Fun at the Funeral Parlour

Fun at the Funeral Parlour was a comedy series broadcast on BBC Choice and BBC Three for two series in 2001 and 2002. It was set in a Welsh funeral directors called "Thomas, Thomas, Thomas and Thomas". It is set around the Swansea area of south Wales in the fictitious town of Trebanos in tribute to the writer's father who came from the real town in that area.
The series was written by Rhys Thomas with the script edited by Charlie Higson. Rhys also starred in the show alongside William Thomas, Alex Lowe and Tony Way. Thomas created the show at the age of 20, after contributing to "The Fast Show" becoming the youngest person ever to create, write, and star in their own TV sitcom. The second series featured a theme tune written and performed by Queen's guitarist, Brian May. He and producer of the series, Simon Lupton went on to work with Brian May and Queen on numerous DVDs and Queen documentaries.
Characters.
Main characters.
Ivor Thomas
Arwell Thomas (33 years old)
Gwynne Thomas
Percy Thomas
Recurring characters.
Larry Nazareth
The cigar smoking Lord Mayor played by Mark Williams, makes an appearance in both series 1 and 2. A keen otter lover he has two of them as pets. Simeon and Bod are mentioned in both series but sadly Bod has a bad case of gout in his toes. His other interests include rating his "double deckers" in the toilet bowl and collecting dialysis machines.
A shrewd man he sees an opportunity of exploiting "Arwell the Elephant-man" and converting the parlour into a freak-show called "The Undertakers From Hell" (2.2). Perhaps seen as a personal friend to Ivor, who rings up (the unseen) Nazareth for legal help when rival undertakers move in on the Thomas' patch.
He is married to an unnamed woman but this does not stop him from being caught in the woods, his trousers down in an uncompromising position with a hunting decoy (1.2).
Rival funeral directors
The first set of rival funeral directors in the town are the Bennet brothers (played by James Duke and David Sibley), a set of once conjoined siamese twins who were "joined at the satchels". They are the joint father of their daughter, Sian played by Wendy Wason who becomes a love interest to both Arwell and Percy in the two shows that she appears in.
Although the family members do not appear in every episode in series one, there are referenced several times.
They are ruthless, training "Roger" their pet wolf to kill so that they can profit from the victims' burials. They also show a similar temperament when it comes to a suitable partner for Sian and if discovered they would cut off Arwell's balls before feeding him to the pigs. However, they appear to be less savvy with business and turned down $1m when a group of Yanks come into town wishing to a buy a business as part of a global franchise of Africa, Asia and Wales.
The Bennets are not mentioned in series 2 but the Thomas business is still seen as the second best in the town when a commemorative plaque placed on the walls of the Thomas' new establishment is unveiled by the mayor. It reads "Thomas, Thomas, Thomas and Thomas The Second most Scariest Funeral Directors"
Another group of directors finally make an appearance in 2.4. These being a pair of unscrupulous, chimney-loving Englishmen banned from operating in their own land due to the way they operate their fast funeral service. They are played by Phil Cornwell and sidekick.
Shaking Stephens
"Wales' Best Shakin' Stevens Impersonator" who first appears at a comeback concert down the local legion where 13 tickets have been sold. During this evening "Green Door" is sung continuously. He is a keen James Bond fan, always taking locker 007 when he goes for a swim and asks that his slush puppies are shaken not stirred.
In his second and final appearance is in the series 1 finale, he is killed off when he falls into a skip whilst at the swimming pool (again singing "Green door"). He is managed by Isaac Hunt who insists on a sendoff in true show biz style. Hence, there is a rock band playing "Another One Bites the Dust" at his funeral with contract papers signed on top of his coffin.
Harrison Ford
Local newsagent, purveyor of "MAGS 'N' FAGS" as displayed above his shop in the font from "Raiders of the Lost Ark". The character charges extortionate prices for his goods and has an unhealthy habit of trying to sell inappropriate items from the top shelf to his younger customers, often through innuendo. The character (who also speaks a smattering of Welsh) only appears in 3 episodes of series one but the actor Paul Whitehouse who plays him makes a reappearance in series two as another unrelated character.
Billy
A school boy who appears 3 times in Ford's shop as a customer. He is often given "mucky" freebies by Ford and is eventually extorted by him on his birthday when he mistakenly buys some "penny" chews marked up as "pound" sweets.
Gate Shutter
A shy, non-speaking feral boy with an obsession for closing iron gates, such as those at the front of the Thomas' drive and the churchyard. He often conducts his habit when no one is around.
When interviewed for the position of a trainee undertaker, Ivor asks what is his occupation. Unable to speak, he grunts and gestures for a pen and paper with which he draws a picture and Ivor works out he is a "Gate shutter".
In his 4 appearances in series 1 he is not credited but is believed to be played by the producer Simon Lupton.
Pablo
A fellow jailbird that Percy met in the canteen on his first day whilst he was doing time. Due to his small stature he was hidden in a suitcase during Percy's second escape and his first through the sewers. His freedom and 2 appearances were short lived as he was killed by the jaws of doom in 1.2.
PC Hertz and PC Boone
The local police constables who have a warrant to search the parlour for Percy (E1.1) and also warn the Thomases that there is a beast running a mock in the village (E1.2). PC Hertz (played by Kai Owen) does most of the talking whilst his sidekick Boone (Mark Fleischmann) is more interested in collecting the autographs of the dead, such as Mr Boubes. They become very unpopular when they cancel the parish "boot sale" as a fall out of the wolf attacks.
Both actors make returns in later shows as a series of unrelated characters.
The vicar
For series 1 James Duke appears 3 times and plays a very cynical vicar who had an affair with Janet/Joan Jones the tragic victim of "the Heron incident" 1.3. The actor playing this role also plays one of the Bennet brothers
Father Pertwee
In series 2 Paul Whitehouse's character Father Pertwee first appears in the first episode as a blond, long haired vicar who uses innuendo during the funerals he performs. He is then "introduced" in the credits a further 2 times during the second run. He is partial to taking back-handers for the church roof fund, happily swapping the coffins in a "Dog Dango Afternoon" (2.6) thus allowing Percy to swindle his family out of the proceeds of a bank robbery. Although he is happy to use magic as part of his funerals he is not keen on clowns.
Paul Daniels
Visual references are made to the famous magician Paul Daniels in two episodes of series 2. A bottle of "Paul Daniels Magic Whisky" is poured during 2.3 and then in 2.6 we see a large inspirational poster of the man pinned up in the hotel room of failed magician Clifford Daxon.
Issac Hunt
Across both series Matt Lucas portrays "the most powerful and influential music agent in Wales". Through his company Mumbles Records, he represents a number of acts, which he refers as his "butties". These stars include tribute singer Shaking Stephens, failed magician Cliff Daxon who he has looked after for 12 years. He also represents the "World famous "Davy G" Music Maestro (as seen on TV in 1983)" and a newly signed up Queen tribute band, "The Thomas Brothers from Trebanos".
Hunt appears to be a frustrated game show host as (depending on the response) he likes to reply to the answers of his clients with expressions such as "Quack-quack-oops", "Ah-Er" and "Bing - The top answer".
He has an appetite for "hussies" which help him cope when someone dies and has one waiting for him off screen in each of his 2 featured episodes.
Ivor tries to explain to Arwell that the manager's name is a rather unfortunate joke and a play on words that refers to sexual organs. Ironically Ivor overlooks the fact that he, himself is called "Ivor Thomas".
Fernando Thomas and her midget partner, Rocky
The boys' mother is first mentioned in show 1.1 where she is said to have run off with a movie star (well an Oompa-Loompa from the Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory film) some 25 years ago. References to her wearing oversized and unattractive blue pants are made when Ivor has a clear out in 1.2. She is again mentioned in 1.3 where she is described as Spaniard who ran off with a midget some 20 years ago. Ivor predicts that she is now short and bald, and with hanging tits. However, when he recognises the smell of "lobster, olive oil and sweat" in 2.6 what appears to be the reality is very different as Anita Dobson returns as his tall, attractive estranged wife. Accompanied by Rocky (Christopher Ryan) her orange skinned, green haired Oompa-Loompa sized partner, she has come home and now wants to get a divorce after nearly 25 years apart.
Wooing her to try and keep his boys and the family business, Ivor reveals some intimate facts about Fernando such as her hairy chest and armpits along with a mole on her left shoulder that puts him off his coco-pops.
The sad reality however is very different. Fernando and Rocky are really a pair of very well researched con artists called Chiquitita and O'Ryan who want to make money for their sponge project that "exfoliates, conditions and bumps at the same time".
Other notable characters (non-recurring).
Mrs Marion Boubes
Played by Joanna Scanlan, she appears in 1.1 and is the wife of the first person to die in the series, the aptly named Dai. Her grief does not appear to last that long as she has an enjoyable liaison with Ivor in the funeral parlour whilst on a visit to see her husband in the chapel of rest.
Farther Titmus
The Irish priest of St Barney's Church who incorrectly predicts that the beast rampaging the village in 1.2 is the devil's child who is being looked after by the American ambassador. The reality is that he has been tailing a jello manufacturer from Ohio for days. The lighting scene from The Omen is then partially reenacted but sadly father Titmus' predictions are wrong and he does not meet his destiny and die via the "Act of God" but rather falls victim to the first attack (seen during the show) of the hound that appears throughout the rest of this episode. The character is played by Matt Lucas.
Quimby
A wolf hunter all his life who for a bounty will not only catch but kill and gut an animal in 1.2. Experienced, he is keen to tell stories of his adventures through his scars, whether they are caused by his prey, self-inflicted or by his wife. His methods are more akin to catching a shark as his flatbed truck "WOLF 1" is full of ropes, fishing buoys and a shark cage. The latter appears to be a place where he drinks his beer and sings in a drunken manner. He expresses an interest in working alone but appears to have a sidekick with a weak heart called Dirk, who is killed off by Quimby's deadly breath. Requiring further help he employs the Thomas lads to be his cabin boys and discovers that like Percy, Quimby has an interest in dirty books and using of KY.jelly. Played by Tom Baker the character has a fashion for keeping a starfish in his trousers and is also obsessed with him and his crew wearing gloves. So mush so that when Quimby becomes "Roger the wolf"'s last victim we find he has "died with his gloves on".
Ken Kennel
A carpenter who specialises in construction of the "ACME No. 8 Kennel". he believes in godly retribution when people such as Ivor do not offer him a cup of tea. Following people around until revenge has been metered out. Steve Furst plays him and several other characters in Series 1
"Rodger" the dog and "Lisa"
Rodger is owned by the rival Bennets, it has been trained to kill so that they can profit from these deaths. The animal is known to be responsible for three deaths in episode 1.2. ( Father Titmus, Pablo and Quimby). Perhaps there are more as the Bennets have a coffin filled full of money when the Thomases visit to challenge them.
With concern in the village, the Mayor puts up a bounty for its capture of £3000. Percy is as unscrupulous as his rivals and sets about trying to capture his own "Killing machine" with the help of Arwell and Quimby the wolf hunter.
To help in the capture of Rodger, Percy makes him a girlfriend called "Lisa" for £2.50 ("50 bob") out of bits of fur, wood, plastic feet and some old castors. A blender is cleverly hidden in her "Calcutta" to trap the randy Rodger, this addition clearly works as first Ivor and then Larry become ensnared by Lisa. To make her more attractive she has makeup applied by Percy who also coiffures her fur.
Percy eventually bonds with Rodger and decides to set him free once he has taken a mocked up picture of his capture to help claim the reward. Unfortunately, Rodger was mistakenly shot by Gwynne on Thursday 20 July 2000 (according to the reward cheque).
As with many of the show's endings there is a disclaimer saying, ”The producers would like to give an assurance that no animals were harmed in the making of this programme “. The animal that plays Rodger is trained to do tricks and you can clearly see him move from his lying down position during the end credits. The dog itself is not listed but appears to be some sort of Husky breed.
Guest stars.
Series 1 guests include:
Series 2 guests include:
Episode guide.
Series 1
Series 2
Locations.
Series 1.
Quimby's storage locker for his hunting gear in "Jaws of Doom" is the Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon
The bulk of the interior filming was carried out at Lululaund Cottages in Melbourne Road, Bushey Heath not far from Bushey Studios.
The room where the coffins were filmed was an upstairs bedroom. In order to give the impression that the coffins were next to "The Parlour", with the characters apparently going next door to visit the coffins, a real door was fixed to a blank wall in the downstairs room.
Series 2.
Towards the end of "Balls of Doom" (while "Forever Autumn" is playing), we see Arwell riding his motorised scooter along the road. This was shot in Llansawel, heading southwest past the Swan Fach cottage, over the stone bridge, past the 1957 NEUADD LLANSAWEL Community Hall, and the Black Lion Hotel, and on toward the B4337. This stretch of road features in most episodes—usually as part of the route of a funeral procession. The Community Hall also features in "Moira Stewart & The Clown Syndrome" and "'A Pocket Full of Gravel".
The church is St David's in Abergwili and features in most episodes of Series 2.
Burry Port Lighthouse (home to Dudley Sutton's character Bentley Nimmo) and the town's yacht club are unmistakable in "Marooned" the fourth show in series 2. The surrounding beach and dunes also feature in this episode.
DVD release.
The 2006 DVD Set
One explanation for the reversal may be that Series 2 is arguably better than Series 1.
Series 2 was left open-ended with the supposedly dead character Marshall Jeepster JR III disappearing at the end, his sidekick Bilko uttering that "I can see this happening another 7 times". This could have promised viewers another series, however, with nothing forthcoming perhaps the producers of the DVD thought that the ending of Series 1 makes a better clean break. In the series 1 finale, Ivor sells up to the Americans and is "set up for life". He then gives his blessing to his sons'newly signed band with the promise of tours to Osaka and Centre Parcs. In the words of Issac Hunt "Here's to the first day of the rest of your lives"
This theory would be OK as most episodes are stand alone, however, this does not work out for the timeline of the boys' mother Fernando Thomas as her length of absence from the family is mentioned in both series. Therefore, watching the episodes in the order supplied in the DVD does allow things to flow correctly.
A more plausible explanation might be found on the back of the DVD
""Fun at the Funeral Parlour" is a sitcom without rules, where anything can and often does happen."
Language used.
Whilst the majority of the show is performed in English it is based in and around Swansea where there are Welsh speakers. Although English is used throughout so as to make the story flow, there are some basic Welsh phrases used throughout the two seasons.
The most commonly used expressions is "Iechyd da" (good health) and is used throughout the 2 series by the Thomas family when greeting each other. Other words are also used within the family for terms of endearment.
A play on words of these expressions is made on more than one occasion when Ivor is greeted by his sons with "Iechyd da Da".
Harrison Ford also uses a little Welsh. He describes Billy as "Boi bach" (small boy) and describes Percy as "uch y fi" (horrible) when he asks for some porno mags.
One prominent building used for many of the scenes is NEUADD LLANSAWEL. This being the "Hall" in the village of LLANSAWEL with the words carved into the walls of the building
In episode 2.6 there is a small amount of Spanish used when Fernando Thomas turns up, most of this is translated by Rocky. However, a version of the ongoing joke about a character asking lots of questions at once and the other character not knowing which question to respond to is not translated. It is left for the sharp viewers to notice this.


