title: Miklós Horthy

text: Upon learning about the deportations, Horthy wrote the following letter to the prime minister:Dear Sztójay: I was aware that the Government in the given forced situation has to take many steps that I do not consider correct, and for which I can not take responsibility. Among these matters is the handling of the Jewish question in a manner that does not correspond to the Hungarian mentality, Hungarian conditions, and, for the matter, Hungarian interests. It is clear to everyone that what among these were done by Germans or by the insistence of the Germans was not in my power to prevent, so in these matters, I was forced into passivity. As such, I was not informed in advance, or I am not fully informed now, however, I have heard recently that in many cases in inhumaneness and brutality we exceeded the Germans. I demand that the handling of the Jewish affairs in the Ministry of Interior be taken out of the hands of Deputy Minister László Endre. Furthermore, László Baky's assignment to the management of the police forces should be terminated as soon as possible.Just before the deportations began, two Slovak Jewish prisoners, Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler, escaped from Auschwitz and passed details of what was happening inside the camps to officials in Slovakia. This document, known as the Vrba-Wetzler Report, was quickly translated into German and passed among Jewish groups and then to Allied officials. Details from the report were broadcast by the BBC on 15 June and printed in "The New York Times" on 20 June. World leaders, including Pope Pius XII (25 June), President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 26 June, and King Gustaf V of Sweden on 30 June, subsequently pleaded with Horthy to use his influence to stop the deportations. Roosevelt specifically threatened military retaliation if the transports were not ceased. On 2 July 1944 Horthy put down a coup attempt by Hungarists by using loyal forces. Thereby he temporarily neutralized the men who planned to deport Jews. This enabled Horthy to issue the order halting deportations on 7 July. The transports halted. By that time, 437,000 Jews had been sent to Auschwitz, most of them to their deaths. Horthy was informed about the number of the deported Jews some days later: "approximately 400,000". By many estimates, one of every three people murdered at Auschwitz during its operation was a Hungarian Jew killed between May and July 1944.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: There remains some uncertainty over how much Horthy knew about the number of Hungarian Jews being deported, their destination, and their intended fate – and when he knew it as well as what he could have done about it. According to historian Péter Sipos, the Hungarian government had already known about the Jewish genocide since 1943. Some historians have argued that Horthy believed that the Jews were being sent to the camps to work and that they would be returned to Hungary after the war. Horthy himself wrote in his memoirs: "Not before August," he wrote, "did secret information reach me of the horrible truth about the extermination camps." The Vrba-Wetzler statement is believed to have been passed to Hungarian Zionist leader Rudolf Kastner no later than 28 April 1944, Kastner did not make it public. He made an agreement with the SS to remain silent in order to save the Jews who escaped on the Kastner train. The "Kastner train", a convoy that enabled Hungarian Jews to escape to Switzerland, left Budapest on 30 June 1944.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: In August 1944, Romania withdrew from the Axis and turned against Germany and her allies. This development, a sign of the failing German war effort, led Horthy in Budapest to reconsolidate his political position. He ousted Sztójay and the other Nazi-friendly ministers installed the preceding spring, replacing them with a new government under Géza Lakatos. He stopped the mass deportations of Jews and ordered the police to use deadly force if the Germans attempted to resume them. While some smaller groups continued to be deported by train, the Germans did not press Horthy to ramp the pace back up to pre-August levels. Indeed, when Horthy turned down Eichmann's request to restart the deportations, Heinrich Himmler ordered Eichmann to return to Germany.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: Realizing that Hungary's position was untenable, Horthy also renewed peace feelers to the Allies and began considering strategies for surrendering to the Allied force he distrusted the most: the Red Army. Although Horthy was still bitterly anticommunist, his dealings with the Nazis led him to conclude that the Soviets were the lesser evil. Working through his trustworthy General Béla Miklós, who was in contact with Soviet forces in eastern Hungary, Horthy sought to surrender to the Soviets while preserving the Hungarian government's autonomy. The Soviets willingly promised this, and on 11 October Horthy and the Soviets finally agreed to surrender terms. On 15 October 1944, Horthy told his government ministers that Hungary had signed an armistice with the Soviet Union. He said, "It is clear today that Germany has lost the war... Hungary has accordingly concluded a preliminary armistice with Russia, and will cease all hostilities against her." Horthy "...informed a representative of the German Reich that we were about to conclude a military armistice with our former enemies and to cease all hostilities against them."


