1.
0-8-4T
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The tank locomotives were themselves rare. Two separate classes were built in the UK, by two different railway companies, both of these had their origins with an 0-8-0 tender design. Both classes were designed as powerful, but slow-speed, locomotives for heavy shunting and they did not require high speed or long range, so had no need for a leading truck or the greater coal capacity of a tender. Other than this though, they were quite distinct, the first example was the Great Central Railway Class 8H of 1907. These were designed for shunting and so required high tractive effort. Although developed from the 8A tender class, and having some parts in their running gear. The three cylinder tank locomotive was in fashion at this time, as a means of achieving good acceleration from rest, owing to their more even power delivery and the reduced risk of wheelslip. Worsdell also designed a heavy shunter of his own, the Class X, although this used the 4-8-0T layout with a leading bogie. The class was considered a success, although highly specialised, the rebuilt locomotive trialled a new outside-framed bogie, fitted with a booster engine, the LNER being one of the few UK railways to favour these. Two further locomotives were built by the LNER. The second example was LNWR380 Class and these were a simple stretched version of the inside-cylindered 0-8-2T1185 Class, which had been derived from the LNWRs numerous 0-8-0 freight locomotives, with a larger coal bunker. The class was intended for shunting, banking and as mineral engines for the heavy coal or iron train use in the South Wales coalfield. The enlarged bunker made them suitable for these longer workings
2.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
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Or simply Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. is an American television series created for ABC by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, based on the Marvel Comics organization S. H. I. E. L. D. A fictional peacekeeping and spy agency in a world of superheroes and it is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise. The series is produced by ABC Studios, Marvel Television, and Mutant Enemy Productions, with Jed Whedon, Tancharoen, and Jeffrey Bell serving as showrunners. The series revolves around the character of Phil Coulson, with Clark Gregg reprising his role from the film series, Agents, who must deal with various unusual cases and enemies, including Hydra and the Inhumans. Joss Whedon began developing a S. H. I. E. L. D, Pilot following the success of his film Marvels The Avengers, and Gregg was confirmed to reprise his role in October 2012. Prosthetic makeup is created with Glenn Hetricks Optic Nerve Studios, while Legacy Effects contributes other practical effects, the visual effects for the series are created by FuseFX, and have been nominated for multiple awards. Several episodes directly crossover with films or other series set in the MCU, while other characters from MCU films. The first season aired from September 24,2013, to May 13,2014, while the second season aired from September 23,2014. A third season premiered on September 29,2015, concluding on May 17,2016. In March 2016, Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. was renewed for a season, which premiered on September 20,2016. After starting the first season with high ratings but mixed reviews and this led to much lower but more consistent ratings, as well as more consistently positive reviews in the subsequent seasons. A web series, Marvels Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D, slingshot, centered on Elena Yo-Yo Rodriguez, was launched in December 2016 on ABC. com. Agent Phil Coulson putting together a team of S. H. I. E. L. D. Agents to handle strange new cases and they investigate Project Centipede and its leader, The Clairvoyant, eventually uncovering that the organization is backed by Hydra, which has infiltrated S. H. I. E. L. D. In the second season, following the destruction of S. H. I. E. L. D. Now-Director Coulson and his look to restore trust from the government and public while dealing with Hydra. Agents, and the newly revealed Inhumans, during the third season, Coulson begins a secret mission to assemble the Secret Warriors, a team of Inhumans, as Hydra restores its ancient Inhuman leader Hive to power. After the defeat of Hive and with Hydra destroyed, S. H. I. E. L. D. is made an organization once again for the fourth season
3.
Samuel L. Jackson
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Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American actor and film producer. With Jacksons permission, his likeness was used for the Ultimate version of the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury. He has also portrayed the character in the second and final episodes of the first season of the TV show Marvels Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D and he is married to LaTanya Richardson, with whom he has a daughter, Zoe. Samuel L. Jackson is ranked as the highest all-time box office star with over $4.9053 billion total box office gross, Jackson was born in Washington, D. C. the son of Elizabeth and Roy Henry Jackson. He grew up as a child in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His father lived away from the family in Kansas City, Missouri, Jackson only met his father twice during his life. Jackson was raised by his mother, who was a worker and later a supplies buyer for a mental institution. According to DNA tests, Jackson partially descends from the Benga people of Gabon, Jackson attended several segregated schools and graduated from Riverside High School in Chattanooga. Between the third and twelfth grades, he played the French horn, during childhood, he had a stuttering problem. While he eventually learned to pretend to be people who didnt stutter and use the curse word motherfucker as an affirmation word. Initially intent on pursuing a degree in biology, he attended Morehouse College in Atlanta. After joining a local acting group to earn points in a class, Jackson found an interest in acting. Before graduating in 1972, he co-founded the Just Us Theatre, after the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Jackson attended the funeral in Atlanta as one of the ushers. Jackson then flew to Memphis to join an equal rights protest march, in a Parade interview Jackson revealed, I was angry about the assassination, but I wasnt shocked by it. I knew that change was going to something different – not sit-ins. In 1969, Jackson and several other students held members of the Morehouse College board of trustees hostage on the campus, demanding reform in the schools curriculum and governance. The college eventually agreed to change its policy, but Jackson was charged with and eventually convicted of unlawful confinement, Jackson was then suspended for two years for his criminal record and his actions. He would later return to the college to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Drama in 1972, while he was suspended, Jackson was employed as a social worker in Los Angeles
4.
Nick Fury
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Colonel Nicholas Joseph Nick Fury is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt, Fury and his Howling Commandos #1, a World War II combat series that portrayed the cigar-chomping Fury as leader of an elite U. S. Army unit. A popular character over a number of decades, in 2011, Fury was ranked 33rd in IGNs Top 100 Comic Book Heroes and he has sometimes been considered an antihero. The modern-day Fury, initially a CIA agent, debuted a few months later in Fantastic Four #21. In Strange Tales #135, the character was transformed into a spy like James Bond and leading agent of the fictional espionage agency S. H. I. E. L. D. The character makes frequent appearances in Marvel books as the head of S. H. I. E. L. D. It is eventually revealed that Fury takes a special called the Infinity Formula that halted his aging. Nick Fury appears in several Marvel series set in alternate universes, as well as animated films, television shows. The character was first portrayed in action by David Hasselhoff in the 1998 television movie Nick Fury. Samuel L. Jackson later signed a deal to portray the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Jackson also cameos in episodes of the related Marvel television show Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. A version of the character appearing in Marvels Ultimate Marvel imprint was based on Jacksons appearance and screen persona, Fury initially appeared in the World War II combat series Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, as the cigar-chomping NCO who led a racially and ethnically integrated elite unit, the series ran 167 issues, though only in reprints after issue #120. Roy Thomas succeeded Lee as writer, followed by Gary Friedrich, annuals featured the Howlers called back to fight in the Korean War and Vietnam War. The Howling Commandos encountered Office of Strategic Services agent Reed Richards in #3, and fought alongside Captain America and Bucky in #13. In Strange Tales #135, Fury, now a colonel, became a James Bond-esque Cold War spy, with Marvel introducing the covert organization S. H. I. E. L. D. and its nemesis Hydra. Lee recalled in 2005, here was a popular television show called The Man from U. N. C. L. E. Sort of a James Bond type of thing, and I thought, just for fun, Im going to bring Sgt
5.
Maurissa Tancharoen
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Maurissa Tancharoen Whedon, in Los Angeles, California is an American television producer/writer, actress, singer, dancer, and lyricist. As a writer and story editor Tancharoen has worked on Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D, starz series Spartacus, Gods of the Arena, Drop Dead Diva, Dollhouse and the short-lived sitcom Oliver Beene. She also worked on Spartacus, Vengeance and she co-wrote Dr. Horribles Sing-Along Blog and appeared onscreen as Groupie #1, as well as on the DVD audio track Commentary. The Musical, in which she sings about the scarcity of non-stereotyped roles in television and she appeared onscreen as a singer in Joss Whedons 2011 adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. Tancharoen worked with Jed Whedon and Joss Whedon on The Avengers, Tancharoen is Asian-American and has said that her surname is of Thai origin. She attended Occidental College, where she wrote two plays that won the Argonaut & Moore literary award and her father, Tommy Tancharoen, is a transportation coordinator for Hollywood movies. Her brother Kevin Tancharoen is a director, whose film debut is 2009s Fame. On April 19,2009, she married fellow writer Jed Whedon and their first child, daughter Bennie Sue Whedon, was born in June 2015. In her younger years, Tancharoen was a member of the girl band Pretty in Pink, the band broke up before seeing major success and shortly after Tancharoen was diagnosed with lupus that required chemotherapy. In 2009, Tancharoen won a Streamy Award for Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series for Dr. Horribles Sing-Along Blog, wake Up Maurissa Tancharoen at the Internet Movie Database
6.
Jed Whedon
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Alongside his brothers Joss and Zack and his then fiancée Maurissa Tancharoen, he co-created and co-wrote the musical Dr. Horribles Sing-Along Blog. It was the subject of a salute by The Paley Center for Media, prior to Dr. Horrible, Whedon composed scores for video games, and was a member of the now defunct Los Angeles-based band The Southland. In 2010, he released an album entitled History of Forgotten Things under the band name Jed Whedon, assisting him on the album were his wife Maurissa Tancharoen and their mutual friend Felicia Day. With Felicia Day, he composed the music to the songs Avatar and Im the one thats cool for the web series The Guild, the videos for which he also directed. He and his wife, Maurissa, were writers on Dollhouse. They have since joined the staffs of Spartacus, Blood and Sand, co-created by former Mutant Enemy writer Steven S. DeKnight, Whedon worked with his wife and brother, Joss, on The Avengers. He is currently a producer and writer on the ABC show Marvels Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D, in 2016 his band, Jed Whedon and the Willing, released their second studio album titled Like Snow. For his work on Dr. Horribles Sing-Along Blog, Whedon won two Streamy Awards for Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series and Best Original Music for a Web Series, on April 19,2009, he married fellow screenwriter Maurissa Tancharoen. Their first child, daughter Bennie Sue Whedon, was born in June 2015, radio Askew interview of Jed Whedon Jed Whedon at the Internet Movie Database
7.
