About Girls

Girls in Love

2008-08-01T04:35:00.000-07:00

Girls in Love is a drama series produced by Granada Television which aired on ITV.It is based on the book of the same title (ISBN 0385408048), both created by UK author Jacqueline Wilson that follows the romantic thrills and spills of three teenage girls- Ellie, Magda and Nadine. The show has been running for two series, and has been dubbed by many as the pre-teens version of Sex and the City, exploring the some what weird and wonderful world of boys through the eyes of Ellie Allard, who is played by Olivia Hallinan. She is an artist, and usually portrays her life events in her big bulging sketchbook, which blends the show's live action with animation. She lives with her dad and his girlfriend (later wife) Anna, and her baby brother Eggs. Ellie has had two significant crushes in the course of the past two series- Russell (played by Adam Paul Harvey), in series one, and Darius, from America, in series two (played by Alp Haydar). Magda (played by Zaraah Abrahams) according to Ellie "goes through boys like I do through takeaway pizzas", she is quite a gossipy, bubbly sort of character, and had a brief fling with Darius in series two. And then there's Nadine (played by Amy Kwolek) who is a goth, and is a budding singer/songwriter but has always had a wildchild reputation about her. The show has received some criticism from fans of the book, due to Ellie's appearance. In the book, she is a short, bespectacled, slightly overweight, frizzy haired girl, and some people feel that she should have been portrayed this way in the television show. Also, Magda in the television show has a darker complexion and dark hair, yet in the book, she is caucasian and her hair varies, going from what is described as a 'bottle blonde' bob, to mousey brown (her natural colour) and an unflattering cut, to bright red and a 'punky' hair style. The show has recently been released on DVD. Many of the school scenes were filmed on location at Manchester Grammar School, which is rather ironic considering in real-life this is an all male institution.

Uptown Girls

2008-07-03T02:19:00.000-07:00

Uptown Girls is a 2003 drama directed by Boaz Yakin and adapted from the story by Allison Jacobs into screenplay by Julia Dahl, Mo Ogrodnik and Lisa Davidowitz. It stars Brittany Murphy (8 Mile) as a 22-year-old living a charmed life as the daughter of a famous rock and roll musician. Dakota Fanning (I Am Sam) co-stars. Tagline: They're about to teach each other how to act their age.

Plot

Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy) is a spoiled rock n' roll princess, living off the ample trust fund of her late rock legend father. Molly is carefree and fun-spirited but also can be irresponsible and immature, having no concept of money or the need to work for it. She keeps cash in the freezer of her Upper West Side apartment, treats her doorman like a personal servant and pays no attention to bills for phone, electricity or pet care. When her accountant steals all of her money, Molly has to do the unthinkable—get a job. After a few unsuccessful interviews and a stint at a department store, Molly finally lands a job. She is hired as a nanny for an uptight eight-year-old girl named Ray (Dakota Fanning) who's often ignored by her busy, music executive mother (Heather Locklear). Molly and Ray couldn't be any more different: Molly is an adult but acts like a child, and Ray is a child who acts like an adult. Although they clash at first, they come together and learn to act their age and become best friends. The movie opens with a party for Molly's 22nd birthday at an exclusive dance club, arranged by her chaste childhood best friend Ingrid and Huey, a producer. In the club's ladies room, Molly thinks she's alone and expresses her insecurity over her appearance and says, "Why would I be getting a worry wrinkle?", and she receives an unexpected rejoinder from Ray, a precocious and dour 8-year-old girl who says,"Why would you think anyone would care?". Ray is equally rude and condescending to Molly and to Huey, who is trying to babysit her for his boss, who "can't keep a nanny ... fired their third one this month today." Molly instantly falls for singer Neal Fox (Jesse Spencer). Huey says Neal is celibate for the sake of his musical career, and Ingrid also tries to discourage her, but Molly sees Neal as a "rock and roll poet sex god" and begins to pursue him. She proves she's Tommy Gunn's daughter by showing Neal her father's guitar collection, 16 electric and 1 acoustic on which he wrote the classic "Molly Smiles" (which begins "Daddy's little girl ...") The song is too poignant for Molly to let Neal sing it to her, because her parents died on the way back from the Budokan concert which premiered it. Neal stays the night, breaking his vow "not ... to have romantic relationships my first year." Feeling smothered by Molly's attention and objecting to the chaos of her "looking-glass" world, he gets ready to go home. Meanwhile, the TV shows Wile E. Coyote vainly pursuing the Roadrunner. (The power, which was off the night before, has mysteriously been restored.) Ingrid comes over and scolds Molly for her filthy apartment "beyond its normal grotesque" and refuses to console her by contradicting her plaintive "He's gone. I have no life," because "As your best friend, it's my duty not to lie to you." Ingrid tries to call accountant Bob to get the gas and electricity restored (Molly ignored the final notices), but the phone is out. Later, attorney Feldman explains that Bob milked her estate, even borrowing against her father's royalties, and advises Molly to "get a job". Molly applies at the store where Ingrid works, taking advantage of the employee discount to buy "900 thread count" Egyptian cotton sheets for $1300. She spends all night at Neal's apartment and is found the next morning asleep on a store display and is fired. Huey comes to the rescue and attempts to kill two birds with one stone by getting Molly a job with his own boss Roma (Ray's mother). When Ray finds out at the last moment that Molly is her new nanny, she is less than thrilled. Molly is way underdressed for the Upper East Side. Molly looks clumsy as well as inappropriately attired, breaking a high-heel sandals on the street and destroying the hall closet. In Ray's luxurious but spare home (on Fifth Avenue, directly across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art), she encounters an impersonal doctor and nurse caring for a man in a coma. Ray shuts Molly out of her private life, refusing to tell her that the man is her father (as we learn later). In a symbolic moment showing how stringent are the requirements to gain entry into Ray's world, she curtly yells "Shoes!" before Molly can walk on the immaculate hardwood floor of her room, as she always goes barefoot. In a blatant contrast to Molly's mess and chaos, Ray's room is "so orderly" that the dolls are all on shelves (not to be played with), a bed and small computer desk are tucked up against the windows, and the only other furniture is a small table set for a tea party. "Hey, you don't touch that unless I happen to invite you for tea. You just got your germy drool all over my plastic scones." Ray angrily sprays the contaminated toy morsel. The relationship proceeds rapidly downhill from this inauspicious start with an argument over how to wash dishes. Ray actually calls her new nanny a "tree-loving barefoot hippie" and Molly quits and gets a bloody nose from the swinging door. The barefoot Molly returns to her apartment, only to find her pet pig ("Muu", based on the Thai word for pig) tied to the doorknob in the hallway. She's been locked out, due to nonpayment of rent and having a pig in her pigpen of an apartment. They tell her that she can claim whatever possession she needs until she is banned from her apartment building. Still barefoot and determined to succeed, she tries to visit Neal later that rainy night, but he ignores the door buzzer. They haven't exactly broken up; he's got her sheets, she's got his jacket. The next day, Ingrid invites her to live with her, but she brings way too much stuff, so Ingrid advises Molly to "downsize" and "find her center". She also insists Molly pay half the rent. Molly drops in on Ray, who after her ballet class pointedly declines to participate in freestyle dancing while the other girls enjoy taking a break from classical music for 5 minutes of On Broadway. Molly begs for her nanny job back and is accepted "on probation". As the music continues in the background, Molly dances in jubilant circles around Ray, her long blonde hair swinging as ever-somber Ray walks steadily down a Central Park path. Ray defends her refusal with a Mikhail Baryshnikov quote: "Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun." This conversation ends in another quarrel, and Ray gives Molly the finger (although when the movie premieres on television it shows that Ray balls up her fist). Molly makes her "take it back" and then gives her "a surprise", the gift of her pet pig Mu. Quick cut to the next scene, a yard sale of Molly's belongings incongruously taking place on a ritzy Manhattan sidewalk. Ingrid gets her to sell a putter "that Tiger Woods gave to me at the Masters" for a mere ten dollars. In the next few scenes, Molly and Ray begin bonding, while Molly's klutzy accident-prone tendencies are highlighted. Ray even defends Molly from a schoolmate's slur: "Her au pair said my nanny was a slutbag whore." Eventually, Molly develops the strength to live on her own, reconciles with Neal who buys her father's guitars, develops a strong friendship with Ray, who dedicates her recital dance to Molly and freestyles, and begins rebuilding her fortune as a hot new designer.

Powerpuff Girls Z

2008-06-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

Powerpuff Girls Z , Demashita! Pawapafu Gāruzu Zetto?, roughly They're Here! Powerpuff Girls Z) is the name for a Japanese television anime based upon the Americ an animated television series The Powerpuff Girls. The anime is produced by Cartoon Network, Toei Animation, and Aniplex; with Yoshiya Ayugai and Mark Buhaj of Cartoon Network, Hiromi Seki, Hideo Katsumata producing, Hiroyuki Kakudou directing and Miho Shimogasa (of Sailor Moon fame) doing character design. As production occurs in Japan, Craig McCracken, the original creator of The Powerpuff Girls, is not directly involved in this project. The series, an anime reimagining of The Powerpuff Girls, debuted in Japan on July 1, 2006, on TV Tokyo, where the Japanese version of the original Powerpuff Girls premiered, as well as its affiliates, replacing Sugar Sugar Rune in its time slot, Saturday at 7:00 a.m. JST. Its final episode aired on June 30, 2007. Its time was replaced by Fight Tension School on July 7, 2007. Since August 1, 2006, it has also aired on AT-X.Since April 1, 2007, the program airs on Cartoon Network in Japan. The initial order was for about 52 episodes at 30 minutes each. Recently, Nami Miyahara, the voice actress of Miyako and Bubbles, posted an entry on her blog in which she mentions working with the staff and cast of the series after having not worked on the series for so long. As to whether or not this is referring to more episodes, an OVA, or a movie being produced is currently unknown. Cartoon Network has said it will be showing the anime worldwide. Taiwan became the first country to air the show outside Japan when the show aired there on 21 January 2008. The Ocean Group has also dubbed the official English version of the show and has been shown on several English-speaking markets; it is unknown when the show will make its appearance in the United States.

Story

In order to stop an ecological disaster, Ken Kitazawa used Chemical Z, a new form of the Professor's original substance Chemical X, to destroy a giant glacier. However, the impact of Chemical Z caused several black and white lights to appear in the Tokyo sky. Three ordinary girls, Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru, were engulfed in white lights and soon became the new defenders of Tokyo City: the Powerpuff Girls Z. However, the numerous black lights caused others to turn to the side of evil. And so, using their ultra super powers, Hyper Blossom (Momoko), Rolling Bubbles (Miyako), and Powered Buttercup (Kaoru) dedicated their lives to defending Tokyo City from the likes of those swayed by the black lights and Him's black powder.

Characters

The Powerpuff Girls Z are the main heroines of the series. They are three thirteen-year-old girls from three different families, unlike the original Powerpuff Girls who were sisters created by Professor Utonium and attended kindergarten. When Chemical Z exploded into multiple black and white lights, Momoko Akatsutsumi, Miyako Gotokuji, and Kaoru Matsubara received white lights when they protected nearby children from it. Under the condition to keep their identity a secret as long as their needs were met, the girls transform into Hyper Blossom, Rolling Bubbles, and Powered Buttercup to protect Tokyo City. Momoko, Miyako and Kaoru use a yo-yo, a bubble wand and a hammer as their weapons, respectively. In addition, they all have basic abilities such as enhanced strength, enhanced speed, flight, weapon materialization, and atmosphere resistance. Their costumes also have some special abilities, including the ability to fit anyone of any size and withstand strong physical impact. The girls' battle cry is "The Lovely Fighting Science Legend: Powerpuff Girls Z!" Momoko Akatsutsumi , Akatsutsumi Momoko?)/ Hyper Blossom , . Momoko is the first member of the Powerpuff Girls Z squad. She spends a great deal of her time eating candy and dreaming about boys. She's also a bit of whiner and can act a bit spoiled. But as the leader of the powerpuff girls z, she's usually the first to come up with plans against the bad guys. She transforms using the phrase "Hyper Blossom" and uses a yo-yo. Like the original, she's the self-proclaimed leader of the team. However, she is more or less unlike her original counterpart as she is not as intelligent, is a bit boy-crazy by giving to crushes and romantic fantasies, and is an otaku. She is very familiar with the mahou shōjo genre, along with some typical anime/super sentai concepts and is regarded as a "hero maniac" in school, especially by Kaoru. One could say that her "nerdiness" as an otaku is the equivalent to the original Blossom's "nerdy intelligence." Momoko also has a strong appetite for candy and other sweets and spends much of her time snacking. Because of this, most of her attacks are named after types of food, most often sweets. Additionally, she dislikes celery and is afraid of bugs and dentists. Although often distracted and has been known to whine, Momoko tries her best to protect Tokyo City, lead the girls, and help her friends regardless of her situation (In one instance, when Momoko is unable to transform, she tries to fight alongside Bubbles and Buttercup wearing a sentai hero mask). Often she can be very clever and crafty when needed, usually being the first to come up with a plan to trick or defeat a monster that the girls are having trouble with. She has a younger sister named Kuriko. She is represented by hearts. She dreams of being married in the future./Rolling Bubbles Rōringu Baburusu?, Seiyū: Nami Miyahara). Miyako is the second member of the Powerpuff Girls Z team. She transforms using the phrase "Rolling Bubbles" and uses a bubble wand as a weapon. She is quite friendly and trendy, so it's no surprise that she's popular among boys. She can also a bit clueless. However, she is respectful of others,and can be quite mature. In comparison to the original Bubbles, who was known for being the most childish of the girls, Miyako is the ditsiest member of the three, often appearing a bit clueless, and doesn't seem to understand her powers completely, along with a few other things. She is the only member of the girls who, like some villains, end a few sentences with a phrase; hers is desu wa. She is, however, a little more mature than some of the girls in the team and will try to calm any situation, although she too can be angered when provoked. She is also very polite and always uses honorifics at the end of names. She is more concerned with shopping, her appearance and her outfits, and perhaps because of this, she seems to be very popular among her male classmates. While she seems oblivious to the many boys that love her, she already "loves" Takaaki (or Taka-chan as she called him), a boy on whom she maybe has had a crush ever since she was six years old. She retains her hairstyle during the reimagining, but her pigtails are slightly longer, and curl into ringlets. She also uses curlers (3 balls on each pigtail) when going to bed. Miyako/Bubbles remains typified, however, by the original's compassion, gentleness and innocence, as well as her love of animals and her favorite doll, Octi. In episode 34, it is revealed she lives with only her grandmother. Her parents live in Kyoto. The reason for this is yet left unexplained. She is represented by bubbles. She dreams of being a fashion designer or model in the future. Kaoru Matsubara/Powered Buttercup Kaoru is the third and final member of the Powerpuff Girls Z team. She transforms using the phrase "Powered Buttercup" and uses a Daruma Otoshi hammer. She hates skirts and other girly things-in fact, she even hates girls. Like the original Buttercup, Kaoru is a tomboy and is the most easily enraged of the three. She is known at school for being the most athletic girl as she plays tennis, practices martial arts, and numerous other activities, and spends a great deal of time watching sports on television. She is especially good at soccer due to her strengthened determination after receiving new soccer cleats from her brothers when she was younger. This may be part of the reason why she has so many fangirls, much to her dismay. She dislikes girls, who she considers very "girly". This includes Momoko and Miyako. This, in addition to the fact that she hates skirts, makes Kaoru the most reluctant of the girls, only joining due to the power it has given her. In later episodes, she begins to care about Momoko and Miyako and is no longer reluctant about joining them in whatever they do, but she often tries to act calm and indifferent. She speaks with a hard and masculine edge and rarely uses honorifics when speaking. Her greatest fear is ghosts. Kaoru lives with her father, who is a professional masked-wrestler, mother and two brothers, one older and one younger. It is thought that she has feelings for Butch because in episode 51 when the girls kissed the rowdyruff boys, Buttercup was the last to stop because she was told that she could stop now. She is represented by stars. She dreams of being a professional wrestler like her dad in the future.

