1.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
2.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
3.
University of Oxford
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The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university located in Oxford, England. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris, after disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two ancient universities are frequently referred to as Oxbridge. The university is made up of a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges, All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities. Being a city university, it not have a main campus, instead, its buildings. Oxford is the home of the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the worlds oldest and most prestigious scholarships, the university operates the worlds oldest university museum, as well as the largest university press in the world and the largest academic library system in Britain. Oxford has educated many notable alumni, including 28 Nobel laureates,27 Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, the University of Oxford has no known foundation date. Teaching at Oxford existed in form as early as 1096. It grew quickly in 1167 when English students returned from the University of Paris, the historian Gerald of Wales lectured to such scholars in 1188 and the first known foreign scholar, Emo of Friesland, arrived in 1190. The head of the university had the title of chancellor from at least 1201, the university was granted a royal charter in 1248 during the reign of King Henry III. After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled from the violence to Cambridge, the students associated together on the basis of geographical origins, into two nations, representing the North and the South. In later centuries, geographical origins continued to many students affiliations when membership of a college or hall became customary in Oxford. At about the time, private benefactors established colleges as self-contained scholarly communities. Among the earliest such founders were William of Durham, who in 1249 endowed University College, thereafter, an increasing number of students lived in colleges rather than in halls and religious houses. In 1333–34, an attempt by some dissatisfied Oxford scholars to found a new university at Stamford, Lincolnshire was blocked by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge petitioning King Edward III. Thereafter, until the 1820s, no new universities were allowed to be founded in England, even in London, thus, Oxford and Cambridge had a duopoly, the new learning of the Renaissance greatly influenced Oxford from the late 15th century onwards. Among university scholars of the period were William Grocyn, who contributed to the revival of Greek language studies, and John Colet, the noted biblical scholar. With the English Reformation and the breaking of communion with the Roman Catholic Church, recusant scholars from Oxford fled to continental Europe, as a centre of learning and scholarship, Oxfords reputation declined in the Age of Enlightenment, enrolments fell and teaching was neglected
4.
Westminster School
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Westminster School is an English independent day and boarding school located within the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It has the highest Oxford and Cambridge university acceptance rates of any school or college in the world. With origins before the 12th century, the tradition of Westminster probably dates back as far as AD960. Boys are admitted to the Under School at age seven and to the school at age thirteen. The school has around 750 pupils, around a quarter are boarders, most of whom go home at weekends and it is one of the original seven public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868. Charging up to £7,800 per term for day pupils and £11,264 for boarders in 2014/15, Westminster is the 13th most expensive HMC day school and 10th most expensive HMC boarding school in the UK. In 1540, Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries in England, including that of the powerful Abbots of Westminster, the Royal College of St. Peter carried on with forty Kings Scholars financed from the royal purse. By this point Westminster School had certainly become a public school, during Mary Is brief reign the Abbey was reinstated as a Roman Catholic monastery, but the school continued. Elizabeth I refounded the School in 1560, with new statutes to select 40 Queens Scholars from boys who had attended the school for a year. Queen Elizabeth frequently visited her scholars, although she never signed the statutes nor endowed her scholarships, Elizabeth I appointed William Camden as headmaster, and he is the only layman known to have held the position until 1937. Regardless of politics, he thrashed Royalist and Puritan boys alike without fear or favour, Busby also took part in Oliver Cromwells funeral procession in 1658, when Robert Uvedale, a Westminster schoolboy, succeeded in snatching the Majesty Scutcheon draped on the coffin. Busby remained in office throughout the Civil War and the Commonwealth, when the school was governed by Parliamentary Commissioners, and well into the Restoration. In 1679, a group of scholars killed a bailiff, ostensibly in defence of the Abbeys traditional right of sanctuary, dr Busby obtained a royal pardon for his scholars from Charles II and added the cost to the school bills. Until the 19th century, the curriculum was made up of Latin and Greek. After the Public Schools Act 1868, in response to the Clarendon Commission on the financial and other malpractices at nine pre-eminent public schools, the school began to approach its modern form. It was legally separated from the Abbey, although the organisations remain close, there followed a scandalous public and parliamentary dispute lasting a further 25 years, to settle the transfer of the properties from the Canons of the Abbey to the School. School statutes have been made by Order in Council of Queen Elizabeth II, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford and the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge are ex officio members of the schools governing body. Westminster Under School was formed in 1943 in the school buildings in Westminster
5.