Jeffrey Bell
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Jeffrey Jackson Bell is an American writer/producer best known for his work on television. He began his writing for The X-Files, where he stayed for three seasons, then became a writer/director/producer on Angel, becoming its showrunner for the final two seasons. He served as producer on the pilot episode for the V remake. Bell was born in Indiana, studied design and photography at the University of Cincinnati, then moved to California, receiving MFA from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 1990. His 20-minute MFA thesis film, Radio Inside, was adapted into a film of the same name starring Elisabeth Shue and William McNamara. Bell is an assistant professor for the UCLA Producers Program. The following is a partial list of television episodes written by Bell,1.12 What If Shes the Key. 1.02 Crackle 1.07 Thrack, Splat, Sizzle 1.12 Sigh 3.09 The Dead, part One 3.10 Maveth 4.06 The Good Samaritan Jeffrey Bell at the Internet Movie Database
8.
Leonor Varela
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Leonor Varela Palma is a Chilean actress and model. She played the role in the 1999 television film Cleopatra. Varela was born in Santiago, Chile, the daughter of Leonor Palma-Keller, a massage therapist and she has a sister, Alejandra, and two brothers, Javier and Gabriel. Her mother was of French, Hungarian, and Syrian descent, when Varela was a child, her family fled Chile when it was overtaken by a military regime. In the early 1980s, her parents moved back to Chile while she remained in Paris where she studied acting at the Niels Arestrup School, LÉcole du Passage, varelas first acting job was in 1995, playing Anette in Pony Trek, a childrens film. Filming was in Iceland and Leonor was riding horses for three months, then, referred to a French filmmaker by her dentist, she played in Shooting Stars. Varela found her popularity on the rise at home when she was cast in the Chilean soap opera Tic Tac, after appearing in a few more television productions in the late 1990s, Varela was cast in a small role in The Man in the Iron Mask. In 1999, she played the character in the TV movie Cleopatra. Roles in The Tailor of Panama and Texas Rangers followed shortly thereafter, after that came Paraíso B and Pas Si Grave. Varela also had a recurring role in the Fox Television series Arrested Development as the original Marta. She was nominated for the Ariel Award in 2005 in the category of Best Actress for Innocent Voices and she also had a non-recurring role in Stargate, Atlantis. She appeared in Americano and played journalist Jordana Garcia in the film Goal II, in 2012, she appeared as Marta Del Sol on the TNT television series Dallas. Varela was engaged to Billy Zane, her co-star in the 1999 television film Cleopatra, in November 2012, Varela and producer Lucas Akoskin welcomed their first child together, a son named Matteo. They also have a daughter, Luna Mae, born on February 25,2015. Varela, a vegetarian, is a marine life activist who is concerned with the welfare of whales, Leonor Varela at the Internet Movie Database Leonor Varela at the Fashion Model Directory
9.
Pilot (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
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Pilot is the pilot and first episode of the first season of the American television series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Based on the Marvel Comics organization S. H. I. E. L. D, revolving around the character of Phil Coulson and his team of S. H. I. E. L. D. Agents as they investigate a man and a hacktivist group. It is the first television episode to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the episode was written by series creators Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, and was directed by Joss Whedon. The episode was ordered in 2012, after Joss Whedon wrote and directed Marvels The Avengers, and was filmed in early 2013 in Los Angeles, California, with some additional filming in Paris, France. Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the series, and is joined by principal cast members Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker. Cobie Smulders guest stars, reprising her role of Maria Hill from The Avengers, with previous Whedon collaborators J. August Richards, emphasis was put on consistency and continuity with the MCU films, and some elements are reused from the films throughout the episode, most notably extremis. The visual effects for the episode were nominated at the Visual Effects Society Awards, the use of the name Rising Tide for the hacktivist group received backlash from a real life group of the same name. After the events of Iron Man 3, Mike Peterson is out with his son, Ace, Peterson uses enhanced strength to save a trapped woman from the building, and is filmed doing so by Skye, a member of the hacktivist group the Rising Tide. Deputy director Maria Hill interviews Grant Ward for a new team under Agent Phil Coulson, Coulson assigns Ward level 7 security clearance, and reveals the teams first mission is to investigate the Rising Tide. Coulson also recruits the reluctant Agent Melinda May, who had retired from field duty. Skye meets with Peterson and warns him about S. H. I. E. L. D. ’s penchant for covering up superhero based events and she is shortly arrested by Coulson, and placed in the S. H. I. E. L. D. Peterson returns to the factory he was fired from, and injures his former boss, calling him the bad guy. Peterson then visits the woman he saved in the hospital, who is actually the doctor gave him his abilities by implanting the Centipede device in his arm. She warns him against revealing his abilities to the public, which would be against the wishes of her backers, Peterson abducts Skye and makes her delete his and Aces personal information from the governments systems, though she manages to warn the team at the same time. The two are tracked to a station by Coulsons team and a gunman sent by Petersons doctor. May takes out the gunman, and Ward shoot’s Peterson with a stun gun developed by Fitz and Simmons. Afterwards, Coulson is offering Skye a place on his team when a call for an 0-8-4 comes in, in August 2012, ABC ordered a pilot from Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed The Avengers, for a series set within the MCU
10.
The Asset
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The Asset is the third episode of the first season of the American television series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Based on the Marvel Comics organization S. H. I. E. L. D, revolving around the character of Phil Coulson and his team of S. H. I. E. L. D. Agents as they investigate the kidnapping of Dr. Franklin Hall and it is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The episode was written by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, and is joined by series regulars Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge. The Asset originally aired on ABC on October 8,2013, the episode received a mostly positive critical response, with the introduction of Hart as Hall oft praised, but the development of the main cast seen to be lacking. Asset between classified bases, a convoy is attacked by an invisible force, with the vehicles being hurled impossibly into the air. Soldiers break into the transport and find the asset, Dr. Franklin Hall. Aboard the Bus, the headquarters for S. H. I. E. L. D. Agent Phil Coulson and his team, Agent Grant Ward is struggling to supervise the training of the unmotivated civilian-recruit Skye, learning of Halls kidnapping, Coulson and his team investigate the convoy wreckage. Agents Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons discover a device, fueled by the rare element gravitonium, that alters gravity fields. The team tracks down the owner of an excavator used by the soldiers in the attack, and trace the gold bars he was paid with back to Ian Quinn. Quinn holds an announcement of a deposit of gravitonium in his possession. Skye uses her hacktivist background to gain entry to the announcement, Coulson and Ward are able to sneak into Quinns mansion, where they find Hall free and well, and working on a large gravitonium generator that would allow Quinn to control the worlds gravity. Hall reveals that he was working with Quinn all along, the two having attended college together where they had first designed the generator. However, Hall realized that he couldnt allow anyone to control of the generators power. In an end tag, Hall is still alive within the gravitonium, in September 2013, Marvel revealed that the third episode would be titled The Asset, and would be written by executive producers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, with Milan Cheylov directing. The guest cast for the episode includes David Conrad as Ian Quinn, the episodes ending, which sees Hall fall into some gravitonium, indicates that this is how he gains his Graviton abilities in the series. The visual effects for the episode were completed by FuseFX, for the opening sequence, the effects team completely replaced the S. H. I. E. L. D
11.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (season 1)
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The first season of the American television series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Which is based on the Marvel Comics organization S. H. I. E. L. D, revolves around the character of Phil Coulson and his team of S. H. I. E. L. D. Agents, who are assigned to several dangerous cases, the cases are centered on Project Centipede and its leader, The Clairvoyant, while Coulson also searches for answers concerning his mysterious resurrection after dying in The Avengers. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise, and was produced by ABC Studios, Marvel Television, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jeffrey Bell served as showrunners. Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. was picked up for a season by ABC in May 2013. Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the series, and is joined by principal cast members Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker. The main recurring setting of the season is the Bus, a retrofitted Boeing C-17 plane that was designed by visual effects company FuseFX, the season also sees several other characters from MCU films and Marvel One-Shots make guest appearances. The series premiere was watched by 12.12 million viewers, however, reception grew more positive as the season progressed into its second half, which led to more consistent ratings. The series was renewed for a season on May 8,2014. In August 2012, it was announced that Marvels The Avengers director Joss Whedon would be involved in a project for ABC. Jed Whedon, Tancharoen and Bell were slated to serve as the series showrunners, joe Quesada, Alan Fine, and Stan Lee also executive produce. In April 2013, ABC announced that the show would be titled Marvels Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. on October 10,2013, ABC announced that it had ordered a full season of 22 episodes. Jed Whedon said on this, if someone told you that concept, to have it happen in the middle of your first season is an interesting kind of riddle. Tancharoen elaborated that We see what it looks like for S. H. I. E. L. D. On whether it was Marvels idea or the showrunners to have Coulson promoted to Director, at the end of the season, Jed Whedon said Theyre one in the same. They have plans for films, and we have plans to intermingle with them, now we have a chance to start them over and figure out what its like to really be a secret again. In April 2013, J. Nicholas Brendon, another Whedon collaborator, was reportedly considered for Richards role. In December, two recurring characters were set to be added to the series with the episode T. A. H. I. T. I
12.