Villains and monsters

Most of the villains of Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z were normal, everyday humans/animals/organisms/objects, until the explosion of the chemical Z ray and the effect of the black lights (or Him's black particles,) transformed them into "Monsters." The black light is drawn to people, animals, organisms or inanimate objects that were dominated by negative emotions and not only affects the appearance of its victims and grants them powers, but it magnifies their desires and removes their moral inhibitions. In the more recent episodes, Him (Kare) can also inflict darkness in the same way as the green lights with a black demon powder, creating monsters in the process. Whenever these villains cause trouble, the Powerpuff Girls Z must apprehend them and, for the most part, turn them over to Professor to be restored to their normal form with the Chemical Z Ray. At other times, when the trouble surrounding the darkness is vanquished, the black spores will not usually go away on their own.

Barbie

2008-06-18T02:53:00.000-07:00

Barbie is a best-selling fashion doll launched in 1959. The doll is produced by Mattel, Inc., and is a major source of revenue for the company. The American businesswoman Ruth Handler (1916-2002) is regarded as the creator of Barbie, and the doll's design was inspired by a German doll called Bild Lilli. Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for nearly fifty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parody of the doll and her lifestyle. In recent years, Barbie has faced increasing competition from the Bratz range of dolls.

History

Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara at play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors. During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across German toy doll called Bild Lilli.[1] The adult-figured Lilli doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Die Bild-Zeitung. Lilli was a working girl who knew what she wanted and was not above using men to get it. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately. Upon her return to the United States, Handler reworked the design of the doll (with help from engineer Jack Ryan) and the doll was given a new name, Barbie, after Handler's daughter Barbara. The doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as Barbie's official birthday. Mattel acquired the rights to the Bild Lilli doll in 1964 and production of Lilli was stopped. The first Barbie doll wore a black and white zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail, and was available as either a blonde or brunette. The doll was marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model," with her clothes created by Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson. The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in Japan, with their clothes hand-stitched by Japanese homeworkers. Around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold during the first year of production. Ruth Handler believed that it was important for Barbie to have an adult appearance, and early market research showed that some parents were unhappy about the doll's chest, which had distinct breasts. Barbie's appearance has been changed many times, most notably in 1971 when the doll's eyes were adjusted to look forwards rather than having the demure sideways glance of the original model. Barbie was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television advertising, which has been copied widely by other toys. It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.The standard range of Barbie dolls and related accessories are manufactured to approximately 1/6th scale, which is also known as playscale. Barbie products include not only the range of dolls with their clothes and accessories, but also a huge range of Barbie branded goods such as books, fashion items and video games. Barbie has appeared in a series of animated films and makes a brief guest appearance in the 1999 film Toy Story 2. Almost uniquely for a toy fashion doll, Barbie has become a cultural icon and has been given honors that are rare in the toy world. In 1974 a section of Times Square in New York City was renamed Barbie Boulevard for a week, while in 1985 the artist Andy Warhol created a painting of Barbie

Biography

Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. In a series of novels published by Random House in the 1960s, her parents' names are given as George and Margaret Roberts from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin. Barbie has been said to attend Willows High School and Manhattan International High School in New York City, based on the real-life Stuyvesant High School. She has an on-off romantic relationship with her beau Ken (Ken Carson), who first appeared in 1961. Like Barbie, Ken shares his name with one of Ruth Handler's children. A news release from Mattel in February 2004 announced that Barbie and Ken had decided to split up, but in February 2006 they were back together again. Barbie has had over forty pets including cats and dogs, horses, a panda, a lion cub, and a zebra. She has owned a wide range of vehicles, including pink convertibles, trailers and jeeps. She also holds a pilot's license, and operates commercial airliners in addition to serving as a flight attendant. Barbie's careers are designed to show that women can take on a variety of roles in life, and the doll has been sold with a wide range of titles including Miss Astronaut Barbie (1965), Doctor Barbie (1988) and Nascar Barbie (1998). Mattel has created a range of companions for Barbie, including Hispanic Teresa, Midge, African American Christie and Steven (Christie's boyfriend). For more details, see the List of Barbie's friends and family.

Controversies

Barbie's popularity ensures that her effect on the play of Western children attracts a high degree of scrutiny. The criticisms leveled at her are often based on the assumption that children consider Barbie a role model and will attempt to emulate her. In September 2003 the Middle Eastern country of Saudi Arabia outlawed the sale of Barbie dolls, saying that she did not conform to the ideals of Islam. The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stated "Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful." In Middle Eastern countries there is an alternative doll called Fulla which is similar to Barbie but is designed to be more acceptable to an Islamic market. Fulla is not made by the Mattel Corporation, and Barbie is still available in other Middle Eastern countries including Egypt.In Iran, Sara and Dara dolls are available as an alternative to Barbie. The word Barbie has come to be used as a derogatory slang term for a girl or woman who is considered shallow, most notably in the 1997 pop song Barbie Girl (see Parodies and lawsuits below). In July 1992 Mattel released Teen Talk Barbie, which spoke a number of phrases including "Will we ever have enough clothes?", "I love shopping!", and "Wanna have a pizza party?" Each doll was programmed to say four out of 270 possible phrases, so that no two dolls were likely to be the same. One of these 270 phrases was "Math class is tough!" Although only about 1.5% of all the dolls sold said the phrase, it led to criticism from the American Association of University Women. In October 1992 Mattel announced that Teen Talk Barbie would no longer say the phrase, and offered a swap to anyone who owned the doll. Barbie's waist has been widened in more recent versions of the doll One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for a woman, leading to a risk that women who attempt to emulate her will become anorexic. A standard Barbie doll is 11.5 inches tall, giving a height of 5 feet 9 inches at 1/6 scale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate. In 1965 Slumber Party Barbie came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight which advised: "Don't eat." The doll also came with pink bathroom scales reading 110lb, which would be around 35lbs underweight for a woman 5 feet 9 inches tall. In 1997 Barbie's body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, with Mattel saying that this would make the doll better suited to contemporary fashion designs. Oreo Fun Barbie from 1997 became controversial due to a negative interpretation of the doll's name "Colored Francie" made her debut in 1967, and she is sometimes described as the first African American Barbie doll. However, she was produced using the existing head molds for the white Francie doll and lacked African characteristics other than a dark skin. The first African American doll in the Barbie range is usually regarded as Christie, who made her debut in 1968. Black Barbie and Hispanic Barbie were launched in 1980. In 1997 Mattel joined forces with Nabisco to launch a cross-promotion of Barbie with Oreo cookies. Oreo Fun Barbie was marketed as someone with whom little girls could play after class and share "America's favorite cookie." As had become the custom, Mattel manufactured both a white and a black version. Critics argued that in the African American community Oreo is a derogatory term meaning that the person is "black on the outside and white on the inside," like the chocolate sandwich cookie itself. The doll was unsuccessful and Mattel recalled the unsold stock, making it sought after by collectors. In May 1997 Mattel introduced Share a Smile Becky, a doll in a pink wheelchair. Kjersti Johnson, a 17-year-old high school student in Tacoma, Washington with cerebral palsy, pointed out that the doll would not fit into the elevator of Barbie's $100 Dream House. Mattel announced that it would redesign the house in the future to accommodate the doll. In March 2000 stories appeared in the media claiming that the hard vinyl used in vintage Barbie dolls could leak toxic chemicals, causing danger to children playing with them. The claim was rejected as false by technical experts. A modern Barbie doll has a body made from ABS plastic, while the head is made from soft PVC. In December 2005 Dr. Agnes Nairn at the University of Bath in England published research suggesting that girls often go through a stage where they hate their Barbie dolls and subject them to a range of punishments, including decapitation and placing the doll in a microwave oven. Dr. Nairn said: "It's as though disavowing Barbie is a rite of passage and a rejection of their past

The Powerpuff Girls

2008-06-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

The Powerpuff Girls is an Emmy award-winning American animated television series about three little girls in kindergarten who have superpowers. Created by animator Craig McCracken, the program was produced by Hanna-Barbera until 2001 when Cartoon Network Studios took over production for Cartoon Network. The series is a spoof on American superheroes as well as Japanese Tokusatsu heroes like Super Sentai. As is typical in McCracken's work, the show also makes heavy use of references to older pop culture, particularly the famous English musical group The Beatles. The animation director is Genndy Tartakovsky, of Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack fame, who also directed many of the show's episodes himself.

Overview

The Powerpuff Girls revolves around the adventures of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three cute little girls with super powers. The plot of a typical episode is some humorous variation of standard superhero and/or tokusatsu fare, with the girls using their powers to defend their town from various villains, such as bank robbers, mad scientists, aliens, or giant monsters. In addition, the girls also have to deal with normal issues young children face, such as bed wetting or dependence on a security blanket. The series is one in a long line of cartoons that derives a great deal of humor from pop culture references and parody. There is often a particular emphasis on cultural phenomenons and art styles from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. For instance, the characters' dialogue often contain allusions to various classic rock and pop songs from these eras; there was even an entire episode whose dialogue consisted almost solely of lyrics from Beatles songs, while the episode's plot was a loose retelling of the Beatles career (featuring the show's villains in roles alluding to the original band members). The show has a highly stylized, minimalistic visual look, reminiscent of 1950s and 60s pop art. Movie critic Bob Longino of the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution praised the style in his review of The Powerpuff Girls Movie by saying that "the intricate drawings emanate 1950s futuristic pizazz like a David Hockney scenescape", and that The Powerpuff Girls is "one of the few American creations that is both gleeful pop culture and exquisite high art".The show has been hailed for showing young girls as active and capable heroines. However, it has also come under criticism for its rather excessive violence (including images of characters gushing blood from their mouths when hit), and for what have been perceived as morally questionable actions on part of the main characters, such as sometimes using more brutal force than necessary.