English literature
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However, until the early 19th century, it only deals with the literature of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It does not include literature written in the languages of Britain. The English language has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years, the earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the fifth century, are called Old English. Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England, early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London and the King James Bible as well as the Great Vowel Shift. Through the influence of the British Empire, the English language has spread around the world since the 17th century. 450, after the withdrawal of the Romans, and ending soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066. These works include such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works. In all there are about 400 surviving manuscripts from the period, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English, from the 9th century, that chronicle the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The poem Battle of Maldon also deals with history and this is a work of uncertain date, celebrating the Battle of Maldon of 991, at which the Anglo-Saxons failed to prevent a Viking invasion. Oral tradition was strong in early English culture and most literary works were written to be performed. Epic poems were popular, and some, including Beowulf, have survived to the present day. Beowulf is the most famous work in Old English, and has achieved national status in England. The only surviving manuscript is the Nowell Codex, the date of which is debated. Beowulf is the title, and its composition is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century. Cædmon is the earliest English poet whose name is known, and it is also one of the earliest recorded examples of sustained poetry in a Germanic language. The poem, The Dream of the Rood, was inscribed upon the Ruthwell Cross, Two Old English poems from the late 10th century are The Wanderer and The Seafarer. Classical antiquity was not forgotten in Anglo-Saxon England, and several Old English poems are adaptations of late classical philosophical texts, the longest is King Alfreds 9th-century translation of Boethius Consolation of Philosophy. After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the form of the Anglo-Saxon language became less common. Under the influence of the new aristocracy, French became the language of courts, parliament
6.
St Catherine's College, Oxford
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St Catherines College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera, which translates as, the new, the college was founded by the historian Alan Bullock, who went on to become the first master of the college, and later Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £53m. The college traces its descent from the Delegacy of Non-Collegiate Students, nonetheless, the social role of a college was re-established by the Delegacys students, meeting as St Catherines Club, which was named after its meeting place in a hall on Catte Street. The club was recognised by the University in 1931 as St Catherines Society. It was thus developing the characteristics of a college, and in 1956 the Delegates decided to formalise this change in status, by 1960 Sir Alan Bullock raised a further £1,000,000 with invaluable assistance from two industrial notables, Sir Alan Wilson and Sir Hugh Beaver. After a total cost of £2.5 million, the college opened in 1962 to male students, in 1974 St Catz was one of the first mens colleges to admit women as full members, the others being Brasenose, Jesus College, Hertford and Wadham. The college is situated towards the east of Oxford, on the bank of the Cherwell river and its striking buildings in glass and concrete by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen marry modern materials with a traditional layout around a quadrangle. Jacobsens designs went further than just the fabric of the buildings, with cutlery, furniture, the dining hall is notable for its Cumberland slate floor. The original college buildings received a Grade I listing on 30 March 1993, the St Catherines Christmas carol concert has since been held in Harris Manchester Colleges chapel. The college has a bell tower however, it is visible since no college building is more than three storeys high. An extra floor was planned for most accommodation blocks, but due to regulations concerning safe building on marshland. There are also additional purpose-built conference facilities with lecture theatres, meeting rooms and bar, the dining hall, which seats 350 diners, has the largest capacity of any Oxford college. The majority of St Catherines buildings are in the form of staircases that open directly onto the quad outside, there is little indoor space in the college and St Catherines favours a minimalist, rather austere environment, though still comfortable. Student rooms are light and spacious, notable for their curtain wall glazing, prior to this, all undergraduates had the experience of living off-campus for their second year. These new staircases effectively form a quad, which is largely used to provide accommodation for conferences during the breaks between academic terms. The college celebrates its patron saint each year with a special Catz Night dinner, every three years the college also holds a ball, usually off site due to the problem of securing the colleges perimeter sufficiently for insurance purposes. The most recent off-site ball was held was 9 February 2008 at Heythrop Park, on 12 February 2011, the latest incarnation of the Catz Ball was held on-site
7.