Marvel Comics
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Marvel Comics is the common name and primary imprint of Marvel Worldwide Inc. formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, an American publisher of comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwides parent company, Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvels modern incarnation dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others. Most of Marvels fictional characters operate in a reality known as the Marvel Universe. Martin Goodman founded the later known as Marvel Comics under the name Timely Publications in 1939. Martin Goodman, a magazine publisher who had started with a Western pulp in 1933, was expanding into the emerging—and by then already highly popular—new medium of comic books. The issue was a success, with it and a second printing the following month selling, combined. While its contents came from an outside packager, Funnies, Inc, Timely had its own staff in place by the following year. It, too, proved a hit, with sales of one million. Goodman formed Timely Comics, Inc. beginning with comics cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941, Goodman hired his wifes cousin, Stanley Lieber, as a general office assistant in 1939. Lee wrote extensively for Timely, contributing to a number of different titles, Goodmans business strategy involved having his various magazines and comic books published by a number of corporations all operating out of the same office and with the same staff. One of these companies through which Timely Comics was published was named Marvel Comics by at least Marvel Mystery Comics #55. As well, some covers, such as All Surprise Comics #12, were labeled A Marvel Magazine many years before Goodman would formally adopt the name in 1961. The post-war American comic market saw superheroes falling out of fashion and this globe branding united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications. Atlas also published a plethora of childrens and teen humor titles, including Dan DeCarlos Homer the Happy Ghost, Atlas unsuccessfully attempted to revive superheroes from late 1953 to mid-1954, with the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. Atlas did not achieve any hits and, according to Stan Lee, Atlas survived chiefly because it produced work quickly, cheaply. During this time, the Comic Code Authority made its debut in September 1954, Wertham published the book Seduction of the Innocent in order to force people to see that comics were impacting American youth. He believed violent comics were causing children to be reckless and were turning them into delinquents, in September 1954, comic book publishers got together to set up their own self-censorship organization—the Comics Magazine Association of America—in order to appease audiences
13.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
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S. H. I. E. L. D. is a fictional espionage, law-enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135, it deals with paranormal. The acronym originally stood for Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division and it was changed in 1991 to Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate. S. H. I. E. L. D. s introduction in the Strange Tales feature Nick Fury, Agent of S. H. I. E. L. D. Occurred during a trend for action series about secret international intelligence agencies with catchy acronyms, which Stan Lee stated in a 2014 interview, was the basis for him to create the organization. Colonel Fury was reimagined as an older character with an eyepatch. Fury series reappeared as agents of S. H. I. E. L. D, most notably Timothy Dum-Dum Dugan, Furys bowler hat–wearing aide-de-camp. Its most persistent enemy is Hydra, an organization founded by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Much was revealed over the years to fill in its labyrinthine organizational history, Stan Lee wrote each story, abetted by artist Kirbys co-plotting or full plotting, through Strange Tales #152, except for two issues, one scripted by Kirby himself and one by Dennis ONeil. Steranko quickly established the feature as one of historys most groundbreaking, innovative. Ron Goulart wrote, ven the dullest of readers could sense that something new was happening, … Which each passing issue Sterankos efforts became more and more innovative. Entire pages would be devoted to photocollages of drawings ignored panel boundaries, the first pages … became incredible production numbers similar in design to the San Francisco rock concert poster of the period. Larry Hama said Steranko combined the figurative dynamism of Jack Kirby with modern design concepts. The graphic influences of Peter Max, Op Art and Andy Warhol were embedded into the design of the pages —, all this, executed in a crisp, hard-edged style, seething with drama and anatomical tension. The series won 1967 and 1968 Alley Awards, and was inducted in the year to the awards Hall of Fame. Steranko himself was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2006, the 12-page feature ran through Strange Tales #168, after which it was spun off onto its own series of the same title, running 15 issues, followed by three all-reprint issues beginning a year later. Steranko wrote and drew issues #1–3 and #5, and drew the covers of #1–7, stories would not appear for nearly two decades after the first solo title. A six-issue miniseries, Nick Fury vs. S. H. I. E. L. D. was followed by Nick Fury, Agent of S. H. I. E. L. D
14.
Phil Coulson
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Phillip Phil Coulson is a character portrayed by Clark Gregg in the films and television series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A high-ranking member of the espionage agency S. H. I. E. L. D and he first appeared in the 2008 film Iron Man, the first film in the MCU. Gregg went on to appear in Iron Man 2, Thor, and The Avengers. He additionally headlines the television series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Appears in two Marvel One-Shots, has featured in various tie-in comics, and appears in the digital series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Slingshot, all set in the MCU, the character also appears in other media, including comics published by Marvel Comics. Agent Coulson was introduced in the film Iron Man, in which he attempts to debrief Tony Stark on his captivity in Afghanistan and he is one of several agents who accompany Pepper Potts in an attempt to arrest Obadiah Stane once his criminal activities are revealed. In Iron Man 2, Coulson is assigned to supervise Stark for a time before being reassigned to investigate a crisis in New Mexico, in both that films post-credits scene and Thor, Coulsons assignment is revealed to revolve around the discovery of Thors hammer in the New Mexico desert. Coulson is able to form an alliance between S. H. I. E. L. D. and Thor, in The Avengers, Coulson is fatally wounded by Loki, which S. H. I. E. L. D. Director Nick Fury uses to motivate the Avengers to fight together, Coulson appears throughout the MCU tie-in comics in supporting roles, acting in the S. H. I. E. L. D. Agent capacity that he does in the films, the Marvel One-Shot The Consultant takes place after The Incredible Hulk, and sees Coulson and Jasper Sitwell preventing Emil Blonsky from being added to the Avengers roster. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thors Hammer shows Coulson getting into a scuffle on his way from Starks lab in Iron Man 2 to Thors hammer in Thor, Coulson is revealed to be the S. H. I. E. L. D. Agent in charge of Project T. A. H. I. T. I, which was meant to bring a potential dead Avenger back to life using a drug derived from an ancient alien corpse. However, test patients developed psychosis and hypergraphia, so Coulson had the project shut down, following Coulsons death, Fury resurrected him using T. A. H. I. T. I. Despite the risks, and had Coulsons memories of the project replaced so that he could move on with a healthy life, Coulson puts together a team of agents, and they travel the world dealing with strange new cases. During this time, Hydra is revealed to have infiltrated S. H. I. E. L. D, Fury makes Coulson the new Director of S. H. I. E. L. D. and tasks him with rebuilding the agency the right way. Coulsons involvement with alien materials leads to S. H. I. E. L. D, Coulson later becomes romantically involved with Rosalind Price, the leader of an anti-Inhuman government taskforce, until her death at the hands of Grant Ward, one of Coulsons former agents. He gets revenge by crushing Wards chest with his prosthetic hand, following the signing of the Sokovia Accords, S. H. I. E. L. D. is re-legitimized, with the still officially dead Coulson replaced as director by Jeffrey Mace. After stepping down as director of S. H. I. E. L. D, following season three of Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D
15.
Peru
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Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean. Peruvian territory was home to ancient cultures spanning from the Norte Chico civilization in Caral, one of the oldest in the world, to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty with its capital in Lima, ideas of political autonomy later spread throughout Spanish America and Peru gained its independence, which was formally proclaimed in 1821. After the battle of Ayacucho, three years after proclamation, Peru ensured its independence, subsequently, the country has undergone changes in government from oligarchic to democratic systems. Peru has gone through periods of political unrest and internal conflict as well as periods of stability, Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions. It is a country with a high Human Development Index score. Its main economic activities include mining, manufacturing, agriculture and fishing, the Peruvian population, estimated at 31.2 million in 2015, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua or other native languages and this mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music. The name of the country may be derived from Birú, the name of a ruler who lived near the Bay of San Miguel, Panama. When his possessions were visited by Spanish explorers in 1522, they were the southernmost part of the New World yet known to Europeans, thus, when Francisco Pizarro explored the regions farther south, they came to be designated Birú or Perú. An alternative history is provided by the contemporary writer Inca Garcilasco de la Vega, son of an Inca princess, the Spanish Crown gave the name legal status with the 1529 Capitulación de Toledo, which designated the newly encountered Inca Empire as the province of Peru. Under Spanish rule, the country adopted the denomination Viceroyalty of Peru, the earliest evidences of human presence in Peruvian territory have been dated to approximately 9,000 BC. Andean societies were based on agriculture, using such as irrigation and terracing, camelid husbandry. Organization relied on reciprocity and redistribution because these societies had no notion of market or money, the oldest known complex society in Peru, the Norte Chico civilization, flourished along the coast of the Pacific Ocean between 3,000 and 1,800 BC. These early developments were followed by archaeological cultures that developed mostly around the coastal, the Cupisnique culture which flourished from around 1000 to 200 BC along what is now Perus Pacific Coast was an example of early pre-Incan culture. The Chavín culture that developed from 1500 to 300 BC was probably more of a religious than a political phenomenon, on the coast, these included the civilizations of the Paracas, Nazca, Wari, and the more outstanding Chimu and Mochica. Their capital was at Chan Chan outside of modern-day Trujillo, in the 15th century, the Incas emerged as a powerful state which, in the span of a century, formed the largest empire in pre-Columbian America with their capital in Cusco
16.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
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The franchise has expanded to include comic books, short films, television series and digital series. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, clark Gregg has appeared the most in the franchise, portraying Phil Coulson, a character original to the MCU. The first film released in the MCU was Iron Man, which began the first phase of films culminating in the crossover film Marvels The Avengers, Phase Two began with Iron Man 3, and concluded with Ant-Man. The films are currently in Phase Three, which began with the release of Captain America, Marvel Television expanded the universe further, first to network television with Marvels Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Marvel Television has also produced the digital series Marvels Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D, slingshot, which is a supplement to Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Soundtrack albums have been released for all of the films, along many of television series. It has inspired film and television studios with comic book character adaptation rights to attempt to create similar shared universes. By 2005, Marvel Entertainment began planning to produce its own films. Previously, Marvel had co-produced several superhero films with Columbia Pictures, New Line Cinema and others, Marvel made relatively little profit from its licensing deals with other studios and wanted to get more money out of its films while maintaining artistic control of the projects and distribution. Avi Arad, head of Marvels film division, was pleased with Sam Raimis Spider-Man films at Sony, as a result, they decided to form Marvel Studios, Hollywoods first major independent movie studio since DreamWorks. Feige, a self-professed fanboy, envisioned creating a shared universe just as creators Stan Lee, to raise capital, the studio secured funding from a seven-year, $525 million revolving credit facility with Merrill Lynch. Marvels plan was to release films for their main characters. Arad, who doubted the strategy yet insisted that it was his reputation that helped secure the initial financing, in 2007, at 33 years old, Feige was named studio chief. Feige initially referred to the narrative continuity of these films as the Marvel Cinema Universe. Marvel has designated the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Earth-199999 within the continuity of the companys multiverse, while not always the case, as evident by the 2013 releases of Iron Man 3 and Thor, The Dark World, he said it is certainly something to aim for. Feige expanded on this in July 2014, saying, I dont know that well keep to every year, wed rather find a way to keep that going. After the titles were revealed in October 2014, Feige said, which made us comfortable for the first time. To increase to three films a year instead of just two, without changing our methods, just like comic readers have been doing for decades and decades
17.