Spalding War Memorial

Spalding War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall (pronounced ) in Spalding, Lincolnshire, in eastern England. It was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. The proposal for a memorial to Spalding's war dead originated in January 1918 with Barbara McLaren, whose husband and the town's Member of Parliament, Francis McLaren, was killed in a flying accident during the war. She engaged Lutyens via a family connection and the architect produced a plan for a grand memorial cloister surrounding a circular pond, in the middle of which would be a cross. The memorial was to be built in the formal gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall, which was owned by the local district council. When McLaren approached the council with her proposal, it generated considerable debate within the community and several alternative schemes were suggested. After a public meeting and a vote in 1919, a reduced-scale version of McLaren's proposal emerged as the preferred option, in conjunction with a clock on the town's corn exchange building.
The total cost of the memorial was £3,500, of which McLaren and her father-in-law contributed £1,000 each; her brother-in-law donated a pair of painted stone flags and the remainder was raised from voluntary subscription, which took until 1922. The memorial consists of a brick pavilion at the south end of the garden and a Stone of Remembrance, both at the head of a long reflecting pool, which incorporates the remains of an 18th-century canal. It was unveiled at a ceremony on 9 June 1922. Lutyens went on to use the style of the pavilion for shelter buildings in several war cemeteries on the Western Front, though none of his other war memorials follow the design and the memorial became relatively obscure. Spalding War Memorial is today a Grade I listed building, having been upgraded when Lutyens's war memorials were declared a "national collection" and all were granted listed building status or had their listing renewed.
Background.
War memorials became a common sight in British towns and cities following the First World War (1914–1918). Almost one million men from Britain were killed in the conflict, and monuments were erected in virtually every settlement in the country. The memorial raised in Spalding, a town in southern Lincolnshire in eastern England, was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, who had previously established his reputation designing country houses for wealthy clients. From 1917 onwards, Lutyens dedicated much of his time to the memorialisation of the war dead, first advising the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) and later designing war memorials both for the commission and through his own practice. Spalding was one of his first war memorial commissions.
The proposal for the Spalding war memorial originated with Barbara McLaren (née Jekyll). Barbara was the widow of Francis McLaren—Spalding's Member of Parliament and a Royal Flying Corps officer, who was killed in a flying accident near RAF Montrose in 1917—and the niece of garden designer Gertrude Jekyll, with whom Lutyens had collaborated on multiple previous projects. Lutyens designed the McLarens' London house on Cowley Street in Westminster in 1911 and shortly after Francis' death in 1917 designed the headstone for his grave in Busbridge in Surrey. He was later responsible for the war memorial in the same village.
Commissioning.
Barbara McLaren engaged Lutyens to design a memorial for the gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall, which Spalding Urban District Council had purchased in 1897 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Lutyens proposed a U-shaped cloister sheltering a Stone of Remembrance standing in front of a circular lily pool, in the centre of which would be a cross. McLaren hoped to include space for the families of those commemorated to add their own epitaphs but this proved impractical due to the amount of space that would have been required; she insisted that her husband not receive any special commemoration beyond that afforded to the other casualties.
McLaren approached the council with her proposal in January 1918. When it became public after the end of the war, the proposed scheme proved controversial, prompting debate within the community and on the letters pages of the local newspaper. Multiple alternative proposals were submitted, including both purely commemorative schemes such as a clock on the town's corn exchange building and functional schemes such as the conversion of Ayscoughfee Hall into a youth centre. The youth centre and Lutyens's proposal emerged as the leaders, and details of both were published in the local newspaper. The district council called a public meeting to debate the proposals, which was held on 1 August 1919. Around 300 people attended the meeting, at which the proponents of the two leading options plus a third proposal—the clock on the corn exchange—were allowed fifteen minutes each to outline their scheme. During the meeting, several other proposals were put forward, including a cenotaph or an obelisk in the market place. The meeting was closed with the decision to hold a public vote, which was held on 23 August. The ballot paper included seven options, with each voter selecting a single choice:
The modified McLaren–Lutyens proposal emerged the clear winner, receiving 459 votes. The unmodified scheme was the second most popular option with 286 votes; the proposal for an obelisk and clock was the only other option to garner more than 200 votes.
In September 1919, the Spalding War and Victory Memorials Committee was formed to oversee fundraising and construction of the memorial, the total cost of which was £3,500. McLaren and her father-in-law Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway contributed £1,000 each, Sir Herbert and Dame Agnes Jekyll donated £100, Henry McLaren (Barbara's brother-in-law) donated the stone flags, and the remainder was raised by public subscription, which took until 1922.
The clock and carillon (bell tower) of 23 bells was erected in 1922, the same year as Lutyens's memorial, on the corn exchange in the town centre. Three of the bells were inscribed with names of casualties from the war, chosen to represent all of Spalding's war dead, while others were inscribed with names of those involved in the commemorations. The corn exchange was demolished in 1972 and replaced with the South Holland Centre, an arts venue, with the clock and carillon re-housed in a tower on the roof. After refurbishment of the South Holland Centre in 1998, a new glass tower was built to house the clock and carillon after the bells were cleaned. On Armistice Day (11 November) 1998, the Western Front Association unveiled a plaque on the South Holland Centre to explain the significance of the clock tower.
History.
Lutyens's memorial in Ayscoughfee Hall Gardens was constructed by Hodson Limited of Nottingham, at the south end of the formal gardens, replacing an earlier castellated tower—a 19th-century folly known as the "Owl Tower". The unveiling took place at a ceremony on 9 June 1922, presided over by General Sir Ian Hamilton and dedicated by Reverend Alfred Jarvis, Assistant Chaplain-General to Northern Command. Barbara McLaren attended the ceremony along with several other members of the Jekyll and McLaren families. Several dignitaries gave speeches at the ceremony, including Jarvis, who spoke of the dead among the poppies on the Western Front, a "symbol of oblivion". Hamilton spoke of the results of the carnage of the war; referring to the idea that the First World War was the war to end war, he told the assembled: "The result has been so different. Europe is a seething cauldron of racial hatred; Ireland [...] is linked in our minds with the idea of murder; Mesopotamia [modern-day Iraq], India, and Egypt are straining at the leash of civilisation." The general concluded: "If you want to end war, you must end hatred" and that "In that way, I believe we shall be working towards peace, and in that way we will be doing in our own small way our best each of us—and Spalding minds united are a great force—and in that way we shall perpetuate the memories of those whose untimely deaths we have come here to commemorate". At the conclusion of the speeches a lone bugler played the "Last Post" and the crowd sang the national anthem, after which the dignitaries—including McLaren and her sons—laid floral tributes around the Stone of Remembrance.
The names of a further 24 casualties from the First World War were added to the central panel of the memorial prior to Remembrance Sunday 2014. The additions were the result of research by a member of the local branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL), which produced a list of 50 names, though the remaining casualties' connections to Spalding were deemed too tenuous for their names to be included. As a result of local government reorganisations, the memorial is now the responsibility of South Holland District Council, which is based in Spalding.
Design.
Spalding's war memorial comprises a brick-built pavilion structure with hipped roof of red pantiles and floored with red bricks in a herringbone pattern. The side of the pavilion facing the pool has three Tuscan stone arches, with another Tuscan arch opening on each sidewall. The solid rear wall bears two painted stone flags—the Union Flag to the left and the White Ensign to the right—and three panels on which are inscribed the names of over 200 servicemen from Spalding who died in the First World War. The central panel bears the dedication: "IN LOVE AND HONOUR OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE YEARS OF WAR MCMXIV – MCMXIX / THIS MEMORIAL IS RAISED IN THEIR HOME BY THE MEN AND WOMEN OF SPALDING". The frieze inside the pavilion contains a further inscription: "ETERNAL REST GRANT TO THEM O LORD AND LET LIGHT PERPETUAL SHINE UPON THEM". A separate stone is dedicated to Francis McLaren and inscribed "THIS STONE COMMEMORATES FRANCIS WALTER STAFFORD McLAREN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE SPALDING DIVISION 1910–1917 WHEN HE FELL IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY AT THE AGE OF 31".
A Stone of Remembrance is sited on a platform of three steps in front of the pavilion, inscribed with the phrase "THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE" and the dates of the two world wars (the dates of the Second World War were added at a later date, though the names of the casualties from that conflict were not). The stone is carved from a single piece of rock, with very slight curvature (entasis) barely visible to the naked eye. It is long and devoid of any decoration besides the inscription. A long pool leads away from the structures—originally a canal from the garden first recorded in 1732, which Lutyens remodelled to form a reflecting pool in the style of an Italian formal garden; three low fountains were added at a later date. The pavilion and the pool are surrounded by yew hedges, which on the east side are broken at regular intervals by iron gates which lead to a peace garden, added in 1994. The view of the pavilion at the head of the reflecting pool is reminiscent of Bodnant Garden at Lord Aberconway's home in Wales, Francis McLaren's childhood home.
Impact.
By the time the memorial at Spalding was unveiled in 1922, Lutyens had already been engaged in work on First World War memorials in Britain and abroad for several years. He had designed The Cenotaph on Whitehall in London (the permanent version of which was unveiled in 1920), which became the focus for the national Remembrance Sunday commemorations. His work from 1917 for the Imperial War Graves Commission (eventually as one of the Principal Architects for France and Belgium) included the Stone of Remembrance (used in the first cemeteries from 1920) and the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing (unveiled in 1932)—the largest British war memorial anywhere in the world. The Cenotaph and Lutyens's connections from his pre-war work designing country houses led to commissions for dozens of war memorials across Britain and elsewhere in the Commonwealth. His initial design for Spalding was one of several of Lutyens's early post-war commissions featured in a war memorials exhibition hosted by the Royal Academy at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1919. Historic England described Spalding as "an exceptional departure" from the usual style of Lutyens's war memorials. The design is not used elsewhere in his war memorials, but the pavilion had a significant influence on Lutyens's later designs for buildings in Imperial War Graves Commission cemeteries on the Western Front. The resemblance is said to be "striking" at Anneux British Cemetery, Cambrai, and the Tuscan loggia motif recurs at several other cemeteries as well.
Spalding's memorial became relatively obscure, and was not covered extensively in any publication about Lutyens's works until the publication of Tim Skelton's "Lutyens and the Great War" in 2008. Barbara McLaren later married Bernard Freyberg, an officer in the Royal Naval Division, which Skelton speculates may have led to Lutyens's commission for the Royal Naval Division Memorial on Horse Guards Parade in London.
The memorial was designated a Grade II listed building in November 1975. In November 2015, as part of commemorations for the centenary of the First World War, Lutyens's war memorials were recognised as a "national collection" and all 44 of his free-standing memorials in England were listed or had their listing status reviewed and their National Heritage List for England list entries updated and expanded. As part of this process, Spalding War Memorial was upgraded to Grade I. Ayscoughfee Hall itself is also listed at Grade I, while the gardens are listed at Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.
References.
Bibliography
Citations


Chinese Cemetery (Danyor)

The Gilgit Chinese Memorial Cemetery (, ), locally known as the China Memorial (), is a graveyard located in Danyor, Gilgit–Baltistan, about ten kilometres away from the capital city of Gilgit across the Gilgit River. The cemetery, established in early 1970, serves as the final resting place of Chinese workers and engineers who died during the construction of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in Pakistan throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The tombstones placed over the graves contain epitaph inscriptions in Chinese characters.
In August 2011, a Chinese delegation consisting of retired People's Liberation Army soldiers, journalists and a relative of a worker visited the cemetery to pay homage to the deceased. The visit was widely publicized in the Chinese media. Prior to their departure for Pakistan, they had also met the Pakistani ambassador to China, Masood Khan, who was highly appreciative of their gesture. In April 2013, a ceremony was held at the cemetery in which key Chinese and Pakistani officials were present, including the consul of the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, Zhang Lianyou, officials of the China Road and Bridge Corporation, members of the Gilgit–Baltistan Legislative Assembly and Pakistani law enforcement personnel. During the ceremony, tributes were paid to the deceased and a pledge was laid on behalf of the Chinese government for a renovation of the cemetery. Pakistani officials present at the occasion lauded the contributions of the Chinese workers as a symbol of healthy and longstanding bilateral relations between China and Pakistan.
Background and significance.
The Karakoram Highway is an international highway which runs across the Karakoram mountain range and through the Khunjerab Pass, thereby connecting China's Xinjiang region with the neighbouring Pakistani administrative territory of Gilgit–Baltistan in the Kashmir region. It serves as the primary land transport link between Pakistan and China. Construction of the highway was carried out jointly between the governments of Pakistan and China from 1966 to 1979. The construction of the highway had created difficult conditions for Chinese and Pakistani workers due to the high elevation of the mountain range and turbulent weather. Estimates for the highway construction's death toll ranges from around 1000–5000 people, of which nearly a third were Chinese workers who had died mostly in landslides, avalanches and accidental falls. Newer reports estimate the casualties to be higher than initially reported, and difficult to pinpoint due to the nature of the terrain in the region.
The cemetery remains an important visitor attraction in Gilgit.


Rye African-American Cemetery

The Rye African-American Cemetery, also known as African Cemetery, is a historic cemetery on North Street in Rye, New York. It is located next to the southwest portion of Greenwood Union Cemetery, and was established as a burying ground for local African-Americans in 1860 through a donation of land by the Underhill family with the intent that it “shall forever hereafter kept, held and used for the purpose of a cemetery or burial place for the colored inhabitants of the said Town of Rye, and its vicinity free and clear of any charge". At least 35 of the individuals buried there are American veterans. The last documented burial in the cemetery was in 1964.
The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. In 2004, it was added to the African American Heritage Trail of Westchester County, a group of 13 sites which include Stony Hill Cemetery, Villa Lewaro and the Jay Estate.
The cemetery is cared for and being restored by the non-profit Friends of the Rye African American Cemetery together with descendants of those buried there and the local NAACP chapter. The Friends have led the preservation effort since 2010


Joan of Lorraine

Joan of Lorraine is a 1946 play-within-a-play by Maxwell Anderson.
Plot.
It is about a company of actors who stage a dramatization of the story of Joan of Arc, and the effect that the story has on them. As in the musical "Man of La Mancha", most of the actors in the drama play two or more roles.
The main character is Mary Grey, the fictional star actress who portrays Joan. As the play begins, Mary Grey and the fictional director of the play-within-a-play, Jimmy Masters, are in conflict over how Joan is to be played. The conflict is resolved during the course of the play.
Production.
Ingrid Bergman was the star of the original production, playing both Joan and Mary Grey, the fictional star actress who portrays her. Other notable actors who appeared in this production were Joseph Wiseman and Sam Wanamaker.
Awards.
Ingrid Bergman won a Tony Award for this performance — one of the first such awards ever given.
Adaptation.
In 1948, an adaptation of "Joan of Lorraine" was filmed in Technicolor as "Joan of Arc". This film also starred Ingrid Bergman, but it did not use the play-within-a-play framework. Instead, it made the story a straightforward account of Joan's life, omitting the fictional acting company altogether.
Anderson's dialogue for the story of Joan was not only retained, but, in collaboration with Andrew Solt, expanded with additional scenes involving historical characters who do not appear in the original play. For her performance, Ingrid Bergman was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost out to Jane Wyman in "Johnny Belinda".


