Kutia (game show)

Kutia (Albanian for "boxes"), previously known as Kutia e fundit (Last Box), is the Albanian version of "Deal or No Deal". It is produced by TV Klan and aired at every weeknight from September 2004 to December 2011. The host is Enkel Demi.
The format was similar to "Affari Tuoi", but this show has 26 boxes instead of 20. Originally, the player could win as big as €5,000 or as small as €0.01. The top prize was later raised to €10,000. Like "Pacco X" and " Pacco Y" of "Affari Tuoi", there was a "Kutia X" contains a mysterious prize.
In the first half of 2010, the top prize was doubled to €20,000, a "Kutia Y" was added as well.
A new season started on September 6, 2010 and the top prize was further increased to €25,000. On October 13, 2010, the top prize was revealed in the player's box after the player rejected the final offer of €5,000 while another remaining box contained €2,000, but his winning was halved to €12,500 after playing an additional game.
Box values.
With €10,000 top prize.


Leonard Stone

Leonard Stone (born Leonard Steinbock; November 3, 1923 – November 2, 2011) was an American character actor who played supporting roles in over 120 television shows and 35 films.
Early years.
Stone was born in Salem, Oregon. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Steinbock, he was a graduate of Salem High School. He majored in speech and drama at Willamette University, graduating cum laude.
Military service.
He was a midshipman during training with the U.S. Navy, going on to serve as "skipper on a minesweeper in Japanese waters."
Stage.
Stone started his career as a young actor studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London He performed in the West End, on Broadway, and toured the world. He traveled for eight years in Australia and New Zealand with the musical "South Pacific".
He won a Tony Award in 1959 for Best Supporting Actor in "Redhead", a Bob Fosse musical. He also was in the Tony Award-nominated cast of "Look Homeward, Angel" in 1957, which premiered at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York. The play, based on the Thomas Wolfe novel, won the Pulitzer Prize.
Film and television.
One of Stone's more notable film roles came in 1971, when he played Mr. Beauregarde, the father of Golden Ticket winner Violet Beauregarde, in "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". He was the last surviving adult character who toured the factory in the movie; however, Diana Sowle, who played Mrs. Bucket, lived until October 2018. In 1973's "Soylent Green" he played Charles, the manager of the building where the murdered character portrayed by Joseph Cotten lived.
In 1956, Stone appeared in a minor role as a crew member on the Titanic in a TV adaptation of Walter Lord's book "A Night to Remember".
He was the bartender in "The Shakiest Gun in the West" (1968), and a congressman in "" (1972), which starred James Earl Jones as the first black president of the United States. He appeared in the Jerry Lewis vehicle "The Big Mouth" in 1967. Other films he appeared in include "The Mugger" (1958), "A Man Called Dagger" (1968), "Angel in My Pocket" (1969), "Zig Zag" (1970), "Getting Straight" (1970), "I Love My Wife" (1970), "Mame" (1974), and "The Man from Independence" (1974).
Stone appeared in the TV movies "The Ghost of Sierra de Cobra" (1964), "A Step Out of Line" (1971), "Terror in the Sky" (1971), "Beg, Borrow or Steal" (1973), "The Runaways" (1975), "The Girl in the Empty Grave" (1977), "The Other Side of Hell" (1978), "Zuma Beach" (1978), "See Arnold Run" (2005), and "Surrender, Dorothy" (2006).
Between 1961 and 1985 Stone appeared in dozens of popular American television series, including "Peter Gunn", "The Untouchables", "Gunsmoke" (5 times), "The Rifleman" (twice), "The Defenders", "The Real McCoys" (twice), "The Outer Limits", "Dr. Kildare" (twice), "McHale's Navy", "Rawhide" (twice), "The F.B.I.", "The Doris Day Show", "The High Chaparral", "Lost in Space" (twice), ' (twice), "Dragnet 1967" (5 times), "The Partridge Family", "Nanny and the Professor", "Mod Squad", "The Virginian", "Love, American Style" (twice), "The Waltons", ' (3 times), "Adam-12", "Barney Miller" (5 times), "Hawaii Five-O", "Ironside" (3 times), "Kojak", "Mannix" (4 times), "Police Story" (twice), "Cannon", "The Blue Knight", "The Bob Newhart Show", "Sanford and Son", "M*A*S*H", "Eight Is Enough", "The Six Million Dollar Man", "All in the Family", "The Dukes of Hazzard", "One Day at a Time", "Quincy M.E." (4 times), "Cagney & Lacey", "Alice" (4 times), "Night Court", "Hill Street Blues" (twice), "Falcon Crest" (3 times), "Simon & Simon" and "L.A. Law" (10 times).
In 1961 and 1962, Stone was twice cast in different roles on "The Real McCoys" in the episodes "Money from Heaven" and "You Can't Beat the Army". Between 1962 and 1966, Stone made four guest appearances on "Perry Mason", including his season 6, 1962 role as murderer Jerel Leland in "The Case of the Hateful Hero."
Stone played Farnum the Great in 2 episodes of "Lost in Space" (1965-1968).. He appeared twice on "The Donna Reed Show", as Mr. Trestle in "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys" (1961) and as Harlan Carmody, Jr., in "Joe College" (1965). In the 1965–1966 season, he appeared as Doc Joslyn on "Camp Runamuck". In 1967, he had the role of Judge Gilroy in "Cimarron Strip". In 1971, Stone appeared as Tom Wagner on "The Men from Shiloh" (rebranded name for "The Virginian") in the episode titled "The Town Killer."
Between 1988 and 1994, he was cast as Judge Paul Hansen in 10 episodes of "L.A. Law".
On September 22, 2000 he appeared on an episode of Wheel of Fortune.
Stone's final role came in 2006 at the age of 83, when he played a minor character in the TV movie "Surrender Dorothy".
Death.
Stone died on November 2, 2011 in Encinitas, California after suffering a brief bout with cancer, just one day before his 88th birthday.


Kathy Najimy

Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress, comedian, writer and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films "Sister Act" (1992), "Hocus Pocus" (1993), and "Rat Race" (2001), as well as her portrayal of Olive Massery on the NBC sitcom "Veronica's Closet" (1997–2000) and for voicing Peggy Hill on the animated television series "King of the Hill" (1997–2010). She was first nationally known for her feminist play "The Kathy and Mo Show", which she wrote and performed with Mo Gaffney.
Early life.
Najimy was born on February 6, 1957, in San Diego, California, the daughter of Lebanese American parents Samia ("née" Massery) and Fred Najimy, a postal worker. She was raised Catholic and attended Crawford High School.
Career.
Najimy and Mo Gaffney's feminist comedy play "The Kathy and Mo Show" premiered in 1986 and had three long term New York City runs and generated two HBO specials, "Parallel Lives" and "The Dark Side".
Najimy's film career began in the early 1990s, with a number of offbeat minor roles in "The Fisher King", "Soapdish", "This Is My Life", "The Hard Way". Her first major role was as Sister Mary Patrick in the 1992 comedy "Sister Act". She reprised this role in 1993 in "Sister Act 2". She also starred in "Hocus Pocus" as Mary Sanderson, alongside Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker. Premiering in August 2015, Najimy appeared in Disney's "Descendants" as the Evil Queen. In 1999, she played the Stepmother in "CinderElmo", a primetime special for "Sesame Street". In 2001, she co-starred in the hit comedy film "Rat Race" alongside John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz and Seth Green. She has made four movies with Goldberg ("Soapdish", "Sister Act 1" and "2", and "Rat Race"). Najimy starred in Pixar's Academy Award winning film "WALL-E" and Tyler Perry's "A Madea Christmas". She appeared in Netflix's 2018 film "Dumplin"' alongside Jennifer Aniston.
From film, Najimy expanded into television roles, including a dramatic recurring role on "Chicago Hope", She was part of the cast of "Veronica's Closet" from 1997 to 2000. She played Wendy Keegan in HBO's "VEEP" for four seasons. She appeared with Ellen DeGeneres in three episodes of her sitcom "Ellen", playing a different character each time (including a non-speaking cameo in the iconic "Puppy Episode") and in the TV movie "If These Walls Could Talk 2". Najimy was a series regular season 4 of "Unforgettable", season 4 of "The Big C," and season 3 of "Numbers". She guest starred on "That's So Raven", "Drop Dead Diva", "Desperate Housewives", "Ugly Betty", and "Franklin & Bash". She starred in TNT's "In Search of Dr. Seuss".
Najimy starred as Mae West in the Broadway hit "Dirty Blonde". She appeared in V'Day's "Vagina Monologues" on Broadway and in Nassim Soleimanpour's plays "White Rabbit Red Rabbit" and "Nassim". She is the co-creator and director of the musical revue "Back to Bacharach and David", which ran in New York City in 1992 and 1993, and which she directed again in Los Angeles in April 2009.
Najimy starred as Peggy Hill in Fox's "King of the Hill" from 1997 to 2010. Her voice is featured in the animated films "Brother Bear 2", "The Jungle Book", "Cats Don't Dance", and "Tinkerbell". She has also lent her voice to hundreds of animated television shows and movies, including "BoJack Horseman", "Rapunzel's" "Tangled Adventure", "American Dad!", "Hercules", "Pepper Ann", and played a role in the "Nightmare Ned" video game. In 2003, Najimy provided the voice of Margalo in "", taking over from Melanie Griffith, and in 2000 took over from Madeline Kahn as Mrs. Shapiro in "Little Bill". She stars in Disney Junior's reboot of "The Rocketeer" and Amy Poehler's "Duncanville".
Other work.
Najimy is an activist and frequently travels the country to speak on issues of equal rights, safety and self esteem for women and girls, LGBTQ rights, AIDS awareness, domestic violence, body image, and civil rights. She has spoken at the Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood, and PFLAG. She was a surrogate speaker for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. In 2004, Najimy was "Ms. Magazine"s Woman of the Year and a speaker at the March for Women's Lives. She is an active member of Time's Up.
Najimy has also worked with PETA on a number of animal welfare issues and posed with Todd Oldham for the "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign. PETA gave her their Humanitarian of the Year award in 2000 and their Compassionate Action Award in 2014.
Najimy is a strong advocate for women's health and reproductive rights. She's a proud contributor to the groundbreaking book, "The Choices We Made," which includes testimonials from women who believe in choice.
Najimy is vocal about issues regarding body image among women. In August 2006 she voiced her opinions over a remark made by Heidi Klum on the television series "Project Runway" after Klum said one model's outfit made her look plus-sized, which Najimy called "dangerous" and "irresponsible".
Najimy created and produced the off-Broadway play "Gloria: A Life", about the life of activist Gloria Steinem. Starting in 2012, Najimy has been creating, directing, and co-writing personal monologues with actresses including Olivia Wilde, Amy Schumer, Zosia Mamet, Debra Messing, Rosie Perez, and Gabourey Sidibe. The pieces have been performed at Glamour Magazine's live evening of personal monologues titled "These Girls" and at the 2017 and 2018 MAKERS conference. Najimy is currently working on a documentary about the 53% of white women who voted for Donald Trump in 2016. She has performed her solo show, "Lift Up Your Skirt", at many venues including the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, ICONS at Fire Island, and Feinstein's at The Nikko in San Francisco. She is also currently producing a television series about the women's movement.
Najimy uses her celebrity status to donate money to charities by appearing on game shows. She appeared as a contestant on a celebrity version of "The Weakest Link" where she won $50,000 for The Feminist Majority Foundation's Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan. She won the season 6 tournament of "Celebrity Poker Showdown", donating the $100,000 to V-Day, an organization that helps stop violence against women and girls. She was also crowned Grand Champion on CBS's "Gameshow Marathon" in 2006, donating the $100,000 winnings to Girls Best Friend, a charity that helps empower girls. In 2013, Najimy was a contestant on "" on Team Rachael where she was playing for PETA, cooking only vegetarian food. She was eliminated on the Feb. 3 episode, reaching third place.
Before she became a known actress, in 1981, Najimy was a contestant on "Family Feud," which was used as the finale in "Gameshow Marathon." Najimy and her family were winners on both shows. Najimy also appeared on the "$25,000 Pyramid" as a civilian contestant, on the episode dated July 31, 1985. She claimed, on the "Pyramid" show, that she also had been on "American Bandstand". She returned to the "Pyramid" ("The $100,000 Pyramid") on the June 26, 2016, episode as a celebrity guest opposite Rosie O'Donnell. She appeared once again in Season 2, Episode 7 on July 23, 2017 to play against Alexandra Wentworth, helping her contestant partner win the $150,000 grand prize.
Personal life.
In August 1998, Najimy married actor and singer Dan Finnerty of The Dan Band. Gloria Steinem officiated the ceremony. Najimy and Finnerty have one daughter, Samia, born in 1996.


