roles. Tom moves out of the family home, and Lynette struggles to come to terms with how quickly Tom seems to have moved on, until she accepts that she is still in love with him, and decides she will try to win him back. Mrs. McCluskey receives worrying news about her health and decides to end it all, but Bree manages to convince her otherwise.
The two-hour series finale, which aired on Sunday, May 13, 2012, featured the conclusion of Bree's court case. To bring the series to a conclusion, there was a wedding, a birth, and a death, and the future of the four main housewives was revealed.
Cast and characters.
During its premiere season, the show featured thirteen starring actors, all credited in the opening sequence. For the show's second year, several actors, mainly child and teenage ones, who had guest starred during the first season, were promoted to series regulars without having their names included in the opening sequence. Instead, they were billed as "also starring" during the first minutes of each episode, together with episode guest stars. This practice continued for the rest of the season.
Production.
The idea for the series was conceived as Marc Cherry and his mother were watching a news report on Andrea Yates. Prior to "Desperate Housewives", Cherry was best known for producing and writing episodes of Touchstone Television's hit comedy series "The Golden Girls" and its successor, "The Golden Palace". In addition, he had created or co-created three sitcoms: "The 5 Mrs. Buchanans", "The Crew", and "Some of My Best Friends", none of which lasted longer than a year. Cherry had difficulty getting any television network interested in his new series; HBO, CBS, NBC, Fox, Showtime, and Lifetime all turned the show down. Finally, two new executives at ABC, Lloyd Braun and Susan Lyne, chose to greenlight it, reportedly after "The O.C." on Fox premiered in 2003 and showed that a soap opera could succeed in prime time. Shortly thereafter, Disney had both Braun and Lyne fired, following their approval of another new drama series: "Lost".
The ABC executives were not initially satisfied with the name of the new show, suggesting "Wisteria Lane" and "The Secret Lives of Housewives", instead. However, on October 23, 2003, "Desperate Housewives" was announced by ABC, presented as a primetime soap opera created by Charles Pratt Jr., of "Melrose Place" fame, and Marc Cherry, who declared the new show to be a mix of "Knots Landing" and "American Beauty" (1999) with a little bit of "Twin Peaks". While Cherry continued his work on the show, Pratt was credited as executive producer for the pilot episode only, remaining linked to the show as a consulting producer during the first two seasons.
On May 18, 2004, ABC announced the 2004–2005 lineup, with "Desperate Housewives" in the Sunday at 9:00–10:00 p.m. ET slot, which it held all through the run of the show. After only three episodes, on October 20, 2004, ABC announced that "Desperate Housewives", along with "Lost", had been picked up for a full season. A couple of weeks later after "Housewives" premiered the owners of NBC called to see who had passed on the series due to its ratings success.
"Desperate Housewives" was produced by creator Marc Cherry (Cherry Productions), Austin Bagley and, since 2007, ABC Studios. From 2004 to 2007, "Desperate Housewives" was produced in association with Touchstone Television.
Production crew.
Cherry, Tom Spezialy, and Michael Edelstein served as executive producers for show's the first two seasons. Spezialy, who also served as a staff writer, left his previous position as writer and executive producer for "Dead Like Me" to join the "Desperate Housewives" crew. He had also worked as writer and co-executive producer on several shows, among them "Ed", "Jack and Jill", and "Parker Lewis Can't Lose", while Edelstein had been the executive producer of "Threat Matrix" and "Hope & Faith".
Second season conflicts arose among the executive producers. Subsequently, Edelstein left the show mid-season, and by the season's end, so did Spezialy. For the third year, Cherry was joined by award-winning writer and producer Joe Keenan—of "Frasier" fame—and television movie producer George W. Perkins, who had been a crew member of "Desperate Housewives" since the show's conception. Although receiving praise for his work on the show, Keenan chose to leave "Desperate Housewives" after one season to pursue other projects. Replacing him as executive producer for season 4 was Bob Daily, who had joined the crew as a writer and co-executive producer during season 3. Daily's previous work include writing for the animated series "Rugrats", and for "Frasier". Also joining Cherry, Perkins, and Daily for season 4 were John Pardee and Joey Murphy, who had been with the series since the beginning. Both had also worked on Cherry's previous show, "The Crew", in 1995, as well as on the sitcom "Cybill".