John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School

The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS) – known informally as "Swick" – primarily trains and educates United States Army personnel for the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM), which includes Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Psychological Operations personnel. Its purpose is to recruit, assess, select, train and educate the U.S. Army Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations and Special Forces Soldiers by providing training and education, developing doctrine, integrating force-development capability, and providing career management.
History.
The command originated in 1950, when the U.S. Army developed the Psychological Warfare (PSYWAR) Division of the Army General School at Fort Riley, Kansas. The U.S. Army Psychological Warfare Center and School, which included operational tactical units and a school under the same umbrella, moved to Fort Bragg in 1952. The center was proposed by the Army's then-Psychological Warfare Chief, Robert A. McClure, to provide doctrinal support and training for both psychological and unconventional warfare.
In 1956, the PSYWAR Center and School was renamed the U.S. Army Center for Special Warfare/U.S. Army Special Warfare School. The school was tasked with developing the doctrine, techniques, training, and education of Special Forces and Psychological Operations personnel. In 1960, the school's responsibilities expanded to counterinsurgency operations. In 1962, the Special Warfare Center established a Special Forces Training Group to train enlisted volunteers for operational assignments within Special Forces units. The Advanced Training Committee was formed to explore and develop methods of infiltration and exfiltration. On 16 May 1969, the school was renamed the U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance. The curriculum was expanded to provide training in high-altitude, low-opening (HALO) parachuting and SCUBA operations. The institute comprised the SF School, Psychological Operations, Military Assistance Training Advisors School, Counter-Insurgency School, Unconventional Warfare School and Department of Non-Resident Training.
On 1 April 1972, the U.S. Army Civil Affairs School was transferred from Fort Gordon, Georgia to Fort Bragg, to begin operating under the center's umbrella. In 1973, the center was assigned to the new U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). On 1 June 1982, the Chief of Staff of the Army approved the separation of the center as an independent TRADOC activity under the name U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center (SWC). The SWC integrated special operations into the Army systems, training and operations, becoming the proponent school for Army Special Operations Forces.
In 1985, SWC was recognized as the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS). The major change at this time was the establishment of six training departments: Special Forces; Special Operations Advanced Skills; Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape; Foreign Area Officer; Civil Affairs; and Psychological Operations. A few years later, the Noncommissioned Officer Academy was instituted. On 20 June 1990, SWCS was reassigned from TRADOC to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. This designation gave USASOC control of all components of SOF, with the exception of forward-deployed units.
Overview.
The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS) at Fort Bragg, N.C. manages and resources training, education and growth for Soldiers in the Army's special-operations branches.
Approximately 3,100 students are enrolled in SWCS training programs at any given time. SWCS also maintains the Special Forces Warrant Officer Institute and the David K. Thuma Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Academy. While most courses are conducted at Fort Bragg, SWCS also has facilities and relationships with outside institutions.
SWCS offers 41 different courses, including courses for Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations, Special Forces and Cultural Support. Advanced skills courses include combat diver training in Key West, Florida, sniper training at Fort Bragg and military freefall training at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
Regional studies and education constitutes Phase II of the three branches' qualification courses. This phase lasts 18 to 24 weeks depending on the language category (CAT) assigned them. Students who are assigned to CAT I or II languages such as Spanish, French and Indonesian spend 18 weeks of study with the end goal being to achieve a score of 2 on the Interagency Language Roundtable Scale (ILR). Students spend 24 weeks studying CAT III or IV languages such as Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog, Persian, Korean, Thai, Pashto, or Urdu with the end goal being to achieve an ILR score of III or IV (indicating professional proficiency). All students must pass an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) before moving to the next phase of their qualification course. The Defense Language Institute assists with this language education.


Walhalla Cemetery

The Walhalla Cemetery is a cemetery near Atakpame in Togo. The cemetery contains a single Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) gravestone, that of Lieutenant George Masterman Thompson of the 1st Battalion Royal Scots. Thompson's death in the Togoland Campaign made him the first British officer killed in the First World War. Thompson was killed on 22 August 1914 aged 24 while trying to storm the German trenches while in command of French Senegalese troops at Chra Village. He was posthumously awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palms.


Hickory Hill (McLean, Virginia)

Hickory Hill is a large brick house in McLean, Virginia, in the United States, which was owned for many years by members of the Kennedy family, the American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business.
Although the date when the house was constructed cannot be determined precisely, architectural historians, noting that an 1865 ordinance map of the area does not indicate the house, date it to shortly after the American Civil War, circa 1870.
The property was part of an tract acquired in 1846 by George Walter, who built several houses in the area prior to his death in 1890. The core of the house itself originally featured an encircling verandah, topped by a mansard roof. In 1931, the house was extensively remodeled largely to its current configuration. It was expanded again in 1964 with a north wing addition.
In 1920, James Patrick "Pat" Speer, a Washington D.C. dentist, lived at Hickory Hill, along with his wife Susan Virginia "Jenny" Morgan Speer. At that time, they lived in the house with their five younger children, as their eldest daughter had already married and moved away. Pat Speer practiced dentistry in Washington D.C., in the same building where Clara Barton had previously conducted her work with U.S. Civil War veterans and their families.
In July 1941, Hickory Hill became the home of newly appointed United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert H. Jackson and his wife, Irene, who, in 1955, after his death, sold Hickory Hill to United States Senator John F. Kennedy (D−Massachusetts) and his wife, Jacqueline. After the 1956 Democratic National Convention, the house was sold to John's brother Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel, who had a growing family (eventually eleven children). While he lived at Hickory Hill, Robert Kennedy became Attorney General of the United States in 1961; a United States Senator in 1965; and a presidential candidate in 1968.
Hickory Hill was placed on the market in 2004 by the Kennedy family at an asking price of $25 million and then subsequently withdrawn in November 2008. After it was sold in December 2009 to a Virginia businessman for $8.25 million, the house underwent a major renovation, completed in the fall of 2013.
The house, along with eleven other historic structures, was designated as a contributing property to the Langley Fork Historic District by the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places on October 19, 1982.


The Susie

"The Susie" is the 149th episode of the sitcom "Seinfeld". This was the 15th episode for the eighth season. It aired on February 13, 1997.
Plot.
Kramer's friend Mike has become a bookie. Kramer, a compulsive gambler, places bets with Mike on Jerry's behalf. But when Jerry wins, Mike can't pay up. When Jerry accidentally slams his trunk lid on Mike's thumbs, breaking them, Mike becomes afraid of him. Mike tries to make up his debt by fixing Jerry's trunk but gets trapped inside.
Kramer sets his watch ahead one hour even though Daylight Saving Time hasn't started yet. Elaine's co-worker Peggy calls Elaine "Susie," but Elaine neglects to correct her. However, when Peggy later addresses her as "Suze," she vehemently objects to the use of any diminutive. Peggy complains to Peterman about the rude outburst, and he arranges a meeting between Peggy, Elaine, and "Susie." At the meeting, Elaine manages to simultaneously pretend that she is Susie to Peggy and that she is Elaine to Peterman, but Peterman then begins giving "Susie" her own assignments. While driving Elaine, Jerry recognizes that her charade has gone too far and tells her she should "eliminate Susie." Mike, still trapped, overhears and interprets this to mean murder.
George is excited about Steinbrenner's ball because he wants to make a grand entrance with his girlfriend Allison with her wearing a backless dress. Allison tells George, "We need to talk." He goes to great lengths to avoid her so that she can't break up with him. She finally resorts to using Kramer as a go-between, and Kramer breaks up with George on her behalf. George tries in turn to use Kramer as a go-between for making up with Allison, but she refuses, and Kramer shows up at the ball in her place. During a scuffle in the lobby, George tears off the back of Kramer's tuxedo, and Kramer is thrown into the main hall, making a (backless) "grand entrance" of his own.
Elaine tells Peterman that Susie committed suicide, so Peterman organizes a memorial service. Elaine and Jerry attend. When he arrives, Peterman rear-ends Jerry's car, inadvertently freeing Mike. Peggy is confused to see "Susie" at the service, so Elaine belatedly corrects her about her name. Mike bursts in and accuses Jerry of murdering Susie.
Peterman proposes establishing a foundation in Susie's honor, so Elaine finally tells him the truth. However, he misunderstands and expects Elaine to devote all of her non-working hours to running the foundation.
Production.
The impetus for the episode's story was when one of writer David Mandel's co-workers on "Saturday Night Live" called him the wrong name. Mandel didn't correct him, so he continued to call Mandel by this name for their entire time together on the show. Mandel said he was struck by the fact that there was no one on "Saturday Night Live" with that name that he knew of, inspiring "The Susie"'s core idea of a misremembered name leading to a belief in a non-existent person.
George's answering machine message, a George-sung parody of "Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)", was also based on real-life events. A friend of a friend of Mandel's used this same parody for her answering machine message. Since actor Jason Alexander is a good singer in real life, he was told to sing as poorly as he could after his first take of the song was judged too good to be funny.
Mandel later said he considers "The Susie" one of the weakest TV episodes he has written, feeling that the bookie plotline didn't go anywhere.