McLean Stevenson

Edgar McLean Stevenson Jr. (November 14, 1927 – February 15, 1996) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Lt. Colonel Henry Blake in the television series "M*A*S*H", which earned him a Golden Globe Award in 1974. Stevenson also appeared on a number of television series, notably "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and "The Doris Day Show".
Early life and career.
Stevenson was born in Normal, Illinois. He was the great-grandson of William Stevenson (brother of US Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson), making him a second cousin once removed of two-time presidential nominee Adlai E. Stevenson II. He was also the brother of actress Ann Whitney. His father, Edgar, was a cardiologist. Their shared middle name, "McLean," came from Edgar Sr.'s mother, Lottie McLean.
Stevenson attended Lake Forest Academy and later joined the United States Navy, serving as a hospital corpsman. After his service he attended Northwestern University, where he was a Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brother, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in theater arts. Afterward he worked at a radio station, played a clown on a live TV show in Dallas, became an assistant athletic director at Northwestern, and sold medical supplies and insurance. He also worked as a press secretary for his cousin in the presidential elections of 1952 and 1956. He formed the "Young Democrats for Stevenson."
In 1961, Stevenson's cousin invited him to social functions where he met a few business luminaries. He followed his cousin's advice to look for a show business career. He auditioned and won a scholarship to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. He made his professional career debut in "The Music Man" in 1962 and appeared regularly in Warsaw, Indiana, in summer stock productions. Before becoming a star, Stevenson appeared as a contestant on the "Password" television game show in New York City, winning five pieces of luggage. After this he appeared in New York City on stage, and in television commercials. He also performed on Broadway, and began to establish himself as a comedy writer, writing for the seminal "That Was The Week That Was"—in which Alan Alda appeared—and "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour", performing occasionally on both shows. He also was a regular on the 1970 "The Tim Conway Comedy Hour" variety show on CBS. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he also appeared in TV commercials for products such as Kellogg's, Libby's fruit cocktail, Dolly Madison and Winston cigarettes, in which he was shown sprinting around a parking lot of Winston delivery trucks and painting over the product slogan, replacing the "like" in "like a cigarette should" with the grammatically correct "as."
"M*A*S*H".
After guest-starring in "That Girl" with Marlo Thomas, he was cast in "The Doris Day Show" in 1969, playing magazine editor boss Michael Nicholson until 1971. Originally, he auditioned for the role of Hawkeye Pierce in "M*A*S*H", but was persuaded to play Lt. Col. Henry Blake instead. This role shot him to stardom. He wrote the episode "The Trial of Henry Blake," and provided the story for another, "The Army-Navy Game," which earned him an Emmy nomination.
Stevenson found his greatest success in "M*A*S*H". The series quickly became one of the most popular situation comedies of its time, and was eventually recognized as one of the top sitcoms in television history. Despite the show's success, Stevenson began to resent (as did Wayne Rogers) playing a supporting role to the wisecracking Hawkeye (played by Alan Alda), and asked to be released from his contract during the show's third season. The show's writers reluctantly penned him an exit in the final episode of the 1974–1975 season (entitled "Abyssinia, Henry",) in which Lt. Colonel Blake was discharged, only to board a plane that was shot down over the Sea of Japan, killing everyone on board—a development added after scripts were distributed so the show's actors would display genuine emotion.
In an interview, "M*A*S*H" actress Loretta Swit commented that Stevenson wanted to be the star and felt oppressed as one of an ensemble of eight. She said that before Stevenson left the series he told her, "I know I will not be in anything as good as this show, but I have to leave and be number one." Although he had played ensemble parts for several years, he has stated that the primary reasons for his departure were systemic problems with 20th Century Fox, especially disregard for simple comforts for cast and crew on location, and the more lucrative opportunities presented to him at the time.
Stevenson was replaced in the series by Harry Morgan, a friend of Stevenson who had guest-starred opposite him in the Season Three premiere episode "The General Flipped at Dawn." Morgan portrayed Colonel Sherman Potter for the show's remaining eight seasons and starred in its short-lived spin-off "AfterMASH".
"Match Game".
Stevenson appeared as a guest panelist for several weeks on "Match Game" in 1973, and again in 1978 on the daytime and nighttime weekly syndicated version. In 1981, he became a regular panelist on the daily syndicated version of "Match Game", staying with the show until its cancellation a year later. He would make occasional appearances on the subsequent "Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour" in 1983 and 1984.
Later career.
After his departure from "M*A*S*H", Stevenson's acting career faltered. While occasionally filling in as guest host of "The Tonight Show", Stevenson's first attempt at his own show was an NBC variety show special titled "The McLean Stevenson Show" on November 20, 1975. The program finished 41st in the ratings that week, and the planned series was ultimately scuttled. He then starred in a series of sitcoms: "The McLean Stevenson Show" (1976–77), "In the Beginning" (1978), "Hello, Larry" (1979–80) and "Condo" (1983). All four sitcoms were dismissed by audiences and lambasted by critics, and all aired while "M*A*S*H" was still in production. Only "Hello Larry" lasted two seasons; all others were cancelled in their first.
Stevenson guest-starred as Stan Zbornak's brother Ted in the hit sitcom "The Golden Girls" in 1987, in addition to guest-starring in shows such as "Square One TV", "The Love Boat", "Diff'rent Strokes" (as part of a cross-over with his series "Hello, Larry"), and "Hollywood Squares". He filled in for Johnny Carson as guest host of "The Tonight Show" 58 times, and as a guest on the program in 1982, he brought his daughter Lindsey onto the set when she was just 16 weeks old. During the 1988–89 television season, he returned to a supporting TV role in an ensemble, playing Max Kellerman in the short-lived CBS series adaptation of "Dirty Dancing".
Stevenson's career decline resulted in his becoming a target for industry jokes. Steve Daley wrote in 1985 that he had "worn out his television welcome", while David Bianculli drafted "The Annual McLean Stevenson Memorial 'I'm Gonna Quit This Show and Become a Big Star' Award" early in his career as a critic. Stevenson commented in 1990 that some of the criticism was justified, conceding that leaving "M*A*S*H" was the biggest mistake of his career. "I made the mistake of believing that people were enamored of McLean Stevenson when the person they were enamored of was Henry Blake", said Stevenson. "So if you go and do "The McLean Stevenson Show", nobody cares about McLean Stevenson." Stevenson admitted that his problem was finding something of the caliber of "M*A*S*H", saying "I've never been able to work with a group that's as talented or scripts that are as good. I did some terrible shows. But nobody made me do it. I did everything by choice."
Stevenson's screen credits include the Disney movie "The Cat from Outer Space" as a friend of Dr. Frank Wilson (played by Ken Berry) along with his "M*A*S*H" replacement Harry Morgan. He also was a co-host of the syndicated daytime talk show "America", which lasted 16 weeks between September 16, 1985, and January 3, 1986.
Death.
Stevenson was recovering from bladder cancer surgery at the Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center on February 15, 1996, when he suffered a sudden fatal heart attack. He is interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Coincidentally, Roger Bowen, who portrayed Henry Blake in the 1970 movie "MASH", died from a heart attack the day after Stevenson's death.