In the first four seasons, Larry Shaw and David Grossman have been the most prolific directors, together directing more than half of the episodes.
Filming.
"Desperate Housewives" was filmed on Panavision 35 mm cameras (except for the final season, which was shot digitally on the Arri Alexa). It was broadcast in standard and 16:9 widescreen high definition, though it was framed for the 4:3 aspect ratio until the final season.
The set for Wisteria Lane, consisting mainly of facades but also of some actual houses, was located on the Universal Studios Hollywood back lot. It was referred to by film crews as "Colonial Street", and has been used for several motion pictures and television shows since the mid-1940s. Notable productions that were filmed here include: "So Goes My Love", "Leave it to Beaver", "The 'Burbs", "Providence", "Deep Impact", "Bedtime for Bonzo", "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", "Gremlins", "The Munsters", "Psycho", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", and the Doris Day comedies "The Thrill of It All" and "Send Me No Flowers". For the second season of "Desperate Housewives", the street underwent some significant changes. Among the most noticeable of these changes was the removal of a church facade and a mansion in order to make room for Edie's house and a park.
Interior sets were built on sound stages at Universal Studios Hollywood, some of which were duplicated in some form on the Wisteria Lane back lot for filming when conditions required it.
Filming for the series ended April 26, 2012.
Opening sequence.
The initial idea for the show's opening sequence was Cherry's. After asking 16 companies to come up with suggestions for how best to realize it, the producers finally hired Hollywood-based yU+co to provide the final version. According to the yU+co's official website, the idea behind the sequence is, "to evoke the show's quirky spirit and playful flouting of women's traditional role in society." The images featured are taken from eight pieces of art, portraying domesticity and male–female relations through the ages.
The music for the opening was composed by Danny Elfman, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2005. It also has been awarded both a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2005 and the BMI TV Music Award. In 2005, it was included on the album "Music from and Inspired by Desperate Housewives". In 2017, James Charisma of "Paste" ranked the show's opening sequence at the 29th position on a list of "The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time". When an episode runs long, only the first sequence (the falling apple) is kept. From the fourth season onwards, a shortened synthesized version of the theme (arranged and performed by frequent series composer Steve Jablonsky) is heard, which underscores the falling apple scene, and the photograph of the four lead actresses, crediting Marc Cherry as creator.
Music.
In addition to the theme composed by Danny Elfman, the first two episodes scored by Elfman's assistant Steve Bartek, and the third episode scored by ex-Police Stewart Copeland, the series underscore music, composed by Steve Jablonsky since the fourth episode of the first season, defines the overall sound of the show by creating a musical counterpoint to the writing style. The score is electronic-based, but every scoring session incorporates a live string ensemble. Jablonsky incorporates recurring themes for events and characters into the score. Hollywood Records produced the first soundtrack album, "Music from and Inspired by Desperate Housewives" (2005), distributed by Universal Music Group. Several of those songs have been used in subsequent seasons.
"Desperate Housewives" unique style combined with the heavy dialogue and a quick-fire writing style limits the amount of popular music used within the series. The series' music supervisor, David Sibley, works closely with the producers to integrate these musical needs into the show. In addition to featured performances by central characters such as Susan Mayer singing along with Rose Royce's "Car Wash" and Lynette's rendition of "Boogie Shoes", several characters have been accomplished musicians, such as Betty Applewhite (a concert pianist) and Dylan Mayfair (a prodigy cellist).
Later seasons.
In August 2009, Marc Cherry said that "Desperate Housewives" would be on television for a few more years, stating that the series still "has a lot of life left in it." He told "The Wrap": He went on to explain that he felt the program had been revitalized by the five-year leap forward for season five, saying: "Yes, I think it worked well. It was a way to start fresh and let everyone start from scratch in a way".