Gilmore Girls

2008-06-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

Gilmore Girls is an Emmy Award-winning American comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The series made its debut on The WB on October 5, 2000, and it ended on May 15, 2007 in its seventh season, which aired on The CW. The show follows single mother Lorelai Victoria Gilmore (Graham) and her daughter Lorelai "Rory" Leigh Gilmore (Bledel) in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, a close-knit small town with many quirky characters, located roughly thirty minutes from Hartford. The series explores family, friendship, generational divides, and social class. Gilmore Girls features intricate, extremely fast-paced dialogue, with frequent popular-culture references and allusions to politics and high culture. It also features social commentary, which is manifest most clearly in Lorelai's diffic Background. Lorelai's conflict with her wealthy parents is central to the back-story foGilmore Girls received an American Film Institute Award and two Viewers For Quality Television Awards, and was named New Program of the Year by the Television Critics Association. The show won an Emmy for its only nomination: 2004's Outstanding Makeup for a Series for the episode "The Festival of Living Art". The show's actors have received many awards for their work on the series. Graham won two Family Television Awards along with a Teen Choice Award for Best TV Mom. Alexis Bledel has won a Young Artist Award and a Family Television Award. The series also won a Family Television Award for New Series, and was named Best Family TV Drama Series by the Young Artist Awards. Cultural references In addition to fast-paced dialogue, Gilmore Girls is also known for numerous popular culture references made by the characters. The references, which may point to anything from movies, television shows, music and books to quotes from celebrities, are frequently quite obscure. To help the viewer understand what the characters are talking about, The WB has included "Gilmore-isms" booklets in the DVD sets of the seasons (except for seasons one, five and six, where purchasers of that set were referred to the site below). The booklets contain "the 411 on many of the show's pop culture references", along with comments from the show creators. Music Music plays a large part in the show. Most of the main or recurring characters on the show have had their musical tastes revealed at one time or another. Lorelai famously likes '80s music like that of The Bangles, XTC, The Go-Go's, David Bowie, Metallica, U2, and Brian Eno. Rory credits her mother with introducing her to new books and music throughout her life, often swaps CDs with her. In the 5th season it is revealed that Rory is a fan of neither Bob Dylan nor The Smashing Pumpkins (whom Lane likes). Lane is a music enthusiast, and her list of musical influences ran to five pages when she was writing her "drummer-seeks-rock-band" ad. Included were David Bowie, the Ramones, Jackson Browne (Lane: "Ah, see, cool people know that he’s more than a mellow hippie-dippy folkie, that he actually wrote some of Nico’s best songs and was in fact her lover before he bored us with 'Doctor My Eyes'. That will separate the posers from the non-posers." —Season 3, Ep. 3 "Application Anxiety"), The Accelerators , The Adverts, Agent Orange, Angelic Upstarts, and Agnostic Front. She also owns a record of Rilo Kiley and another by The Beta Band. Lane's band, Hep Alien (which is an anagram of producer Helen Pai's name), plays rock with different influences, and Sebastian Bach, formerly of Skid Row, plays Gil, the band's guitarist. In one episode Lorelai explains that Lane's kid may like anything. Lorelai says that Lane's mother didn't know that she would love Jane's Addiction, thus showing more of her musical interests. In another episode Zack is planning to have sex with Lane and asks her if the music is alright; He was playing Siouxsie and the Banshees' hit "Hong Kong Garden". Lane says she likes the music. The Bangles made a guest appearance in the Season 1 episode "Concert Interruptus" while The Shins guest-starred (playing their song "So Says I" from the album Chutes Too Narrow) in the Season 4 episode "Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' the Twist" (also, their 2000 single "Know Your Onion!" is heard in season two "Like Mother, Like Daughter", while their album Chutes Too Narrow later appears). The song "Know Your Onion" is also on the Gilmore Girls CD, Our Little Corner Of The World: Music From Gilmore Girls. Carole King, who re-recorded her 1971 song "Where You Lead" as a duet with her daughter Louise Goffin as the Gilmore Girls theme song, appears occasionally as local music store owner Sophie Bloom. The original score to the show is performed by Sam Phillips. Grant-Lee Phillips appears in at least one episode per season (up to season 6) as Grant, the town troubadour. In the finale of the sixth season, the aforementioned troubadour is "discovered" by a music producer and is set to open for Neil Young (who Kirk says is "one of the Monkees") and, as a result, Stars Hollow is infested with new "troubadours" includin Yo La Tengo, members of Sonic Youth, Pernice Brothers and Sparks, all "hoping to be discovered". Taylor, the town's Selectman, tries to shove away the musicians, to no avail. He claims that there's no greater music admirer than him, a Pat Boone enthusiast, but that they lack Boone's talent. Later on, the original troubadour returns and says he was booed off stage and never even got to meet Neil Young - "Heart of Gold my ass" he tells Taylor. Lorelai adopts a dog and names it Paul Anka. The famous singer himself appeared in season 6 in the episode "The Real Paul Anka": Lorelai has a strange dream (that serves as the episode introduction) in which "the dog Paul Anka" switches bodies with "the real Paul Anka" numerous times during its morning walk, until the two, dog and artist, meet in the middle of Stars Hollow, and the world ends. Joel Gion, formerly of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, also appeared in an episode, playing tambourine for Zack's side project while Hep Alien is on hiatus. In 2002, a soundtrack to the show was released by Rhino Records, entitled Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls. The CD booklet features anecdotes from show producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino covering the large part music has played in their lives. Food and drink Food is another important part of the show. Lorelai and Rory are coffee addicts and are frequently seen drinking it on the show. In reality, Alexis Bledel's (Rory) "coffee" mug was generally filled with Coca-Cola or tea. It is a running gag that Lorelai and Rory can eat copious amounts of junk food, but never seem to gain weight. When they are not eating or playing bagel hockey at Luke's Diner, or having formal Friday night dinners at Emily and Richard's, they often order pizza or take-out Chinese food. Surprisingly, their refrigerator is rarely filled with leftovers. They eat tons of food, including French fries and Tater Tots, various types of pies, and ice cream straight from the carton. Lorelai and Rory love to eat Mallomars, which Rory uses to spell out "Happy Birthday Lorelai" on their kitchen table in the third season, and Lorelai snacks on Red Vines red "licorice" during the many movies she watches. The two also like doughnuts and various other chocolate and baked goods. They also enjoy many international foods while on their European trip in the fourth season, and eat the Italian dessert, biscotti, on the night before Rory leaves for Yale (see Season 4: Episode 1 "Ballrooms and Biscotti"). In the DVD commentary for Season 1, Lauren Graham admits that neither she nor Alexis Bledel eat like their characters. Additionally, Pop Tarts recur on the show as both Lorelai's and Rory's favorite breakfast and snack food. Sookie, the chef at the Dragonfly Inn, is very passionate about cooking and often obsesses over the inn's menu. Luke's healthy eating habits are sometimes contrasted with Rory and Lorelai's junk-food diet. Mrs. Kim is a Seventh-day Adventist and follows a strict vegetarian diet, which she also forces upon Lane. Especially in the first season, Rory sneaks Lane candy bars, pizza, and other foods forbidden by her mother. After Lane moves out of her parents' home in a later season, she wins the loyalty of her mother's Korean houseguest by bribing her with fries, other junk food, and advice on skirting Mrs. Kim's many dietary and behavioral restrictionsr the series. Tension with her controlling mother, Emily, and her father, Richard, recurs throughout the show. Lorelai's troubled childhood came to a head when she became the teenage mother of Rory at the age of sixteen, which required the sacrifice of her elite prep-school education (and future as a college student at Vassar). In addition, Lorelai refused to marry the baby's father, Christopher Hayden, much to the dismay of her parents. Instead, the rebellious Lorelai ran away to Stars Hollow, a small, close-knit town near Hartford. There she met Mia, owner of the Independence Inn, who gave her a job as a maid and acted as a surrogate mother to both Lorelai and Rory. Lorelai eventually became general manager of the inn, her position at the start of the series. She and Rory lived in a converted potting shed behind the Inn for about ten years before moving to the house they live in during the show. Lorelai consistently tried to minimize her parents' contact with Rory until (the first episode of the series) Lorelai approached them to fund Rory's elite fictional prep school, Chilton Academy. Rory's education Rory's academic aspirations complicate matters on the show. Rory had wanted to attend Harvard University since kindergarten; to achieve this she transfers to the private (fictional) Chilton Academy, an elite prep school in Hartford, from the public Stars Hollow High at the beginning of her sophomore year. There, she encounters an unfamiliar social environment of wealthy, high-strung peers. Lorelai knows that she cannot afford Rory's Chilton education, and reluctantly solicits help from her parents. Richard and Emily Gilmore agree to lend Lorelai money on the condition that she and Rory attend dinner at their Hartford mansion every Friday evening. The dinners become a common setting for heated conversations and family drama. After much deliberation, and with her mother's blessing, Rory ultimately decides to go to Yale, her grandfather's alma mater, instead of Harvard. Lorelai repays her parents' Chilton loan just before Rory's graduation, ending their mutual arrangement. However, she later discovers Yale is not offering any financial aid for Rory, putting her education in financial jeopardy once again. She has an adequate amount of money, but it was to be used to buy the Dragonfly Inn. Rory realizes that this was important to Lorelai and secretly goes to her grandparents to request the tuition money from them in exchange for the continuance of the Friday night dinners. Rory negotiates the terms of the loan with her grandparents, agreeing on beginning the repayment five years after she graduates and with no interest accrued. After the death of his grandfather Rory's father, Christopher, receives a large inheritance and offers to do anything for Rory. So Rory decides, after a big fight with her grandparents, to have him pay for her tuition from spring semester of her junior year on. This created more tension when her grandfather went to pay for Yale and found out it was already paid for, but ultimately the Friday night dinner tradition continued. In the seventh season, Rory graduates from Yale. She got a job opportunity, but she turned it down in favor of applying for the New York Times fellowship program. Unfortunately, she later finds out she was not accepted into the fellowship and the job she was offered before is now filled. So, Rory graduates from Yale uncertain where her career is going and what she will be doing. In the final episode she accepts an impromptu job offer to work for an online magazine, in which she will follow Barack Obama on the campaign trail. The town throws an equally impromptu going away party for Rory, wishing her well and love as she heads into the world outside of Connecticut. Lorelai's romantic life Lorelai's various romantic entanglements also played a role in the show. Her relationship with local restaurant owner Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) gradually grows from a playful friendship to a romantic relationship at the end of the fourth season. At one point Lorelai and Luke come home drunk and have relations. Lorelai later realizes she may be pregnant, but it is a false alarm. They get engaged in the sixth season premiere after Lorelai sees how much Luke cares for Rory when he finds out she's not going back to Yale. When Luke finds out he has a daughter he wants to slow things down with Lorelai. After a while she grows impatient and gives him an ultimatum. She told him they would get married now or it was over. He declined and their relationship ended in the sixth season finale. In the seventh season, during the Spring Fling (one of the town's many festivals), the two meet in the middle of a hay maze, and both apologize for their behavior regarding the end of their relationship, thus beginning a new, tentative friendship. In the series finale, Luke moves mountains to throw Rory a graduation/going away party in the town square. When Sookie tells Lorelai that Luke painstakingly put the bash together, with the help of most of the townfolk, Lorelai decides to thank Luke for his thoughtfulness. Luke tells her that he just likes to see her happy, they embrace, and kiss. In the final scene of the episode, Lorelai and Rory are seated at Luke's Diner for an early breakfast before Rory must leave for her first job after graduating from Yale. When Luke asks Lorelai what she would like to eat, she says that she needs a minute as she can't decide. Luke smiles and tells her to take all the time she needs. Also, in this scene Lorelai is wearing a necklace that Luke gave to her as a gift. This last scene of the series mirrors the last scene of the first episode, where Lorelai and Rory are eating in the diner with Luke behind the counter. Max Medina (Scott Cohen), Rory's Chilton English teacher, to whom Lorelai was briefly engaged. Luke, after learning of their engagement, makes Lorelai a chuppah, and when he presents it to her they talk. Luke observes that "you only get married once." Then at her bachlorette party her mother talks about when she was about to marry Richard and that she would put on her wedding dress every night. These things make Lorelai realize that she does not truly love Max, and she ends their engagement by leaving for a spontaneous road trip with Rory early in the morning the day before her wedding. Max shows up again in the third season, but nothing serious happens between them. For a while in season 3 Lorelai casually dated Alex, a divorced man with two kids who was starting his own coffee shop. He took her coffee tasting, fishing and to New York for a show and then was no longer on the show. Jason Stiles, Richard's much younger business partner and a childhood friend of Lorelai's, whom she fondly calls Digger. She initially dated him to bother her mother, who she knew would disapprove of their relationship. However, when the relationship became more serious, she feared telling her parents. Jason and Lorelai's relationship was exposed when Jason's father hired a private investigator to follow his son. They broke up when Jason filed a lawsuit against Lorelai's father after Richard sued Jason. Lorelai eventually chose her father over Jason. In the fourth season finale, Jason comes to the test run at the Dragonfly to try to win Lorelai back. He becomes annoying by the end of the night (especially to Luke, who is unclear on the details of his and Lorelai's relationship status). At the end of the episode Lorelai adamantly tells Jason and Luke that her relationship with Jason is over. After which Jason is never seen again. That ends up being the night Luke and Lorelai first kiss. Lorelai periodically reconnects with Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe), Rory's father. As their subplot develops, it becomes evident that Lorelai always expected to reunite with Christopher, but he was never prepared to commit seriously. In the first season when we meet him for the first time they go to Friday night dinner with both their parents. It ends up turning into a big fight and Chris and Lorelai end up on the balcony where they held many high school memories, including the initial conception of Rory. After much reminiscing, they find themselves having sex. The next morning Chris spontaneously proposes, but Lorelai knows he can't be a family man. When Rory asks if she loved him, she says, "I think I'll always love your dad..." Christopher begins dating Sherry in season 2, but after they break up, he and Lorelai begin to rekindle their relationship, until Sherry reveals that she is pregnant and Lorelai gets dumped. Christopher and Sherry get married, have a baby and get divorced after Sherry runs off to Paris abandoning Chris and their baby. At this point Lorelai was already romantically involved with Luke, although Christopher tried to win her back at Richard and Emily's "wedding." He messes things up with Lorelai and Luke and makes Lorelai even more irritated with him. They remained platonic until the final episode of the sixth season, when Lorelai goes to Chris for comfort after breaking up with Luke and again they end up having sex. In the seventh season, they took a romantic trip to Paris and decided to elope. During the November sweeps 2006, they are a married couple. However, soon into their marriage they broke up again due to conflicts over lack of sincere devotion to their marriage on her part and her lingering feelings for Luke, as well as his inability to work through conflict. Rory's romantic life As with Lorelai, Rory's romantic attractions also run throughout the show. Rory meets Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki) in the first episode of the series, and maintains a relationship with him for almost two and a half seasons. She does break up with Dean briefly in the first season, when she isn't able to reciprocate his statement, "I love you." It is during this time apart that Rory kisses Tristan DuGrey (Chad Michael Murray), a Chilton classmate with whom she has a love-hate relationship. Eventually, she renews her relationship with Dean and they remain a steady couple until the third season, when Dean decides to call it quits because he is convinced that Rory is in love with Jess Mariano, Luke Danes' nephew. They do not reunite until much later, when she loses her virginity to a now-married Dean in an unexpected fling, which ultimately ends his marriage and creates a short-lived rift between her and her mother. Rory and Dean break-up when he decides he can't compete with her life at Yale and her new Yale friends including Logan Huntzberger. Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia), moves to Stars Hollow in Season 2 to live with his uncle, local diner owner Luke Danes. During that season Rory is torn between her attraction for the combustible Jess and the always dependable Dean. Eventually, Rory chooses Jess and they become a couple and are together throughout the third season. However, their relationship ends abruptly when Jess drops out of high school and leaves Stars Hollow without telling Rory. He goes to California to seek out his father —- his life there was potentially going to be a Gilmore Girls spin-off but this never materialized. In season four, Jess reappears after several months and confesses his love for Rory, imploring her to leave Yale to run away with him to New York but Rory is unwilling to do so. In Season 6, Jess makes an unexpected appearance at Rory's grandparents' house and the two briefly reminisce about old times. Rory and Jess make plans to have dinner together to further catch-up with each other but Logan interlopes on the "date" and he and Jess get into a heated exchange and Jess walks out. Outside the restaurant, Jess questions Rory about her upper-class sensibilities and her apparent fascination with Logan, who Jess claims is exactly the type of person he and Rory "used to make fun of". Later in season 6, Rory takes an impulsive trip to visit Jess in Philadelphia where she and Jess share a romantic kiss after he writes a book and tells her all his success is due to her support. This is cut short however when Rory realizes she doesn't want to betray Logan and walks out. Jess is never seen again in the series. At Yale, Rory becomes involved with Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry), a chronic underachiever whose wealthy family owns a newspaper empire and immediately disapproves of Rory. Logan's father, the infamous Mitchum Huntzberger, hires Rory as an intern. His crushingly negative evaluation of her work leads to her leaving Yale temporarily at the end of the fifth season. (The scenes of Logan's house are filmed at Doheny mansion on the Mount St. Mary's campus.) In the sixth season premiere, Lorelai and Rory are estranged and Rory is living with her grandparents. She is taking time off from college and serving community service for stealing a yacht with Logan. Eventually, an intervention from Jess makes Rory regret her actions, and she reunites with her mother. Logan gets upset at Rory because of Jess' appearance and leaves without resolution. Rory then returns to Yale for the spring semester of the 2005–2006 school year. Rory's relationship with Logan is particularly tumultuous after she attends the wedding of Logan's sister, and discovers that he had sex with all of the bridesmaids during their brief break up earlier in season 6. In the next episode, Rory takes Logan back, although she has not forgiven him. Logan then leaves for three days on a Life and Death Brigade event, although Rory had expressed her concern. During his absence, Rory visits Jess at his new bookstore and kisses him, apologizing and fully confessing her feelings for Logan. Logan is seriously injured on the trip. Rory takes care of Logan after his accident, and their relationship is repaired. In the season 6 finale, Logan graduates and leaves for London. In the seventh season, he relocates to New York City to start his own Internet company, which becomes a financial disaster. Logan has a breakdown and heads to Las Vegas, where he parties frequently. Rory and Logan fight over his irresponsible behavior, but eventually make up. Their relationship continues to strengthen when Logan comes home with Rory to Stars Hollow. There, he asks Lorelai for Rory's hand in marriage and reveals his plans to move to San Francisco. When Logan reveals his intentions to Rory at her graduation party (held by her grandparents), she replies by saying she "needs more time." After her graduation, Rory tells Logan that there is so much in life to pursue now, and that being married would change that. She attempts to convince him to give a long-distance relationship a try, but he tells her that it's "all or nothing". She gives the ring back to Logan and he ends their relationship that same day. Logan still plans to move to San Francisco without Rory. Other characters Rory's friendships with long-time best friend Lane Kim (Keiko Agena), a first-generation Korean American from a strict background, and Paris Geller (Liza Weil), a friend/rival at both Chilton and Yale, are also themes in the show. At the end of the sixth season, Lane marries Hep Alien band-mate Zach van Gerbig (Todd Lowe), a sweet and slightly dopey rocker. At the beginning of the seventh season, Lane discovers that she is unexpectedly pregnant and gives birth to twin boys (Kwan and Steve) later in the season. In the seventh season, Paris is accepted into Harvard Medical School (Harvard is the school she has wanted to go to for years, as her family are all alumni, but was not accepted for the Baccalaureate program during the third season). In season four, Doyle McMaster (Danny Strong) storms onto the show as the Yale Daily News editor. He and Paris start dating in the fifth season, after Paris's relationship with a much older Professor Asher Fleming (Michael York) ends with his sudden death. Episodes Main article: List of Gilmore Girls episodes Production History The pilot episode of Gilmore Girls received financial support from the script development fund of the Family Friendly Programming Forum. It was the first network show to reach the air with help from funding provided by that organization, which includes some of the nation's leading advertisers. The show was not a ratings success initially, airing in the tough Thursday 8pm/7pm Central time slot dominated by Survivor and Friends in its first season. It grew a following that saw it outdraw its time-slot competitor, popular series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in the ratings when it moved to Tuesday. In its fifth season, Gilmore Girls blossomed into The WB's second most watched primetime show, with a fan base which grew by double digits in all major demographics. In its syndicated release in the U.S., the show airs exclusively on the ABC Family Channel. The WB planned to air a spin-off featuring Jess as the main character, called Windward Circle, in which he gets to know his estranged father better and befriends a bunch of California skateboarders. However, the network canceled the show before it aired, citing high production costs to shoot on location in Venice Beach as the reason.On May 3, 2007, The CW announced that the series would not be renewed.According to Variety, "Money was a key factor in the decision, with the parties involved not able to reach a deal on salaries for the main cast members. Other issues, such as number of episodes and production dates, may have also played a role". Furthermore, the entirety of the 7th season was not written or produced by Amy Sherman-Palladino. Since the finale, fans have petitioned for an 8th season. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has expressed an interest in pursuing a Gilmore Girls movie, an idea in which many cast members have shown interest. Awardsult relationship with her wealthy upper class parents.