The Importance of Being Earnest
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The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St Jamess Theatre in London and its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wildes most enduringly popular play. The successful opening night marked the climax of Wildes career but also heralded his downfall, the Marquess of Queensberry, whose son Lord Alfred Douglas was Wildes lover, planned to present the writer with a bouquet of rotten vegetables and disrupt the show. Wilde was tipped off and Queensberry was refused admission, soon afterwards their feud came to a climax in court, where Wildes homosexual double life was revealed to the Victorian public and he was eventually sentenced to imprisonment. His notoriety caused the play, despite its success, to be closed after 86 performances. After his release, he published the play from exile in Paris, the Importance of Being Earnest has been revived many times since its premiere. It has been adapted for the cinema on three occasions, after the success of Wildes plays Lady Windermeres Fan and A Woman of No Importance, Wildes producers urged him to write further plays. In July 1894 he mooted his idea for The Importance of Being Earnest to George Alexander, Wilde spent the summer with his family at Worthing, where he wrote the play quickly in August. His fame now at its peak, he used the working title Lady Lancing to avoid pre-emptive speculation of its content. Many names and ideas in the play were borrowed from people or places the author had known, Lady Queensberry, Lord Alfred Douglass mother, for example, lived at Bracknell. Wilde continually revised the text over the months, no line was left untouched. In revising as he did, Wilde transformed standard nonsense into the more systemic, richard Ellmann argues that Wilde had reached his artistic maturity and wrote this work more surely and rapidly than before. When Henry Jamess Guy Domville failed, Alexander turned to Wilde, Alexander began his usual meticulous preparations, interrogating the author on each line and planning stage movements with a toy theatre. In the course of these rehearsals Alexander asked Wilde to shorten the play from four acts to three, Wilde agreed and combined elements of the second and third acts. The largest cut was the removal of the character of Mr. Gribsby, Algernon, who is posing as Ernest, will be led away to Holloway Jail unless he settles his accounts immediately. Jack finally agrees to pay for Ernest, everyone thinking that it is Algernons bill when in fact it is his own, the four-act version was first played on the radio in a BBC production and is still sometimes performed. Peter Raby argues that the structure is more effective. The play was first produced at the St Jamess Theatre on Valentines Day 1895 and it was freezing cold but Wilde arrived dressed in florid sobriety, wearing a green carnation
8.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the worlds largest arts festival, which in 2016, spanned 25 days and featured 50,266 performances of 3,269 shows in 294 venues. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Edinburgh, Scotlands capital and it is an open access performing arts festival, meaning there is no selection committee, and anyone may participate, with any type of performance. The Fringe has often showcased experimental, challenging or controversial works that might not be invited to a more conservative arts festival, the Fringe board of directors is drawn from members of the Festival Fringe Society, who are often Fringe participants themselves – performers or administrators. Elections are held once a year, in August, and Board members serve a term of four years, the Board appoints the Fringe Chief Executive, who is currently Shona McCarthy and assumed the role in March 2016. The Chief Executive operates under the chair, currently Professor Sir Timothy OShea, the Fringe started life when eight theatre companies turned up uninvited to the inaugural Edinburgh International Festival in 1947. With the official festival using the major venues, these companies took over smaller. Seven performed in Edinburgh, and one undertook a version of the morality play Everyman in Dunfermline Abbey, about 20 miles north. These groups aimed to take advantage of the large assembled theatre crowds to showcase their own alternative theatre, although at the time it was not recognised as such, this was the first Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This meant that two defining features of the future Fringe were established at the very beginning – the lack of invitations to perform. I am afraid some of us are not going to be at home during the evenings. The word fringe had in fact used in a review of Everyman in 1947. Late night revues, which would become a feature of Fringes, the first one was the New Drama Groups After The Show, a series of sketches taking place after Donald Pleasences Ebb Tide, in 1952. Among the talent to appear in early Fringe revues were Ned Sherrin in 1955, due to many reviewers only being able to attend Fringe events late night after the official festival was finished, the Fringe came to be seen as being about revues. It was a few years before an official programme for the Fringe was created. John Menzies compiled a list of shows under the title Other Events in their omnibus festival brochure and this was funded by participating companies and was entitled Additional Entertainments, since the name Fringe was still not yet in regular usage. It also used a strange cover motif, a first attempt was made to provide a central booking service in 1955 by students from the university, although it lost money, which was blamed on those who had not taken part. Formal organisation progressed in 1959, with the formation of the Festival Fringe Society, the push for such an organisation was led by Michael Imison, director of Oxford Theatre Group. A constitution was drawn up, in which the policy of not vetting or censoring shows was set out, nineteen companies participated in the Fringe in that year
9.