In October 2009, Cherry signed a two-year deal with ABC that could keep "Desperate Housewives" on the air until 2013.
The stars of "Desperate Housewives" finalized new deals to make way for the eighth season and signed at the price of $12 million.
Originally, Cherry hinted that "Desperate Housewives" would end in 2013, and in April 2011, Eva Longoria confirmed that there would definitely be an eighth season and expressed hopes for a ninth. "Desperate Housewives" was officially renewed by ABC on May 17, 2011 for an eighth season.
Final season.
In August 2011, it was confirmed that the eighth season of "Desperate Housewives" would be the final season. Eva Longoria tweeted about the end of "Desperate Housewives":
Cherry, the show's creator, made a cameo as a mover in the last scene of the final episode.
Reception.
Critical response.
The show was the biggest success of the 2004–2005 television season, being well received by both critics and viewers. The pilot episode had 21.3 million viewers making it the best new drama for the year, the highest-rated show of the week, and the best performance by a pilot for ABC, since "Spin City" in 1996.
Along with "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy", "Desperate Housewives" was credited to have turned around ABC's declining fortunes. Many critics agreed with Cherry's initial comparison to the popular black comedy film "American Beauty", while its themes and appeal to female viewers were compared to those of the award-winning series "Sex and the City", and its mysteries were said to resemble those of David Lynch's classic series "Twin Peaks". In its first review, "USA Today" proclaimed the show to be "refreshingly original, bracingly adult and thoroughly delightful" and naming it to be "sort of "Knots Landing" meets "The Golden Girls" by way of "Twin Peaks"".
Following the initial success of the show, the term "desperate housewives" became a cultural phenomenon. This warranted "real-life desperate housewives" features in TV shows, including "The Dr. Phil Show", and in magazines. Among the more prominent names to declare themselves fans of the show were Oprah Winfrey, who also dedicated an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to her visit at the film set; and the former First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, who, in a comedic speech during a dinner with White House Correspondents' Association on April 30, 2005, stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife", referring to the show. The series ended up being the fourth-most-watched in the United States during the 2004–2005 season, with 23.7 million viewers each week. The first-season finale was watched by 30.62 million American viewers becoming the most watched episode of the series.
For its second year, the show still maintained its ratings—with 22.2 million viewers, it reclaimed its position as the number four most-watched series. The second season's premiere was watched by 28.4 million viewers. The episode drew in the second largest audience for the series in its history. However, several critics started to notice a declining quality of the show's script, and "USA Today" Robert Bianco suggested that the part of the series getting "less good" was that showrunner Cherry had left much of the series writing in the hands of others. Midway through the season executive producer Michael Edenstein left the show due to conflicts with Cherry and in May 2006, just a couple of weeks prior to the second-season finale, so did Tom Spezialy. After the end of the season, Cherry agreed that the second year's script had been weaker and also agreed that it had been a mistake to let go too much of the show. He now stated that he was back full-time, claiming that both he and the writing staff had learned from their mistakes.
The critics generally agreed on the improved quality for the third year, but the overall ratings fell notably from previous seasons. Due to complications from her pregnancy, Marcia Cross was put on bed rest. After filming one episode from her own personal bedroom she was forced to take maternity leave with eight episodes of season three still remaining. It was predicted that the ratings would be down by over 25% since the premiere year. However, for the last three episodes of the season, the rating turned somewhat, and the season ended up with 17.5 million viewers, falling from number four to number ten on the list of most watched shows. While Cross' departure allowed for the much-underused Edie to have more story, fans noticed a decline in the stories during Cross' departure. Stories such as Lynette's emotional affair with restaurant manager Rick, proved unpopular. Furthermore, Susan's contrived triangle with Ian and Mike seemed tiresome to many viewers, particularly in an episode where Susan is lost in the woods. Notable, however, was that the show's rating among viewers age 18–24 increased from the previous season.