Ugly Betty about her....

2008-06-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

Ugly Betty is a Golden Globe, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning[1] American television comedy-drama series starring America Ferrera in the title role, along with Eric Mabius, Judith Light, Rebecca Romijn and Vanessa Williams. The series premiered on September 28, 2006, on ABC in the United States and on Citytv in Canada. It follows the life of the unglamorous and good-natured Betty Suarez (Ferrera), and her incongruous job at the ultra-chic New York City fashion magazine Mode. The series is an adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea ("I am Betty, the ugly"),[2] also simply known as "Betty la fea" ("Ugly Betty") written by Fernando Gaitán (also author of Café, con aroma de mujer). It is adapted into a New York City setting by creator/developer Silvio Horta and co-producers Salma Hayek and Ben Silverman, whose production companies Silent H, Ventanarosa and Reveille respectively partnered with ABC Studios to create the hour-long program for US audience. Hayek has appeared on the show as Sofia Reyes, in addition to playing a cameo role as an actress on a fictional telenovela watched by the main character's family in the pilot episode. On February 16, 2008, ABC picked up Ugly Betty for the 2008-09 television season.[3] Contents[hide] 1 Setting and storylines 1.1 Season 1 1.2 Season 2 1.3 Season 3 2 Cast 2.1 Core regulars 2.2 Recurring 2.3 Former cast/recurring members 2.3.1 Notes 3 Production 4 Competition with other "Betty" offshoots 4.1 Inspired versions 4.2 Criticism from Colombia 5 DVD releases 6 International broadcasts 7 Merchandising 8 Reception 8.1 Television parodies and references 8.2 Success abroad 8.3 Cultural impact 8.4 Awards 8.5 Reviews 9 See also 10 References 11 External links // [edit] Setting and storylines As the series began viewers were introduced to Betty Suárez, a young Latina who lands a job as a personal assistant to newly-installed editor-in-chief Daniel Meade at Mode magazine. Betty is good-hearted and brave, but sorely lacking in social skills, self-confidence, fashion sense, and aesthetic polish. She sports thick-framed eyeglasses and a large and prominent set of dental braces (which have become the most identifiable symbol for both Ferrera's character and the show itself). Her lackluster physical appearance and awkward nature result in her immediately being singled out in the single-minded world of New York City fashion, and she is quickly saddled with the show's eponymous nickname. As Betty and her boss quickly become the success story of the fashion industry, they also must deal with how they got there and how it has affected their working relationship. At work the two find themselves dealing with Creative Director Wilhelmina Slater, who wanted the Editor-In-Chief position, while Betty found herself dealing with Marc St. James, Wilhelmina's assistant/henchman and receptionist Amanda Sommers (originally Tanen until the end of the first season), who wanted Betty's job in large part, initially, because of her attraction to Daniel. The only friends that Betty trusts at MODE are seamstress Christina McKinney and accountant Henry Grubstick, to whom Betty is attracted. Their home lives are also a challenge. At home in Jackson Heights in the borough of Queens, Betty must deal with her father Ignacio, older sister Hilda and Hilda's son Justin. In Daniel's case, the issues in his home and personal life revolve around his demanding father (and boss), Bradford Meade, who gave both Daniel and Betty their current positions (prior to his passing from a heart attack); his mother Claire Meade; and, after returning from a two-year disappearance, his transsexual and competitive sister Alexis Meade (formerly known as Alex). The show contains a degree of surrealism used to express the inner thoughts of its characters. For example, in "I See Me, I.C.U.", Betty speaks with an earlier version of herself about how far she has come since her first day. [edit] Season 1 Main article: Ugly Betty (season 1) Throughout the show's first season, most of the serialized storylines revolve around Betty trying to balance her work, home and romantic life. Betty must decide what to do after her first boyfriend Walter cheats on her with the Suarez's neighbor, Gina Gambarro. Betty falls in love with mode accountant Henry Grubstick, whose ex-girlfriend Charlie claims to be pregnant with his child, despite having cheated with another man. Betty's sister Hilda fails to sell beauty products door-to-door and becomes unemployed, but discovers her talent as a beautician. Betty's father Ignacio has health and immigration problems, and he admits to a history of murdering his employer after falling in love with his employer's wife, Betty and Hilda's future mother. Other Season One plot lines involve Daniel's womanizing, his affairs with fellow editor Sofia Reyes and lawyer Grace Chin, and his sudden drug addiction; Bradford's affair with Daniel's late predecessor Fey Sommers; the revelation that Claire murdered Fey; Claire's battle with alcoholism; and Alexis' attempts to repair her relationship with Daniel at Bradford's expense. Several storylines revolve around Wilhelmina, including her schemes to use Alexis to force Daniel out of his job. (Alexis is first introduced as 'the mystery woman', until she reveals to the world that Alex Meade had not died in a skiing accident but was now a woman, Alexis). Wilhelmnia also plots to marry Bradford so she can take over the company, and she attempts to deal with her rebellious daughter Nico while winning acceptance from her father. Finally, Marc deals with multi-tasking for his boss, his homosexuality and family acceptance. Amanda becomes a binge eater, is the target of a prank, and discovers that her true birth mother was Fey Sommers. Christina is used by Wilhelmina even as she helps Betty. [edit] Season 2 Main article: Ugly Betty (season 2) The 2nd season of Ugly Betty began on September 27, 2007, and ended on May 22, 2008. The season's theme was "Brighter, Bolder, Bettyer" with a reworked version of Mika's "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" being used as the featured song in its promos. This season introduced viewers to nine new recurring characters who will be played by Freddy Rodríguez, Illeana Douglas, Alec Mapa, David Blue, John Cho, Gabrielle Union, Gene Simmons, Eddie Cibrian and Juliette Goglia, while Lorraine Toussaint continued in her role as Claire's fellow prison escapee, Yoga, as a recurring regular. Mo'Nique also appeared in a recurring regular this season as well playing weekend security chief L'Amanda. In the second season, Betty has to decide if she still wants to be with Henry after he got Charlie pregnant, and despite the fact that he is going to leave for Tucson, AZ, in a few months (so he can be at Charlie's side and help raise the baby). In between these events, a deli shop owner named Giovanni "Gio" Rossi starts building a platonic relationship with Betty, which has Hilda, Amanda, and Henry suspecting that Gio might be trying to become the new guy in Betty's life. Daniel recovers from a car accident but Alexis forgets the last few years of her life, including the fact that she was changed into a woman and that her father mistreated her. Bradford decides to use this to his advantage and doesn't remind Alexis of how he mistreated her; instead, he claims that he was always supportive of her. Wilhelmina's scheme to marry Bradford unravels when (1) Betty learns of the affair she's having with her bodyguard (they were even together the night before the wedding) and (2) Bradford has a heart attack at the altar and later dies from it. Wilhelmina would later be fired from the company by the Meade Family. Amanda tries desperately to find out more about her family, and with Wilhelmina's help, she gets a list of people that could be her dad, leading her to Rock legend Gene Simmons. Marc finds a partner in Cliff St. Paul, a photographer who is not as handsome, but Marc accepts him as a boyfriend anyway. Claire Meade escapes from jail with her "friend" Yoga, and they hide away in the Hamptons. Claire is later recaptured, and thanks to a clever (and ironic) scheme by the late Fey Sommers, Claire is acquitted of her murder (Fey had poisoned Claire's perfume in an attempt to kill her, but instead it made Claire become crazy and violent, and eventually she cut Fey's brakes and killed her). Hilda tries to get over Santos and to start her new career as a beautician while Justin, who became an intern at MODE, tries to be more like his dad and goes into a "bad boy" phase until Hilda intervenes, prompting the the two to restore their mother-son relationship. Christina is surprised to see her ex show up, but when she learns that he is sick and in need of money for an operation, she's determined to help. When Wilhelmina offers to pay Christina if she becomes her surrogate (by being impregnated with Bradford's sperm, which Wilhelmina went to great lengths to remove from his body so she can get control of the Meade empire), Christina agrees to carry the baby, not knowing that this latest plan has more expectant twist and turns when Wilhelmina's troubled sister Renee shows up and starts dating Daniel, resulting in Wilhelmina taking great lengths to conceal her scheme. Production was halted in November 2007 due to the Writers' Strike. It was then announced the season would be cut short to 18 episodes instead of a proposed 23. New episodes did not air on U.S. television until April 24, 2008, starting with Twenty Four Candles and ending on May 22, 2008, with "Jump"This season was the last one produced in Los Angeles. [edit] Season 3 Main Article: Ugly Betty (season 3) The show was officially picked up for a new season by ABC on February 11, 2008. Production will move to New York City from Los Angeles beginning with this season. [edit] Cast [edit] Core regulars Character Actor/Actress Betty Suarez America Ferrera Daniel Meade Eric Mabius Amanda Sommers Becki Newton Claire Meade Judith Light Wilhelmina Slater Vanessa Williams Alexis Meade 9 Rebecca Romijn Marc St. James Michael Urie Henry Grubstick Christopher Gorham Christina McKinney Ashley Jensen Hilda Suarez Ana Ortiz Ignacio Suarez Tony Plana Justin Suarez Mark Indelicato [edit] Recurring Character Actor/Actress Giovanni "Gio" Rossi 7 Freddy Rodriguez Suzuki St. Pierre Alec Mapa Gina Gambarro 2 Ava Gaudet Charlie Jayma Mays Beckett 'Becks' Scott 2 Bailey Chase Nick Pepper 2 Max Greenfield Sheila 7 Illeana Douglas Fabia 2 Gina Gershon Cliff St. Paul 7 David Blue Kenny 7 John Cho [edit] Former cast/recurring members Character Actor/Actress Last Appearance Bradford Meade Alan Dale Giving Up The Ghost Walter 6 Kevin Sussman Brothers Sofia Reyes 8 Salma Hayek Sofia's Choice Steve 9 Stelio Savante In or Out Constance Grady 8 Octavia Spencer Punch Out Santos 8 Kevin Alejandro How Betty Got Her Grieve Back Amelia "Yoga" Bluman 8 Lorraine Toussaint I See Me, I.C.U. [edit] Notes Note 1: - Listed as "Guest Starring" in opening credits, but became a full time regular after episode "Sofia's Choice" Note 2: - Became recurring after their second appearance. Note 3: - Gorham and Light became recurring in the first season; They became fulltime regulars in the second season.[4][5] Note 4: - Alexis Meade was initially played by Elizabeth Penn Payne (when she was listed in the credits as "The Masked Lady"). Rebecca Romijn took over the role in "In or Out" and shall continue until the end of Season 2. Note 5: - Newton also plays another character, Ruthie.[6] Note 6: - Listed as "Guest Starring" in opening credits, but became a full time regular after episode "Sofia's Choice"; Was still listed in credits as a regular but has not been seen since "Brothers" and was dropped from the series altogether. Note 7: - Added to cast in second season. Note 8: - Former recurring regulars. Note 9: - Will be demoted to recurring in Season Three.[7] [edit] Production The idea to bring Ugly Betty to American TV screens began in 2001 when NBC was planning to adapt Betty as a half-hour comedy, which would be produced by Sony Pictures Television [8] but it never made past the planning stages (It took three writers to come up with a concept based around the character[9] until ABC and Hayek's company came on board in 2004 and retooled it as an hour-long comedy-drama.[10] Two years later, on May 16, 2006, ABC announced that Ugly Betty would be part of the 2006–2007 North American season lineup as a weekly hour-long series; the initial order was for thirteen episodes. ABC had announced the title of the series would be Betty the Ugly, a change from its developmental title, but changed it back to Ugly Betty on July 14,[11] although the Ugly Betty title was already being used in promotions prior to this date on Citytv. There was speculation that the show would be a daily serial that would have debuted as a summer 2006 or midseason 2007 entry, but given the buzz and growing interest in the show, the network decided to make it a weekly series instead. On August 8, 2006, ABC decided at the last minute, a schedule change to move "Ugly Betty" from its previously announced Friday 8 p.m. (ET) time period to Thursday at 8 p.m. replacing sitcoms Notes from the Underbelly and Big Day as a lead-in to top-rated program Grey's Anatomy, due to the growing interest in the show. The program's pilot was tested on several cable providers to gauge interest and feedback from viewers, most notably the Hispanic community, including those who are fans of the original Betty, who hoped that ABC will maintain the integrity of the original. ABC has also allowed its affiliates to show free off-air screenings to the public at various events ahead of the show's debut. In addition the network screened the debut episode on the web and made the episodes available for download on iTunes after their initial airings on January 5, 2007. The encore episodes have also run on ABC Family and SoapNet, both of which have been airing marathons of the show. On October 13, 2006, ABC ordered a full season pick-up for the series, beyond the original 13 ordered at the May Upfronts[12] due to its premiere ratings. ABC originally announced 22 episodes for the season 1, but increased the number of episodes to 23 by one. The season finale is the episode called "East Side Story." On March 21, 2007, ABC renewed the series for a second season.