Clark Gregg
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Robert Clark Gregg, known professionally as Clark Gregg, is an American actor, director, screenwriter and voice actor. He is best known for the role of Agent Phil Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and he has appeared in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, The Avengers, and the television series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Being the actor with the longest screen time in the MCU and he also voices the character on the animated television series Ultimate Spider-Man and in the video games Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Lego Marvel Avengers and Marvel Heroes. Gregg has also co-starred as Christine Campbells ex-husband Richard in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine and he also played FBI Special Agent Mike Casper on the NBC series The West Wing and Cam, the on-and-off boyfriend of Jack on the NBC series Will & Grace. Gregg was born April 2,1962 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary Layne and Robert Clark Gregg, because his family relocated frequently, he had lived in seven cities by the time he was 17. He attended high school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where his father was a professor at nearby Duke University and he attended Ohio Wesleyan University for two years before dropping out and moving to Manhattan. He worked various jobs, such as being a bar back, a security guard at the Guggenheim Museum, and he later enrolled at New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied drama and English, and graduated in 1986. Gregg was a member, and later artistic director, of the off-Broadway Atlantic Theater Company. He also wrote the screenplay for the 2000 thriller What Lies Beneath and he is the director and screenwriter of the 2008 film Choke, based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel of the same name, starring Sam Rockwell. Gregg consulted his father, a religion professor at Stanford. Greggs father is also the chaplain at Stanford Memorial Church. In 2008, Gregg appeared in the film Iron Man as S. H. I. E. L. D, in 2010, Gregg reprised his role as Agent Coulson for Iron Man 2. Gregg had since signed up for a film deal as the character with Marvel Studios. In 2011, he returned again as Coulson for Thor, following on from his appearance in Thor, he again reprised his role in The Avengers. Gregg also stars in a series of Marvel short films that center around his character and can be seen on the Blu-ray releases of the films. In late October 2012, Joss Whedon, Kevin Feige, on April 20,2013, Trust Me, a film written and directed by Gregg, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film found limited release in the United States in June 2014, Gregg has been married since July 21,2001 to actress Jennifer Grey, the couple co-starred in the Lifetime TV movie Road to Christmas. They have a daughter Stella, born December 3,2001 and he is a sober alcoholic, and describes himself as a member of a Jewish family
18.
Ming-Na Wen
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Ming-Na Wen is a Chinese-American actress. Wen is also known for her role as Dr. Jing-Mei Deb Chen on the drama series ER. She was the lead of the show Inconceivable, a medical drama that was aired on NBC. The show is one of the few American television shows with an Asian American series lead and she is also known for her roles on the main casts of the animated series The Batman and the sci-fi series Stargate Universe. Since 2013, she has starred as Melinda May in the ABC action drama series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Besides television, she is notable for starring in the films The Joy Luck Club, Street Fighter and her parents left Suzhou for Portuguese Macau during the 1960s. Wen was born on November 20,1963, on Coloane and lived in Hong Kong with her mother, Lin Chan, who worked as a nurse, Wen attended high school in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. During her teen years she worked at her stepfathers familys restaurant called Chinatown Inn in downtown Pittsburghs Chinatown and she enrolled in Carnegie Mellon University where she graduated with high honors and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre. Wens first television role was in the television series Mister Rogers Neighborhood in 1985. From 1988 to 1991, she played Lien Hughes on the soap opera As the World Turns, after starring in the acclaimed 1993 film The Joy Luck Club, she landed the role of Dr. Jing-Mei Deb Chen on the NBC drama series ER. She first starred in a role during the 1994-1995 season before returning in 1999 as a series regular. Wen also played Chun-Li in Street Fighter and co-starred on the sitcom The Single Guy from 1995 to 1997. She provided the voice for the character in Disneys 1998 animated movie Mulan, its direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II. She also voiced Aki Ross in the animated film Final Fantasy, The Spirits Within. She was also the actress for Jade, a minor character in the HBO animated series Spawn. In 2004, she took part in a Hollywood Home Game on the World Poker Tour, in fall 2005, she starred on the NBC drama series Inconceivable as the lead character, Rachel Lu. However, the series was canceled only two episodes. Her next TV role was an FBI agent in the Fox kidnap drama series Vanished and she also has played a small role as a college professor in the comedy series George Lopez
19.
Brett Dalton
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Brett Patrick Dalton is an American actor. He is best known for playing Grant Ward and Hive in ABCs series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D and he played the lead in My Favorite Year. After studying at University of California, Berkeley for his undergraduate degree, one of his Yale classmates was Oscar winner Lupita Nyongo. In November 2012, he was cast in a role in the Joss Whedon TV series. The series takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following character Agent Phil Coulson and his team of agents. Daltons other television credits include Blue Bloods, Army Wives, and National Geographic Channels Killing Lincoln and his theatre credits include Passion Play, Romeo and Juliet, and Happy Now. Sweet Bird of Youth and Demon Dreams, Macbeth and You Cant Take It With You, in 2015, Dalton voiced the character Mike in Until Dawn, an action survival horror video game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. In February, Dalton was nominated by the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers for his performance, Dalton stars in The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, a film released on January 20,2017 by Walden Media and Vertical Church Films. Brett lives in Los Angeles with his wife Melissa Trn and their daughter, Brett Dalton at the Internet Movie Database Brett Dalton on Twitter
20.
Chloe Bennet
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Chloe Bennet is an American actress. She is commonly known for her role as Daisy Johnson in the ABC spy-fi series Marvels Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Bennet was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Stephanie, an internist, and Bennet Wang and her father is ethnic Chinese and her mother is Caucasian-American. She attended St. Ignatius College Prep, at 15, she moved to China to pursue a singing career, under the name Chloe Wang. While in China, Bennet lived with her Shanghainese paternal grandmother in Shanghai and she released her debut single Uh Oh in both English and Mandarin, followed by Every Day In Between solely in English. She then moved to Los Angeles, California and her first on-screen appearance was as a host for the short-lived TeenNick summer dance series The Nightlife. She appeared in the 2011 music video for South Korean band BIGBANGs extended play musical recording Tonight, while pursuing an acting career in Hollywood, she changed her name to Chloe Bennet, after having trouble booking gigs with her last name. According to Bennet, using her fathers first name rather than his last name avoids difficulties being cast as an ethnic Asian-American while respecting her father, from 2012 to 2013 Bennet played a recurring supporting role in the ABC drama series Nashville as Hailey. In December 2012, Bennet was cast as a regular on the ABC series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Which premiered on September 24,2013, where she portrays the character Daisy Skye Johnson / Quake, Uh Oh Uh Oh Every Day in Between Chloe Bennet on Twitter Chloe Bennet on Instagram Chloe Bennet at the Internet Movie Database
21.
Iain De Caestecker
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Iain De Caestecker is a Scottish actor, best known for his roles in films Shell, In Fear, Not Another Happy Ending, Lost River and as Agent Leo Fitz in the television series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. De Caestecker was born in Glasgow, Scotland and he has a twin sister and is one of four children, his parents are both medical doctors. His mother, Dr Linda de Caestecker, is Director of Public Health for the National Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde and she has previously been an obstetrician and gynecologist, working in different parts of the UK and in West Africa. She is also a professor at the University of Glasgow. Iain De Caestecker studied at Langside College, De Caestecker began his acting career as a child. In 2000 he landed a role in comedy horror film The Little Vampire before appearing in the United Kingdom television shows Coronation Street. In Fear, in which he co-starred opposite Alice Englert, premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews, in that same year he could be seen in feature films Filth, with James McAvoy and Jim Broadbent, and Not Another Happy Ending opposite Karen Gillan. The latter earned him his second BAFTA Scotland Award nomination, this time in the “Best Actor/Actress – Film category, an emerging star in the UK, De Caestecker is quickly making a name for himself in the U. S. Upon his first trip to Los Angeles in 2012, the actor landed a regular role on the much-anticipated Joss Whedon TV series Marvels Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. The series takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following character Agent Phil Coulson and his team of agents. In 2014 De Caestecker received the SET Engineer Award for his role as Fitz, the SET Awards honor excellence in science, engineering, and technology portrayal in the media and entertainment industries. Character was animated for an episode of Disney XDs Marvels Ultimate Spider-Man Vs, the Sinister 6, the actor lent his voice. The film premiered in competition in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, in 2013, De Caestecker appeared in a music video for Gabrielle Aplins song Please Dont Say You Love Me. Iain De Caestecker at the Internet Movie Database Iain De Caestecker on Twitter
22.
Elizabeth Henstridge
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Elizabeth Frances Henstridge is an English actress who trained at East 15 Acting School and is best known for her role in ABCs Marvels Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. as Agent Jemma Simmons. Henstridge was born in Sheffield, England, attending Meadowhead School and she studied at East 15 Acting School and later moved to Los Angeles. She was cast as lead in 2012 The CW TV pilot Shelter, and co-starred in feature films The Thompsons, Gangs of Tooting Broadway, on British television, she appeared on the soap opera Hollyoaks as Emily Alexander in 2011. In November 2012, she was cast as Agent Jemma Simmons, the series was officially ordered on 10 May 2013, and premiered on ABC television on 24 September 2013. In 2016, Henstridge was cast as the late Abigail Folger in the horror film Wolves at the Door, Elizabeth Henstridge at the Internet Movie Database Elizabeth Henstridge on Twitter
23.