Euro commemorative coins

The nations of the European Union issue commemorative coins in various denominations. These include:


Khartoum Place

Khartoum Place is a pedestrianised city square in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand. The square, protected by several mature trees, is located between Lorne Street and Kitchener Street, and provides a stairway connection between the two street levels.
In 1993, the centenary of women's suffrage in New Zealand, a painted 2000-tile memorial and waterfall dedicated to Auckland's and New Zealand women's suffrage movement was installed in the stairway. The suffragists depicted in the memorial are (from left) Amey Daldy, Anne Ward, Lizzie Frost, Matilda Allsopp, Elisabeth Yates, Annie Jane Schnackenberg, Fanny Brown, and Ida Wells.
In 2006/2007, $2.2 million were spent on upgrading the lower part of the square, with Council intending to spend another $1 million in 2011 to complete the upgrade on the upper level.
The Auckland Art Gallery is located at the Kitchener Street end of the square, with other related exhibition and public space also arrayed around the square. In 2010 supporters of the Art Gallery campaigned to have the Women's Suffrage Memorial removed, arguing that it blocked the view from Lorne Street to the upgraded Art Gallery entrance. In 2006, there had already been an attempt to remove the memorial from the site. Brian Rudman, in an editorial in "The New Zealand Herald" spoke out against the removal, lambasting the proposed "processional stairway":
He also noted that - contrary to the 2006 attempt to have the Women's Suffrage Memorial removed, when the opponents (also connected to the Art Gallery) argued that it had no artistic merit (and were opposed by a public outcry) - in 2010 they argued from an urban design perspective, and were citing such "precedents" as Haussmann's leveling of parts of Paris for its grand new avenues.
In 2011 the Auckland City Council voted to protect the Women's Suffrage Memorial in Khartoum Place in perpetuity.
Lower Khartoum Place was renamed Te Hā o Hine Suffrage Place in July 2016 following a decision by the Waitematā Local Board. Te Hā o Hine comes from the whakatauki (proverb) ‘Me aro koe ki te hā o Hine ahu one’ which means ‘pay heed to the dignity of women’.


Pini Dunner

Pinchas Eliezer "Pini" Dunner (born September 25, 1970) is an orthodox rabbi living in Beverly Hills, California.
Early life.
Dunner was born in London, UK. His father, Aba Dunner (1937-2011), was a prominent Jewish community activist, renowned for his work on behalf of European Jewry. His grandfather, Rabbi Josef Hirsch Dunner (1913-2007), was the last Chief Rabbi of East Prussia before World War II, and later presiding Rabbi of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations in London, where he led the strictly orthodox community for over 50 years.
Dunner spent his early years in the North London neighborhood of Stamford Hill. In 1976 his family moved to Golders Green, a suburb in North West London with a large Jewish community.
After high school Dunner attended rabbinical seminaries in Gateshead Talmudical College,
 Baltimore, and Yeshiva Mercaz Hatorah in Jerusalem. In 1992 he was ordained as a rabbi by Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest Orthodox postgraduate rabbinical seminary in the United States. That same year Dunner was accepted into the Jewish History honors program at University College London. He graduated in 1996.
Personal life.
Dunner is married to Sabine, née Ackerman, and they have six children.
Career.
In the winter of 1991 Dunner moved to Moscow where he served as the assistant rabbi at Moscow Choral Synagogue.
In 1996 Dunner took over the failing daily Jewish radio program broadcast by Spectrum Radio, a multi-ethnic radio station based in Battersea, London. Under his direction, the two-hour daily radio show became known for interviews with leading British and Israeli politicians, as well as for detailed news reports from Israel and the Jewish world.
In 1998 Dunner was invited by a group of philanthropists to set up and lead a trailblazing synagogue, called the Saatchi Synagogue, in Maida Vale, West London. “The Saatchi”, as it became known, quickly became a magnet for single postgraduate professional Jews wishing to meet each other in a friendly, non-coercive environment, although the unorthodox nature of its promotion techniques and social events resulted in criticism from the conservative British Jewish establishment.
In 2004, Dunner left Saatchi Synagogue and joined his family’s real estate business.
California.
In the Summer of 2011 Dunner was approached to take up a senior faculty position at Yeshiva University High Schools of Los Angeles (YULA). Dunner moved with his family to the Pico-Robertson district of Los Angeles, where his home became a magnet for teenagers and young adults eager to enhance their Jewish experience.
In March 2013, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) recognized the pro-Israel activism of Rabbi Dunner, presenting him with the ‘Ally of the Year’ award for being "a shining example of what a campus professional can mean to an entire school." In their press release AIPAC stated: "[Rabbi Dunner's] profound contribution to the creation of an environment on campus where students are excited to be involved in pro-Israel political activism has led activists at YULA to be some of the most productive in the country."
After two years at YULA, Dunner was appointed senior rabbi at Young Israel of North Beverly Hills, also known as Beverly Hills Synagogue,
a modern Orthodox Jewish community in the heart of Beverly Hills, where he and his family now reside.
On June 12, 2019, Dunner was presented with the Algemeiner Honoree Award at the inaugural West Coast Algemeiner Gala.
Agunot.
In 1999, Dunner launched a public campaign against the phenomenon of Jewish husbands refusing to give their wives a Jewish document of divorce, known as a "Get", thereby preventing them from remarrying within the Jewish community, a status referred to as "Agunah".
Publications.
As Author


Washington Monument (West Point)

The Washington Monument at West Point is an equestrian monument to George Washington at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. The bronze replica of a sculpture that was originally designed by Henry Kirke Brown and erected in Union Square, New York City, in 1856— the first equestrian sculpture cast in the United States— was obtained for West Point by Clarence P. Towne and dedicated in 1916. It formerly sat at the north end of the Plain. After expansion of Washington Hall in 1971, it was moved to its current location outside the hall's front entrance.


Year of Skanderbeg

The Year of Skanderbeg () was a nationwide commemorative year in Albania which coincided with the 550th anniversary of the death of the Albanian national hero, Skanderbeg. Announced on 17 September 2017, it was the first decision undertaken by Albanian prime minister Edi Rama during his second cabinet's first day in office.
A special commission was set up for the organizing and promoting of events leading up to the anniversary. Later in the year, two other anniversaries of fundamental importance in the History of Albania were celebrated: the ""140th anniversary of the establishment of the League of Prizren" and the "110th anniversary of the Congress of Manastir".
At the same time, the Bank of Albania's supervisory council approved the issuance of a series of commemorative coins with the theme "550 years in memoriam Gjergj-Kastrioti Skanderbeg (1468-2018)"".
The series consists of three types of coins: 200 Lek in gold, 100 Lek in silver and 50 Lek in plain metal.