[13] Although he is joining NBC as their new entertainment head, Ben Silverman will remain co-executive producer on the show, but in a limited role.[14] In November 2007 the cast of the series made headlines when they threw their support behind the 2007 Writers' Strike by joining them on the picket line in solidarity. Ferrera commented on the reason why they did this: "The issues coming up with the actors’ contracts are very similar to what the writers are dealing with right now, and we have to stay united and stand strong within the creative community for what we believe is fair."[15] On November 25, the cast appeared in a 38-second video for "Speechless Hollywood" in which a black & white camera pulled away from a close up of Ferrera to showing her co-stars sitting next to her as they look directly at the camera without speaking.[16] On February 11, 2008, ABC picked up Ugly Betty for the 2008-09 television season, along with nine other shows.[17] Unfortunately on the day the renewal was announced, two of the show's executive producers, Marco Pennette and James Hayman, were let go. The departures of Pennette and Hayman adds to the constant turnovers on the series off-camera, which has so far seen five writers having exited or fired.[18] In a Q&A from TV Guide, Michael Ausiello criticized the decision, saying "that someone saw fit to fix what wasn't broken" and praised the two men for writing several of the show's best episodes.[19] These turn of events may have also contributed to Rebecca Romijn's decision to no longer be a full time regular on the series in the third season, citing the move by new writers to make changes in the direction of several characters, especially Romijn's role as Alexis[20]. With the strike now over as of February 12, there is now the possibility that they could have seven new episodes completed by April, bringing the number of second season episodes produced to 20,[21] but so far it has been adjusted to 18. As a result of the strike, creator Silvio Horta has delayed plans for a musical episode and having Lindsay Lohan onboard for a possible storyline until the third season.[22] On March 12, 2008, Horta inked a two-year, seven-figure deal with ABC Studios, which guarantees the show's future and gives Horta a chance to produce other projects aside from "Betty".[23] On April 17, 2008, the show's podcast, which is usually presented in audio and hosted by stars Urie and Newton, became available on video for the first time.[24] On May 6, 2008, ABC announced that starting with the third season, "Ugly Betty" will return to New York City and start production there. The move was done to save costs and to bring the authenicity of the series' setting back into the show[25]. The move also resulted in several crewmembers in Los Angeles being let go as well[26]. [edit] Competition with other "Betty" offshoots Although Disney-ABC Domestic Television (Buena Vista Television) has sold the series to foreign territories, the English-language version is expected to compete with the in-house versions in several of the locations.[27] As noted by the international broadcast posted below, several of these broadcasters have not only acquired this version, but the counterparts as well, including those that were produced by the broadcasters themselves. So far the series has been sold to TV networks and broadcasters in over 130 countries, making this version the most successful of the "Betty La Fea" franchise.[28] In the U.S., Univision aired the Mexican counterpart La fea más bella, which ran weeknights at 8 p.m. (E/P), including Thursdays during the same time Ugly Betty airs. The star of the Mexican version, Angelica Vale, was supposed to make a cameo in the 22nd episode, playing Betty's "counterpart" from the series, Leticia 'Lety' Padilla Solís,[29] but the story turned out to be false. Vale appeared in the season finale playing Angelica, an orthodontist's assistant who looks exactly like Lety (pre-makeover). [edit] Inspired versions While the original Betty la Fea has spawned serialized versions globally, it appears that the weekly American version has also begun to pique interest as well. A version of Yo soy Betty, la fea made by Bosnian Federalna Televizija (FTV), Croatian RTL Televizija and Serbian Fox Televizija began airing in October 2007. The title of the show is Ne daj se, Nina ("Don't give up, Nina"). After a long audition, newcomer Lana Gojak, who resembles America Ferrera, has been cast in the role of Nina (Betty). Other reported cast members include established actors such as Robert Kurbaša, Edvin Livarić, Bojana Ordinačev, Petar Ćiritović, Andrija Milošević, Kristina Krepela and Sloboda Mićalović. The first season will include 52 episodes and will air once a week. Although the storyline follows that of Yo soy Betty, la fea, Lana Gojak's appearance as Nina seems to be based more on the heroine of Ugly Betty than on that of Yo soy Betty, la fea. There is even talk of an Arabic version of "Ugly Betty", which would be produced and shot in Dubai. This would be the first "Betty, la Fea"-inspired series to be adapted from the American version.[30] [edit] Criticism from Colombia In November 2007, Sony Entertainment Television began airing Ugly Betty in South America, under the Spanish title "Betty, la Fea", with Spanish subtitles. However in Colombia there were criticisms over the American version, calling it a pale imitation and counterfeit copy of their original version.[31] Both series differ greatly, the Colombian version aired as a soap opera with daily cliffhangers, while Ugly Betty aires as a weekly comedy, only sometimes ending with cliffhangers.[32] The American version also has a different main plot and explores different themes. While the American version has more than half a dozen core characters, the Colombian version turns only around Betty and her boss's life with its main plot being Betty's unrequited love for her handsome and promiscuous boss, whom she marries on the series's last episode. When it comes to the series' themes, Silvio Horta says that the American version explores economic disparity and race issues while the Colombian version was specifically about appearance.[33] [edit] DVD releases DVD Name Region 1 Region 2 (UK and Ireland release) Region 4 Region 5 No of discs No of episodes The Complete First Season - The Bettyfied Edition August 21, 2007 September 24, 2007 October 31, 2007 October 31, 2007 6 23 The Complete Second Season - Brighter, Bolder, Bettyer September 9, 2008 [34][35] [36] 5 18 [edit] International broadcasts Australia Its debut episode on the Seven Network pulled in 2.03 million viewers, beating Nine's airing of 60 Minutes and Ten's airing of The Biggest Loser in the same time period. Since its debut the series has remained in the top five in the Australian TV ratings.[37] The season one finale aired August 5, 2007, and received the lowest rating of the year - 1.051 million and only in the 13th slot of the night. This was predominantly because it aired in the same timeslot as the season premiere of rival program Australian Idol.[38] After holding off on the 2nd season, it was announced in April 2008 that Seven would begin Ugly Betty's second season in a new 7:30 pm Wednesday timeslot, beginning on the 7th of May.[39] Belgium VIJFtv began airing the show on March 13, 2008. The ratings for the first two episodes were 165,000.[citation needed]. Its rival, Sara (the Flemish adaptation of Betty, la fea which airs on VTM), has a weekly audience between 650,000 and 750,000. It airs every weekday at 6:25 pm, while Ugly Betty is a weekly show that airs every Thursday at 9:00 pm. The show started almost five months after Sara premiered on VTM, which was a disadvantage for Ugly Betty; Ugly Betty failed to draw in more viewers because of the extremely successful Sara. VIJFtv decided to put a hold on the last six episodes of the first season of Betty. The possibility of VIJFtv continuing with Ugly Betty in september is still an option. Sara ends in June. Bulgaria Nova Television aired Season 1 in October and November 2007. Canada As noted above, Citytv owns the English-language rights to the series, which airs in the same timeslot as the American broadcast, while Radio-Canada, the French language television arm of the CBC, owns the francophone rights. The television series debuted in the province of Quebec and in the rest of French-speaking Canada on April 7, 2008 at 8:00 pm in French. Even if the other francophone territories use the original title, Radio-Canada translated the title as Chère Betty ("Dear Betty") because an English title would not have been received well by the Québécois.[40] Czech Republic Prima begins airing the show on March 5, 2008. Ecuador Season One started in October 31, 2007 in Sony Entertainment Television after the reality show America's Next Top Model. France The first two episodes aired on TF1 on January 7, 2008 at late-night time, averaging about 3.8 million viewers (28.4% share) and 3.3 millions viewers (39.4% share). Ugly Betty did really well on key demos 15-24 (First episode: 46.8%, second episode: 56.7%) and 18-49 (First episode: 39.7%, second episode: 56.6%). But week after week the show has lost more than 1 million viewers, in part due to the late night schedule. In an effort to attract more viewers, two weekly TV magazines, Arthelius and Series TV Magazine, placed a cover of Ugly Betty on their February 12, 2008 issues.[41][42] Germany This was the only country where Ugly Betty failed to connect with audiences. Sat1 cancelled the show after two episodes due to low ratings. Germany has had its own local adaptation of Betty la Fea, Verliebt in Berlin, which also aired on Sat1 and was more popular with viewers than "Betty." Hungary Season one premiered in March 2007 on RTL Klub at 7:00 pm Sunday. After the first couple of episodes, the show was removed to a time slot with fewer viewers at 5:30 pm. The first season was a huge failure, so the airing of the second season on RTL Klub is uncertain. India Season One premiered in July 2007, on Star World at 9:00 pm every Wednesday evening. India had aired Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin, which was a Hindi adaptation of Yo soy Betty, la fea. Although it premiered much later than the Colombian original, "Jassi" has been mistaken as the inspiration for the American adaptation.[43] Ireland The European premiere took place on RTÉ Two on January 1, 2007. Season two again premiered on RTÉ Two on October 4, 2007. Ugly Betty airs Thursdays at 8:00 pm on RTÉ Two and has proved to be successful among viewers. The second season returned after a break on March 24, 2008 at 8:05 pm. Israel Channel10 / Hot Telecom Season premiere aired in Israel in March 2nd, 2007 on Channel Israel 10. The rights were bought by the Israeli Cable Company - Hot Telecom - and has started during April 2008 the re-runs of season 1 which will be followed by season 2. Italy The season premiere aired on Italia 1 in May averaging about 3.5 million viewers making it one of the most watched program of the night. The first part of season one (episodes 1-14) aired from May until June averaged 3.2 million viewers, and the second part (episodes 15-23) aired in September averaging 2.5 million viewers. The series did especially well in the 18-49 years old target with an average share of 13%. Second season will be aired in Summer 2008. Japan Season one started in October 1, 2007 and has been aired on NHK BS2 at 11:00 p.m. every Monday evening. The Japanese title is as same as the original Ugly Betty though it is written in Japanese Katakana. Satellite and cable channel Super Drama TV have also picked up the show, Season One began in April 2008 Latvia TV3 began showing season one on March 5, 2008. Lithuania LNK begins airing the show on January 7, 2008. Mexico There is a dispute over who owns the rights to Ugly Betty in that country. TV Azteca had acquired the rights in 2006 and was set to debut it in 2007, but Sony Entertainment Television, which is also airs on cable and satellite systems in Mexico, has the Latin American rights, resulting in several delays until the matter is settled. SET began airing the series in the rest of Latin America in November 2007. Sony Entertainment Television star airing Ugly Betty in May 2008. Netherlands Net 5 began airing Ugly Betty on August 20, 2007 to excellent ratings. Its rival Tien aired Lotte, the Dutch adaption of Yo Soy Betty, la fea. Lotte gained an audience of between the 250,000 and 300,000 viewers, while Ugly Betty does better with a weekly audience of between 400,000 and 600,000 viewers. New Zealand Ugly Betty joined Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives as TV2's highest-rated overseas shows. It went on a two-month hiatus after airing the episode "Sofia's Choice," as the audience for sister channel TV1's Dancing with the Stars was deemed too similar. In the meantime, TV2 aired Day Break.