Ranging Rook

Ranging Rook or Swinging Rook (振り飛車 "furibisha") openings in shogi position the rook to the center or left of the player's board to support an attack there.
Ranging Rook strategies used in Ranging Rook vs Static Rook are among the oldest of shogi strategies attested in the historical documents that first describe the rules of shogi around 1600.
Description.
Types of Ranging Rook.
Traditionally, Ranging Rook has been used as a defensive strategy for White against Static Rook openings played by Black. White's rook can be moved flexibly to counteract Black's attacks. These types of White openings are named simply Ranging Rook (振り飛車 "furibisha"). In describing the game positions of both opponents, the term is Static Rook vs Ranging Rook (居飛車対振り飛車 "ibisha tai furibisha"). In these games, Black has the initiative, and White quickly builds a defense by castling the king and seeks counterattacking opportunities.
By default, the term 振り飛車 usually assumes that the Ranging Rook player is White as it was played traditionally. However, Ranging Rook positions are also possible for Black, when it is specifically referred to as Black's Ranging Rook (先手振り飛車 "sente furibisha").
From its defensive origins, the standard way to play Ranging Rook openings is for the player to close the bishop's diagonal by advancing a pawn to the 66 square when played by Black or advancing to 44 when played by White. Thus, Ranging Rook is sometimes termed Ordinary Ranging Rook or Normal Ranging Rook (ノーマル振り飛車 "nōmaru furibisha") or Standard Ranging Rook (スタンダード振り飛車 "sutandādo furibisha") to contrast with the newer Ranging Rook strategies that keep the bishop's diagonal open. Since the traditional Ranging Rook prevents early bishop exchanges, it is described as a slow game (持久戦 "jikyūsen") in Japanese. Preventing an early bishop exchange allows for the Ranging Rook player to develop the castle and defense without needing to worry about being stymied by bishop drops.
The traditional "normal" type of Ranging Rook contrasts with Ranging Rook positions that allow a bishop trade off to occur at any time (often early in the opening), which are known as Bishop Exchange Ranging Rook (角交換振り飛車 "kaku kōkan furibisha") or Open Bishop Diagonal Ranging Rook (角道オープン振り飛車 "kaku michi ōpen furibisha"). These openings include Quick Ishida, Cheerful Central Rook, Bishop Exchange Fourth File Rook, Direct Opposing Rook, among others.
Normal Ranging Rook.
1. P-76 P-34, 2. P-26. The Normal openings start by Black opening the bishop's diagonal (P-76) and showing the intention to play Static Rook (P-26). White responds by opening the bishop's diagonal as well. The order 1. P-76 P-34, 2. P-26 is the most common, but of course the moves may be transposed as in 1. P-26 P-34, 2. P-76.
2... P-44. The traditional, defensive play starts with the fourth move. With this standard move White prevents an early bishop exchange by closing the bishop's diagonal. This allows White to start building the castle and further developing pieces without having to worry about bishop drops that would otherwise be possible if the bishop diagonal was left open and Black initiated a bishop exchange.
These four opening moves characterize most Normal Ranging Rook positions when the rooks are moved to different files.
After this, the most common moves by Black are to move the right silver up to the fourth file (3. S-48) or to continue advancing the rook's pawn (3. P-25). If Black chooses the rook's pawn option, White must respond by moving the bishop to the third file (3... B-33) to prevent Black from getting a pawn in hand through a pawn exchange on the second file.
Double Ranging Rook.
Double Ranging Rook (相振り飛車 "aifuribisha") is the class of openings when both players use Ranging Rook strategies. The josekis for these opening are less developed than many of the other types of games such as Double Static Rook (相居飛車 "aiibisha") and Static Rook vs Ranging Rook.
Classification of positions by file.
Ranging Rook strategies are classified according to which file the rook moves to. They are generally named from White's perspective since the strategies were originally developed as defensive positions by White. For instance, the Third File Rook opening is named "third file" because when White moves the rook into position, it will end up on the third file (R-32). If the same Third File Rook opening were played by Black, then Black's rook would move to the seventh file (R-78).
The Opposing Rook opening moves a rook to the same file as the opponent's rook. For White, this Opposing Rook position is the second file (R-22) while the position played by Black is the eighth file (R-88). The moved rook thus opposes the opponent's rook.
Central Rook.
Central Rook (中飛車) openings position the rook on the fifth (central) file.
In another variant of Central Rook called Cheerful Central Rook (ゴキゲン中飛車) the bishop's diagonal is kept open.
Fourth File Rook.
Fourth File Rook (四間飛車) is a Ranging Rook opening in which the rook is moved to fourth file if played by White and the sixth file if played by Black.
Bishop Exchange Fourth File Rook (角交換四間飛車 "kaku koukan shikenbisha") is an aggressive variant of Fourth File Rook in which the Ranging Rook player keeps the bishop's diagonal open allowing for bishop trades early in the game.
Fujii System.
The Fujii System (藤井システム "fujii shisutemu") is a complex system of piece development, castle formation, and counterattacking to be used with Ranging Rook strategies. It was invented by shogi professional Takeshi Fujii (藤井猛). It is particularly useful against Static Rook's Anaguma strategies, which prior to the development of the Fuiji system had started to seem invincible for Ranging Rook players.
Third File Rook.
Third File Rook (三間飛車 "sangenbisha") openings position the rook on third file if played by White and the seventh file if played by Black.
Ishida.
The Ishida (石田流 "ishida-ryū") openings – including Real Ishida (石田流本組 "ishida-ryū hon gumi") and Quick Ishida (早石田 "haya ishida") variations – are subcategories of Third File Rook in which the seventh file pawn (if played by Black) or the third file pawn (if played by White) is advanced to the 5th rank early in the opening, allowing the rook to move up to 76 (or 34 for White).
Opposing Rook.
Opposing Rook (向かい飛車 "mukai hisha") positions the rook on eighth file (Black) where the bishop was originally (or the second file for White).
Feint Ranging Rook.
Feint Ranging Rook (陽動振り飛車 "yōdōfuribisha") is a Ranging Rook opening in which the player advances the rook's pawn, sending a false message to the opponent that they intend to play a Static Rook opening. Subsequently, the player positions the pieces in a Ranging Rook position and tries to take advantage of any poor piece development by the opponent.


Video games in Greece

Greece represents a small fraction of the global video games market, ranking 50th in a list of 100 countries in the consumption of digital products. The country has long overlooked the prospect of sustaining a video games industry (and has even in the past attempted to ban all electronic games in public places through the controversial law 3037/2002), instead placing focus on retail sales of video games. In light of recent actions to encourage production and distribution of digital games, the country's emerging, but still largely fragmented games industry currently consists of over 25 active video game developer studios and several individual creators.
Greek video games market.
With a population of close to 11 million, Greece is a small market for video games. The Greek mainstream video games market yielded revenues of $112 million in 2017, while projections place the video game console market segment in Greece to amount to US$89m in 2020 (ranking 83rd in the world). The mobile gaming audience in Greece is similarly small, amounting to approximately 1.1 million active users, who represent 41% of internet users in the country. Mobile gaming is forecast to bring in close to US$40 million in revenue in 2020.
Distribution.
CD Media, based in Athens, is the leading distributor in interactive entertainment software in South East Europe, as well as the local regional distribution representative of Nintendo of Europe for both Greece and the Balkans as of 2016.
Video game development.
Greece is characterized by a small and largely fragmented video games market, consisting mostly of indie micro-enterprises and individual developers. Characteristic of this landscape is the fact that in 2013, it is estimated that only 120 people were working in the games industry at just 11 registered companies. As a result, the number of developers, artists, programmers and designers leaving the country to seek better job opportunities in Cyprus, the United Kingdom and the United States is significant.
The most prominent inhibiting factor undermining the growth of the Greek video gaming industry is the lack of funding, as investors shy away from video game development in the wake of the Greek government-debt crisis. As recent as 2019, the Greek government has introduced incentives for video game production. These include a 35% cash rebate (with no cap) as well as a 30% tax deduction for audio-visual productions.


Yo-yo Tsuri


Queen for a Day

Queen for a Day is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. "Queen for a Day" originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945, in New York City before moving to Los Angeles a few months later and ran until 1957. The show then ran on NBC Television from 1956 to 1960 and on ABC Television from 1960 to 1964.
The show became popular enough that NBC increased its running time from 30 to 45 minutes to sell more commercials, at a then-premium rate of $4,000 per minute.
Format.
The show opened with host Jack Bailey asking the audience—mostly women—"Would YOU like to be Queen for a day?" After this, the contestants were introduced and interviewed, one at a time, with commercials and fashion commentary interspersed in between.
Each contestant was asked to talk about the recent financial and emotional hard times she had been through. The interview would climax with Bailey asking the contestant what she needed most and why she wanted to win the title of "Queen for a Day". Often the request was for medical care or therapeutic equipment to help a chronically ill child, or might be for a hearing aid, a new washing machine, or a refrigerator. Many women broke down sobbing as they described their plights.
The winning contestant was selected by the audience using an applause meter; the harsher the contestant's situation, the likelier the studio audience was to ring the applause meter's highest level. The winner, to the musical accompaniment of "Pomp and Circumstance", would be draped in a sable-trimmed red velvet robe, given a glittering jeweled crown to wear, placed on a velvet-upholstered throne, and handed a dozen long-stemmed roses to hold while her list of prizes was announced.
The prizes began with the help the woman had requested, and included a variety of extras, many of which were donated by sponsoring companies, such as a vacation trip, a night on the town with her husband, silver-plated flatware, an array of kitchen appliances, or a selection of fashion clothing. The losing contestants were each given smaller prizes.
Bailey's trademark sign-off was: "This is Jack Bailey, wishing we could make "every" woman a queen, for every single day!"
Reception.
The show was not without its critics for exploiting people's hardships for profit. Veteran television writer Mark Evanier has called the program "one of the most ghastly shows ever produced." He further described it as "tasteless, demeaning to women, demeaning to anyone who watched it, cheap, insulting and utterly degrading to the human spirit."
Broadcast history.
Radio.
Ken Murray hosted the original radio version of the show on the Mutual–Don Lee Radio Network. When the series began, in New York City on April 30, 1945, it was titled "Queen for Today". A few months later, the show moved to Hollywood and acquired the more familiar title "Queen for a Day" with Jack Bailey, a former vaudeville musician and World's Fair barker, as host. The show aired five days a week during the daytime.
Film.
In 1951, a fictional comedy-drama film adaptation of the show was released by United Artists. Titled "Queen for a Day", it purported to be a behind-the-scenes look at the show while at the same time spoofing the show's basic premise. The movie starred Bailey as the host and featured Darren McGavin, Phyllis Avery, and Leonard Nimoy, among others.
Television.
Bailey stayed on as host as "Queen for a Day" jumped from radio to television. With the addition of a visual component, the fashion aspect of the show expanded and each episode featured three to five young women modelling the upscale apparel that would be given away to contestants. Other visual stunts, such as a circus-themed episode featuring ponies and clowns from Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, helped bring the show into the television era. Through all of these changes, however, Bailey remained the interviewer who, over and over again, brought the contestants—and the live female audience—to tears. The first televised episode, a rebroadcast of an earlier radio episode, featured Pearl Stevens of Claremont, California.
Live remote broadcasts and unscripted interviews added to the show's believability. One of the show's telecast locations was the Earl Carroll Theatre on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, renamed the Moulin Rouge in 1953. During each episode, the cameras panned over the audience as the women waved and cheered.
From 1948 through 1955, the show was simulcast on radio and television. Both versions aired locally in the Los Angeles market on the Don Lee network.
NBC picked up the show for national broadcast from January 3, 1956 to September 2, 1960, and aired it live across the nation (1:30 PST in Los Angeles and 4:30 EST in New York). It proved to be very popular and Bailey and the program were featured on the cover of "TV Guide" for the week of June 22–28, 1957.
ABC broadcast the series nationally from September 5, 1960, until the end of the run on October 2, 1964.
Possible Revival.
In 1987, Barry & Enright Productions in conjunction with Fries Distribution attempted to revive "Queen for a Day" with Monty Hall as host for the Fall of 1988 but with no success.
Revivals.
On September 8, 1969, after a five-year hiatus, a new version of the show debuted in syndication with Dick Curtis as host. The premise remained largely the same; however, this version only ran until September 18, 1970.
Viewers turned away from the format when it was revealed that, unlike the radio and earlier television versions, the new show was rigged and the "winners" were apparently paid actresses chosen to "win" the prizes prior to the start of each taping.
On May 27, 2004, (originally May 24, 2004) after being off the air for more than 34 years, it was revived as a one-time special airing on cable network Lifetime with actress and comedian Mo'Nique as host. Judges for this version were Joely Fisher, Meshach Taylor, and Dayna Devon. The only difference between this version and the original was that the winner was not determined by audience applause.
Musical.
In 2012, a musical was made based on the show called "Queen for a Day: The Musical", starring Alan Thicke as Jack Bailey The outspoken and strong-willed Claribel Anderson (played by Blythe Wilson) finds herself along with fellow waitress Lana Beutler (played by Marisa McIntyre) at the glamorous Moulin Rouge Theatre, where the hit show tapes daily. Here the girls meet the quirky and charismatic host Jack Bailey and a colorful cast of Hollywood players who are ready and willing to build the Queen for a Day dream. Bailey sees the women, listens to many stories, dries many tears - but only one can be queen. Eventually Claribel lands as a contestant on the show. Her 15 minutes of fame send her down a road of self-discovery, forcing her to question her dream of being the perfect 50's housewife.
International versions.
Australia.
An Australian version aired in Melbourne on station HSV-7 from 1960 to 1962.
Brazil.
The Brazilian version was hosted by Silvio Santos and aired on The Globo in 1972 under the title "Boa Noite, Cinderella" (Good Night/Evening, Cinderella). This version awarded gifts for children (mainly little girls) instead of housewives. Years later, when the channel changed from TVS to SBT, it aired the program in the afternoons, dropping "Good Night" in its title and renaming it "Cinderella", until it was cancelled in 1987.
Spanish.
In Mexico, an Aztec TV version, also called "Reina Por Un Día" ("Queen for One Day") was produced. It was originally hosted by Ingrid Coranado and then by Raquel Bigorra. It premiered in 2011.
In the winter of 2011, a Spanish-language revival was hosted by Tomás Ramos (better known as "The Red Shadow" animator) aired on Univision in Puerto Rico under the name "Reina Por Un Día" ("Reina for a Day"). The panel consisted of Amos Morals and Moraima Oyola.
In Spain, the show was also called "" ("Queen for One Day") hosted by José Luis Barcelona and Mario Cabré aired on TVE from 1964 until 1966. It was mostly broadcast weekly on Sunday afternoons.
Ownership rights.
In 2008, RDF USA obtained the rights to the show with plans to pitch an update version to broadcast and cable networks.
Seven episodes are currently licensed by the Peter Rogers Organization.
Similar shows.
"Queen for a Day" shared much in common with two other shows of its era, "Strike It Rich" (on radio and television from 1947 to 1958) and "It Could Be You" (on television from 1956 to 1961).
A third similar show was "On Your Way" (on the DuMont Television Network and ABC from 1953 to 1954), which also used contestants with unfortunate stories, giving them transportation tickets as a reward for correct answers to quiz questions.
The major difference between "Queen for a Day" and these other "sympathy shows" was that they asked their poverty-stricken contestants to win prizes within a conventional quiz show format, with the winner essentially earning the prizes through his or her cleverness. "Queen for a Day", on the other hand, dispensed with the quiz-show format entirely: All the contestants were women, and the only way a woman could win was by sincerely touching the heart-strings of the live female audience, who would then award her the greatest volume on the "applause meter." Prizes were sponsored by industry leaders in appliances, home goods and apparel; such as the famed Spiegel Catalog, who offered each guest a credit allowance to spend from their catalog of more than 30,000 items.
Episode status.
Recordings of the series are believed to have been destroyed, as per network practices of the era.
Twelve episodes are held at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, including two from the Don Lee network era: the August 21, 1953, radio episode simulcast on television in Los Angeles and the July 4, 1955, show with Adolphe Menjou guest-hosting to crown a king instead of a queen (as was done about once or twice a year). The latest episode held at the archive is from July 13, 1964, near the end of the show's run on ABC.
Two kinescoped episodes from 1956 exist in the J. Fred & Leslie W. MacDonald Collection of the Library of Congress. These include a 45-minute installment from February 2, 1956, and a half-hour installment from October 25, 1956.
In 2005, First Look Media released a three-disc DVD set of seven episodes transferred from their original kinescope elements plus rare footage of an additional five episodes; the total runtime is 210 minutes.
References.
Notes


Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack

Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack or Left Silver-5g Rapid Attack or Left Silver-5g Quick Attack (5七銀左急戦 "go-nana gin hidari kyuusen") is a fast attacking strategy in shogi used with several different Static Rook openings often played by Black against Ranging Rook positions played by White. It is characterized by moving the left silver from its start position on 79 to the 57 square.
The Static Rook position is usually combined with a Boat castle.
Against Fourth File Rook.
When Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack is used against a Fourth File Rook opponent, Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack often transitions to the (4六銀左 "yon-roku gin hidari") class of openings.
The Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack openings against Fourth File Rook include the Yamada joseki (山田定跡 "yamada jouseki"), the Saginomiya joseki (鷺宮定跡 "saginomiya jouseki"), and or Pawn-45 Rapid Engage (4五歩早仕掛け "yon-go fu haya-shikake") among others.
The opening starts by the usual Static Rook vs Ranging Rook four-move sequence that results in the board position shown on the right. (See: Traditional Ranging Rook.)
Development.
After the fourth move, the position can proceed in a number of different ways. The subsequent moves can be categorized with the following components:
These components can be used in different orders and even with some interleaving between them. Additionally, there may also be some strategic keeping the true intentions behind each player's moves uncertain in the hopes that an opponent will not respond with adequate defensive measures.
If Black is truly going for a rapid attack, then they will build a Boat castle since that can be created with relatively few moves. Black later may have an option on converting the Boat castle in the stronger Static Rook Anaguma or Left Mino and possibly further into the Left Silver Crown. White often builds either a Mino castle or an Ranging Rook Anaguma.
There is a shogi aphorism (将棋の格言 "shōgi no kakugen") relevant to Static Rook vs Ranging Rook strategies such as Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack: 序盤は奇数の歩を突け "joban wa kisuu no fu o tsuke" "In the opening, push the odd-numbered pawns." This refers especially to the seventh, fifth, and third files pawns, which must be advanced in order to form a Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack structure. Advancing the odd pawns activates Black's bishop and allows the silvers to pass through the line of pawns. A possible position implied by the pushing all odd pawns is shown to the right.
For the next move, Black will usually either advance their right silver (3. S-48) or their rook pawn (3. P-25). The silver-48 development is the more common move in out of all professional games (occurring about 70% of the time). However, out of the games that actually lead to a Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack position, the pawn push is more common. Although other moves such as 3. K-68 are logically possible, these are uncommon.
Rook pawn push.
3. P-25. Advancing Black's rook pawn one rank further has two purposes. The first is that the pawn is closer to White's camp and ready to attack later in the game. (It may also be possible to exchange the pawns later in order to get a pawn in hand. However, White will prevent this from happening immediately by protecting the 44 square with another piece.) The second purpose is that it enlarges the area that the rook can move to. For example, the rook can now move up to the sixth rank where it can be used either defensively or offensively.
Note the Black need not advance the rook pawn this early at move 5. They may, for instance, move their right silver (3. S-48).
3...B-33. White must respond to Black's pawn push in order to protect the second file. Since White is playing Ranging Rook, they will move their bishop to the third file protecting the 24 square. This move prevents Black from immediately exchanging pawns on the second file and obtaining a pawn in hand. It also opens up the White's entire b rank allowing for the possibility of White moving the rook to 22 for an Opposing Rook strategy.
Silver development.
4. S-48. This move prepares for White's Ranging Rook as well as numerous other strategies (such as Double Fortress). If White moves their rook to the fourth file and advances their fourth file pawn very early, then Black's silver can advance to 57 protecting the 46 square from the pawn attack. This silver if left on 48 also defends the 37 square from White advancing their third file pawn later in the game (which is when Black might have their knight positioned on 37).
Development of the right silver to the fourth file is the most common fifth move in professional games following the board position after the first four moves. The reason is that is more flexible than the 3. P-25 pawn push. Although S-48 can lead to the Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack strategy discussed here, this silver can also be used for Black's Right Fourth File Rook strategy (with a Reclining Silver formation), in which a P-25 pawn push is undesirable as it blocks Black's knight from advancing to 25. This flexibility of 3. S-48 also informs White less about Black's strategy compared to 3. P-25 which narrows the possibilities of Black and thus is more informative to White.
Although it's possible for Black to move the silver to the third file (S-38) possibly in preparation for a Climbing Silver strategy in which the silver advances up the second file, this move is not found in professional games since the silver's position is more limited and further away from White's king once it has been castled (which will likely be on files 7–9) as well as further away from focal point of the fourth file where White's rook is positioned. Moreover, a Climbing Silver strategy can still be used even with the silver moving up from 48. And, finally, as S-38 does give White a strong indication of Climbing Silver, it is more revealing to White what Black's strategy will be and thus White can prepare defensively.
Ranging the rook.
4. ...R-42. This move announces that White is playing Fourth File Rook. It protects the fourth file as well as allowing the king the possibility to start castling in their next move.
It is possible to delay moving the rook for the sixth move and instead move White's left silver (...S-32). A benefit of the delay is that it keeps White's strategy more uncertain as ...S-32 is also compatible with a Fortress opening. Demerits of delaying the rook movement include delaying of castle formation, blocking the rook from moving to the second or third files if desired, and preventing White from doing any early fourth file pawn (counter-)attack.
5. P-56.
Edge pawns.
5...P-94. Early edge pawn. This move is an important development of White's future Mino castle since it creates an opening in the line of pawns from which White's king can escape if needed during the end game. However, pushing the edge pawn does restrict White's castle options since an Anaguma castle does not have this advanced edge pawn. Thus, the edge pawn gives Black an indication of White's castle strategy.
A second goal of White's early edge pawn is to try to determine Black's intentions by seeing if Black responds to White's edge pawn by likewise pushing their edge pawn forward. If Black is planning an Anaguma castle, then the edge pawn won't be pushed forward, but if the edge pawn push is mirrored, then Black may be planning a Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack strategy instead. This is valuable information for White as Static Rook Anaguma strategies can be difficult positions for Fourth File Rook players to overcome if their attack is not early enough. Thus, if Black suggests that they might play an Anaguma position, then White can start preparing for a Fujii System counterattack. If Black doesn't advance their edge pawn, then White can push their pawn further (6...P-95).
6. P-96. Black advances their edge pawn as well giving up the opportunity for an Anaguma castle.
Castling.
6. ...S-72. White constructs an Incomplete Mino castle, which the king can be moved into in later moves.
9. G-58. Black's Boat castle is complete.
Transpositions.
The sequence of moves shown above can also be flexibly transposed to different orders. Below are some other possible move sequences leading to the same position.