For its fourth season, the series proved to have staying power. The series averaged 18.2 million viewers. Ratings rose in the ninth episode "Something's Coming", where 20.6 million viewers tuned in to see the heavily marketed tornado episode. The show once again moved back into the top five highest-rated programs in the 2007–2008 season, being the number-one ABC drama and beating popular medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" after falling behind it for the first time in the third season. It also became for the first time the number-one scripted series, beating "".
Although ratings were down for the fifth season, along with every scripted series on television, "Desperate Housewives" was still the most-watched scripted series on ABC, consistently beating the other ABC flagship shows, "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy," although the latter is still number one in the 18–49 demographic, followed by "Desperate Housewives".
Similar to the fifth season, ratings were down for the sixth season because of heavy competition in many airings, but the show still managed to remain the second most watched scripted show on ABC and the eleventh most watched scripted show of all broadcast television. The series continued to hit lower ratings, because of competition like the 67th Golden Globe Awards, 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, 2010 Winter Olympics, and the new CBS reality television series "Undercover Boss". Nevertheless, the sixth season managed to finish in the top twenty overall, both in total viewers and 18–49 demographic audiences. Among scripted shows, it still ranked in the top ten, in both categories.
The seventh season premiered on September 26, 2010 and averaged 11.85 million viewers. The season saw new lows for the series reaching for the first time below 10 million viewers, and saw lows of 2.7 in the 18–49 demographic. For the first half of the season, ratings started strong averaging 12.3 million viewers and 3.9 in the 18–49 demographic which is similar to the second half of the sixth season. However, ratings declined in the second half of the season, after two contiguous episodes had to compete against the 68th Golden Globe Awards and then the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. The show failed to recover to viewer levels hit in the first half of the season, and continued to receive 9–10 million viewers and 2.7–3.1 in the 18–49 demographic. This was the first time in its history that "Desperate Housewives" would not place in the twenty most watched shows of the season, although it would place in the twenty most-watched scripted shows.
The eighth season continued to see declines in the series' ratings. The season premiered to 9.93 million viewers and a 3.2 in the demo making it the least-watched season premiere in the series' history. The season began with ratings similar to those of the latter half of season 7, averaging 8–9 million viewers, and between a 2.8 to 3.0 in the 18–49 demographic. However, after the mid-season finale the ratings returned lower, hitting the seven million viewer mark and a 2.2–2.5 in the demo. The season also saw the lowest ratings in the show's eight-year run. Opposite the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, which featured a tribute to the then-recently deceased entertainer Whitney Houston, and the mid-season premiere of "The Walking Dead" on AMC, the show fell to a 1.8 rating in adults 18–49 and 6.4 million viewers. However unlike the seventh season, the show's ratings slightly recovered after the series low and leveled around the eight million viewer mark and a 2.6 in the demo. Despite the series lows, the season finale was able to go out on a season high in the ratings and the highest rated episode in over a year and a half, since March 2011 with "Searching". The series finale titled "Finishing the Hat" aired May 13, 2012 was viewed by 11.12 million viewers and a 3.2 in the demo. Despite the lows in the ratings the show managed to remain in the top twenty-five-watched shows in the 18–49 demographic, placing at number twenty-five. However, the show dropped out of the top thirty most-watched shows in total viewers, coming in at thirty-fifth place.
In 2006, the American cable network Bravo launched their reality series, "The Real Housewives of...", in the footsteps of the "real life desperate housewives" phenomenon. That program has taken place in areas such as Orange County (California), Atlanta, and two series within the New York-Tri-State Region, within the City itself and the New Jersey suburbs. According to a survey of twenty countries conducted in 2006 by "Informa Telecoms and Media", "Desperate Housewives" was the third-most-watched television series in the world, after fellow American series "" and "Lost". During a fundraising auction for the British child charity ChildLine in December 2006, a walk-on part in "Desperate Housewives" had the highest bid, £17,000, beating Daniel Craig's James Bond tuxedo from "Casino Royale".