BBC
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The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, the BBC is the worlds oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total,16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting, the total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed contract staff are included. The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBCs radio, TV, britains first live public broadcast from the Marconi factory in Chelmsford took place in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mails Lord Northcliffe and featured the famous Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba, the Melba broadcast caught the peoples imagination and marked a turning point in the British publics attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among the staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office, was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests, John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist, was appointed its General Manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved manufacturers, to this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to inform, educate and entertain. The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate, set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between the GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster-General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee and this was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee with no royalty once the wireless manufactures protection expired. The BBCs broadcasting monopoly was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, the BBC was also banned from presenting news bulletins before 19.00, and required to source all news from external wire services. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee, by now the BBC under Reiths leadership had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit the loss making consortium with Reith keen that the BBC be seen as a service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production and with restrictions on news bulletins waived the BBC suddenly became the source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position, the Government was divided on how to handle the BBC but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PMs own
10.
Cyrano de Bergerac
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Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the literature of the first half of the seventeenth century. Today he is best known as the inspiration for Edmond Rostands most noted drama Cyrano de Bergerac which, although it includes elements of his life, also contains invention and myth. Since the 1970s, there has been a resurgence in the study of Cyrano, demonstrated in the abundance of theses, essays, articles and biographies published in France, Cyranos short life is poorly documented. His paternal grandfather, Savinien I de Cyrano, was born into a notable family from Sens in Burgundy. Documents describe him in turn as a merchant and burgher of Paris, fish merchant to the King in several documents in following years. In Paris, on 9 April 1551, he married Anne Le Maire, daughter of Estienne Le Maire and Perrette Cardon and they are known to have had four children, Abel, Samuel, Pierre and Anne. Of his maternal grandfather, Estienne Bellanger, Financial Controller of the Parisian general revenue, Espérance Bellanger and Abel I de Cyrano were married on 3 September 1612 at the church of St-Gervais-et-St-Protais. She was at least twenty-six years old, he was about forty-five, in 1911 Jean Lemoine made known the inventory of Abel de Cyranos worldly goods. On the religious side, one notices the presence of two Bibles, of an Italian New Testament and the Prayers of St. Basil in Greek, but no pious works. Espérance and Abel I had at least six children, Denis, baptised at the church of Saint-Eustache on 31 March 1614 by Anne Le Maire, his grandmother, and Denis Feydeau, financier. Died at an age, Honoré, baptized at Saint-Eustache on 3 July 1617 by Honoré Barentin, trésorier des parties casuelles. Thus Espérance Bellanger was thirty-three years old, Abel de Cyrano around fifty-two, the surname Fanny appears nowhere in the very complete study of La Chambre des comptes de Paris published by Count H. Coustant dYanville in 1875. In 1898, Viscount Oscar de Poli suggested that it must have been a transcription error and his wife, Catherine Vigor, associate of Vincent de Paul, would become President of the Confrérie de la Charité de Gentilly where the couple set up a mission in 1634. She could well be the godmother of Catherine de Cyrano and it was in this rustic setting that the child grew up and in the neighbouring parish he learnt to read and write. It is unknown at what age Savinien arrived in Paris and he may have been accommodated by his uncle Samuel de Cyrano in a large family residence in the Rue des Prouvaires, where his parents had lived up until 1618. In this theory, it was there that he was introduced to his cousin Pierre, with whom, according to Le Bret and he continued his secondary studies at an academy which remains unknown. But there is no certainty that Savinien went to live with them, as an example of the romantic imagination of some biographers, Frédéric Lachèvre wrote, Against an embittered and discontented father, Cyrano promptly forgot the way to his fathers house
11.