Bill of Rights dollar


We the Curious

We The Curious (previously At-Bristol) is a science and arts centre and educational charity in Bristol, England.
We The Curious is "an idea and a place for everybody", and its aim is "to create a culture of curiosity". It features over 250 interactive exhibits over two floors, and members of the public and school groups can also engage with the Live Science Team over programming in the kitchen, studio and on live lab. We The Curious is also home of the United Kingdom's first 3D planetarium.
As part of its charitable status, We The Curious has an extensive community engagement programme. In regular weekends throughout the year We The Curious hosts "Hello!" weekends for communities who are currently under-represented in their visitors while also providing a community membership for charities and groups working in and for the community. Alongside this, We The Curious is working with local schools and community groups to plan exhibits and programming for the future.
History.
Background and origins.
At-Bristol opened in 2000 as the successor to the "Exploratory", a science museum and demonstration centre, founded by Richard Gregory in the former terminus train shed at Bristol Temple Meads railway station (later home to the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum). The Exploratory was a separate organisation and none of the exhibits or staff were transferred when Bristol's new museum opened in a city centre site as part of the regeneration of the historical Floating Harbour. The project was funded with £44.3 million from the National Lottery, Millennium Commission, South West of England Regional Development Agency, and a further £43.4 million from commercial partners (including a controversial donation from Nestlé) and Bristol City Council. The selection and design of exhibits were criticised by Gregory and other scientific adviser as being "totally inappropriate to the spirit of science". Goéry Delacôte served as Chief Executive from 2005 until 2012.
The centre is situated on the former Canon's Wharf. "Wildwalk" and the IMAX cinema occupied a modified 19th century former lead-works building, and "Explore" occupied a 1906 railway goods shed measuring . The goods shed was one of the first buildings to use reinforced concrete and both buildings are Grade II listed buildings. The buildings are located around Millennium Square - also part of the regeneration — and Pero's Bridge, a footbridge across the harbour which links it to the Arnolfini art gallery, Bristol Industrial Museum and Queen Square.
At its opening the centre consisted of "Explore", a more traditional style hands-on science centre, which contained features on mechanics, sound and light, computer science, space and the human brain; "Wildwalk", a biodiversity centre showcasing life on earth through a mix of live animals and plants, multimedia footage and exhibits and hands-on activities, including an artificial rainforest, aquariums and other ecology-related exhibits; and an IMAX theatre.
Closure of Wildwalk and IMAX.
"Wildwalk" and the IMAX Theatre closed at the end of March 2007 due to lower popularity with the public, running cost and a lack of funding and government support. Despite At-Bristol's insistence that the government should have supported Wildwalk, the science centres that were established by the Millennium Commission in 2000 were intended to be self-financing, once established. This proved difficult for some of the 18 centres established in 2000, with The Earth Centre, Big Idea and Wildwalk all closing within 10 years.
The "Wildwalk" building was converted into an aquarium by Blue Reef Aquarium, with the IMAX cinema being used to show nature and wildlife films. The Aquarium owners took the decision to stop screening IMAX films in November 2011, but the space is still used for venue hire events.
Though the charity had no problems securing short term funds and grants to cover this when the centre was set up, enabling them to run the three attractions for just over six years, by 2005/2006 most of these had either decreased greatly or ended altogether.
This left only two options: close the whole centre, or close "Wildwalk" and IMAX, enabling existing funds to be channelled exclusively to "Explore". As "Explore" was more popular with visitors, and "Wildwalk" and the IMAX theatre were more expensive to run, it was decided that the second option was viable, and in this way "Explore" could become financially viable in the future.
For these reasons, "Wildwalk" and the IMAX theatre closed for the last time on Saturday, 31 March 2007, making 45 people redundant.
The Regional Development Agency worked alongside Bristol City Council to find new uses for the buildings, and at the same time the University of the West of England expressed an interest in taking over the buildings to use for public outreach work with schools.
In April 2008 it was announced that the Wildwalk building was to be converted into an aquarium and that the IMAX would be used to show nature and wildlife films. The £4 million plan by Newquay firm Blue Reef Aquarium, intended to provide a site for tropical marine and freshwater creatures, which opened in October 2009.
2010-2017.
"Explore" rebranded to At-Bristol in June 2010. Since opening in 2000, At-Bristol had had an annual operating deficit of around £1.5 million to be filled by fundraising.
Rebrand as We The Curious.
In September 2017, At-Bristol reopened as We The Curious, with a new mission to "create a culture of curiosity", in response to a consultation showing that the previous mission to "make science accessible to all" was no longer unique. Testing showed that the audience wanted the centre to be more challenging, to feature art as well as science and to be more inclusive. A new manifesto was produced in response to these themes, and the over 400 new names were considered before deciding on We The Curious. The name was tested with members, focus groups, volunteers and staff and it tested at 92% positive. We The Curious is currently working on Project What If, funded by the Wellcome Trust as part of the Inspiring Science fund along with 16 other generous funders. We The Curious is currently run by a team of over 140 part-time and full-time staff, led by Donna Speed as Chief Executive Officer.
Current exhibits.
The exhibitions are themed into various areas, some of which are permanent features, others change on a periodic basis. The ground floor of We The Curious is being re-fitted with brand new exhibits in 2020.
We The Curious has its own exhibition workshop on site. Many of the interactive exhibits on the exhibition floor have been made by the workshop team in house, including the distinctive 'Hamster wheel' of the 'Wet Move-it' exhibition.
We The Curious is housed in a former railway goods shed, which was renovated to house the centre. The renovations included the addition of a large glass atrium to the North of the building, and stainless-steel sphere to the south, housing the planetarium. The architect behind the renovation was Chris Wilkinson.
The building includes a eutectic tank, which is a high transparent tube filled with thousands of balls containing eutectic salts. As the temperature within the building rises, the crystals within the balls melt, taking in the heat and cooling the building. As the building cools, the salts crystallise again, giving out heat. In this way, the tank helps keep the temperature within the centre constant.
Charitable status.
As an educational charity, We The Curious fundraises to fulfil their vision 'to create a culture of curiosity'. This work includes specific inclusion projects, outreach work to groups who are unable to visit We The Curious, and bringing hard to reach groups to We The Curious. These groups include community groups, low-income schools and hospitals. Much of this work is made possible by the work of volunteers who have been part of We The Curious since 2006 We The Curious has also recently embarked on a career ladder scheme with partnership school City Academy.
Venue Hire.
There are rooms and roof terraces above the exhibition space that are used for private hire. These have been used by organisations such as Sky News, the BBC and FameLab as well as other conferences, meetings and events. These spaces have also been used for weddings and civil partnerships. We The Curious also hires out the exhibition floor, Planetarium, Millennium Square and Anchor Square.
Sustainability.
Since its inception sustainability has been a key part of the We The Curious project. The We The Curious building (formerly Explore and At-Bristol) is an example of low-energy design with a phase-change storage tank enabling air source heat pumps to heat and cool the building using only night surplus electricity.
At-Bristol (as the centre was then known) joined the project in 2010 in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint. One year later they announced that they had reduced their carbon emissions (according to 10:10's criteria) by 12%.
Since 2010 We The Curious has been on an intense sustainability drive to improve its performance in all areas of sustainability whilst also ensuring that the subject is included in its educational and promotional work. In 2011 At-Bristol was awarded a Gold Green Tourism Award and a West of England Carbon Champions Carbon Champion Award and in 2012 a Silver South West Sustainable Tourism Award.
March 2012 also saw At-Bristol's environmental performance being improved further with the installation of a 50-kilowatt peak solar photovoltaic array to produce electricity for the building from the sun.
We The Curious now has 'Strive for Sustainable futures' as one of the core pillars of its manifesto, and is constantly reviewing its environmental impact in order to try and become carbon neutral in line with the Bristol One City Plan. Part of this is to use the platforms available to educate the public about pressing environmental concerns, such as supporting sustainable palm oil and reducing air pollution.


The Loved One (film)

The Loved One is a 1965 black-and-white comedy film about the funeral business in Los Angeles, which is based on "The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy" (1948), a short satirical novel by Evelyn Waugh. It was directed by British filmmaker Tony Richardson and the screenplay—which also drew on Jessica Mitford's book "The American Way of Death" (1963)—was written by noted American satirical novelist Terry Southern and British author Christopher Isherwood.
The film stars Robert Morse, Jonathan Winters, Anjanette Comer and Rod Steiger. Among those making appearances in smaller roles are John Gielgud, Robert Morley, Roddy McDowall, James Coburn, Milton Berle, Dana Andrews, Tab Hunter and Liberace.
Plot.
Young Englishman Dennis Barlow (Robert Morse) wins an airline ticket and visits his uncle Sir Francis Hinsley (John Gielgud) in Los Angeles. Hinsley has worked as a production staffer at a major Hollywood studio for over thirty years. His employer D.J. Jr. (Roddy McDowall) fires Hinsley, despite the old man's faithful dedication to the company. Hinsley commits suicide by hanging himself.
Dennis is swayed by a prominent member of the local English expatriate community (Robert Morley) to spend most of the money from his uncle's estate on a socially prestigious burial at Whispering Glades cemetery and mortuary. There, he meets and becomes infatuated with Aimée Thanatogenos (Anjanette Comer), a hopelessly naive and idealistic cosmetician who says she was named after Aimee Semple McPherson. Chief embalmer Mr. Joyboy (Rod Steiger) is also an admirer, but although Aimée respects him professionally, she doesn't have any romantic feelings toward him. Somewhat overwhelmed by the services offered at Whispering Glades, Dennis is led through the various burial options available to his uncle by a well-versed Whispering Glades "counselor," Mr. Starker (Liberace).
Aimée's idol is the Reverend Wilbur Glenworthy (Jonathan Winters), owner of Whispering Glades. Aimée worships the solemn and pious reverend, but in private he is a calculating businessman who regards Whispering Glades as just a business venture.
To raise money, Dennis begins working at Happier Hunting Grounds, a local pet cemetery run by the reverend's brother Henry Glenworthy (also played by Winters), who has lately been fired by the movie studio as well. Dennis courts Aimée with poetry, which fascinates her though she fails to recognize famous verses. When Aimée asks whether Dennis wrote these passages, he changes the subject. Dennis dares not let Aimée find out where he works since she considers the pet cemetery to be sacrilegious.
Aimée is increasingly frustrated by Dennis' cynical and disrespectful attitude toward Whispering Glades and is shocked at his suggestion that they marry and live on her income when she gets a promotion. So, acting on advice given by Guru Brahmin (Lionel Stander), actually a drunken staff writer at a newspaper, she accepts a dinner invitation from Mr. Joyboy, who secured her promotion. Thoughts of a serious relationship with Mr. Joyboy are dismissed when she sees his bizarre and unhealthy relationship with his morbidly obese mother (Ayllene Gibbons) whose only interest is food.
Again acting on the advice of Guru Brahmin, she becomes engaged to Dennis. She invites him to her home, a partially finished house built on a cliff, condemned and abandoned due to the danger of landslides. He cuts the visit short, alarmed at occasional ominous trembling and Aimée's lack of concern over her own safety.
Dennis and Henry Glenworthy meet their neighbor, a boy genius (Paul Williams) with an interest in rocketry, and they let him set up a lab at the pet cemetery. Mr. Joyboy brings in his pet myna bird to be buried and discovers the identity of his rival. He agrees to have the bird shot into orbit by one of the neighbor's rockets, instead of being buried. Mr. Joyboy brings Aimée to the ceremony and she is outraged when she sees Dennis performing the service; this greatly pleases Mr. Joyboy.
Reverend Glenworthy, seeing little profit in the cemetery once the plots have been filled, decides to convert it into a retirement home, but is unable to proceed without a plan for dealing with the bodies interred there. When he learns of his brother's idea of sending bodies into orbit, he recognizes it as a solution to his own problem. He proceeds to obtain surplus rockets by hosting an orgy at Whispering Glades with top Air Force brass as guests of honor. Dennis, in a desperate attempt to reconcile with Aimée, tells her that Whispering Glades is to be shut down. She flees, but is afraid that what Dennis told her might be true.
Aimée seeks out Mr. Joyboy for comfort, but he has been called to the cemetery to prepare a body to be launched into orbit, an ex-astronaut nicknamed "The Condor". She tracks down Guru Brahmin in a bar, but he drunkenly advises her to jump out a window. Finally, she flees to the cemetery and finds Reverend Glenworthy, who confirms Dennis' story and tries to seduce her with promises of continued employment with higher pay at the new facility. Wholly distraught, since her faith in everything she held sacred has been shattered, she attaches herself to an embalming machine and dies peacefully.
Mr. Joyboy finds her body, but is afraid to report it due to scandal, so he calls Dennis to arrange disposal in the pet cemetery's crematorium. Dennis agrees, but only if Mr. Joyboy gives him a first-class ticket back to England and all the cash he can lay his hands on. Dennis also imposes the condition that Aimée be placed in the casket rocket headed for space instead of the ex-astronaut, whose body is relinquished to the pet crematorium. After the televised funeral ceremony and launch, Dennis is seen boarding the first-class section of a plane back to England.
Pre-production.
In 1947, Evelyn Waugh visited Hollywood when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer offered him a six-figure sum for the film rights to his novel "Brideshead Revisited", despite the fact that none of the studio bosses had read the book. When Waugh demanded complete veto rights over the finished product, the project was scrapped. During his stay in Los Angeles, Waugh became fascinated by the American obsession with the funeral industry, inspiring him to write first a lengthy journal article on the Forest Lawn cemetery and its founder Dr. Hubert Eaton and then his 1948 novel "The Loved One". In the following years, numerous people attempted unsuccessfully to produce a filmed version of Waugh's novel, including the Spanish surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel and the comic writer/director Elaine May.
Production.
The film was shot in and around the Los Angeles area with Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles International Airport and Burbank among the locations. "Whispering Glades" was drawn from Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale with the exterior and interior scenes shot mostly at Greystone Mansion. The condemned house scene was filmed at the house under construction at 3847 Oakfield Dr. in Sherman Oaks.
Reception.
The film received a rating of 53% according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Rod Steiger won the Spanish Sant Jordi Award for best actor in a foreign film.
DVD.
"The Loved One" was first released to DVD on June 20, 2006 and re-released by Warner Home Video on August 20, 2013 via its Warner Archive DVD-on-demand service. On blu-ray from May, 2017.