In its first public release of online individual television program rankings, Nielsen Media Research announced that the series had 723,000 unique online viewers in December 2008. "Desperate Housewives" was the seventh-most-pirated television show of 2009.
In fall 2013, North Korea allegedly executed eighty people for watching banned South Korean soap operas, "Desperate Housewives" being the most common soap opera. "Desperate Housewives" was being secretly watched using mp3 players, hard drives, and DVDs.
In September 2015, "Desperate Housewives" ranked at number hundred on "The Hollywood Reporter"s "Hollywood's 100 Favorite TV Shows", as determined by television industry professionals.
Accolades.
For its premiere season, the show was awarded six Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. The nominations of all of the leading actresses except Eva Longoria for both the Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award received some media interest. While Longoria seemingly wasn't bothered, stating for the press that "I'm new. I just arrived. I didn't expect at all to be in the minds of the Academy", Marc Cherry regarded them being left out as a "horrendous error". In the end, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series went to Felicity Huffman, while Teri Hatcher won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy, as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actress – Comedy Series.
The show's second Golden Globe Award for its first year was for Best Series – Musical or Comedy at the 62nd Golden Globe Awards, while the other Primetime Emmy Awards went to Kathryn Joosten, for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, for her guest role as Karen McCluskey (beating, among others, fellow cast member Lupe Ontiveros); to Charles McDougall, for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, for his direction of "Pilot"; to Danny Elfman, for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music, for his theme music; for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series of "Pilot"; and for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series at the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. The entire cast was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Cast – Comedy Series (in both 2004 and 2005), and Nicollette Sheridan was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.
In 2006, the show continued to receive several nominations. It was awarded with yet another Golden Globe Award for Best Series – Musical or Comedy at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards, and all the four leading women received Golden Globe Award nominations, although none of them won. The cast ensemble was awarded with another Screen Actors Guild Award, as was Felicity Huffman. Primetime Emmy Award nominations at the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards included, among others, guest actress Shirley Knight and supporting actress Alfre Woodard, although none of them resulted in a win. It was nominated for the Pioneer Award at the BAFTA awards but lost to "Doctor Who", which at the time was recently revamped.
The show did continue to be nominated in 2007—Felicity Huffman was granted a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the second time, and guest actresses Laurie Metcalf and Dixie Carter also received Primetime Emmy Award nominations, at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. The show, along with actresses Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman, received Golden Globe Award nominations at 64th Golden Globe Awards, and Huffman and the cast ensemble were also nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. None of the Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, or Screen Actors Guild Award nominations resulted in any actual awards.
2008 yielded the least nominations with none at the 65th Golden Globe Awards and only the cast being nominated at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The show was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, including acting nods towards Polly Bergen and Kathryn Joosten for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Joosten won the show's seventh Primetime Emmy Award and first since its debut year.
Nominations continued to decline in later years. Notable nominations included nods towards Beau Bridges and Kathryn Joosten in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Additionally, Brenda Strong received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2011, a notable feat for a category usually dominated by animated series. Also in 2011, Vanessa L. Williams won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series at the 41st NAACP Image Awards and a Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Strong and Joosten received Primetime Emmy Award nominations again at 64th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2012 and Williams won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the series' eight and final season in 2013.
Other notable awards include the People's Choice Award for Favorite New Television Drama at the 31st People's Choice Awards, the Future Classic Award at the 2005 TV Land Awards, the TP de Oro for Best Foreign Series in 2006, and seven Golden Nymph Awards at Monte-Carlo Television Festivals, among others.
Home media and digital downloads.
There have only been DVD releases of the show. On Amazon Prime and Hulu, the show is available for streaming in 1080p HD; otherwise for offline viewing, all episodes of the show can be purchased from Amazon Video, Google Play or Vudu. There has been no Blu-ray release as of 2020.
Merchandise.
Games.