Internal conflict in Peru
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It has been estimated that nearly 70,000 people have died due to internal conflict in Peru, in violence that started in 1980, in an ongoing conflict which many say wound down by 2000. However, violence erupted in 2014 between the Peruvian Army and guerrilla fighters in Peru proper. A great amount of the victims of the conflict were ordinary civilians and it is the second longest internal conflict in Latin America with the Colombian armed conflict being the first. Despite its long historical stability, Peru has had a succession of authoritarian, general Juan Velasco Alvarado staged a military coup in 1968 and led a left-leaning government until 1975. Francisco Morales Bermúdez was installed as the new President of Peru in 1975, during the governments of Velasco and Morales, Shining Path had organized as a Maoist political group based at the San Cristóbal of Huamanga University in the Ayacucho Region. The group was led by Abimael Guzmán, a communist professor of philosophy at the San Cristóbal of Huamanga University, Guzmán had been inspired by the Cultural Revolution, which he had witnessed firsthand during a trip to China. Shining Path members engaged in fights with members of other political groups. On May 17,1980, the eve of the elections, it burned ballot boxes in the town of Chuschi. It was the first act of terrorism by Shining Path, Shining Path opted to fight their war in the style taught by Mao Zedong. Shining Path also adhered to Maos teaching that guerrilla war should be primarily in the countryside. On December 3,1982, the Shining Path officially formed Peoples Guerrilla Army, in 1982, the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement launched its own guerrilla war against the Peruvian state. The group had formed by remnants of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left in Peru. The MRTA used techniques that were traditional to Latin American leftist organizations than those used by Shining Path. During the terrorism, the MRTA and Shining Path engaged in combat each other. The MRTA played a part in the overall terrorism, being declared by the Truth. At its height the MRTA was believed to consist of only a few hundred members, gradually the Shining Path committed more and more violent attacks on the National Police of Peru, and the Lima-based government could no longer ignore the growing crisis in the Andes. In 1981, Fernando Belaúnde Terry declared a State of Emergency, Constitutional rights were suspended for 60 days in Huamanga Province, Huanta Province, Cangallo Province, La Mar Province and Víctor Fajardo Province. Later, the Armed Forces created the Ayacucho Emergency Zone, in military power was superior to civilian power
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Cosmic Cube
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The Cosmic Cube is the name of a fictional object appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and related media. The first Cosmic Cube appeared in a story in Tales of Suspense #79–81 and was created by Stan Lee and it was established as a device created by A. I. M. and capable of transforming any wish into reality, irrespective of the consequences. The Cube was also a device in a story that introduced the character of the Super-Adaptoid in Tales of Suspense #82–84. The Cube was also featured in a story in the Avengers #40 being found. The Cube reappeared in Captain America #115–120, and featured in an epic cosmic storyline that starred arch-villain Thanos in Daredevil #107, retrieved after Thanos defeat, this original Cube featured in several Project Pegasus stories in Marvel Two-in-One #42–43, Marvel Two-in-One #57–58, and Marvel Team-Up Annual #5. The creation of a second Cube was shown in Super-Villain Team-Up #16–17 but this Cube was initially powerless, a major element was added to the Cubes origin—that each is in fact an evolving sentient being—in Captain America Annual #7. The sentient Cube returned in Avengers #289–290 to end the threat of the Super-Adaptoid and this story revealed that the villain the Molecule Man had ties to the Cube and introduced a new character. The limited series Infinity War #1–6 and Infinity Crusade #1–6 established that the items actually exist in a variety of forms called Cosmic Containment Units. A third Cosmic Cube was created during the Taking A. I. M, storyline that ran through Avengers vol. 1, #386–388 and Captain America vol and this unstable Cube has not been seen since it was sealed in a containment chamber at the conclusion of the storyline. The previously powerless second Cosmic Cube finally gained an ability to alter reality in Captain America vol,2, #445–448 but it was unstable and exploded at the end of that storyline. The second Cubes power reappeared in a storyline in Captain America vol, Doctor Doom acquires the Cosmic Cube in the Fantastic Four limited-series The Worlds Greatest Comics Magazine. Doom uses a machine to get the Cube from the ocean floor into which it had dropped during a battle between the Red Skull and Captain America. A Cube—together with 11 other items from Marvel and DC Comics continuity—was used once again as a device in intercompany crossover series JLA/Avengers #1–4. The Cube also shows up in Captain America vol, Aleksander Lukin wants the Cube and is willing to trade the Red Skull for it. The Red Skull claims he does not have it, but has spies out looking for it, five years later, the Skull is in New York City and is in possession of it. General Lukin sent the Winter Soldier to retrieve the Cube from the Skull, the Skull transfers his mind into the body of Lukin through the powers of the Cube. A fragment of a Cube empowered a new character featured in a single storyline in Marvel Team-Up vol
25.
Cameo appearance
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A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance or voice part of a known person in a work of the performing arts, typically unnamed or appearing as themselves. Short appearances by celebrities, film directors, politicians, athletes or musicians are common, a crew member of the show or movie playing a minor role can be referred to as a cameo as well, such as Alfred Hitchcocks frequently performed cameos. Originally cameo role meant a character part that stands out from the other minor parts. The Oxford English Dictionary connects this with the meaning a short literary sketch or portrait, which is based on the meaning of cameo. More recently, cameo has come to refer to any short appearances, whether as a character or as oneself, such as the examples below. Cameos are generally not credited because of their brevity, or a mismatch between the celebritys stature and the film or TV show in which he or she is appearing. Others are acknowledgments of a contribution to an earlier work, as in the case of many film adaptations of TV series. Others honour artists or celebrities known for work in a particular field, possibly the best-known series of cameos was by the director Alfred Hitchcock, who made very brief appearances in most of his films. Cameos also occur in novels and other literary works, “Literary cameos” usually involve an established character from another work who makes a brief appearance to establish a shared universe setting, to make a point, or to offer homage. Balzac often employed this practice, as in his Comédie humaine, a cameo appearance can be made by the author of a work to put a sort of personal signature on a story. Vladimir Nabokov often put himself in his novels, for instance, quentin Tarantino provides cameos or small roles in at least 10 of his movies. Likewise, Peter Jackson has made cameos in all of his movies, except for his first feature-length movie Bad Taste in which he plays a main character. For example, he plays a peasant eating a carrot in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Desolation of Smaug, a Rohan warrior in The Two Towers, director Martin Scorsese appears in the background of his films as a bystander or an unseen character. In Whos That Knocking at My Door, he appears as one of the gangsters, he is a crew man in After Hours. He opens up his 1986 film The Color of Money with a monologue on the art of playing pool. In addition, he appears with his wife and daughter as wealthy New Yorkers in Gangs of New York, in a same way, Roman Polanski appears as a hired hoodlum in his film Chinatown, slitting Jack Nicholsons nose with the blade of his clasp knife. Directors sometimes cast well-known lead actors with whom they have worked in the past in other films, mike Todds film Around the World in 80 Days was filled with cameo roles, and others. The stars in cameo roles were pictured in oval insets in posters for the film, among the many cameos featured in the film Maverick, actor Danny Glover appears as the lead bank robber
26.
American Broadcasting Company
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The network is headquartered on Columbus Avenue and West 66th Street in Manhattan, New York City. There are additional offices and production facilities elsewhere in New York City, as well as in Los Angeles and Burbank. Since 2007, when ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Broadcasting, ABC originally launched on October 12,1943, as a radio network, separated from and serving as the successor to the NBC Blue Network, which had been purchased by Edward J. Noble. It extended its operations to television in 1948, following in the footsteps of established broadcast networks CBS, in the mid-1950s, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, a chain of movie theaters that formerly operated as a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. Leonard Goldenson, who had been the head of UPT, made the new television network profitable by helping develop, in 1996, most of Capital Cities/ABCs assets were purchased by The Walt Disney Company. The television network has eight owned-and-operated and over 232 affiliated television stations throughout the United States, most Canadians have access to at least one U. S. ABC News provides news and features content for radio stations owned by Citadel Broadcasting. In the 1930s, radio in the United States was dominated by three companies, the Columbia Broadcasting System, the Mutual Broadcasting System and the National Broadcasting Company. The last was owned by electronics manufacturer Radio Corporation of America, in 1938, the FCC began a series of investigations into the practices of radio networks and published its report on the broadcasting of network radio programs in 1940. The report recommended that RCA give up control of either NBC Red or NBC Blue, at that time, the NBC Red Network was the principal radio network in the United States and, according to the FCC, RCA was using NBC Blue to eliminate any hint of competition. Once Mutuals appeals against the FCC were rejected, RCA decided to sell NBC Blue in 1941, the newly separated NBC Red and NBC Blue divided their respective corporate assets. Investment firm Dillon, Read & Co. offered $7.5 million to purchase the network, Edward John Noble, the owner of Life Savers candy, drugstore chain Rexall and New York City radio station WMCA, purchased the network for $8 million. Due to FCC ownership rules, the transaction, which was to include the purchase of three RCA stations by Noble, would require him to resell his station with the FCCs approval, the Commission authorized the transaction on October 12,1943. Soon afterward, the Blue Network was purchased by the new company Noble founded, Noble subsequently acquired the rights to the American Broadcasting Company name from George B. Meanwhile, in August 1944, the West Coast division of the Blue Network, both stations were then managed by Don Searle, the vice-president of the Blue Networks West Coast division. The ABC Radio Network created its audience slowly, the network also became known for such suspenseful dramas as Sherlock Holmes, Gang Busters and Counterspy, as well as several mid-afternoon youth-oriented programs. S. From Nazi Germany after its conquest, to pre-record its programming, while its radio network was undergoing reconstruction, ABC found it difficult to avoid falling behind on the new medium of television. To ensure a space, in 1947, ABC submitted five applications for television station licenses, the ABC television network made its debut on April 19,1948, with WFIL-TV in Philadelphia becoming its first primary affiliate
27.
Daisy Johnson
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Daisy Johnson, also known as Quake and Skye, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Gabriele DellOtto, the character first appeared in Secret War #2, the daughter of the supervillain Mister Hyde, she is a secret agent of the intelligence organization S. H. I. E. L. D. With the power to generate earthquakes, in the television series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Chloe Bennet portrays the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the character, aspects of this interpretation were later integrated into the comics. Daisy Johnson was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Gabriele DellOtto, during the 2008 Secret Invasion storyline, she joins Nick Furys Secret Warriors under the codename Quake. Her look was modeled after actress Angelina Jolie in the film Hackers, Daisy Johnson appeared as a supporting character in the 2010-2013 Avengers series, from issue #19 through its final issue #34. Daisy Johnson is a superhuman with seismic powers, and is the daughter of Calvin Zabo. She is under the eye of its longtime executive director, Nick Fury. Daisy herself was a participant in this incident, where Fury used trickery, lies and this later resulted in a terror attack on American soil, Daisy destroys the cyborg leader. She possesses a Level 10 security clearance, the only known agent aside from Fury, in her most visible action, Johnson has helped to defeat the powerful mutant leader Magneto by inducing a vibration in his brain that made him lose consciousness. This was during a confrontation with the X-Men, Avengers. Daisy states in this appearance that if she were to join the team the Avengers. Taking on the name Quake, she and her teammates attack the Skrulls during their invasion of Manhattan, the team becomes a part of Furys Secret Warriors, with Daisy acting as field leader of the Caterpillars. While investigating Norman Osborns escape from the Raft, Johnson is drafted by Captain America into the Avengers under her superhero name Quake and she is tasked with tracking down how Osborn appeared via hologram in the middle of a supposedly secure press conference. Daisy takes over as director of S. H. I. E. L. D, when Nick Fury fully retires and his son joins as an agent. Maria Hill is the Acting Director of S. H. I. E. L. D, while Johnson is still considered Director of S. H. I. E. L. D. Johnson was indefinitely suspended after launching an operation to assassinate Andrew Forson. Hill is promoted to Director in her place, the nickname Skye, Daisys original name from the show, is also introduced to comics as Coulsons affectionate name for her, and she is redesigned with the likeness of Chloe Bennet
28.