HBO
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Home Box Office is an American premium cable and satellite television network that is owned by Time Warner through its respective flagship company Home Box Office, Inc. HBO is the oldest and longest continuously operating pay television service in the United States, in 2014, HBO had an adjusted operating income of US$1.79 billion, compared to the US$1.68 billion it accrued in 2013. HBO has 49 million subscribers in the United States and 130 million worldwide as of 2016, the network provides seven 24-hour multiplex channels, including HBO Comedy, HBO Latino, HBO Signature and HBO Family. It launched the streaming service HBO Now in April 2015, and has over 2 million subscribers in the United States as of February 2017. In addition to its U. S. subscriber base, HBO distributes content in at least 151 countries, HBO subscribers generally pay for an extra tier of service that includes other cable- and satellite-exclusive channels even before paying for the channel itself. Cable providers can require the use of a converter box – usually digital – in order to receive HBO, many HBO programs have been syndicated to other networks and broadcast television stations, and a number of HBO-produced series and films have been released on DVD. The new system, which Dolan named Sterling Information Services, became the first urban underground cable system in the United States. In that same year, Time-Life, Inc. purchased a 20% stake in Dolans company, in the summer of 1971, while on a family vacation in France, Charles Dolan began to think of ideas to make Sterling Manhattan profitable. He came up with the concept for a television service. Dolan later presented his idea to Time-Life management, though satellite distribution seemed only a distant possibility at the time, he persuaded Time-Life to back him on the project. To gauge whether consumers would be interested in subscribing to a pay television service, in a meeting of Dolan and some Time-Life executives who were working on the project, various other names were discussed for the new service. Home Box Office launched on November 8,1972, however, HBOs launch came without fanfare in the press, as it was not covered by any local or national media outlets. Home Box Office distributed its first sports event immediately after the film, Four months later in February 1973, Home Box Office aired its first television special, the Pennsylvania Polka Festival. Home Box Office would use a network of relay towers to distribute its programming to cable systems throughout its service area. Sterling Manhattan Cable continued to lose money because the company had only a small base of 20,000 customers in Manhattan. Time-Life dropped the Sterling name and the company was renamed Manhattan Cable Television under Time-Lifes control in March 1973, Gerald Levin, who had been with Home Box Office since it began operations as its vice president of programming, replaced Dolan as the companys president and chief executive officer. In September 1973, Time-Life, Inc. completed its acquisition of the pay service. HBO would eventually increase its fortunes within two years, by April 1975, the service had around 100,000 subscribers in Pennsylvania and New York state, in 1974, they settled on using a geostationary communications satellite to transmit HBO to cable providers throughout the United States
12.
Entourage (U.S. TV series)
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Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18,2004 and concluded on September 11,2011, after eight seasons. Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson served as the executive producers. The series deals with themes of friendship and real-life situations in modern-day Hollywood. The show is known for its array of guests, having featured several actors, athletes. According to Mark Wahlberg, Entourage was initially conceived when his assistant asked if he could film Wahlberg and his friends, other reports credit Eric Weinstein, a long-time friend of Wahlberg, with the idea of filming the actors group of friends. However, according to Donnie Carroll, who was the inspiration for the Turtle character and it had originated as a book idea, centered on Carrolls own life and his experiences with Wahlberg, titled From the Hood to Hollywood, A Soldiers Story. Vincent Chase was envisioned to be similar to Wahlberg. A lighter approach was subsequently decided upon and his best friend and manager is Eric Murphy. E, as his friends call him, is based on Mark Wahlbergs friend, hes also been reported to be inspired by Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlbergs manager. Vincents older half-brother, Johnny Drama Chase, is Vinces personal chef, trainer, Johnny is a C-list actor who was in the fictional show Viking Quest during his younger days. His role in the new hit show Five Towns had begun to resurrect his fame and career. As the show went on, Drama got offers for more and more roles, the show ended with Drama having his own animated TV show called Johnnys Bananas and him landing a new TV movie with the help of Vince. Dramas character is based on Johnny Drama Alves, whom Donnie Wahlberg had hired to keep his brother out of trouble. Rounding out the entourage of friends is Salvatore Turtle Assante, who is another of Vinces old friends from childhood, Turtles official role is as Vinces driver and assistant, though his value as such is often brought into question. This character is based on Wahlbergs former gofer Donnie Carroll aka Donkey, Carroll auditioned for the role, but the Boston native was turned down when it was decided the actors would have to be New Yorkers. Carroll died on December 18,2005, after an asthma attack, Ari Gold is Vinces abrasive but lovable agent. The role has led to several nominations and Emmy Awards for Piven, Ari is based on Wahlbergs real-life agent Ari Emanuel. Connolly, Grenier, Dillon, Ferrara, and Piven are credited in episode in the opening credits of the entire series
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