Beatmania IIDX (video game)

 (stylized as beatmaniaIIDX) is a music video game developed by Bemani and published by Konami, released in Japan on February 26, 1999. The objective is to perform songs using a controller with seven keys and a turntable. After the surprise success of "Beatmania", Benami conceived "IIDX" to simulate an actual disc jockey (DJ) live performance. Its cabinet contains a widescreen monitor, massive speakers, and eight spotlights. Bemani later developed several updated versions of "IIDX" to increased success. The game retrospectively received a positive reception from video game publications for its gameplay and increased difficulty. A sequel, "Beatmania III", was released in 2000.
Gameplay.
The objective of "Beatmania IIDX" is to perform songs using a controller with seven key buttons and a scratchable turntable. Hitting notes with accurate timing increases the score and groove gauge bar, allowing the player to finish the stage. Failing to do so depletes the gauge and can prematurely end the song. "IIDX" has four play modes: 4 Keys, 5 Keys, 7 Keys, and Expert. The controls in 4 Keys mode are limited to only the white buttons. 5 Keys is a mode where the player uses "3 white keys on bottom and 2 black keys on top" as in "Beatmania". 7 Keys utilizes all buttons and Expert has the player select a course and obtain the highest score. Clearing four or more stages in Internet Ranking results in a password, which can be submitted to Konami so that the player's score is registered and shown in worldwide rankings.
Development and release.
In 1997, Konami distributed its Games & Music Division's (G.M.D.) "Beatmania" in Japan as an arcade DJ simulator, significantly influencing rhythm games. Its surprise success prompted the developer to rename itself Bemani, a portmanteau of the game's title, and the studio made other music-themed video games following its release, including "Pop'n Music" and "Dance Dance Revolution". Bemani conceived "Beatmania IIDX" as a sequel to "Beatmania". They designed it to simulate the experience of a real DJ performing songs live at a music venue, and gave it a "club Visual Jockey feel." The game was released on February 26, 1999. While its predecessor used five keys, the "IIDX" controller had seven. The controller was one of components used in the game's Benami Twinkle cabinet, along with a large 40-inch widescreen monitor, massive speakers, eight spotlights, and the Effect Fader (located in the control panel), the last of which is used to alter the sound during gameplay.
Reception and legacy.
Neil Foster, writing for the website Hardcore Gaming 101, noticed that player one's controller had the turntable relocated to the left side, which was advantageous to "some players." He commented that with the addition of a widescreen monitor, the black keys were given easily identifiable lanes. He called the game "a rocky start" for the "Beatmania IIDX" series, since it had music from "Beatmania"s first two iterations ("1st Mix" and "2nd Mix") paired with new songs and remixes. According to Foster, many players were initially not impressed with performing old songs on upgraded hardware, so they switched to "Beatmania 4th Mix". Bryn Williams of GameSpy found "IIDX" harder than the original "Beatmania", because songs that take advantage of its seven keys have more notes than those made for five keys. IGN's Chris Roper wrote that it was successful because of its distinctive and responsive controller. He opinioned that the controller was imperfectly designed, yet its implementation made the game a rare experience.
Bemani developed several updates to the game after its release. Konami decided to link "Beatmania IIDX Club Version" (later "Substream") cabinets with "Dance Dance Revolution 2ndMix" machines for simultaneous play, leading to increased success. In late 1999, the publisher hired artist Goli to design graphics and characters for "Beatmania IIDX 2nd Style". Featuring a new visual theme, "3rd Style" was ported to the PlayStation 2. In 2002, "8th Style" was released after the discontinuation of the original "Beatmania". Foster stated these updates popularized "IIDX" to the point it overshadowed its predecessor, as the game not only earned more new songs, but became very difficult. A sequel with a five-key controller, "Beatmania III", was released in 2000.


List of programs broadcast by Game Show Network

The following is a list of programs that are currently airing, upcoming, or were formerly broadcast by Game Show Network.


Masters of the Maze

Masters of the Maze is a children's television game show that aired on the Family Channel from August 29, 1994 to September 15, 1995. After the last episode aired, the show went into reruns until September 22, 1996. The first season was hosted by J. D. Roth, and the second season was hosted by Mario Lopez.
Broadcast and production history.
A few years before "Masters of the Maze" first aired, Australian Fenton Rosewarne created a puzzle called "Fenton's Maze," which Janet Weeks said "combined elements of Trivial Pursuit and Rubik's Cube." Hal Berger, designer of the Power Glove, through his company IMAGE design and entertainment turned Fenton's Maze into an electronic game, licensed the product to Tiger Electronics, and then sold the game show concept to the Family Channel.
The show, a two time Emmy-nominated (1995 and 1996) game show for kids, was taped in a 65-by-85 foot studio at CBS Studio Center. The second season consisted of 40 shows, taped five per day. According to co-executive producer Richard Kline, the concept of the show is "to allow viewers at home to get inside the video game." The opening sequence was created by CBS Digital.
N. F. Mendoza, in an article in the "Los Angeles Times" printed the day before the show's premiere, referred to defusing a multi-level time bomb, and at one point in the article, referenced the show with the title "TimeBomb".
Audition process.
For the second season, there were 500 prospective contestants vying for 120 contestant spots. The auditions included a 25-question test, a narrative, as well as inhibition-testing events like a tug-of-war, a story-completion exercise, and a blindfolded trip through an obstacle course of folding chairs.
Gameplay.
Round 1 (both versions).
Three two-member teams competed. Each team chose one member to play the question and answer format of the game, while the other went offstage. At this point, the host showed distorted pictures to the players, each of which became more clear as time progressed. The first player to buzz in and identify the picture won ten points and a chance to answer a question about the picture for five additional points. The first two teams to reach 50 points won the right to enter the maze, with the first team doing so earning the right to decide who went into the maze first. After one team reached 50 points, the other teams played out the rest of the round, but without bonus questions. In the speed round, if a player buzzed in and was incorrect or unable to identify the picture, the host read a clue to the opponent without further revealing the picture.
Before being allowed to enter the maze, the runner was briefed on the maze's layout by the "Lady of the Maze". In the Roth season this was simply the face of an older woman (played by Renae Jacobs); in the Lopez season, the likeness of a younger redhead woman appeared with a high-pitched voice (played by Clea Montville). The "Lady of the Maze" also appeared again when the runner had reached the halfway point.
In the earliest episodes, the players were given 10 seconds for each picture, which grew clearer as time passed, and the first person to buzz-in and identify the picture won one point for each second left on the clock, and an opportunity to answer the question about the picture to double the points. When one player earned 50 points or more, and thus the right to enter the maze, the other players played more pictures without the clock, at 10 points per picture, until another player reached 50 points.
Maze.
Roth version.
The maze had three sections: the Mirror Maze, the Honeycomb Maze, and the Chamber of Knowledge. The person that answered the questions in the first part of the game was also the one responsible for running through the maze, with their team partner guiding them through the maze by moving a giant joystick. This device controlled a computerized voice telling the contestant which direction to go, and triggered rumble devices on the outfit the runner wore as an additional directional aid. The joystick also had a button that controlled the runner's laser which was used in various parts of the game.
The first section was called the Mirror Maze. In this section, the contestant navigated a series of mirrors. Once the runner reached the end of the Mirror Maze, the "Mirror Man" blocked the path, not moving unless the runner correctly answered a question posed by Roth. A correct answer meant that the runner passed, while an incorrect answer or pass meant that the runner was asked another question. A contestant missing three questions had to wait five more seconds before being allowed to proceed.
Once the runner had passed the Mirror Maze, the runner had to find two of several Power Sticks that were hidden in the mountains between the Mirror Maze and the Honeycomb Maze. (Occasionally there was a Power Stick hidden in the Mirror Maze itself.) Once the runner found two, they entered the Honeycomb Maze. In this section, the runner had to lower their visor and rely on the partner to guide them through the network of doors and walls.
Once through the Honeycomb Maze, the runner raised the visor and entered a small briefing room. Here, the Lady of the Maze reappeared to give the runner instructions on what to do inside the Chamber of Knowledge, which the runner entered using one of the two Power Sticks.
Inside the Chamber of Knowledge, the runner was asked three different true or false questions by three of the six different guardians. A correct answer caused one of the three gates blocking the way out to open. If the runner answered incorrectly, the same guardian asked another true or false question. If the runner missed this question, one more true or false question was asked. If the runner missed all three, the gate automatically opened after five seconds. Once all three gates were open, the runner exited the chamber (and the maze itself) by inserting his/her remaining power stick into a holder at the finish line to stop the clock.
The first team set the time that their opponents had to beat. The second team then entered the maze, and had the amount of time established by the first team to make their way through. If the second team ran out of time, an alarm went off, the game ended immediately, and the first team won. If the second team made it out before time ran out, they won the game. The winners of this version also won prizes and the right to play a bonus round.
Prize Mountain.
The quickest team in this version of the show won the right to play a special bonus round, which featured a mountain with five television monitors that constantly altered between a "Prize" screen (depicting a diamond over a green backdrop) and a "No Prize" screen (depicting the Mirror Man's face over a white backdrop). The runner faced the first TV on the mountain and shouted for the partner to fire the laser. If the team stopped at least three of the five monitors on "Prize" (before the team stopped at three monitors on "No Prize", which ended the game immediately), they won a $500 shopping spree at The Sharper Image in Beverly Hills.
Lopez version.
The opening game remained the same, but with extra changes. One was that contestants now shot the picture using their laser podium before taking a guess; another was that there was now a special bonus picture at one point in the game in which five bonus points were added to the initial value, making it worth 15 points.
The maze was extended and featured new obstacles. Its four sections were the Mirror Maze, the Ice Cave, the Chamber of Knowledge, and Lightning Mountain (which consisted of the same set as the first season's Prize Mountain).
The Mirror Maze remained unchanged. However, the run to find the power stick was removed from this part of the game, and the Mirror Man's question was posed by the Mirror Man himself and his face was larger than last season's. If a contestant gave a wrong answer or ran out of time to answer, another question was read. A runner failing to answer that question correctly had to wait at least three seconds before proceeding.
Once the runner arrived at the entrance to the Ice Cave, the Lady of The Maze showed the runner a distorted picture on a monitor (as in the first round). A runner identifying it within five seconds took the shorter path through the cave, but otherwise had to take the longer path. In either case, the runner was required to lower the visor before entering the Ice Cave. While navigating the cave, the runner had to find a Power Stick; in addition, the contestant also had to avoid kicking two groups of sensors and Mirror Man placards that were placed on the cave floor. If the runner touched one of these objects, several large icicles descended from the cave ceiling, blocking the runner's path. Upon finding the Power Stick and getting through the Ice Cave, the player lifted their visor and enter the Chamber of Knowledge.
There were now only four guardians in this portion of the maze, and only two correct answers were required to exit. If the answer was incorrect, the runner had to answer another true or false question, and if the player missed that one, a five-second penalty was assessed before the gates unlocked.
The runner now faced a single television monitor at the base of Lightning Mountain with faces of the Mirror Man flying on it. The runner had to blast two of these images with his laser before being allowed to run up the mountain and stop the clock. As in the Roth era, the first team set the time, the second team had to beat it, and the second team was not allowed to finish their maze run if their time exceeded the first team's time. The bonus round was removed. The team that won the game automatically won the $500 shopping spree for the runner and the prizes for the navigator.
Similarities between both seasons.
With both the JD Roth and Mario Lopez seasons, the winning team received a trophy made from one of the power sticks. In addition, the winning runner was said to go on a "special journey" in which they appeared to be disintegrated into a ball of randomly spinning particles which floated away into either the large video wall (Season 1) or an inter-dimensional tunnel (Season 2).
In Season 1, after the ball floated away into the video wall, the wall displayed the winning runner's name, along with his/her total running time in the maze.
In Season 2, as the winning runner's "special journey" began, the Lady of the Maze said, "You are a Master of the Maze. Follow me." The "special journey" was visibly led by the Lady of the Maze.
The elf was the only Chamber of Knowledge guardian to be featured in both seasons. In the Roth era, he was the Guardian of the Gate of the Unexpected and posed questions about pop culture. In the Lopez era, he was the Guardian of the Gate of Education and posed school-related questions. However, The Guardian of the Gate of History and The Guardian of the Gate of Nature from season 1 can be seen above the entrance to the Chamber of Knowledge when leaving the Ice Cave.
Producer and game show veteran Mark Maxwell-Smith provided the voices of all the Chamber of Knowledge guardians in both seasons, as well as the Mirror Man in the Lopez era.