Hydra (comics)
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Hydra is a fictional terrorist organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The name Hydra is a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra, Hydra agents often wear distinctive green garb featuring a serpent motif. Hydra first appeared in Strange Tales #135, in its original continuity, it was headed by nondescript businessman Arnold Brown, who was killed as S. H. I. E. L. D. Hydra soon returned, however, headed by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, with the support of the Nazi Red Skull, after its initial defeat, several of its branches, such as its scientific branch A. I. M. and the Secret Empire, became independent. Crypt of Shadows #3, published in 1973, reprinted a story from Menace #10, Dr. Nostrum shot all the other scientists on his team after they were turned into monsters, then shot himself after his son put an image from a monster magazine on his mirror. Before the evolution of mankind, a cabal of immortal hooded reptoids came to Earth, the corrupted Brotherhood of the Spear spread out, ingraining itself like a multi-headed serpent into all facets of human society, from science to magic and politics. As time wore on, the name changed and it included the Cathari sect as well as the Thule Society. The Nazi sub group, funded by the Thule Society, was brought into the main Hydra fold after the end of World War II, however, after Struckers first death, Hydra broke into factions that each adopted its own reorganized modus operandi. Eventually, this fragmentation would lead to a Hydra civil war, in the aftermath of the Secret Invasion and Baron Struckers second death, there followed a series of power struggles which eventually left Hydra without a formal leader. The splintering of Hydra accelerated, with various cells operating seemingly independently, eventually, the Red Skull, returning to his Nazi beliefs, started building a new Hydra from the ground up. However, this brought him conflict with Baron Zemo, who was trying to control what was left of the old Hydra. Hydras level of technology is as advanced as that of any on Earth. Hydra personnel are issued cowled jumpsuits, which have included a number of designs over the years. Originally, the jumpsuits were green with a yellow H design, and later incorporated a red and brown color scheme, surviving fugitive members of the governments of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan are recruited to become the modern incarnation of Hydra. However, after joining Hydra, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker seizes control of the organization, the original Hydra Island was invaded by the Leatherneck Raiders and the Japanese Samurai Squad, and the base was destroyed. Strucker slowly steered the organization towards the goal of world domination. H. I. E. L. D, specifically to counter Hydras threat to world security. After Hydra apparently assassinated S. H. I. E. L. D. s first executive director, Hydra agents attempted to assassinate Nick Fury before his appointment as S. H. I. E. L. D. s Director, but failed. In the wake of von Struckers first death, the elements of Hydra broke into factions that each adopted its own reorganized modus operandi
29.
Jeph Loeb
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Joseph Jeph Loeb III is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. In 2010, Loeb became Executive Vice President of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. He began collecting comic books during the summer of 1970 and his later stepfather was a vice-president at Brandeis University, where Jeph met one of his mentors and greatest influences in comic book writing, the writer Elliot Maggin. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters degree in Film, Loebs debut in filmmaking was his collaboration with Matthew Weisman in authoring the script of Teen Wolf. The film was released on August 23,1985 and was a starring role for Michael J. Fox. Loeb and Weisman then collaborated in writing the script of Commando, the film was released on October 4,1985 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. His next screen credit was the film Burglar, released on March 20,1987, the plot was based on the novels of Lawrence Block about fictional burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. His collaborators were Weisman and Hugh Wilson, the film was atypical for the time, featuring a female comedic role for starring actress Whoopi Goldberg. His second film that year was Teen Wolf Too, a sequel of Teen Wolf, the film was released on November 20,1987. The film featured teen idol Jason Bateman and veteran actor John Astin, Loeb would re-team with Kring almost two decades later for the TV series Heroes. Four years later, Loeb was working on a script for The Flash as a feature with Warner Bros, while the script deal fell through, Loeb met then publisher Jenette Kahn who asked Loeb to write a comic book for DC Comics. In 2002, Jeph Loeb wrote the script for the episode of Smallville, entitled Red and he became a supervising producer, and has written many episodes since then. He signed a contract, and although producers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough offered to keep him on for future seasons, Loeb left to care for his son. Loeb later became a writer/producer on the ABC TV series Lost during that second season. Leaving Lost, Loeb went on to become Co-Executive Producer and writer on the NBC drama Heroes, Loeb wrote the teleplay for the first-season episodes One Giant Leap and Unexpected. The show prominently features the artwork of Tim Sale, Loebs longtime comics collaborator, the series was nominated for the 2007 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, and a Writers Guild of America award for Best New Series. It won the Peoples Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama and it was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Television Series. Loeb and Tim Kring were presented with the Jules Verne Award for Artistic Achievement at the Jules Verne Festival in Paris, on November 2,2008, Daily Variety reported that Loeb and fellow Heroes co-executive producer, Jesse Alexander, were no longer employed on the series
30.
Bear McCreary
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Bear McCreary is an American composer and musician living in Los Angeles. He is best known for his work on the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series and for the TV series Outlander, McCreary won an Emmy for his main title of Da Vincis Demons. His most recent Emmy nomination was in 2015 for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for season one of Outlander, McCreary was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and spent most of his formative years in Bellingham, Washington. He is the son of author Laura Kalpakian and professor Jay McCreary of University of Hawaii and he is of Irish and Armenian descent. McCreary earned degrees in Composition and Recording Arts from the USC Thornton School of Music and he studied under the renowned film score composer Elmer Bernstein during which time he reconstructed and reorchestrated Bernsteins 1963 score for Kings of the Sun. Their collaboration allowed for the score to be available as a soundtrack album for the first time in 40 years. He has also directed and produced music videos for his brother Brendan McCrearys band. McCreary is married to singer/songwriter Raya Yarbrough, with whom he worked on the music of Battlestar Galactica, Defiance, Da Vincis Demons and they have a daughter together named Sonatine, after the musical term sonatina. In 2003, McCreary worked under primary composer Richard Gibbs on the miniseries which served as a pilot for the reimagined series of Battlestar Galactica. When the show was picked up, Gibbs opted not to full time to the regular series production. He worked on the series until it reached its conclusion in 2009, to date, six Battlestar Galactica soundtrack albums have been released, and have garnered a great deal of critical acclaim and commercial success. The soundtracks for two and three ranked amongst amazon. coms Top 30 Music Sales on their first days of release. McCreary composed for Caprica, a series set in the fictional Battlestar Galactica universe. On February 18,2012, McCreary announced that he would compose the score to the pilot movie Battlestar Galactica, Blood. Bear provided the score for the series Human Target, the pilot episode and main theme score had been recorded with a full orchestra. The series has the distinction of having one of the largest orchestras on television, in July 2010, he received his first Emmy nomination for the Human Target main title. In a post on his blog on July 25,2010, during Comic-Con 2010, Bear McCreary attended panels for AMCs The Walking Dead and NBCs The Cape to announce he would be composing the score for both television series. On July 15,2013, McCreary announced that he compose the score for ABCs series Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D
31.
Charango
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About 66 cm long, the charango was traditionally made with the shell from the back of an armadillo, but also it can be made of wood, which some believe to be a better resonator. Wood is more used in modern instruments. Charangos for children may also be made from calabash, many contemporary charangos are now made with different types of wood. It typically has 10 strings in five courses of 2 strings each, the charango is primarily played in traditional Andean music, but is sometimes used by other Latin American musicians. A charango player is called a charanguista, when the Spanish conquistadores came to South America, they brought the vihuela with them. It is not clear whether the charango is a descendent of a particular Spanish stringed instrument, it may have evolved from the vihuela, bandurria. There are many stories of how the charango came to be made with its distinctive diminutive soundbox of armadillo, one story says that the native musicians liked the sound the vihuela made, but lacked the technology to shape the wood in that manner. Around here in the Andes of Bolivia they called them Charangos, Turino mentions that he found carved sirens representing playing charangos in some Colonial churches in the highlands of Bolivia. One of the churches to which Turino refers may well be that mentioned by Cavour, construction on the San Lorenzo edifice began in 1547, the origin of the term charango is not entirely clear. One source suggests that the instrument took its name from its players, Another traces the term to the alteration of a Spanish term, charanga, which could refer to either a type of military music played on wind instruments, or an out-of-tune orchestra. As support for this he points to the practice of the Conquistadors appropriating local terminology. Charanguista Ernesto Cavour disagrees, and tends to support the second origin, maintaining that the word comes from a mispronunciation of the Spanish word “charanga”. The tern charanga, for example, was used to refer to a small instrumental band. Charanguero, meanwhile, denoted something rough or rustic, nevertheless, the small Spanish-American guitar has been known by the name changango for more than one hundred years. In a footnote to his correspondence with Paulino Lucero regarding the Great War, Hilario Ascasubi explains this situation with indisputable clarity, Changango, research and debate on this topic continues in scholarly circles. Traditionally a charango was made with an armadillo shell for the back and wood for the soundbox top. While still common, this is no longer the norm, rather they are now made of wood. Unlike most wooden lutes, the body and neck are made of a single block of wood
32.