[44] Norway Ugly Betty airs on TV Norge, Wednesdays at 08:45 am. It premiered in January 2008 and had 365,000 viewers (more viewers than Lost at that time). Poland The first season of Ugly Betty premiered in Poland on May 14, 2007 on Fox Life, and on September 3, 2007 on TVP2. Season two premiered on FoxLife on March 23, 2008. Portugal It is airing both on national television (SIC) and on cable (FOX Life). The first season premiered on April 7, 2007 while the second aired for the first time on October 21 of the same year. Both seasons were premiered on SIC. Puerto Rico Season one was aired this year 2008 on WAPA at 9:00 pm every Thursday evening, with repetitions on Sunday evenings at 10:00 pm. It is shown under the Spanish title "Betty, Mi Fea Bellas" with Spanish voice actors providing the dubbing over the show's cast. Romania The show is broadcast by Acasă TV, the same channel that aired Yo Soy Betty, la fea. Slovakia Markíza began airing the show on January 12, 2008. Spain Cuatro TV is still waiting to broadcast the show due to a rival network airing another Betty version, Yo Soy Bea.[45] Sweden The show is aired at Kanal 5 on Tuesdays at 8:00 pm. Turkey Season One was aired in early 2007, on Mymax at 10:00 pm every Wednesday evening. United Kingdom The premiere on Channel 4 on January 5, 2007 attracted 4.5 million viewers.[46] Two weeks later, Ugly Betty hit a new high, with 5.5 million viewers watching the third episode.[47] The figures and shares were very much similar each week, around 2-3 million viewers with 10-15% share. However, the finale rated less than the premiere episode, attracting 3.1 million viewers with 15% share.[48] This could have been due to Channel 4 moving the show half an hour later that evening to accommodate an extended edition of Big Brother. Due to the show's success and the fanbase it has achieved in the UK, Channel 4 decided to move up the second season premiere to Friday, October 5, 2007, thus allowing viewers to watch episodes one week after their U.S. airing. All but eight of the season two episodes have been aired on Channel 4. The show has been on hiatus since Friday December 12 due to the WGA strike. United States (Insular Territories and Overseas Military locations) In Guam, ABC affiliate KTGM airs the series twice a week, with the current original being shown on Fridays at 7:00 pm followed by a repeat on weekends. They are the only ABC affiliate in the United States to air it twice. The Armed Forces Network's AFN-Spectrum channel airs the series on Wednesdays. The network will usually start airing the latest episodes a couple of months after the US broadcasts, as opposed to waiting a year after its stateside airing. [edit] Merchandising On April 15, 2008, Hyperion Books, a Disney owned publisher, released a companion book to the series, aptly titled "Ugly Betty: The Book", a 175-page softcover about the show in general, which covers the first season and portions of the second, complete with interviews from the cast and crew, tips and quotes from the characters, and mock ads for Fabia Cosmetics and Atlantic Attire. Around the same time, Random House's children's books division will publish a "magazine"-inspired book tied into the series, complete with photos and mock ads as if they were published by Betty herself, targeted for younger readers.[49] In addition, a 2008 calendar for "Ugly Betty" was released using stills from the first season, while a series of greeting cards was issued in January 2008. These photos were edited to enhance her facial features. Even the main character has been immortalized into a doll, as Angelic Dreamz, Inc's Madame Alexander collection introduced two different versions of Betty Suarez that were featured on their website in February 2008[50] [edit] Reception [edit] Television parodies and references In the October 7, 2006, episode of "Saturday Night Live," cast member Fred Armisen spoofed the character of Betty by playing a look-alike named Fugly Betsy.[51][52] Not to be outdone, a February 17, 2007 episode of MADtv has Ellen DeGeneres (played by Nicole Parker) interviewing an actress on her talk show who plays Ugly Betty with Salma Hayek (played by LisaNova) always pointing out how ugly she is. The Ugly Betty actress (played by Crista Flanagan) claims it is only make up and costume but is ignored. Crista later reprised her Betty role in the poorly reviewed parody film Meet The Spartans.[53] On April 22, 2007, the 2007 TV Land Awards parodied the series with a spoof aptly titled Ugly Betty White, with White playing Betty Suarez, Charo playing Hilda, Erik Estrada playing Ignacio, Joan Collins playing Wilhelmina, Peter Scolari playing Alexis, and George Hamilton playing Daniel.[54] Thanks to her performance in that parody, the producers cast White in a guest role in the second season.[55] Even the cast poked fun at their alter egos. On October 30, 2006, three of the series' cast members, appearing in their characters (Ferrera as Betty, Mabius as Daniel, and Newton as Amanda) gave New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick a 'makeover' to make him look more like quarterback Tom Brady in a spoof that was featured on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown.[56] It was also referenced in other shows, most notably in "Up All Night", the February 8, 2007 installment of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, in which Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) says "this would've worked on Ugly Betty" when she fails to crawl out a door without being seen. The scene was patterned after the Ugly Betty episode "Swag" in which Betty crawled through a fashion show.[57] [edit] Success abroad The buildup to "Bettymania" by various broadcasters also began to take shape overseas, especially in the United Kingdom. On December 6, 2006, Channel 4 began to advertise the show. The ad shows seemingly attractive models gathered around a pool, but as the camera angle changes a model comes out of the pool wearing Betty's glasses, then as the models smile, they are all wearing Betty's braces. Another ad parodies Marks and Spencer's successful fashion advertising campaign, as well as Dove and Gap campaigns. A voice over then says, "Fashion has a new face. 'Ugly Betty' Coming Soon To 4." After a week of these teasers, clips from the actual programme were included in the trailers. In mid-January, in the UK, Davina McCall, presenter of Celebrity Big Brother dressed up as Betty live on Channel 4 before the titles of the second eviction show of the evening. Interestingly on February 16, 2007, Ashley Jensen (Christina) also dressed up as Betty during an airing of Channel 4's Friday Night Project, where she was the guest host. The children's channel CBeebies also parodied the title sequence, with one variation mixing faces of regular CBeebies characters until finally settling with Tiny from Little Robots. In Australia, during the lead up week to the huge Sunday Premiere of Ugly Betty, February 12 to February 17, 2007, Channel Seven devoted a week of Deal or No Deal to the show by having the models dress like Betty, complete with the Guadalajara poncho. Channel Seven also used the series to promote its successful "Beautiful Sundays" schedule. In South Africa, M-Net teamed up with Ogilve Johannesburg to hype up its campaign for the show, which included a picture of Betty on the mock cover of ELLE magazine[58] And New Zealand's TV2 also hyped-up Ugly Betty by promoting Tuesday nights as "True Beauty Tuesday" and also launched competitions for a replica of Betty's Guadalajara poncho. [edit] Cultural impact Ever since the show's debut, the main characters, especially the title character, have quickly become the latest fixures in the lexicon of pop media culture, and already they found their way onto parodies, news media stories and art-imitating-life situations, as well as recognition from the United States Congress itself. The show's impact on issues and culture has also attracted the attention of the United States Congress, where on January 17, 2007 California congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-32nd, El Monte) saluted Ferrera on both her Golden Globe win and for bringing a positive profile to the Latin and Hispanic communities.[59] In addition to that recognition, on May 8, 2007, star America Ferrera was honored by Time on the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people. The event took place at New York's Lincoln Center and the actress was recognized for defying stereotypes with the show.[60] The success of Ugly Betty and how it deals with body imaging among women in general would inspire a series of reports on Entertainment Tonight, in which reporter Vanessa Minillo went undercover in a fatsuit to see if women were discriminated on the basis of how they look. [edit] Awards Since its debut, "Ugly Betty" won two Golden Globe Awards on January 15, 2007, for "Best Leading Actress in a Comedy Series" (America Ferrera) and Best Comedy Series. Ferrera also won a SAG Award on January 28, 2007 for "Best Actress in a Comedy Series". On June 4, 2007 the series was honored with a Peabody Award for its storylines, which explores clashing concepts of beauty, class, race and footwear with intelligence, warmth and wit.[61] Ugly Betty won the Outstanding Comedy Series award by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in April 2007. [1] On July 19, 2007, the series received 11 nominations at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in the Comedy category (the most of any comedy series),[62] including Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Actress (Ferrera), Best Supporting Actress (Williams), and Best Guest Starring Actress (Hayek for her role as Sofia; Light for her role as Claire. Both lost to Elaine Stritch). It won three awards — Best Casting in a Comedy Series, Best Direction in a Comedy Series (for the show's pilot episode), and Best Actress in a Comedy Series (Ferrera).[63] [edit] Reviews Ugly Betty Reviews at Metacritic.com first-look in USA Today (August 15, 2006) Review in USA Today (September 28, 2006) Comparisons between Ugly Betty and The Devil Wears Prada in USA Today (September 26, 2006) "It's a 'Bettification' project" from USA Today (October 4, 2006) from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (September 27, 2006) from The Los Angeles Times (September 27, 2006) from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (September 27, 2006) from Seattle Post-Intelligencer (September 28, 2006) from Canoe.ca (September 28, 2006) "Ugly, The American" from Time (November 27, 2006) From North Jersey.com (December 15, 2006) "Be Ugly '07" campaign announced in USA Today (December 20, 2006) Articles from TV Addict [edit] See also List of Ugly Betty cast members List of Ugly Betty episodes [edit] References [36] ^ Academy of Television Arts & Sciences ^ "Yo soy Betty, la fea" (1999) ^ ABC Announces Scripted Show Renewals ^ From E Online (March 21, 2007) ^ From TV Guide (August 1, 2007) ^ from TV Guide (2007-01-17) ^ Dos Santos, Kristin (April 24, 2008). Sources Confirm: Rebecca Romijn Now Recurring Role on Ugly Betty. E! Online - Watch with Kristin. Retrieved on 2008-04-30. ^ The Futon Critic ^ From Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel (April 21, 2008) ^ The Futon Critic ^ The Futon Critic, July 14, 2006 ^ From ABC medianet, October 13, 2006 ^ From The Futon Critic (2007-03-21) ^ From AHN (June 5, 2007) ^ From E!Online ^ From YouTube (Posted November 25, 2007) ^ From TV Guide (February 11, 2008) ^ From Reuters.com (February 12, 2008) ^ From TV Guide (February 13, 2008) ^ From Contact music (April 24, 2008) ^ From TV Guide (February 11, 2008) ^ From ew.com (February 20, 2008) ^ From The Futon Critic (March 12, 2008) ^ From The Futon Critic (April 18, 2008) ^ From TV Guide (May 6, 2008) ^ From TV Guide (May 8, 2008) ^ Variety, October 9, 2006 ^ From World Screen.com (2007-05-21) ^ From "People en Espanol" (April 17, 2007) ^ From Brand Republic (September 11, 2007) ^ Garcia, Maria Antonia (January 24, 2007). "'Ugly Betty's' TV Triumph is Colombia's Shame", El Tiempo. Retrieved on April 27, 2008. ^ Claustro, Lisa (December 6, 2007). "'Ugly Betty' Not Welcome in Colombia?", BuddyTV. Retrieved on April 27, 2008. ^ "MeeVee Interviews Ugly Betty Creator Silvio Horta". Retrieved on April 27, 2008. ^ From tvshowsondvd.com ^ From tvshowsondvd.com ^ a b Joint Press Release for 2nd Seasons of Ugly Betty & Brothers & Sisters, 4th Season of Desperate Housewives TVOnMedia.com - Jeff Hodges (04/28/2008) ^ From ebroadcast.com (2007-02-19) ^ From ebroadcast.com.au (July 3, 2007) ^ From Tv Tonight (April 23, 2008) ^ Article talking about the new TV series coming on the French language Radio-Canada (French) ^ From Community.livejournal.com/uglybetty (February 7, 2008) ^ MySpace.com - SériesTV Magazine - 80 - Garçon - Paris, FR - www.myspace.com/seriestvmagazine ^ From ibnlive.com (August 4, 2006) ^ NZHerald.co.nz (2007-02-19 ^ From World Screen (January 17, 2007) ^ The Guardian, January 8, 2007 ^ The Guardian, January 22, 2007 ^ The Guardian, June 11, 2007 ^ From Write Away (September 14, 2007) ^ From Community.livejournal.com/uglybetty (February 7, 2008) ^ From imdb.com (Ugly Betty) ^ From imdb.com (Saturday Night Live) ^ Wallenstein, Andrew. "How YouTube Helped LisaNova Start Her Career", The New York Times, 2007-04-29. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. ^ From www.towerload.com April 2007 ^ Breaking News - BETTY WHITE TO GUEST STAR ON ABC'S "UGLY BETTY" TheFutonCritic.com ^ The Futon Critic, October 27, 2006 ^ From imdb.com (30 Rock) ^ From Bizcommunity.com (August 18, 2007) ^ http://solis.house.gov (2007-01-17) ^ America Ferrera - The TIME 100 - TIME ^ From The Futon Critic (2007-04-04) ^ From www.emmys.com ^ From EMMY.org (September 9, 2007