What the Dickens

What the Dickens? is a television panel game hosted by Sandi Toksvig. Team captains were Dave Gorman and Tim Brooke-Taylor for the first series and Sue Perkins and Chris Addison for the second and third. It was recorded at Sky Studios in West London.
Rounds of the show.
3 Steps to Heaven.
Each team viewed up to three picture clues to help them identify a book, film, play, or musical from the world of fine arts and entertainment, scoring three points if they guessed the correct answer after just one picture clue, two after two, and one after all three were revealed. If they failed to guess, the other side could guess for one point.
Love It or Loathe It.
Each of the guests (or team captains at least once when a guest appeared twice) chose a subject from the world of arts and entertainment and had to present two arguments, one claiming they loved the subject and the other claiming they loathed it. If the opposition could guess correctly whether the guest loved or loathed the subject, they scored two points. If not, the guest making the arguments got two points.
Yes, and I'm Mickey Mouse.
Played only in series 1 and 2. The teams met members of the general public who coincidentally shared their names with characters from books, films, TV shows, plays, or musicals. They had 90 seconds to ask yes or no questions to the mystery guest and then take a guess, for two points if guessed correctly. If wrong, Sandi threw it over to the other side for one point.
Common People.
Played only in Series 3, replacing "Yes, and I'm Mickey Mouse". The teams were shown three famous people and had to guess what all three had in common.
Losing the Plot.
The final quickfire round. Each team captain had 90 seconds to communicate the titles of books, films, plays, musicals, or TV shows, without using any proper names. A common running gag in series 2 and 3 emerged when Sue Perkins pretended to get angry with her teammates when they had troubles guessing, leading her to continuously rant on and on, and in the process, saying the titles, and leaving no time for the other person to speak. Nicholas Parsons was one teammate that had to sit and let her rant when she pretended to get angry, although he could only watch with a surprised look on his face. Because of this running gag, Chris Addison won more games than Perkins in all cases where she ranted, though he didn't necessarily win more games overall.
Comedian Richard Herring (a teammate of Perkins) scored a record 10 points in this round, and Germaine Greer (a teammate of Addison's) had to humorously guess her own 1970 international best-selling book, The Female Eunuch.
Episodes.
The coloured backgrounds denote the result of each of the shows:


Cadwallon (role-playing game)

Cadwallon is a role-playing game (RPG) published by Rackham in book form in 2006. It is set in the fantasy world of Rackham's previous game "Confrontation". A tactical role-playing game, it is played with miniatures. As with most of Rackham's products, "Cadwallon" was originally written in French and later translated into English.
Setting.
Cadwallon is the name of the large city in which the role-playing game is set. The city was founded by a mercenary company and is reputedly free from the surrounding nations' politics which mainly concern the massive war called "The Rag'narok". The city is divided in two parts; the upper city and the lower city, which are further divided into eleven fiefdoms, each with its own peer. The whole city is ruled by the "Duke".
The City is built on the ruins of several different civilizations including the Cynwall and Acheron but with its foundations in some much older culture.
System.
"Cadwallon" has a custom ruleset for generating characters. Characters are from among the races in the "Confrontation" universe, namely elves, dwarves, humans, goblins, orcs, ogres and "wolfen". They also belong to one of the cultures which are waging war on the continent taking the form of the factions' totems. A character can also originate from Cadwallon itself being from either the Upper or lower district
Cadwallon has a custom system where pools of six-sided dice are used when determining the success of actions. An oddity in Cadwallon are the names chosen for the character attributes. Rather than utilize traits such as strength and dexterity Cadwallon uses words that are in common use other places in Confrontation fluff like Pugnacity and Style.


Jody-Anne Maxwell

Jody-Anne Maxwell from Kingston, Jamaica, was the winner of the 1998 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the age of 12. She made history as the first non-American to win the competition.
According to "Ebony" magazine, she was viewed as a celebrity on her return to Jamaica. Maxwell also attained significant fame in Jamaican communities within the United States.
Maxwell qualified for the Scripps competition by winning Jamaica's National Spelling Bee Championship, which her sister Janice had also won in 1990. Her prizes for winning the national bee included $10,000 cash, and an education trust fund of $11,000 (U.S).
She later went on to host the local Jamaican program "The KFC Quiz Show" with various co-hosts, (the first two being Dominique Lyew and Damar Pessoa) up until 2004 when the post was handed off to Samantha Strachan and Raine Manley Robertson.
Maxwell was also a contestant on Nickelodeon's game show "Figure it Out" in 1998. She successfully stumped the panel of judges for all three rounds.
In 2012 she attended the Norman Manley Law School at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.
Maxwell is also a past student of the prestigious Ardenne High School in Kingston, Jamaica.


Name That Movie

Name That Movie () is a quiz show about Soviet movies where participants watch the movie and earn money for it. The grand prize is 90 000 rubles. The program premiered on April 25, 2016 on the Che. The quiz is hosted by Sergey Belogolovtsev.
Rules.
Three players participate. The host asks a question and they answer them by pressing the button before the other contestants. Correct answers win money. Incorrect answers do not. The amount increases in each round. At the end of three rounds the least successful player is dismissed and his money goes to the leader.
Round 1.
The players are offered short questions. 2 000 rubles is won for each correct answer.
Round 2.
The players watch a scene from an unnamed movie and must guess its name. The prize is 3 000 rubles, but decreases by 500 rubles after each 5 second interval.
Round 3.
Players watch a movie scene and must guess what happens in the next scene. The prize is 5 000 rubles for the first contestant, 3 000 for the second and 1 000 rubles for the third.
The final round.
Two contestants participate in the last round. There are two final versions one of which the host selects.
Version 1.
The two remaining contestants watch fragments of 16 movies. The players must name each movie in order. Failing to do this costs the player all winnings. Each player may skip one movie, handing it to the opponent to answer.
Version 2.
Finalists are shown the freeze frames of seven movies. The players must name at least five of the seven movies. The winner may ask for "unfreezing" of the freeze frame, i.e. to show all the fragment, but this is only allowed once. The winner earns all winnings, earned by players during the entire game.


Eugene Ernest Colman

Eugene Ernest Colman (11 October 1878, Merton, England – 20 July 1964) was an English chess master. The son of the architect Ernest Gershom Colman (1851-1935) he graduated from Cambridge University with a law degree and entered service in the Malay States. When he retired, he stayed on in Malaysia and set up youth clubs throughout the peninsula.
He tied for 9-10th in the Hamburg 1910 chess tournament (the 17th DSB Congress, "Hauptturnier A", Gersz Rotlewi won), tied for 6-7th at Oxford 1910, took 10th at London 1910, shared 3rd at Tunbridge Wells 1911, tied for 10-11th at London 1919, and took 7th at Margate 1923.
His name is attached to the Colman Variation of the Two Knights Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Qf3 Rb8) but the most remarkable thing about it were the circumstances under which it was first analysed. During World War II Colman was interned in Changi Civilian Internees Camp in Singapore (1942–1945) and his opening analysis helped take his (and his fellow prisoners’) mind off the horrors of the prison (about 850 POWs died in Changi Prison during the Japanese occupation).
He returned to England and lived in Wimbledon where he was an active member of the Wimbledon Chess Club. Coleman called his variation "The Wimbledon Defense."