Iron Man
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Iron Man is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, the character made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39. He instead creates a suit of armor to save his life. Later, Stark augments his suit with weapons and other technological devices he designed through his company and he uses the suit and successive versions to protect the world as Iron Man, while at first concealing his true identity. Initially, Iron Man was a vehicle for Stan Lee to explore Cold War themes, particularly the role of American technology, subsequent re-imaginings of Iron Man have transitioned from Cold War themes to contemporary concerns, such as corporate crime and terrorism. Iron Man has been adapted for several animated TV shows and films, the character is portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. in the live action film Iron Man, which was a critical and box office success. Iron Man was ranked 12th on IGNs Top 100 Comic Book Heroes in 2011, in 1963, Lee had been toying with the idea of a businessman superhero. He wanted to create the quintessential capitalist, a character that would go against the spirit of the times, Lee said, I think I gave myself a dare. It was the height of the Cold War, the readers, the young readers, if there was one thing they hated, it was war, it was the military. So I got a hero who represented that to the hundredth degree. He set out to make the new character a wealthy, glamorous ladies man, writer Gerry Conway said, Here you have this character, who on the outside is invulnerable, I mean, just cant be touched, but inside is a wounded figure. Stan made it very much an in-your-face wound, you know, his heart was broken, you know, but theres a metaphor going on there. And thats, I think, what made that character interesting, Lee based this playboys looks and personality on Howard Hughes, explaining, Howard Hughes was one of the most colorful men of our time. He was an inventor, an adventurer, a multi-billionaire, a ladies man, without being crazy, he was Howard Hughes, Lee said. While Lee intended to write the story himself, a minor deadline emergency eventually forced him to hand over the issue to Lieber. The art was split between Kirby and Heck and he designed the costume, Heck said of Kirby, because he was doing the cover. The covers were always done first, but I created the look of the characters, like Tony Stark and his secretary Pepper Potts. In a 1990 interview, when asked if he had a model for Tony Stark. Heck replied No, I would be thinking more along the lines of some characters I like, which would be the kind of characters that Alex Toth liked
33.
Marvel One-Shots
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Marvel One-Shots are a series of direct-to-video short films produced by Marvel Studios, set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, released from 2011 to 2014. They are included as special features in the MCU films Blu-ray and digital distribution releases, each of the films, which range from 4 to 14 minutes, are designed to be a self-contained story that provides more backstory for characters or events introduced in the films. Two of the shorts have been the inspiration for television set in the MCU. The Consultant and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thors Hammer star Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Item 47 stars Lizzy Caplan and Jesse Bradford as a down-on-their-luck couple who find a discarded Chitauri gun after the events of Marvels The Avengers. Agent Carter stars Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter after the events of Captain America, The First Avenger, in August 2011, Marvel announced that a couple of short films, designed to be self-contained stories, would be released direct-to-video. The first two films were made in conjunction with The Ebeling Group and were directed by Leythum and written by Eric Pearson, Winderbaum added that the name of the shorts program was derived from the label used by Marvel Comics for their one-shot comics. We have 8,000 of them, and they all be at the same level. So maybe there are some that are not so popular, and we introduce them –, when asked whether a Marvel superhero would ever appear in a One-Shot, DEsposito replied that We would love to, but it’s difficult because there’s a cost to that. If Iron Man is flying around doing something, that very costly, and first of all, what’s the story. Is it important that that superhero is in the story, during the Agent Carter panel at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International, DEsposito stated that bringing the shorts to theaters, to appear before features, was being considered. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn stated that a One-Shot was not included with the due to lack of space on the disc. They see him as a war hero and blame the devastation in New York City on Bruce Banner, the Council orders them to send an agent to ask General Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross to release Blonsky into S. H. I. E. L. D. As Nick Fury does not want to release Blonsky, the two decide to send a patsy to sabotage the meeting. At Sitwells urging, Coulson reluctantly sends The Consultant, Tony Stark, in reply, Stark buys the bar and has it scheduled for demolition. The next day, Coulson informs Sitwell that their plan worked, at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel announced that The Consultant would appear exclusively on the Thor Blu-ray release on September 13,2011. It was directed by Leythum and written by Eric Pearson, with music by Paul Oakenfold, Clark Gregg and Maximiliano Hernández return to portray Agent Phil Coulson and Agent Jasper Sitwell, respectively, from the films. They are joined via archive footage by Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / The Consultant, William Hurt as General Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross, co-producer Brian Winderbaum said the producers wanted to paint a picture of S. H. I. E. L. D. Pulling the strings and being responsible for some of the events seen in the films, what better character to represent this idea than Agent Coulson, the first S. H. I. E. L. D
34.
CTV Television Network
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CTV is an English-language broadcast television network in Canada launched in 1961. Since 2000 it is owned by the Bell Media division of BCE, Bell Media also operates additional CTV-branded properties, including the 24-hour national cable news network CTV News Channel and the secondary CTV Two television system. Calgary and Edmonton were served by privately owned CBC affiliates, the six markets by CBC owned-and-operated stations. Indeed, Baton had already begun quietly contacting the successful applicants in other cities to gauge their interest in forming a group to share Canadian programming among the stations. This led to the July 1960 formation of the Independent Television Organization, consisting of all eight of the newly licensed private stations, each station would have a single vote in the ITOs operations, regardless of the size of the stations audience. The ITO soon resolved to apply for a licence to link these second stations. The BBG – and particularly its chair Andrew Stewart – was not in favour of a station-owned network, although it did not immediately approve Caldwells proposal, it soon set several conditions on such a network that effectively made Caldwells group the only feasible applicant. That fall, the Caldwell group and the ITO faced off in a series of meetings with the BBG, ultimately, the BBG granted a licence to CTN, conditional on securing the affiliation of six of the eight ITO stations. Batons opposition to the CTN reversed in early 1961, soon after CFTO won the broadcast rights to the Canadian Football League Eastern Conference for the 1961 and 1962 seasons. Batons original plan was to operate a network to distribute the games incorporating CFTO, other independent stations. Although the plan was never officially rejected, various uncertainties eventually led John Bassett to decide to sign an agreement with CTN instead to ensure the games would air. The network finally launched as the CTV Television Network on October 1,1961, the CBC had objected to the networks initial name, apparently claiming it had exclusive rights to the term Canadian, and therefore the letters CTV have no official expanded meaning. The CTV networks first night on-air began with Harry Raskys promotional documentary on the new network and that was followed by a fall season preview program. At first, flagship CFTO was the station that carried programming live. During CBCs off-hours, CTV used CBCs microwave system to send programming to the rest of the country on tape delay, eventually, a second microwave channel opened up, enabling live programming from coast to coast. For example, most of the rights to American programming rested with the ITO, in many cases, CTV found itself competing with its own stations for the rights to programming. Caldwells departure in 1965 did little to alleviate the situation, in 1966, the networks affiliates sought permission to buy the network and run it as a cooperative. The BBG was initially skeptical of the proposal, since CFTO was by far the largest and richest station, the BBG feared that CFTO would dominate CTV if the stations were allowed to buy the network
35.
Channel 4
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Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster that began transmission on 2 November 1982. With the conversion of the Wenvoe transmitter group in Wales to digital on 31 March 2010, before Channel 4 and S4C, Britain had three terrestrial television services, BBC1, BBC2, and ITV. The Broadcasting Act 1980 began the process of adding a fourth, after some months of test broadcasts, it began scheduled transmissions on 2 November 1982. Indeed, television sets throughout the 1970s and early 1980s had a spare channel called ITV/IBA2. It was most likely politics which had the biggest impact in leading to a delay of almost three decades before the commercial channel became a reality. The campaign was taken so seriously by Gwynfor Evans, former president of Plaid Cymru, the result was that Channel 4 as seen by the rest of the United Kingdom would be replaced in Wales by Sianel Pedwar Cymru. Operated by a specially created authority, S4C would air programmes in Welsh made by HTV, since then, carriage on digital cable, satellite and digital terrestrial has introduced Channel 4 to Welsh homes where it is now universally available. The first programme to air on the channel was the game show Countdown. The first person to be seen on Channel 4 was Richard Whiteley with Ted Moult being the second, the first woman on the channel, contrary to popular belief, was not Carol Vorderman and was a lexicographer only ever identified as Mary. Whiteley opened the show with the words, On its first day, Channel 4 also broadcast controversial soap opera Brookside, which ran until 2003. On its launch, Channel 4 committed itself to providing an alternative to the existing channels, Channel 4 co-commissioned Robert Ashleys ground-breaking television opera Perfect Lives, which it premiered over several episodes in 1984. The channel often did not receive mass audiences for much of period, however. Channel 4 for many years had a poorer quality signal compared to other channels, Channel 4 also began the funding of independent films, such as the Merchant-Ivory docudrama The Courtesans of Bombay, during this time. In 1992, Channel 4 also faced its first libel case by Jani Allan, a South African journalist, who objected to her representation in the documentary The Leader, His Driver and the Drivers Wife. After control of the station passed from the Channel Four Television Company to the Channel Four Television Corporation in 1993, instead of aiming for the fringes of society, it began to focus on the edges of the mainstream, and the centre of the mass market itself. It began to show many US programmes in peak viewing time and it gave such shows as Friends and ER their UK premières. In the early 2000s, Channel 4 began broadcasting reality formats such as Big Brother and obtained the rights to broadcast mass appeal sporting events like cricket and this new direction increased ratings and revenues. In addition, the corporation launched a number of new channels through its new 4Ventures offshoot, including Film4, At the Races, E4
36.