Buena Vista Games released the life simulation computer video game "" on October 5, 2006 in North America, featuring an original storyline spanning 12 episodes. The game is set on Wisteria Lane, but the player does not play as any of the housewives, although they frequently appear. A couple of months later, Gameloft released a mobile game based on the series. "The inspiration for Gameloft's take on "Desperate Housewives" comes from the most unlikely place, too—the original Mario Party on the Nintendo 64."
In 2007, British company Re:creation published "Desperate Housewives Dirty Laundry Game", a board game based on the third season of "Desperate Housewives". Players attempt to guess their opponents' secrets by answering trivia questions, while keeping clues to their own secrets concealed.
In June 2017, Megazebra released on App Store and on Google Play. Play as new neighbor on Wisteria Lane.
Soundtrack and literature.
In September 2005, Hollywood Records released a soundtrack album distributed by Universal Music Group, "Music from and Inspired by Desperate Housewives", featuring music inspired by the series, as well as sound clips taken from the first season of the series. The songs included have been described as promoting "girl power", and among the artists appearing—all being female—were LeAnn Rimes, Gloria Estefan and Shania Twain. Controversially, no originally composed music from the series was included on the album.
Two books have been officially released within the "Desperate Housewives" franchise. In September 2005, ABC's sister company Hyperion Books released "Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors" (), a companion to the first season of the series, written by the production team behind the series. One year later, in October 2006, Hyperion published "The Desperate Housewives Cookbook – Juicy Dishes and Saucy Bits" (). In addition, official wall calendars, featuring shots taken from the series, were published by Andrews McMeel Publishing for 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Four unauthorized books written from different points of view were released in 2006. "Delicious Housewives, A Novel of Erotica", by author Tamarias Tyree (), from RSVP Press, is an erotic parody of the series featuring the housewives' sexual misadventures which eventually lead them to an appearance on the "Jerry Springer Show".
"Reading 'Desperate Housewives': Beyond the White Picket Fence" (), from I.B. Tauris, is an academic look at the show by film studies lecturers Janet McCabe and Kim Akass. "Welcome to Wisteria Lane: On America's Favorite Desperate Housewives" (), published by BenBella Books, consists of seventeen essays written from a feminist perspective. In Chalice Press' "Not-So-Desperate: Fantasy, Fact and Faith on Wisteria Lane" (), author Shawnthea Monroe gives a Christian interpretation of the series. Also, following the "real life desperate housewives" phenomenon, several books have been released dealing with life strategies for contemporary women.
Fashion dolls and fragrances.
In December 2006, it was announced that the characters of Susan, Lynette, Bree, Gabrielle and Edie were to be made into tall fashion dolls, produced by Madame Alexander. In 2007, they were released in a limited edition of 300 pieces each. A fragrance was also launched by Coty Inc. in 2006, titled "Forbidden Fruit", and was composed of orange blossom, peach, apple, lily, wisteria, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, tonka bean, vanilla and cedar. In August 2009, a collection of four fragrances by LR Health & Beauty Systems, each based on and titled after a "Desperate Housewives" lead character, was presented: Susan's fragrance is composed of orange blossom, cedar, sandalwood and white musk, Lynette's fragrance is composed of cardamom, star jasmine and musk, Bree's fragrance is composed of green apple, white jasmine, raspberry, lily, amber and vanilla, and Gabrielle's fragrance is composed of raspberry, pineapple, rose, patchouli and blackberries.
"Another Desperate Housewife" commercials.
In conjunction with season six, Marc Cherry was commissioned to write eight "mini-episodes" entitled "Another Desperate Housewife". The episodes were written after the previous season's extensive product placement proved unpopular with the fans. The mini-episodes were written to advertise mobile phone company Sprint and involve just three characters. The two main characters are Stephanie (played by Rebecca Staab) and Lance (played by David Chisum) who have moved into the former house of Edie Britt after her death. The third character, Elsa, was Stephanie's friend. It is eventually revealed that Lance and Elsa have been having an affair. Stephanie finds out and tells Lance to break it off. Elsa suggests killing Stephanie, but Lance gets a text message indicating he's seeing another woman and a furious Elsa shoots him. In truth, Stephanie had sent the message herself. The final mini-episode has Elsa being arrested and Stephanie attracted to a handsome policeman at the scene. Each episode ends with a Mary Alice-like narration saying things such as "This is suspicion on the Now Network" or "This is betrayal on the Now Network."