James Hanham

Major James Moore Hanham (January 4, 1840 Woodville, Mississippi – December 30, 1923 New York, New York) was an American chess master, who played in many American and international chess tournaments between 1884 and 1889. He fought on the side of the North during the American Civil War, reaching the rank of Major. He is remembered today for several innovations in the opening, particularly the Hanham Variation of Philidor's Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7).
Military service, appearance.
Although a Mississippian, Hanham fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. He saw action at Fort Pickens and Baton Rouge, and was promoted to the rank of Major. After the war, he moved to Manhattan.
A writer in the "New York Times", describing the players in the Sixth American Chess Congress (1889), portrayed him as follows:
Major Hanham is a little, nervous man, who hates to sit still. He won his title during the war of the rebellion. He was one of the dudes of the tournament, and was always dressed in the latest style, with a carefully polished silk hat and neatly trimmed beard.
Chess career.
Hanham played in many American and international chess tournaments between 1884 and 1899. At American tournaments, he finished second to Eugene Delmar in the 8th and 9th championships of the Manhattan Chess Club, both held in 1885, and at an 1886 New York Chess Club tournament. At Cincinnati 1888, the first United States Chess Association tournament, he tied for 2nd–3rd with 5.5/10, far behind winner Jackson Showalter. He finished 3rd with 3/6 at Lexington 1891, the fourth United States Chess Association tournament, behind Showalter and William Pollock, who tied for first at 5/6. He won two tournaments at Skaneateles, New York in 1891. According to Chessmetrics, Hanham's best-ever performance was at Grove Spring 1898, where he scored 4.5/7 for the New York State team against the Pennsylvania team.
At international tournaments, Hanham performed respectably but not spectacularly, usually finishing in the bottom half. At London and Nottingham, both in 1886, he finished 12th out of 13 with a 3.5/12 score, and 8th out of 10 with a 2/9 score, respectively. At the Sixth American Chess Congress at New York 1889, a double round robin that was one of the longest tournaments in history, Hanham scored 14/38, finishing 16th out of 20 players; Mikhail Chigorin and Max Weiss tied for first with 29 points, edging out Isidor Gunsberg (28.5). At New York 1894, Hanham tied for 7th–9th with a 4/10 score; recently dethroned World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz won with 8.5/10.
One of Hanham's best results was at New York 1893, where he scored 7.5/13 (finishing 6th of 14 players), beat the young Harry Nelson Pillsbury, and finished half a point ahead of him. Emanuel Lasker, who would become World Champion the following year, won with a perfect score.
By Arpad Elo's calculation, Hanham's strength during his five-year peak was equivalent to an Elo rating of 2360.
At the time of his death in 1923, Hanham was the oldest player of master rank in the United States.
Opening innovations.
Hanham's name is best remembered today for the Hanham Variation of Philidor's Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7). David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld note in "The Oxford Companion to Chess" that this line, which became a favorite of the great player and theoretician Aron Nimzowitsch, allows Black to maintain a defensive center and has become one of the main lines of Philidor's Defense. Larry Kaufman writes that it is a "strategically rich variation" but is out of favor today because 4.Bc4! is awkward for Black, when 4...Ngf6? loses to 5.Ng5, 4...Be7? loses a pawn to 5.dxe5 Nxe5 (5...dxe5? 6.Qd5! wins) 6.Nxe5 dxe5 7.Qh5!, and 4...c6 (best) allows 5.0-0 Be7 6.dxe5 dxe5 (6...Nxe5? 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Qh5 wins a pawn) 6.Ng5! Bxg5 7.Qh5 Qe7 8.Qxg5, when White's bishop pair gives him a substantial advantage. To avoid this line, today Black often tries to reach the Hanham by different move orders, such as 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7, 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7, or 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.Nf3 e5.
Hooper and Whyld also credit Hanham with introducing a number of other opening lines, including the Grand Prix Attack against the Sicilian Defense (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4), the Indian Opening (1.e4 e5 2.d3), and the Hanham Variation of the French Defense (1.e4 e6 2.d3), often referred to today as the King's Indian Attack.
Notable game.
In this game from the Sixth American Chess Congress (at New York in 1889), Hanham (playing Black) uses his eponymous variation to defeat Joseph Henry Blackburne, one of the world's leading players:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Be7 4.Nc3 c6 5.d4 Nd7 6.O-O Ngf6 7.Qe2 O-O 8.Be3 Qc7 reaching the typical setup of the Hanham Variation of Philidor's Defense. 9.Bb3 h6 10.Nh4 Nb6 11.Ng6 Re8 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.h3 Bd6 14.Rad1 Be6 15.Bxe6 Rxe6 16.Nh4 Nbd7 17.Nf5 Bf8 18.g4 Nh7 19.h4 Rg6 20.Kh1 Nc5 21.Rg1 Ne6 22.Rg3 Rd8 23.Rdg1 Nd4 24.Qf1 Nxc2 25.Bc1 Nd4 26.h5 Rf6 27.f4 exf4 28.Bxf4 Qa5 29.Qc1 Re6 30.Bd2 Qe5 31.Bf4 Qa5 32.Be3 Nb5 33.Bd2 Nxc3 34.Bxc3 Qa4 35.Re1 Rxe4 36.b3 Rxe1+ 37.Qxe1 Qxa2 38.g5 hxg5 39.h6 Qc2 40.Nd4 Qg6 41.Qe5 Qxh6+ 42.Kg2 Qd6 43.Qe2 Qd5+ 44.Kh3 Qh1+ 45.Kg4 Nf6+ 46.Kxg5 Rd5+ 47.Kf4 Bd6+ 0-1


Edgard Colle

Edgard Colle (18 May 1897, in Ghent, Belgium – 19 April 1932) was a Belgian chess master. He scored excellent results in major international tournaments, including first at Amsterdam 1926, ahead of Savielly Tartakower and future world champion Max Euwe; first at Meran 1926, in a strong field ahead of Esteban Canal; and won twice outright at Scarborough in 1927, and again in 1930, ahead of Maróczy and Rubinstein.
Colle's playing career was hampered by ill health. He survived three difficult operations for a gastric ulcer and died after a fourth at the age of 34 in Ghent.
Legacy.
Colle is remembered today primarily for his introduction of the chess opening now known as the Colle System: 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3. White normally follows up with Bd3, 0-0, and Nbd2, playing for a central with e4. The opening is in effect a reversed Semi-Slav Defense. In response to ...c5 by Black, White typically plays c3. The Colle System was most often played in the late 1920s and 1930s. Colle himself played it from 1925 until his death in 1932. He won many games with the opening, including a number of . Colle–O'Hanlon, Nice 1930, featuring one of the best-known examples of a Greek gift sacrifice, is especially famous.
The opening gained popularity, especially in the United States, through the efforts of Belgian-American International Master George Koltanowski, who remained faithful to it throughout his long career, and wrote several books on it. Koltanowski said he played the opening as a tribute to his friend Colle. The opening is sometimes referred to as the "Colle–Koltanowski".
The Colle System fell out of favor in high-level play as good defenses were found for Black. Chess theory today regards it as safe but somewhat passive. However, because of its solid pawn structure, logical piece placement, and coherent strategic aims, the opening is often taught to novice players as a safe and dependable way to reach a middlegame. Thus, the Colle System is frequently seen in amateur and scholastic tournaments, but is not common in professional play; however, it has been used in recent times by grandmasters Pia Cramling, Susan Polgar, Artur Yusupov, who prefers to play with b3 and a fianchetto, a setup known as the "Colle–Zukertort", and, most notably, Magnus Carlsen.


Sasa (video game)

Sasa is an arcade video game released for the MSX1 in 1984 and later for the Family Computer titled as in 1985.
This video game involved obtaining capsules with an 'E' on them, sometimes suspended by balloons. The main character could only use bullets to propel himself, and when the bullet count reaches 0, the game ends. A player can also lose bullets by colliding with an enemy, the other player, or the other player's bullets.


Wildcats (comics)

Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.
Publication history.
The team first appeared in August 1992 in the first issue of their eponymous comic book "WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams", published by Image Comics. It was Image founding partner Jim Lee's first work published by the newly launched company, and his first creator-owned project. The Wildcats were the starting point for Lee's menagerie of interconnected superhero creations which became the foundation of the Wildstorm Universe. The Wildcats launched at the apex of a speculator-fueled comics sales boom and was wildly popular at its inception, with wholesale sales to comic book stores above one million copies for early issues. This first series ran for 50 issues, and in addition to Lee, featured work by comics creators such as Travis Charest, Chris Claremont, James Robinson and Alan Moore. This popularity saw the property expand into other media, with an animated adaptation of the comic debuting on CBS in 1994 and a toyline from Playmates Toys.
In 1998, ownership of the Wildcats concepts and characters were sold to DC Comics, a subsidiary of Time Warner, as part of DC's acquisition of Lee's company Wildstorm Productions. A new incarnation of the team was soon launched under the simplified title "Wildcats", focusing on the former members of the now-disbanded team and emphasizing a grittier tone during its 28-issue run. The third series, "Wildcats Version 3.0", revolved around the HALO Corporation, its CEO Jack Marlowe (an amalgamation of original team members Spartan and Void), Grifter, and a gallery of new characters subverting corporate politics to their cause of creating a better world. This incarnation lasted 24 issues and was followed by a nine-issue limited series titled "Wildcats: Nemesis", which returned to a more superheroic style reminiscent of the first series. In late 2006, a fourth ongoing series was launched as a part of the Worldstorm publishing initiative. The series saw the return of Jim Lee as regular penciller for the first time since its first volume while Grant Morrison took over writing duties. Only one issue was ever published, with future issues placed on hold. In mid-2008, the fifth volume of Wildcats was launched, tying into the World's End crossover event.
"WildC.A.T.s" volume 1.
Launched as an original Image comic book title by popular X-Men penciler Jim Lee and his friend writer Brandon Choi, the comic book's premise revolved around the centuries-long war between aliens called Kherubim and Daemonites. Kherubim, a nearly immortal, human-looking alien race with exceptional powers and skills, traveled to Earth and, by breeding with humans, populated the planet with "Half-Breeds". Daemonites, besides having a fearsome appearance, also possessed various superhuman abilities, including body possession and mental control over human beings. The initial arc brought Voodoo over to the team as the readers' point-of-view character as Helspont, a Daemonite warlord, had taken control over Vice President of the United States Dan Quayle. Rob Liefeld's Youngblood co-starred in the closing chapters of the arc.
"WildC.A.T.s" story continued in a three-part mini-series, penciled by Jae Lee, that introduced the Daemonite Lord Hightower. Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri proceeded to publish a 'Killer Instinct' crossover detailing Warblade's connection to Marc Silvestri's Cyber Force.
Jim Lee devoted his time to coming up with the new concepts of "Gen13", Deathblow, and "Stormwatch". Before he left the book, he did the four-issue "Gathering of Eagles" storyline written by his "Uncanny X-Men" writer, Chris Claremont. It featured a new villain in Tapestry and added the characters of Mister Majestic, Savant, and Soldier, and featured Claremont's creator-owned character, Huntsman.
Almost all of the characters were spun off into their own mini-series, with Zealot featured in a series by Ron Marz and Terry Shoemaker, Spartan in one by Kurt Busiek and Mike McKone, Warblade sharing another with Cyberforce's Ripclaw, Grifter co-starred in The Kindred's limited series with Stormwatch's Backlash by Brett Booth that led to the latter's ongoing title, as well as another with Youngblood's Badrock, Billy Tucci's Shi, and even Dark Horse's the Mask.
James Robinson wrote a handful of issues as well as a Team One Stormwatch/WildC.A.T.s mini-series detailing the past of the Wildstorm universe and would go on to write the Wildcats' first annual. The title also participated in the WildC.A.T.s-oriented "Wildstorm Rising" crossover that saw the heroes try to gain control of the Daemonite battleship, which turned out to be the Kheran ship instead, with WildC.A.T.s eventually leaving for Khera. Following a Grifter one-shot, the crossover gave birth to a short-lived Steven Seagle-written Grifter series that centered on his super-spy/superhero adventures while linking to an obscure Team One character Regiment at one point.
Alan Moore then took over writing duties, and proceeded to tell a tale split between Savant and Majestic's replacement team on Earth and the original team journeying to Khera. The Kherubim had won the Daemonite-Kherubim war and were living in prosperity. Appearances were deceiving, however, and it was apparent the planet was run by power-hungry politicians who had ruthlessly subjugated the Daemonites as second-class citizens. Voodoo, with her Daemonite blood, experienced this firsthand. Maul's race was also treated unjustly and though Emp and Zealot were seduced by promises of power and recognition, Spartan discovered the truth about Khera's corrupt leaders. It took the death of one of Maul's race for the WildC.A.T.s to leave and head back for Earth. Voodoo and Emp both left the team, while the remainder joined with Savant and Majestic's new team. Moore also participated in Fire From Heaven, a fairly continuity-heavy crossover that resolved plotlines regarding Team One, Team 7, and Kaizen Gamorra.
Alan Moore, Mike Lopez and Al Rio spun Voodoo off in a four-issue mini-series that dealt with voodoo magic, while Moore also wrote a time-traveling WildC.A.T.s/Spawn crossover mini-series drawn by Scott Clark and inked by Sal Regla.
At the time, Grifter had another turn at an ongoing series, this time written by Steven Grant and drawn by Mel Rubi and Michael Ryan, while Zealot was featured in a Backlash spinoff, "Wildcore".
Barbara Randall Kesel, Pasqual Ferry, Rich Johnson and Carlos D'Anda crafted a two-part storyline that, in effect, wrote Majestic, Savant and Ladytron out of the team, and set up the spin-off "Savant Garde", written by Randall Kesel. Original scripter Brandon Choi returned alongside Johnathan Peterson and artists Mat Broome and Ed Benes for a storyline with an organization called Puritans as the main villains. The Puritans' goal was to eradicate the Kherubim and Daemonites on Earth by traveling back in time and erasing killing them before the aliens could influence global events. A new line-up of WildC.A.T.s traveled in time to stop the Puritans, and had various adventures throughout different time periods.
"Wildcats" volume 2.
After the first series' cancellation, WildStorm, now an imprint of DC Comics, resurrected the Wildcats under a whole different premise—Wildcats dealt with the lives of the original members after the team's breakup following a botched mission during which team member Zealot apparently died. Scott Lobdell provided the writing for the initial seven issues as well as a Mosaic one-shot detailing the change in Lord Emp, with Travis Charest penciling most of them. New villains like Kenyan and CC Rendozzo were featured as antagonists, but it was all dropped very quickly, with Charest leaving the monthly comic format to work on a French Metabarons graphic novel called "Dreamshifters" and Lobdell exiting a couple of issues later.
As Joe Casey and Sean Phillips took over Wildcats, they quickly dealt away with Kenyan, while Void and Emp ended up having Spartan absorb their assets and powers; thus the book began a long spell featuring him aided by Ladytron and Grifter with Maul and Voodoo guest-starring, as well as new characters Noir, Agents Wax, and Mohr of the National Park Service. Warblade was featured very briefly, last seen in the Wildcats 2000 annual that brought back the dead version Condition Red killing Olympia. Casey and Phillips signaled the new Wildstorm, critically acclaimed but low on readers' radar. The heroes fought Samuel Smith (a superhuman serial killer whose grandfather had appeared in Team One: WildC.A.T.s) after which eventually Zealot returned. Casey also wrote the Ladytron one shot, a farsic rendition of her past, as well as a Mister Majestic ongoing series which ran for nine issues.
"Wild Times: Wildcats" and "Wild Times: Grifter" were published as one-shots as a part of the crossover series "Wild Times" that spotlighted the characters in Elseworlds-like alternate reality scenarios that blended genres. Wildcats also participated in the WildC.A.T.s/Aliens crossover written by Stormwatch's Warren Ellis that served as a coda to that series and a prequel to his Authority run, having very little to do with the Wildcats themselves.
"Wildcats" 3.0.
The third series, "Wildcats Version 3.0", was a part of the mature readers' Eye of the Storm imprint, dealing with Spartan's (now Jack Marlowe) agenda to better the world by proliferating advanced technology and power sources throughout the world via the HALO Corporation. Grifter was his troubleshooter and Agent Wax was one of his first associates. The stories added a motley group to this proactive organization including the power broker C.C. Rendozzo and her organization, Agent Orange, and Grifter's unlikely pupil Edwin Dolby, one of HALO's accountants. The series ended with a thunderous finale where Zealot, Marlowe, and a team assembled by Grifter destroyed the Coda chapter that Zealot had created on Earth. The series was written by Joe Casey and drawn by Dustin Nguyen, Duncan Rouleau, Francisco Ruiz Velasco, Pascual Ferry and Sean Phillips.
Concurrent with "Wildcats Version 3.0", Wildstorm also published a critically acclaimed noir-superhero series "Sleeper" starring Alan Moore's Wildcats villain Tao, which also featured Grifter. As part of the crossover Coup D'État, centering on the Wildstorm Universe's United States, a Wildcats 3.0: Coup D'État one-shot was released.
After guest-starring in Superman books, in 2004 DC published a "Mr. Majestic" mini-series to test waters for an ongoing series that ran for 17 issues.
Wildcats starred in a limited series by Robbie Morrison and Talent Caldwell entitled "Wildcats: Nemesis", focusing on Zealot, Majestic, and the Coda continuity, while heavily spotlighting the new Wildstorm universe anti-hero character of Nemesis.
At the same time, Wildstorm published the "Captain Atom: Armageddon" maxi-series, heavily featuring the Wildcats as they tried to help DC character Captain Atom return to his universe and stop him from accidentally destroying their reality. Nikola, a female medic, became the new Void with Captain Atom sharing a part of the power that eventually remade the Wildstorm universe altogether.
"Wildcats" volume 4.
In 2006, as part of the "Worldstorm" line-wide event, the title was restarted, written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Jim Lee. The team consisted of Spartan, Mr. Majestic, Zealot, Grifter, Voodoo, Savant, and Ladytron. Warblade is on a secret mission, and Maul has retired to his civilian identity. Kaizen Gamorra returned as the villain, aided by the WildCats' first enemy, Helspont. However, the title was permanently put on hold after only one issue.
"Wildcats" volume 5.
In July 2008 Wildstorm debuted a new ongoing WildCats series written by Christos Gage and pencilled by Neil Googe following on from the imprint's "Number of the Beast" mini-series. Adam Beechen took over writing duties from Gage in late 2009, with he and artist Tim Seeley starting with issue #19 until the book's cancellation in December 2010 with #30.
Cast.
Original team.
The original WildC.A.T.s (Covert Action Team) consisted of:
Savant's team.
A second team was introduced later in the series. They were formed after the original team, rumored to be dead, had left for Khera, the Kherubim homeworld. This unlikely group broke from the WildC.A.T.s usual anti-Daemonite agenda and conducted a proactive war on criminals. This alienated them from many other characters in the Wildstorm universe.
Savant Garde.
For a time Kenesha would drop out of the hero circuit and return to a life of Indiana Jones-lite spelunking for hidden reliquary, along the way she would assemble her own team of adventurers with Majestros at her side.
Time travel team.
The team consisted of Grifter, Max Cash, Void, and an old Spartan unit activated by Grifter, possessing Hadrian's original personality, as well as new members:
Halo Team.
After a disastrous mission wherein Zealot faked her death to hunt down the earth Coda chapter. The Cat's, whittled down to Jacob and Spartan, would go on to recruit both old faces and new blood after Lord Emp had ascended.
3.0 cast.
Besides Grifter and Jack Marlowe, the main characters were:
Majestic's Pact.
While not specifically part of any WildC.A.T.s group, Mister Majestic would work with his own covert action team for a time when the Shapers Guild would attempt seize earth's Kherubim terraforming engine to make a new Khera. Members would include mainstays like Spartan, Zealot and Savant while also including:
Nemesis Crew.
The introduction of rogue Kherubum warrior Lady Charis would be first adversarial too, then join up with a team consisting of Majestros, Zannah, Cole Cash and Kenesha. A team which would later be adjourned by former WildC.A.T.s mainstays such as Jeremy, Reno and Priscilla while battling the mutated human forces of the Brotherhood of the Sword.
"World's End".
With the "World's End" crossover, original Wildcats Spartan, Zealot, Voodoo, Grifter, Maul, Nemesis and Warblade were brought together again to help save what was left of the human race. Their membership also included Ladytron as well as a few new members:
Nemesis subsequently went missing following the teams battle with Majestic, while Savant rejoined the team.
Collected editions.
Trade paperback collections:
Vol. 1 #14 is collected in "Savage Dragon Vol. 4: Possessed" as it was done by Erik Larsen as part of Image X Month; #20 is also collected in the "Wildstorm Rising" trade paperback, while "JLA/WildC.A.T.s" is collected in the "JLA: Ultramarine Corps" trade.
Both "WildC.A.T.S Covert Action Teams: Compendium" and "A Gathering of Eagles" are out of print. New printings of the trade paperbacks "WildC.A.T.s: Homecoming" and "WildC.A.T.s: Gang War" were published in 1999 after the late 1998 acquisition of WildStorm Productions by DC Comics; as of 2009, both volumes have now sold out and are currently out of print. In August 2007 "Alan Moore's Complete WildC.A.T.S" TPB was released, containing the contents of both "Gang War" and "Homecoming" TPBs, as well as the short story from "WildC.A.T.S" #50.
Reception.
Andy Butcher reviewed the first graphic novel compendium of "WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams" for "Arcane" magazine, rating it a 6 out of 10 overall. Butcher comments that "of all the artists who've tries to write, Lee is one of the more successful. Despite some confusing flashbacks at the start, he is at least capable of stringing a story together. As long as you concentrate (a lot of characters and factions are introduced very quickly), it's an enjoyable if fairly linear tale. And of course, the art is simply stunning."
In other media.
TV series.
A WildC.A.T.s TV series was created in 1994. It had only thirteen episodes and a more family-friendly storyline. As a result, there were numerous changes from the source material, such as Voodoo being an adolescent rather than an ex-stripper and Lord Emp being an ordinary human. The group was composed of all the original 'C.A.T.s. The major villain was Helspont, but the Troika and the Coda were featured. A parody of the series, MadD.O.G.s, was seen during Alan Moore's run in the comics. The series was produced by Nelvana Limited and WildStorm Productions.
Toyline.
A toyline from Playmates Toys was also released in 1994. The basic series included figures of Grifter, Helspont, Maul, Spartan, Warblade and Zealot, along with a generic Daemonite figure. In 1995, new versions of Helspont, Maul, Spartan, Warblade, and Zealot were released, along with figures of Pike, Void, and Voodoo, and a WildC.A.T.S. Bullet Bike accessory. In addition, Playmates also produced "giant" versions of Grifter, Maul, and Spartan, plus figures for other characters in the Image Universe, such as Black Razor, Mr. Majestic, and Slag.
Video game.
In 1995, Playmates Toys published a WildC.A.T.s video game exclusively for the Super NES. A WildC.A.T.s game for Sega Genesis was planned but never released.