Bahrain

2008-06-01T05:09:00.000-07:00

Bahrain

For the historical region, see Bahrain (historical region). مملكة البحرينMamlakat al-Bahrayn Kingdom of Bahrain Flag Coat of Arms Anthem: بحرينناBahrainonaOur Bahrain Capital (and largest city) Manama 26°13′N, 50°35′E Official languages Arabic [1] Demonym Bahraini Government Constitutional Monarchy - King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah - Prime Minister Khalifah ibn Sulman Al Khalifah Independence from United Kingdom [2][3] - Date 16 December 1971 Area - Total 665 km² (189th)253 sq mi - Water (%) 0 Population - 2007 estimate 1,046,814 1 (155th) - Density 1454/km² (7th)2,556/sq mi GDP (PPP) estimate - Total $19.75 billion (118th) - Per capita $23,604 (32nd) HDI (2007) ▲ 0.866 (high) (41st) Currency Bahraini dinar (BHD) Time zone (UTC+3) Internet TLD .bh Calling code +973 1 Includes 517,368 non-nationals (September 2007 estimate). Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين ‎, Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn), is a borderless island country in the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway (officially opened on November 25, 1986), and Qatar is to the south across the Gulf of Bahrain. The Qatar–Bahrain Friendship Bridge being planned will link Bahrain to Qatar as the longest fixed link in the world.

History History of Bahrain The neutrality of this section is disputed.Please see the discussion on the talk page.(April 2008)Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. For the historical region, see Bahrain (historical region). Bahrain has been inhabited since ancient times. Its strategic location in the Persian Gulf has brought rule and influence from the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, and finally the Arabs, under whom the island became Muslim. Bahrain was in ancient times known as Dilmun, later under its Greek name Tylos[5], then as Awal, and then by the Persian name Mishmahig, when it was a part of the Persian Empire. The islands of Bahrain, positioned in the middle south of the Persian Gulf, have attracted the attention of invaders throughout history. Bahrain is Arabic for "two seas", referring to the sweet water springs that can be found within the salty sea surrounding it[6] A strategic position between East and West, fertile lands, fresh water, and pearl diving made Bahrain historically a center of urban settlement. Pearl diving was the main economy until cultured pearls were invented in early twentieth century and more when oil was discovered in 1930s. About 2300 BC, Bahrain became a centre of one of the ancient empires trading between Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and the Indus Valley (now in Pakistan and India). This was the civilization of Dilmun (sometimes transliterated Telmun) that was linked to the Sumerian Civilization in the third millennium BC. Bahrain became part of the Babylonian empire about 600 BC. Historical records referred to Bahrain with names such as the "Life of Eternity", "Paradise", and Eden. Bahrain was also called the "Pearl of the Persian Gulf". Bahrain has many trade partners". Until Bahrain adopted Islam in 629 AD, it was a centre for Nestorian Christianity[7]. Early Islamic sources describe it as being inhabited by members of the Abdul Qays, Tamim, and Bakr tribes, worshiping the idol "Awal". In 899, a millenarian Ismaili sect, the Qarmatians, seized hold of the country and sought to create a utopian society based on reason and the distribution of all property evenly among the initiates. The Qarmatians caused disruption throughout the Islamic world: they collected tribute from the caliph in Baghdad; and in 930 sacked Mecca and Medina, bringing the sacred Black Stone back to Bahrain where it was held to ransom. They were defeated in 976 by the Abbasids.[8] The final end of the Qarmatians came at the hand of the Arab Uyunid dynasty of al-Hasa, who took over the entire Bahrain region in 1076.[9] They controlled the Bahrain islands until 1235, when the islands were briefly occupied by the ruler of Fars. In 1253, the bedouin Usfurids brought down the Uyunid dynasty and gained control over eastern Arabia, including the islands of Bahrain. In 1330, the islands became tributary to the rulers of Hormuz,[10] though locally the islands were controlled by the Shi'ite Jarwanid dynasty of Qatif.[11] Until the late Middle Ages, "Bahrain" referred to the larger historical region of Bahrain that included Ahsa, Qatif (both now within the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia) and the Awal (now the Bahrain) Islands. The region stretched from Basrah to the Strait of Hormuz in Oman. This was Iqlīm al-Bahrayn "Bahrayn Province." The exact date at which the term "Bahrain" began to refer solely to the Awal archipeligo is unknown.[12] Bahrain World Trade Centre Sunset at King Fahd Causeway Bahrain Word Trade Centre Bahrain Financial Harbor In the mid-15th century, the islands came under the rule of the Jabrids, a bedouin dynasty that was also based in al-Ahsa and ruled most of eastern Arabia. The Portuguese invaded Bahrain in 1521 in alliance with Hormuz, seizing it from the Jabrid ruler Migrin ibn Zamil, who was killed in battle. Portuguese rule lasted for nearly 80 years, during which they depended mostly on Sunni Persian governors.[13] The Portuguese were expelled from the islands in 1602 by Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, who instituted Shi'ism as the official religion in Bahrain.[14] The Iranian rulers retained sovereignty over the islands, with some interruptions, for nearly two centuries. For most of that period, they resorted to governing Bahrain indirectly, either through Hormuz or through local Sunni Arab clans, such as the Huwala.[15][16][17] During this period, the islands suffered two serious invasions by the Ibadhis of Oman in 1717 and 1738.[18][19] In 1753, the Huwala clan of Al Madhkur invaded Bahrain on behalf of the Iranians, restoring direct Iranian rule.[20] In 1783, an alliance of Sunni Arab clans from the Arabian coast, led by the Al Khalifa, invaded and took control of Bahrain from the Persians and their Huwala allies, establishing an independent emirate.[21][22][23][disputed] The Al Khalifa, however, had to weather a series of Omani invasions between 1799 and 1828.[24][25] It was under the Al Khalifa's rule, in 1845, that a section of the Dawasir tribe from southern Nejd settled in Bahrain.[26] The Al Khalifa at times extended their authority to the northern shores of Qatar and the fort of Dammam on the Arabian coast. For more details on this topic, see 1783 Al Khalifa invasion of Bahrain. After the Saudis conquered al-Hasa and Qatif in 1796, the Al Khalifa briefly became their tributaries.[27] When the Saudis re-established their power in the region in the 19th century, they attempted again to bring the emirate of Bahrain under their control, resulting in many battles and skirmishes between the two dynasties.[28] This, however, was opposed by the British, who by that time had become highly influential in the Gulf, viewing it as essential to their control of India.[29] Britain's policy in the Gulf at this time stipulated "uncompromising opposition" to the Saudis in Bahrain. In 1859, a British naval squadron was sent to protect the islands, and the British resident in the Persian Gulf notified the Saudi ruler Faisal ibn Turki Al Saud that it viewed Bahrain as an "independent emirate." In 1861, the British imposed a protection treaty on the emir of Bahrain, ending Saudi efforts to bring the islands under their sphere of influence.[30] The treaty was the culmination of a series of treaties with the British, beginning in 1820.[31] The country remained a British protectorate until 1971. The population of the island at the time was estimated to be around 70,000 persons.[32] In the early 1920s the islands were rocked by disturbances between the Dawasir and the Shi'ite Baharna of Bahrain. As a result, most of the Dawasir were compelled to leave Bahrain and settle on the Arabian mainland as subjects of Ibn Saud.[33] Oil was discovered in 1932 and brought rapid modernization to Bahrain. Bahrain was the first place to find oil in the whole region. It also made relations with the United Kingdom closer, evidenced by the British moving more bases there. British influence would continue to grow as the country developed, culminating with the appointment of Charles Belgrave as an advisor[34]; Belgrave established modern education systems in Bahrain[35]. After World War II, increasing anti-British sentiment spread throughout the Arab World and in Bahrain led to riots. The riots focused on the Jewish community which counted among its members distinguished writers and singers, accountants, engineers and middle managers working for the Oil Company, textile merchants with business all over the peninsula [Jews were not allowed to settle permanently in Saudi Arabia], and free professionals. Following the events of 1947, most of the members of Bahrain's Jewish community abandoned their properties and evacuated to Bombay and later settled in Palestine (later Israel - Tel Aviv's Pardes Chana neighborhood) and the United Kingdom. As of 2007 there were 36 Jews remaining in the country. The issue of compensation was never settled. In 1960, the United Kingdom put Bahrain's future to international arbitration and requested that the United Nations Secretary-General take on this responsibility. In 1970, Iran laid claim to Bahrain and the other Persian Gulf islands. However, in an agreement with the United Kingdom it agreed to "not pursue" its claims on Bahrain if its other claims were realized. The following plebiscite saw Bahrainis confirm their Arab identity and independence from Britain. Bahrain to this day remains a member of the Arab League and Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. The British withdrew from Bahrain on December 16, 1971, making Bahrain an independent emirate[36]. The oil boom of the 1970s greatly benefited Bahrain, but its downturn was felt badly. However, the country had already begun to diversify its economy, and had benefited from the Lebanese civil war that began in the 1970s; Bahrain replaced Beirut as the Middle East's financial hub as Lebanon's large banking sector was driven out of the country by the war[37]. Bahrain Royal Flight Boeing 747SP After the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, Bahraini Shī'a fundamentalists in 1981 orchestrated a failed coup attempt under the auspices of a front organization, the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain. The coup would have installed a Shī'a cleric exiled in Iran, Hujjatu l-Islām Hādī al-Mudarrisī, as supreme leader heading a theocratic government. [38] In 1994, a wave of rioting by disaffected Shīa Islamists was sparked by women's participation in a sporting event. The Kingdom was badly affected by sporadic violence during the mid-1990s in which over forty people were killed in violence between the government and cleric-led opposition[39]. Manama, the capital of Bahrain In March 1999, King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah succeeded his father as head of state and instituted elections for parliament, gave women the right to vote, and released all political prisoners. These moves were described by Amnesty International as representing an "historic period of human rights."[40] The country was declared a kingdom in 2002. It formerly was considered a State and officially called a "Kingdom."

Girl Guides

2008-05-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Girl Guides or Girl Scouts is a parallel movement to Scouting. It evolved from the Scouting movement in the early years of the 20th century. Girls were attracted to Scouting from its inception in 1907. In different places around the world, the movement developed in diverse ways. In some places, girls attempted to join Scouting organisations and it was decided that single-sex organisations were a better solution. In other places, girls groups were started, some of them later to open up to boys or merge with boys' organisations. In other instances, mixed groups were formed, sometimes to later split. In the same way, the name Girl Guide or Girl Scout has been used by groups at different times and in different places, with some groups changing from one to another. In the past, boys had to join the Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts but in recent years Guides has been open for both boys and girls to join in most countries. In 1909, Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, decided that girls should not be in the same organisation as the boys, and the Girl Guides were founded in the UK in 1910. Many, though by no means all, Girl Guide and Girl Scout groups across the globe trace their roots to this point. Agnes Baden-Powell was in charge of Girl Guiding in UK in its early years. Other influential people were Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, Olga Malkowska in Poland and Antoinette Butte in France.[1] Two central themes have been present from the earliest days of the movement: domestic skills and "a kind of practical feminism which embodies physical fitness, survival skills, camping, citizenship training, and career preparation".[2] These two themes have been emphasised differently at different times and by different groups, but have remained central to Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting. There has been much discussion about how similar Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting should be to boys' Scouting programs. While many girls saw what the boys were doing and wanted to do it too, girls' organizations have sought to avoid simply aping the boys'. Even when most Scout organizations became coeducational Guiding remained separate in many countries to provide a female-centered program. Internationally it is governed by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts with member organizations in 144 countries.