List of people beatified by Pope John XXIII

This is a list of all the individuals that had been beatified by Pope John XXIII (r. 1958–1963) in his pontificate. The pope beatified 5 individuals.


Johann Baptist Reus

Johann Baptist Reus or João Batista Reus (10 July 1868 - 21 July 1947) was a Jesuit priest and a German-Brazilian religious leader.
Life.
John Baptist Reus was born to John and Ana Margarida Reus on 10 July 1868 in Pottenstein, Bavaria, the eighth child of 11 children. His parents, gave him excellent religious education. After completing a year of required military service, he resigned his commission 1890 and entered the Seminary of Bamberg, with an eye to eventually joining the Jesuits. He was ordained priest in 1893 entered the Order shortly thereafter.
Reus was ordained a priest in 1893, joined the Society of Jesus and was then sent to Brazil. He was a theology teacher for many years at the Cristo Rei college, located in the city of São Leopoldo in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
His autobiography and diary, written in obedience to superiors, record mystical graces, and visions. He preferred to celebrate Mass in a private chapel because of his many ecstasies during Mass. Only after fifty years as a member of the priesthood did he agree to celebrate Mass in a public chapel, because the religious community asked him to. He died in São Leopoldo, Brazil.
He wrote many books about theology and the natural sciences in many languages: in Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian and English. His "Diário Espiritual" (spiritual diary) and "Autobiografia" (autobiography) reveal his unique mystical state of being. His "Liturgy Course" was a classical text-book used by priests for the purpose of learning the liturgy.
Reus is considered a saint by many Catholics of the region.


Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker

The Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker is a 1992 sculpture by Louise Walsh in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The sculpture is located on the city's Great Victoria Street adjacent to the Europa Hotel. It is cast in bronze and features two working-class women with symbols of women's work embedded on the surfaces. Domestic items such as colanders, a shopping basket and clothes pegs are part of the sculpture.
The Department of the Environment's original commission, in the late 1980s, was for an artwork to reflect the nearby Amelia Street's history as a red-light district. Walsh's design "Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker" was accepted by the project's landscape architect and the Art in Public Spaces Research Group, however the Belfast Development Office and the Belfast City Council opposed the project and the selected design, and the project was dropped in 1989. A few years later a private developer recommissioned the work and it was erected in 1992.
Walsh was born in County Cork, and received her MA in sculpture from the University of Ulster.


Holocaust memorial days

A Holocaust memorial day or Holocaust remembrance day is an annual observance to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, the genocide of six million European Jews by Nazi Germany. Many countries, primarily in Europe, have designated national dates of commemoration. In 2005, the United Nations instituted an international observance, International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Many observances fall on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945, while other countries selected separate dates, often to mark anniversaries of national events during the Holocaust. Holocaust Remembrance Days often include efforts to combat hatred and antisemitism.
List of observances.
, twelve countries observed January 27, the day of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, including Germany, Britain, Italy and Scandinavian countries. In 2003 France designated this date as the day of remembrance of genocides and prevention of crimes against humanity. In 2004 Israel designated this date as a mark of the struggle against antisemitism.
, eleven countries in Europe had chosen dates related to local histories.


Plague Column (Maribor)

The Plague Column () is a monument at Main Square () of the city of Maribor, northeastern Slovenia, erected by "pious burghers" in gratitude for the end of a 1680 plague epidemic that had claimed a third of the city's population. The original monument was built in 1681. The current one is a 1743 replacement, the first work by the German sculptor Joseph Straub in Maribor. It is considered his most monumental work, and one of the best examples of baroque art in Slovenia.
The column is made entirely of white marble, and consists of an ornate rectangular pedestal that supports a Corinthian column bearing a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary, crowned with twelve stars and standing on the moon (a reference to Revelation 12:1). At its base, the column is surrounded by six saints, to which the townspeople prayed for intercession:
The monument was later surrounded by an ornamental stone fence.


Commemorative coins of Spain

The commemorative coins of Spain are minted by the Real Casa de la Moneda


Doctor Who (film)