Ask "Desperate Housewives".
For the sixth season of the series, ABC created "Ask "Desperate Housewives"" to promote their website abc.go.com. It was presented and sponsored by Sprint, and it was hosted by series creator, Marc Cherry. In each special, Marc Cherry and an actress/actor of the series would answer questions that fans submitted to abc.go.com.
Adaptations.
On February 26, 2007, The Walt Disney Company announced that four South American versions of the show were about to begin production: one for Argentina, one for Colombia, one for Ecuador and one for Brazil. Later on, the Colombian and Ecuadorean productions merged, leaving three Latin American shows. The Argentine version, titled "Amas de Casa Desesperadas", began being broadcast in 2006. The first year proved successful enough for a second season to begin production. The first season of the version for Colombia (RCN TV) and Ecuador (Teleamazonas), also titled "Amas de Casa Desesperadas", began being broadcast in Ecuador in May 2007, and was broadcast five days a week. In addition, the second American version was developed for the Spanish-language television network Univision. Just as the two previous Spanish versions, it was titled "Amas de Casa Desesperadas", and the production began in July 2007. The Brazilian version, "" began being broadcast on RedeTV! in 2008. The Turkish version titled "Umutsuz Ev Kadınları" aired on Kanal D in Turkey from 2011 until 2013 and on FOX Turkey from 2013 until 2014. In fall 2013, the Disney Media Distribution and the Nigerian television network EbonyLife TV announced that they were producing an African version of "Desperate Housewives". The series, titled "Desperate Housewives Africa", was scheduled to premiere in summer 2014 on EbonyLife TV. However, it aired its only season during 2015.


Space Goofs

Space Goofs (French title: "Les Zinzins de l'Espace") is a French animated series that was produced by Gaumont Multimedia for its first season, and Xilam Animation for its second season, for France 3 and broadcast on that network from September 6, 1997 to May 12, 2006. It also debuted in the same year in Germany on ProSieben, and aired in Quebec on Télétoon. In the UK, the first season premiered on Channel 4 in 1998 under the show's original title of "Home to Rent" and the second season premiered under the series' final name on Nicktoons UK on November 5, 2005 at 9:30am. Furthermore, it aired as part of the Fox Kids lineup on Fox in the United States.
The series also served as the basis of an adventure game, developed by Xilam themselves and published by Ubi Soft Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and Sega Dreamcast called "Stupid Invaders" in 2000, which was dedicated to its creator, Jean-Yves Raimbaud (1958–1998). It featured the voice actors of its English dub as the five aliens, along with Rob Paulsen and Laraine Newman as various other characters, and was more adult than the series, so it was rated "T" by the ESRB and "11+" by the ELSPA.
Plot.
Five extraterrestrials from the fictitious planet Zigma B, Candy H. Caramella, Etno Polino, Stereo Monovici, Bud Budiovitch and Klatoo go on a picnic together in space. However, their spaceship crashes into an asteroid, and they fall to planet Earth. They realize that if any human finds out that they are aliens, they could be captured and experimented on by scientists, so they take shelter in the attic of a house that is up for rent. The aliens have two goals: return to their home planet, and chase away anybody who tries to establish themselves in the house. To remain unknown from humans, the aliens use a device called the SMTV that lets them transform into almost any entity of their choosing, but always cycles through three other transformations when used.
Reception.
The series was a hit in its home country of France, in particular due to its absurd, slapstick, and tongue-in-cheek slightly politically incorrect humor. It also enjoyed reasonable success in both the US and UK at the time.
"Stupid Invaders".
An adventure game based on "Space Goofs" named "Stupid Invaders" was released in 2000–2001 by Ubi Soft.