Girl's Best Friend

2008-05-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

Girl's Best Friend" is a 1999 single by rapper Jay-Z that features vocals from Theresa Rodriguez. It was released as a single to promote the 1999 comedy film Blue Streak and appears on its soundtrack Blue Streak: The Album. In the same year, it appeared as a hidden track on Jay-Z's fourth album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. Its beat, produced by Swizz Beatz, contains a sample of "Keep It Comin' Love" by KC and the Sunshine Band. Contents[hide] 1 Single track list 1.1 CD 1.2 Vinyl 1.2.1 A-Side 1.2.2 B-Side 2 See also // [edit] Single track list [edit] CD "Girl's Best Friend (Radio Version)" (3:26) "Girl's Best Friend (LP Version)" (3:59) "Girl's Best Friend (Instrumental)" (4:08) [edit] Vinyl [edit] A-Side "Girls Best Friend" "Girls Best Friend (Radio Version)" [edit] B-Side "I Put You On" "While You Were Gone" [edit] See also List of Jay-Z songs [hide] v • d • e Jay-Z Studio albums Reasonable Doubt · In My Lifetime · Hard Knock Life · Life and Times of S. Carter · Roc La Familia · The Blueprint · The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse · The Black Album · Kingdom Come · American Gangster Compilations Jay-Z: Unplugged · Chapter One: Greatest Hits · The Blueprint 2.1 · Bring It On: The Best of Jay-Z · Greatest Hits Collaborations The Best of Both Worlds · Unfinished Business · Collision Course Singles "In My Lifetime" · "Dead Presidents" · "Ain't No Nigga" · "Can't Knock the Hustle" · "Feelin' It" · "Who You Wit II" · "(Always Be My) Sunshine" · "The City Is Mine" · "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" · "Jigga What, Jigga Who" · "Money, Cash, Hoes" · "Can I Get A..." · "It's Alright" · "Love for Free" · "Money Ain't a Thang" · "Big Pimpin'" · "Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)" · "Jigga My Nigga" · "Girl's Best Friend" · "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" · "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" · "Change the Game" · "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" · "Girls, Girls, Girls" · "Jigga that Nigga" · "Song Cry" · "People Talking" · "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" · "Excuse Me Miss" · "Change Clothes" · "Dirt off Your Shoulder" · "Encore" · "What More Can I Say" · "99 Problems" · "Show Me What You Got" · "Lost One" · "Minority Report"/"Beach Chair" · "Hollywood" · "30 Something" · "Blue Magic" · "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)..." · "I Know" Related articles Discography · Roc-A-Fella Records · Jay-Z vs. Nas feud · Beyoncé Knowles · Def Jam Recordings · Songs

Girls in the House

2008-05-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

Girls in the House is the debut studio album by German pop group Preluders, released on November 24, 2003 (see 2003 in music) on Polydor's sublabel Cheyenne Records. It was entirely co-produced by Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, and Gena Wernik and peaked at number 2 in Germany, number 4 in Switzerland, and number 5 in Austria, eventually receiving a gold certification for more than 100,000 albums sold. The album spawned three singles, including the promotional cover single "Losing My Religion", German number-one single "Everday Girl", and bilingual "Bal Privé". [edit] Track listing # Title 1. "Girls in the House" 3:40 2. "Everyday Girl" 3:23 3. "Bal Privé" 3:12 4. "Catch Me" 3:28 5. "Losing My Religion" 4:21 6. "Bye Bye for the Better" 3:29 7. "We Love to Entertain You" 3:43 8. "Riding on the Lovetrain" 4:01 9. "Sundown" 3:44 10. "I Tattoo You" 3:34 11. "You're Blocking My Sun" 3:31 12. "Born to Love You Forever

Girls IQ

2008-05-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

IQ (girl group) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • Interested in contributing to Wikipedia? • Jump to: navigation, search IQ Origin Lunenburg, Massachusetts, USA Genre(s) Pop/Hip-hop Years active 2005—present Label(s) Bungalo Records/Universal Music Website IQMusicGirls.com Members Nyla WilliamsLauren MaferaGicelle ValerioSadiea Williams Former members Mikayla Campbell (2005—2007) IQ is an American teenage pop and hip hop girl group. The group consists of sisters Sadiea and Nyla Williams, Gicelle Valerio and Lauren Mafera, all from Lunenburg, Massachusetts. Past member, Mikayla Campbell is from Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Contents[hide] 1 Members 2 Former members 3 IQ Biography 4 Discography 5 References 6 External links // [edit] Members Nyla Williams (born 1990) was Miss Massachusetts of the National American Miss Massachusetts Junior Teen beauty pageant of 2005 and 2006.[1] She is also a poet and dancer with aspirations of modeling and fashion designing. Both she and her sister, Sadiea, are of African-American, Scottish, Pakistani and American Indian descent. She is rapper and vocalist for IQ. Gicelle Valerio (born 1989) is Hispanic-American. She is of Bolivian, Dominican, Spanish, and Italian descent. Valerio is a vocalist and rapper for IQ as well as choreographer. She has been accepted to Fitchburg State College to major in nursing and her aspirations is to become a graduate student to major in business as well. Her interests includes fashion, dancing, gymnastics and modeling. Nyla was arrested with a straight warrent on April 30th, 2008 in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. Sadiea Williams (born 1989) is a rapper and vocalist for IQ. She is an athlete who is interested in basketball, cross-country and track & field. She was an all-star basketball player at Lunenburg High School.[2] She has been accepted to an Ivy League School Brown University to pursue basketball. Lauren Mafera (born 1989) is a recent member who is the main vocalist for IQ. She is a photographer, singer, and dancer. Her interests include drawing, fashion, photography, and singing. Her aspirations is to pursue college with a Business degree and continuing photography. [edit] Former members Mikayla Campbell (born 1990) is a former member who was the main vocalist for IQ. She is now an actress who has performed in musical plays. Her aspirations are to perform in Broadway plays. Her true passion is to pursue her musical career as a Broadway performer. Campbell recently attends a performing arts school at Walnut Hill in Natick, MA. [edit] IQ Biography IQ first formulated through a school talent show. Sisters Sadiea and Nyla, asked their father, Mark, to compose songs for their performances. The girls performed the song "School" (a later song on their debut album). The overall response from young people was outstanding. Campbell and Valerio joined the group later to make the group four. In the group, the Williams sisters and Valerio both rap and perform back-up singing vocals. Mafera is the main vocalist (The group's former main vocalist, Campbell left IQ in 2007). IQ performed in Boston, New York and Hollywood to promote the release of their EP, It's Like That, initially released on Apple iTunes in May of 2005. On New Year's Eve of 2005, they performed at the Disney Jingle Jam in Boston with B5, Everlife and Jada. In 2006, they released a re-make of the Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons song "Big Girls Don't Cry" as their first single on Radio Disney [3] IQ continued to perform shows with Radio Disney and obtained the prestige of becoming a Radio Disney Incubator artist. In July of 2006, their debut album, Roll Call in July, distributed by WPE Music, LLC through Bungalo/Universal. In February of 2008, the group released their sophormore album, Crush on Bungalo Records/Universal Music. The debut single from the album is "Crush on U" and a remixed version which includes artists such as Mighty Mystic; a Jamaican musician, Baby Boy Da Prince, CL Smooth and J. R. Writer from Dipset.[citation needed] [edit] Discography It's Like That EP (2005) Roll Call (2006) Crush (2008)

Girls Genius

2008-05-16T05:56:00.000-07:00

Girl Genius is an ongoing comic book series turned webcomic, written and drawn by Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company, Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment. The comic has won five WCCA awards including 2008 Outstanding Comic, and been nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist, an Eagle Award and twice for an Eisner Award. On April 18, 2005, Girl Genius became a webcomic, and quarterly publication of the comic ceased. It is still organized into volumes and sold as such as print collections. Its site had two streams, "101" (for back issues) and "Advanced Class" (for new material) until the former caught up and made the entire comic available to read at a sitting. Contents[hide] 1 Plot 2 Gaslamp Fantasy 3 The Spark 4 Characters 4.1 Agatha Clay/Heterodyne 4.2 The Heterodyne Boys 4.3 Baron Klaus Wulfenbach 4.4 Gilgamesh Wulfenbach 4.5 Othar Tryggvassen 4.6 Krosp I 4.7 Zeetha 4.8 Ardsley Wooster 4.9 The Jägermonsters/Jägerkin 4.10 Bangladesh Dupree 4.11 More Cast 5 Awards 6 Published collections 7 Connections to other works 8 See also 9 References 10 External links // [edit] Plot Girl Genius is a steampunk tale; “a gaslamp fantasy with adventure, romance and mad science”, set in an alternate history "where the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war" due to the appearance of "Sparks" – highly charismatic mad scientists with supernormal abilities in one or more sciences. The main character, Agatha Heterodyne, is (as far as is known) the sole surviving descendant of the Heterodyne clan, a centuries-old Spark dynasty. Known for their unique family trait, a form of autosuggestion called "heterodyning" involving a hummed tune that enhances their already prodigious abilities[2], they were among the world's most powerful Sparks – and the most villainous. The only exception to the family's nefarious nature were Agatha's uncle Barry and her father William (or Bill). As the famous Heterodyne Boys, they established a Golden Age in Europe that lasted years and almost completely redeemed the family name. However, around the time of Agatha's birth, it came to an end with the appearance of the most dreaded Spark in recent history – a mysterious force known to most only as "the Other". The Other possessed almost unimaginably powerful technologies, chief among them the terrifying Slaver Wasps, parasitic insects which transformed their victims into Revenants – servants who, despite retaining their intelligence and consciousness, become somehow dominated by the Other in a hitherto unknown manner.[3] Leading the fight against them and the Other were the Heterodyne Boys. After several years of war, the Other disappeared – and so did the Heterodyne Boys.[4] Bill has not been seen since, but Barry raised Agatha in secret until she was seven, when he disappeared once more, leaving her in the care of Punch and Judy, two "constructs" (artificial people in the style of the pop-culture version of Frankenstein's monster) originally built by Bill and Barry. At the beginning of the series, Agatha is ignorant of her true heritage, and is being raised under the name of Agatha Clay, knowing her adoptive parents only as Adam and Lilith. But when she loses her locket, her only keepsake of her parents which Barry told her to always wear, her life changes. She is expelled from the renowned Transylvania Polygnostic University and discovers that the locket held a secret – it suppressed her Spark. She quickly draws the attention of the ruthless ruler of much of Europe, Baron Klaus Wulfenbach – a former associate of her father and her uncle, and a former unsuccessful suitor for her mother's hand. [edit] Gaslamp Fantasy Kaja Foglio coined the term "Gaslamp Fantasy" (an alternative to steampunk) to describe the work. In her April 24, 2006 LiveJournal entry, Kaja Foglio explained how the term came to be coined: "I called it Gaslamp Fantasy because, around the time we were bringing Girl Genius out, there was a comic called Steampunk on the shelves and I didn't want any confusion. Plus, I've never liked the term steampunk much for our work, it's derived from cyberpunk (a term which I think actually fits its genre well) but we have no punk, and we have more than just steam, and using a different name seemed appropriate. I mis-remembered a term that I had come across in the foreword to an H. Rider Haggard book, where the author was talking about Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Rider Haggard and that sort of pre-pulp adventure material, and came up with "Gaslamp Fantasy." I felt a bit foolish when I discovered that I had made up my own term, but it works and I like it." It also differs from classic steampunk in that technology is not just limited to machines but also encompasses biology. Thus alongside the clanks (impossibly advanced steampunk robots), dirigibles and walking gunboats of the world there are constructs - biological creations which range from Frankenstein-style creatures to talking cats and mouse-sized mammoths. [edit] The Spark The Spark is the center of the fictional Girl Genius universe. It is what makes the mad scientists of the story what they are; people say someone is a Spark if he or she has the Spark.[5] It is a rare hereditary trait found mostly within a small number of families - most of the common population that "break through" are either relatively weak or unknowingly related to one or more of these families. Most of the time those who carry the Spark seem no different from anyone else, but they are capable of entering a state of hyperfocus (sometimes called "the madness place"[6]) that greatly enhances their charisma, comprehension and intuition – at the cost of all their rationality.[7] In short, they can become fanatically obsessive savants at the drop of a hat (though stimulants can easily induce it[8]) – and it is not at all uncommon for some to act as such almost constantly. On top of that, the first time a Spark enters hyperfocus is (with only one exception) always traumatic. Most are almost immediately killed by their breakthrough creations, or by rioting townsfolk. A fair number become incurably insane. This period is especially dangerous for females, which is one of the reasons why most adult sparks are male.[9] Most of those who survive quickly gain followers (commonly known as minions) through sheer magnetism, and eventually gather tremendous support unless killed by rival Sparks. Those that survive this process of attrition become the power players of their fictional world, and if they successfully reproduce they begin lineages that are nothing less than royalty – right down to personal heraldic sigils: the Heterodyne Trilobite[10], the Aaronev Sword-and-Gear[11], and the Wulfenbach Winged Rook[12], for example. (Those who accept the Baron's Peace wear winged versions of their sigils[13], though their underlings wear theirs). However, this does little to satisfy their obsessions, and they spend most of their time dueling rivals when not engaging in dangerous experiments. The world of Girl Genius is one of unending conflict and cataclysm. Though a Spark requires tools and materials to work, there seems to be nothing beyond their capabilities if they desire it enough. Every stereotype accredited to mad scientists is possible for them, from resurrecting the dead to changing animals into people to creating life from scratch. Mechanisms of astounding complexity and capability are common, many beyond the reach of modern science. Foremost among these creations are weapons of unbelievable power. However, when these capabilities are paired with their lack of rational thought, the results are devastating. Though the average Spark is smart enough to make the impossible possible, they are also dumb enough to rarely understand the consequences of their actions. It's noted on at least one occasion that many Sparks meet their doom owing to the fact that "they're smart enough to build death-rays and dumb enough to turn them on armies all by themselves."[14] This suggests a dichotomy in the brain of the spark, since many seem to be more than willing to conduct experiments of questionable morality whilst under hyperfocus[15]and yet still be willing to sacrifice themselves in a heartbeat to save others. They are thus almost always generally despised. Many dub them "madboys" (but never when one is within earshot).