Doctor Who, also referred to as Doctor Who: The Television Movie or simply Doctor Who: The Movie to distinguish it from the television series of the same name, is a 1996 television film continuing the British science fiction television series "Doctor Who". It was developed as a co-production between Universal Studios and BBC Worldwide. It premiered on 12 May 1996 on CITV in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (which was owned by WIC at the time before being acquired by Canwest Global in 2000), 15 days before its first showing in the United Kingdom on BBC One and two days before being broadcast in the United States on Fox. It was also shown in some countries for a limited time in cinemas.
The film was the first attempt to revive "Doctor Who" following its suspension in 1989. It was intended as a backdoor pilot for a new American-produced "Doctor Who" TV series. It introduced Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor in his only televised appearance as the character until "The Night of the Doctor" in 2013 (though McGann has portrayed the Doctor also in various audio productions). It also marks the final appearance of Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor, the only appearance of Daphne Ashbrook as companion Grace Holloway, and the only onscreen appearance of Eric Roberts's version of The Master, although he has since reprised the role in audio dramas for Big Finish Productions. Although a ratings success in the United Kingdom, the film did not fare well on American television and no series was commissioned. The series was later relaunched on the BBC in 2005. The only "Doctor Who" episodes between the film and the new series were a 1999 spoof, "Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death", and a 2003 animation, "Scream of the Shalka".
Although the film was primarily produced by different people than the 1963–1989 series and intended for an American audience, the producers chose not to produce a "re-imagining" or "reboot" of the series but rather a continuation of the original narrative. The production was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia and was the only episode of "Doctor Who" filmed in Canada until the 2020 episode "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror".
Plot.
Following the Master's trial and execution at the hands of the Daleks, the Doctor, currently in his seventh incarnation, is transporting the Master's remains to Gallifrey via his TARDIS. En route, the box with the remains breaks open and an ooze leaks out, infecting the TARDIS. The Doctor is forced to make an emergency materialisation in San Francisco's Chinatown on 30 December 1999.
As he exits and locks the TARDIS, the Doctor is shot by a gang chasing down Chang Lee, a young Chinese-American man. Lee calls for an ambulance and escorts the unconscious Doctor to a hospital, unaware the ooze from the TARDIS has gotten aboard the ambulance. At the hospital, after the bullets are removed, cardiologist Dr Grace Holloway attempts surgery to stabilise his unusual heartbeat, but is confused by his strange double-heart anatomy, and accidentally lodges a cardiac probe in the Doctor's body, apparently killing him. The Doctor's body is taken to the morgue, while Lee steals the Doctor's possessions, including the TARDIS key. Meanwhile, the ooze takes over the body of the ambulance driver, Bruce, transforming him into a new body for the Master.
Later, the Doctor's body regenerates, and the new Doctor, suffering amnesia, gathers clothes from an upcoming fancy dress party. He recognises Holloway, who has resigned from the hospital after the failed operation, and follows her to her car, proving to her he is the same man by pulling out the cardiac probe. Holloway takes him home to recover. Lee returns to the TARDIS where the Master arrives and puts him under his mind control by claiming the Doctor had stolen his body. The Master convinces Lee to open the TARDIS and then to open the Eye of Harmony within it, which requires a human retinal scan. When the Eye opens, the Doctor is flooded with memories and realises the Master is searching for him, and tries to block the scan. He warns Holloway that while the Eye is opened, the fabric of reality will weaken, and potentially destroy the Earth by midnight on New Year's Eve if they cannot close it. However, he needs an atomic clock to do so, and Holloway finds one on display at the San Francisco Institute of Technological Advancement and Research.
Outside, they find the ambulance with the Master and Lee waiting for them, offering them a ride. The Doctor does not immediately recognise the Master, but discovers his true identity en route, and he and Holloway escape, but not before the Master can spit an ooze-like substance on Holloway's wrist. The two continue to the Institute and obtain the clock, returning to the TARDIS. The Doctor installs the clock and successfully closes the Eye, but finds the damage to reality too great and that he must revert time before the Eye was opened to prevent the destruction of Earth. As he connects the proper TARDIS circuits to do this, the Master remotely takes control of Holloway's body, causing her eyes to become inhuman, and she strikes the Doctor unconscious.
The Doctor wakes to find himself chained above the Eye, the Master poised to take his remaining regenerations while Lee and Holloway watch. The Doctor is able to break the Master's control on Lee, and Lee refuses to open the Eye for the Master. The Master kills him, and then releases his control on Holloway to return her eyes to normal. He forces her to open the Eye and then begins drawing the Doctor's lifeforce. Holloway, under her own control, is able to complete the final circuits to put the TARDIS into a time-holding pattern, preventing Earth's destruction, and then goes to free the Doctor. The Master kills her, but this has given enough time for the Doctor to free himself and attack the Master. The Doctor gains the upper hand and pushes the Master into the Eye. The Eye closes and time reverts a few minutes, undoing Lee and Holloway's deaths.
With no further risk to Earth, the Doctor prepares to leave. Lee returns his possessions, and the Doctor warns him not to be in San Francisco on the next New Year's Eve. The Doctor offers Holloway the opportunity to travel with him, but she politely refuses, and instead kisses him goodbye. The Doctor departs alone in his TARDIS.
Production.
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Pre-production.
Producer Philip Segal had been trying for some years to launch a new American-produced series of "Doctor Who", but the Fox Network — the only American network that showed any interest — was only prepared to commit to a single telemovie. It was hoped that, should the telemovie be successful, Fox might be persuaded to reconsider a series; however, the telemovie's ratings performance in America was not strong enough to hold Fox's interest.
The production budget for the movie (as revealed in the book "Doctor Who: Regeneration") was US$5 million, with the Fox Network spending $2.5 million, BBC Television contributing $300,000, and the remaining $2.2 million split between BBC Worldwide and Universal Television.
Casting.
Casting sessions took place in March 1994; actors who actually auditioned for the role include Liam Cunningham, Mark McGann, Robert Lindsay, Tim McInnerny, Nathaniel Parker, Peter Woodward, John Sessions, Anthony Head, and Tony Slattery. Paul McGann was first considered around the time of these auditions, but did not formally audition for the part until later.
Among the actors who were invited to audition for the role of the Doctor but declined the opportunity were Christopher Eccleston and Peter Capaldi. Eccleston and Capaldi later played the Ninth and Twelfth incarnations of the Doctor, respectively, in the revived series of "Doctor Who" which began in 2005. Eccleston turned down the offer to audition for the TV Movie because, at the time, he felt he did not want to be associated with a "brand name" so early in his career. Capaldi declined because he felt it was unlikely that he would be given the part.
Of those actors who originally auditioned for the role of the Doctor, a number guest-starred in the series when it returned from 2005:
Production.
The movie was filmed on 35mm film in Vancouver, British Columbia, the first time any "Doctor Who" story had been filmed in North America.
In the 2005 "Doctor Who Confidential" episode "Weird Science", and on the DVD commentary, Sylvester McCoy reveals that during the sequence where he locks the casket with his sonic screwdriver, he held the tool pointing the wrong way around (although in the original series, it is seen being used both ways). The sonic screwdriver was blurred in post-production to conceal the error.
Post-production.
The opening pre-credits sequence went through a number of modifications, with several different voice-overs recorded. At one stage the voice-over was to be made by the old Master, played by Gordon Tipple; in the end this was not used. Tipple is still credited as "The Old Master", though in the final edit his appearance is very brief, stationary, and mute. Had the original pre-titles voice-over been used, it would have been unclear what incarnation of the Doctor Sylvester McCoy portrays in the movie (as he is simply credited as "The Old Doctor"). Only the rewritten narration (as read by Paul McGann) makes his number of regenerations clear. The sequence of the TARDIS flying through the time vortex was briefly reused in the opening of "Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death", as the Master observes Rowan Atkinson's Doctor.