Seven Network
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The Seven Network is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main television networks in Australia. In 2011 the Seven Network won all 40 out of 40 weeks of the season for total viewers. Seven is the first to achieve this since the introduction of the OzTAM ratings system in 2001, as of 2014, it is the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach. In 2016, the network had its biggest lead in total people over the Nine Network since the current OzTAM ratings system began, in Melbourne,30 of the 40 ratings weeks were won and all ratings weeks were won in Adelaide and Perth. Sevens administration headquarters are based in a warehouse at Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont, Sydney. The networks main playout centre is located in Docklands, Melbourne, National news and current affairs programming are based between flagship station ATN-7 in Sydney and HSV-7 in Melbourne. In 2009, Seven moved its Sydney-based production operations from Epping to a purpose-built high-definition television production facility at the Australian Technology Park in Eveleigh, the present Seven Network began as a group of independent stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. HSV-7 Melbourne, licensed to The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, was launched on 4 November 1956, ATN-7 Sydney, licensed to Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of Fairfax, was launched on 2 December 1956. BTQ-7 Brisbane followed on 1 November, signing on as Brisbanes second commercial television station, ADS-7 Adelaide was launched on 24 October 1959 as the final capital city VHF7 station. In the early 1960s, coaxial cable links, formed initially between Sydney and Melbourne, allowed the sharing of programmes and simultaneous broadcasts of live shows, left without their original partners, ATN-7 and HSV-7 joined to form the Australian Television Network in 1963. The new grouping was soon joined by other capital-city channel 7 stations, ADS-7 Adelaide, however, it was not until 1970 that a national network logo was adopted, albeit still with independently owned and operated stations with local advertising campaigns. Colour television was introduced across the network in 1975, when a new logo was adopted. Rupert Murdoch made a bid for the Herald and Weekly Times, owners of HSV-7, in 1979. Fairfax, however, successfully bought a 14. 9% share of the later in the same year. The 1980s saw the introduction of sound, as well as a number of successful shows, most notably A Country Practice in 1981, and Sons and Daughters. Wheel of Fortune began its 25-year run in July 1981, produced from ADS-7s studios in Adelaide, the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow were shown live on the network the year before. Perth based businessman Robert Holmes à Court, through his business the Bell Group, bought TVW-7 from its original owners, the Herald and Weekly Times, owner of HSV-7 and ADS-7, was sold to Rupert Murdoch in December 1986 for an estimated A$1.8 billion
37.
Blu-ray
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Blu-ray or Blu-ray Disc is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was designed to supersede the DVD format, in that it is capable of storing high-definition, the plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Conventional Blu-ray Disc discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the standard for feature-length video discs. Triple-layer discs and quadruple layers are available for BD-XL re-writer drives, the name Blu-ray refers to the blue laser used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a greater density than is possible with the longer-wavelength red laser used for DVDs. The main application of Blu-ray is as a medium for video material such as films and physical distribution of video games for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4. Besides the hardware specifications, Blu-ray is associated with a set of multimedia formats, high-definition video may be stored on Blu-ray discs with up to 2160p resolution, at up to 60 frames per second. DVD discs had been limited to a resolution of 480p or 576p. The BD format was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association, a group representing makers of consumer electronics, computer hardware, Sony unveiled the first Blu-ray disc prototypes in October 2000, and the first prototype player was released in April 2003 in Japan. Afterwards, it continued to be developed until its release in June 2006. During the high definition disc format war, Blu-ray Disc competed with the HD DVD format. Toshiba, the company that supported HD DVD, conceded in February 2008. According to Media Research, high-definition software sales in the US were slower in the first two years than DVD software sales, Blu-ray faces competition from video on demand and the continued sale of DVDs. As of January 2016, 44% of U. S. broadband households had a Blu-ray player, the information density of the DVD format was limited by the wavelength of the laser diodes used. Following protracted development, blue laser diodes operating at 405 nanometers became available on a production basis, Sony started two projects in collaboration with Philips applying the new diodes, UDO, and DVR Blue, a format of rewritable discs that would eventually become Blu-ray Disc. The core technologies of the formats are similar, the first DVR Blue prototypes were unveiled at the CEATEC exhibition in October 2000 by Sony. A trademark for the Blue Disc logo was filed February 9,2001, on February 19,2002, the project was officially announced as Blu-ray Disc, and Blu-ray Disc Founders was founded by the nine initial members. The first consumer device arrived in stores on April 10,2003, the Sony BDZ-S77, but there was no standard for prerecorded video, and no movies were released for this player. On October 4,2004, the name Blu-ray Disc Founders was officially changed to the Blu-ray Disc Association, the Blu-ray Disc physical specifications were completed in 2004
38.
DVD
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DVD is a digital optical disc storage format invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. The medium can store any kind of data and is widely used for software. DVDs offer higher capacity than compact discs while having the same dimensions. Pre-recorded DVDs are mass-produced using molding machines that physically stamp data onto the DVD, such discs are a form of DVD-ROM because data can only be read and not written or erased. Blank recordable DVD discs can be recorded using a DVD recorder. Rewritable DVDs can be recorded and erased many times, DVDs containing other types of information may be referred to as DVD data discs. The OED also states that in 1995, The companies said the name of the format will simply be DVD. Toshiba had been using the name ‘digital video disk’, but that was switched to ‘digital versatile disk’ after computer companies complained that it left out their applications, Digital versatile disc is the explanation provided in a DVD Forum Primer from 2000 and in the DVD Forums mission statement. There were several formats developed for recording video on optical discs before the DVD, Optical recording technology was invented by David Paul Gregg and James Russell in 1958 and first patented in 1961. A consumer optical disc data format known as LaserDisc was developed in the United States and it used much larger discs than the later formats. CD Video used analog video encoding on optical discs matching the established standard 120 mm size of audio CDs, Video CD became one of the first formats for distributing digitally encoded films in this format, in 1993. In the same year, two new optical disc formats were being developed. By the time of the launches for both formats in January 1995, the MMCD nomenclature had been dropped, and Philips and Sony were referring to their format as Digital Video Disc. Representatives from the SD camp asked IBM for advice on the system to use for their disc. Alan E. Bell, a researcher from IBMs Almaden Research Center, got that request and this group was referred to as the Technical Working Group, or TWG. On August 14,1995, an ad hoc group formed from five computer companies issued a release stating that they would only accept a single format. The TWG voted to both formats unless the two camps agreed on a single, converged standard. They recruited Lou Gerstner, president of IBM, to pressure the executives of the warring factions, as a result, the DVD specification provided a storage capacity of 4.7 GB for a single-layered, single-sided disc and 8.5 GB for a dual-layered, single-sided disc
39.
Netflix
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Netflix is an American entertainment company founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph on August 29,1997, in Scotts Valley, California. It specializes in and provides streaming media and video-on-demand online and DVD by mail, in 2013, Netflix expanded into film and television production, as well as online distribution. As of 2017 the company has its headquarters in Los Gatos, Netflixs initial business model included DVD sales and rental, although Hastings jettisoned DVD sales about a year after Netflixs founding to focus on the DVD rental by mail business. In 2007, Netflix expanded its business with the introduction of streaming media, while retaining the DVD, Netflix entered the content-production industry in 2013, debuting its first series, House of Cards. It has greatly expanded the production of film and television series since then, offering Netflix Original content through its online library of films. Netflix released an estimated 126 original series or films in 2016, in January 2017, Netflix reported having over 93 million subscribers worldwide, including more than 49 million in the United States. Netflix was founded on August 29,1997, in Scotts Valley, California, by Marc Randolph, Randolph worked as marketing director for Hastings company, Pure Atria Corporation. Randolph was a co-founder of MicroWarehouse, a mail order company. Hastings, a computer scientist and mathematician, sold Pure Atria to Rational Software Corporation in 1997 for $700 million in what was then the richest acquisition in Silicon Valley history. Hastings, Randolphs mother and Integrity QA founder Steve Kahn invested $2.5 million in cash for Netflix. Randolph admired the fledgling e-commerce company Amazon and wanted to find a category of portable items to sell over the internet using a similar model. He and Hastings considered and rejected VHS tapes as too expensive to stock and too delicate to ship. When they heard about DVDs, which were available in only a few markets in 1997, when the disc arrived intact, they decided to take on the $16 billion home video sales and rental industry. Netflix introduced the monthly subscription concept in September 1999, and then dropped the model in early 2000. Since that time, the company has built its reputation on the model of flat-fee unlimited rentals without due dates, late fees, shipping and handling fees. In 2000, Netflix offered to be acquired by Blockbuster for $50 million, Netflix initiated an initial public offering on May 29,2002, selling 5.5 million shares of common stock at the price of US$15.00 per share. On June 14,2002, the company sold an additional 825,000 shares of stock at the same price. After incurring substantial losses during its first few years, Netflix posted its first profit during fiscal year 2003, in 2005,35,000 different films were available, and Netflix shipped 1 million DVDs out every day
40.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
41.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
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MTV
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MTV is an American cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom Media Networks and headquartered in New York City. Launched on August 1,1981, the originally aired music videos as guided by television personalities known as video jockeys. In its early years, MTVs main target demographic was young adults and it has received criticism towards this change of focus, both by certain segments of its audience and musicians. MTVs influence on its audience, including issues involving censorship and social activism, has also been a subject of debate for several years, in recent years, MTV had struggled with the secular decline of music-related cable media. In April 2016, MTV announced it would start to return to its original music roots with the reintroduction of the classic MTV series MTV Unplugged. It was also reported that the series MTV Cribs would be making a return on Snapchat, MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the US and affiliated channels internationally, some of which have gone independent. As of July 2015, approximately 92,188,000 US households have received MTV, several earlier concepts for music video-based television programming had been around since the early 1960s. The Beatles had used music videos to promote their records starting in the mid-1960s, CBS rejected the idea, but Williams premiered his own musical composition Classical Gas on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, where he was head writer. The series featured clips from various popular artists, but was canceled by its distributor in 1971. The channel, which featured video disc jockeys, signed a deal with US Cable in 1978 to expand its audience from retail to cable television, the service was no longer active by the time MTV launched in 1981. The QUBE system offered many specialized channels, One of these specialized channels was Sight on Sound, a music channel that featured concert footage and music-oriented television programs. With the interactive QUBE service, viewers could vote for their favorite songs, the original programming format of MTV was created by media executive Robert W. Pittman, who later became president and chief executive officer of MTV Networks. Pittman had test-driven the music format by producing and hosting a 15-minute show, Album Tracks, the inspiration for PopClips came from a similar program on New Zealands TVNZ network named Radio with Pictures, which premiered in 1976. The concept itself had been in the works since 1966, when record companies began supplying the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation with promotional music clips to play on the air at no charge. Few artists made the trip to New Zealand to appear live. A shortened version of the shuttle launch ID ran at the top of hour in various forms. The first music video shown on MTV was The Buggles Video Killed the Radio Star and this was followed by the video for Pat Benatars You Better Run. Sporadically, the screen would go black when an employee at MTV inserted a tape into a VCR, MTVs lower third graphics that appeared near the beginning and end of music videos would eventually use the recognizable Kabel typeface for about 25 years