Instead of designing a new "Doctor Who" logo for this film, it was decided instead to use a modified version of the logo that was used for the Jon Pertwee era of the original series (with the exception of the final season). This logo, being the last logo used on an "official" Doctor Who broadcast before the 2005 revival, was, until 2018, used by the BBC for most "Doctor Who" merchandise relating to the first eight Doctors. In 2018, efforts were made to make the show's merchandise more uniform, and so most items of merchandise began to use the logo designed for Jodie Whittaker's time as the Doctor, abandoning the "Movie" logo for the first time in 22 years.
John Debney was commissioned to write the score for this film, and intended to replace Ron Grainer's original theme with a new composition. Ultimately Debney did in fact use an arrangement of Grainer's music for the theme, although Grainer goes uncredited.
Alternative titles and labelling.
There is some disagreement over exactly what the movie should be called. The production documentation only referred to the project as "Doctor Who". Segal suggested the unofficial title "Enemy Within" as an alternative at Manopticon 5, apparently after being repeatedly asked what the actual title for the movie was. Both DVD releases are labelled "Doctor Who: The Movie". The VHS release contains both the name "Doctor Who" and the phrase "The Sensational Feature Length Film" (plausibly read as a subtitle). The most common fan usage appears to refer to it as "The Television Movie" or "TVM", or variations thereof.
Upon translation into French, this film was renamed "Le Seigneur du Temps" (literal translation: "The Lord of Time").
"TVM" is the production code used in the BBC's online episode guide. The actual code used during production is 50/LDX071Y/01X. "Doctor Who Magazine"s "Complete Eighth Doctor Special" gives the production code as #83705. Big Finish Productions uses the code 8A, and numbers its subsequent Eighth Doctor stories correspondingly.
Broadcast and reception.
The movie debuted on the Edmonton, Alberta CITV-TV station on 12 May, two days prior to its Fox Network broadcast.
Commercials on the Fox network advertising the film used special effects footage from the 1986 story "The Trial of a Time Lord", although this footage was not used in the movie. This marked the first time that footage from the original BBC series had been shown on a major American network. The advertisements also used a different arrangement of the Doctor Who theme music from that heard in the film.
The movie received disappointing US ratings. It received 5.6 million viewers, a total 9% share of the audience. However, when shown on BBC One in the United Kingdom on Monday 27 May at 8.30pm, thirteen days after its American broadcast, it received over 9 million viewers in the UK alone. It received a 75% Audience Appreciation score.
Third Doctor actor Jon Pertwee died a few days after the US broadcast of the film, and the UK broadcast included an epitaph to the actor. The UK broadcast was also edited for broadcast in a pre-Watershed timeslot, with around 1 minute of cuts made. The scenes where Chang Lee's friends are fired upon was cut because of the BBC's sensitivity about gun violence following the Dunblane massacre three months before. The operating room scene was also extensively cut, in particular shots involving the cardiac probe and the Seventh Doctor's dying scream, and the shot of the Master breaking Chang Lee's neck was also removed.
Maureen Paton in the "Daily Express" praised the movie "At last we have a grown-up hi-tech Doctor Who in Paul McGann...only a low-tech Luddite would miss the endearing amateurism of the old teatime serial format...the makers would be mad not to pursue the option of a series." Matthew Bond of "The Times", by contrast stated "If the series is to return it will need stronger scripts than this simplistic offering, which struggled to fill eighty-five minutes and laboured somewhat in its search for wit". The letters pages of "The Radio Times" were divided between viewers who liked and disliked the TVM. Discussing the TVM, writer Gary Gillatt criticised it for having "too many unnecessary references" to the show's backstory. Gillatt added "although very entertaining, stylishly directed and perfectly played, the TV movie perhaps tried a little too hard to be what "Doctor Who" once was, rather than crusading to demonstrate what it could be in the future".
Awards.
"Doctor Who: The Television Movie" won the 1996 Saturn Award for Best Television Presentation.
Commercial releases.
Home media.
The movie was scheduled to be released on home video in the United Kingdom several weeks before broadcast to capitalize on the interest in the series returning. However, the British Board of Film Classification required the video release to have the same one minute of cuts as the broadcast version, and so the release was delayed to a week prior to its debut broadcast on BBC One. Hundreds of fans queued in London at midnight in order to buy a copy at the earliest possible moment, however overall sales were impacted by the now-imminent broadcast.
A Laserdisc release of the movie was released exclusively in Hong Kong by Universal in 1997.
The unedited version was released on DVD in the UK in 2001 titled as "Doctor Who: The Movie", and was re-released in 2007 as a limited edition with an alternative cover sleeve (but with no change in content) as part of a series of classic series re-releases aimed at attracting fans of the revived series to the older shows.
Both the edited and unedited versions have also been released in countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
The 2010 DVD box set "Revisitations" contains the movie with a new, updated Special Edition DVD features. It included a new commentary with Paul McGann and Sylvester McCoy, an hour-long documentary on the time in between the film and the series' cancellation in 1989, a documentary on the 7 years it took to get the film made, a documentary on the 8th Doctor's comic strip adventures, a documentary on the media reaction the 8th Doctor, a documentary on the ties with Blue Peter and Doctor Who as well as all of the original features including the original commentary with Geoffrey Sax.
Due to complex licensing issues, no VHS release of the film occurred in North America, and for more than a decade no DVD release occurred, either. Finally, on 25 August 2010, Dan Hall of 2entertain confirmed that the 2010 updated version would be released in North America sometime in the next twelve months following extensive negotiations with Universal Studios. Two months afterward, a North American DVD release date for the 2-disc "Doctor Who: The Movie – Special Edition" was announced to be 8 February 2011.
In 2013 it was released on DVD again as part of the "Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited 5–8" box set, alongside the classic serials "Earthshock", "Vengeance on Varos", and "Remembrance of the Daleks". Alongside a documentary on the Eighth Doctor, it also features an introduction from current show runner Steven Moffat. This was also released in North America.
The movie was released as a 2-disc Blu-ray set in Region 2 on 19 September 2016. The footage was not re-scanned from the original film negatives. Instead it is a 1080/50i upscale which suffered from same PAL speedup issue as previous home media releases.
Soundtrack release.
Music from the movie was on a promotional-only soundtrack album published by the composer, John Debney. Additional music was contributed by John Sponsler and Louis Febre. Although the composer of the Doctor Who Theme, Ron Grainer, did not receive screen credit for his composition in the TV movie broadcast, the CD finally attributes the proper credit on its cover. The entire score was re-released with previously unreleased cues as the eighth disc of the eleven disc "" on 29 September 2014.
In print.
The television movie was novelised by Gary Russell and published by BBC Books 15 May 1996. It was the first novelisation of a televised "Doctor Who" story to not be published by Target Books (or related companies) since "Doctor Who and the Crusaders" in 1966.
Basing the adaptation on an early draft of the script, Russell adjusted some details to make it more consistent with the original series, and the novelisation also contains elements that were cut from the shooting script for timing reasons.
The novelisation was the first "Doctor Who" novel published by BBC Books. The book was actually published prior to the conclusion of Virgin Books' contract for publishing original "Doctor Who" fiction, so the next release by BBC Books did not occur for about a year when the Eighth Doctor Adventures series began with "The Eight Doctors". The novelisation was released as a standalone work and is not considered part of this series. The Eighth Doctor Adventures series ran until 2005 when it was discontinued.
The novel was also released as an audio book on 2 June 1997, read by Paul McGann. This reading was later included on the 2004 MP3 CD "Tales from the TARDIS Volume Two". A revised Target Books edition titled "The TV Movie" was published in paperback 11 March 2021.


Mount Rushmore Golden Anniversary half dollar