title: Miklós Horthy

text: The Nazis had anticipated Horthy's move. On 15 October, after Horthy announced the armistice in a nationwide radio address, Hitler initiated Operation Panzerfaust, sending commando Otto Skorzeny to Budapest with instructions to remove Horthy from power. Horthy's son Miklós Horthy, Jr., was meeting with Soviet representatives to finalize the surrender when Skorzeny and his troops forced their way into the meeting and kidnapped the younger Horthy at gunpoint. Trussed up in a carpet, Miklós Jr. was immediately driven to the airport and flown to Germany to serve as a hostage. Skorzeny then brazenly led a convoy of German troops and four Tiger II tanks to the Vienna Gates of Castle Hill, where the Hungarians had been ordered not to resist. Though one unit had not received the order, the Germans quickly captured Castle Hill with minimal bloodshed; seven soldiers were killed and twenty-six wounded.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: Horthy was captured by Veesenmayer and his staff later on the 15th and taken to the Waffen SS office, where he was held overnight. Veesenmayer told Horthy that unless he recanted the armistice and abdicated, his son would be killed the next morning. The fascist Arrow Cross Party swiftly took over Budapest. With his son's life in the balance, Horthy consented to sign a document officially abdicating his office and naming Ferenc Szálasi, leader of the Arrow Cross, as both head of state and prime minister. Horthy understood that the Germans merely wanted the stamp of his prestige on a Nazi-sponsored Arrow Cross coup, but he signed anyway. As he later explained his capitulation: "I neither resigned nor appointed Szálasi Premier. I merely exchanged my signature for my son's life. A signature wrung from a man at machine-gun point can have little legality."Horthy met Skorzeny three days later at Pfeffer-Wildenbruch's apartment and was told he would be transported to Germany in his own special train. Skorzeny told Horthy that he would be a "guest of honour" in a secure Bavarian castle. On 17 October, Horthy was personally escorted by Skorzeny into captivity at in Bavaria, where he was guarded closely, but allowed to live in comfort.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: With the help of the SS, the Arrow Cross leadership moved swiftly to take command of the Hungarian armed forces, and to prevent the surrender that Horthy had arranged, even though Soviet troops were now deep inside the country. Szálasi resumed persecution of Jews and other "undesirables". In the three months between November 1944 and January 1945, Arrow Cross death squads shot 10,000 to 15,000 Jews on the banks of the Danube. The Arrow Cross also welcomed Adolf Eichmann back to Budapest, where he began the deportation of the city's surviving Jews. Eichmann never successfully completed this phase of his plans, thwarted in large measure by the efforts of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. Out of a pre-war Hungarian Jewish population estimated at 825,000, only 260,000 survived.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: By December 1944, Budapest was under siege by Soviet forces. The Arrow Cross leadership retreated across the Danube into the hills of Buda in late January, and by February the city surrendered to the Soviet forces.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: Horthy remained under house arrest in Bavaria until the war in Europe ended. On 29 April, his SS guardians fled in the face of the Allied advance. On 1 May, Horthy was first liberated, and then arrested, by elements of the U.S. 7th Army.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: After his arrest, Horthy was moved through a variety of detention locations before finally arriving at the prison facility at Nuremberg in late September 1945. There he was asked to provide evidence to the International Military Tribunal in preparation for the trial of the Nazi leadership. Although he was interviewed repeatedly about his contacts with some of the defendants, he did not testify in person. In Nuremberg, he was reunited with his son, Miklós Jr.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: Horthy gradually came to believe that his arrest had been arranged and choreographed by the United States in order to protect him from the Russians. Indeed, the former regent reported being told that Josip Broz Tito, the new ruler of Yugoslavia, asked that Horthy be charged with complicity with the 1942 Novi Sad raid by Hungarian troops in the Bačka region of Vojvodina. Serbian historian Zvonimir Golubović has claimed that not only was Horthy aware of these genocidal massacres but had approved of them. American trial officials did not indict Horthy for war crimes. The former ambassador John Montgomery, who had some influence in Washington, also contributed to Horthy's release in Nuremberg.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: According to the memoirs of Ferenc Nagy, who served for a year as prime minister in post-war Hungary, the Hungarian Communist leadership was also interested in extraditing Horthy for trial. Nagy said that Joseph Stalin was more forgiving: that Stalin told Nagy during a diplomatic meeting in April 1945 not to judge Horthy, because he was old and had offered an armistice in 1944.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: On 17 December 1945, Horthy was released from Nuremberg prison and allowed to rejoin his family in the German town of Weilheim, Bavaria. The Horthys lived there for four years, supported financially by ambassador John Montgomery, his successor, Herbert Pell, and by Pope Pius XII, whom he knew personally.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: In March 1948, Horthy returned to testify at the Ministries Trial, the last of the twelve U.S.-run Nuremberg Trials; he testified against Edmund Veesenmayer, the Nazi administrator who had controlled Hungary during the deportations to Auschwitz in the spring of 1944. Veesenmayer was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment but was released in 1951.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: For Horthy, returning to Hungary was impossible; it was now firmly in the hands of a Soviet-sponsored Communist government. In an extraordinary twist of fate, the chief of Hungary's post-war Communist apparatus was Mátyás Rákosi, one of Béla Kun's colleagues from the ill-fated Communist coup of 1919. Kun had been executed during Stalin's purges of the late 1930s, but Rákosi had survived in a Hungarian prison cell. In 1940, Horthy had permitted Rákosi to emigrate to the Soviet Union in exchange for a series of highly symbolic Hungarian battle-flags from the 19th century that were in Russian hands.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: In 1950, the Horthy family managed to find a home in Portugal, thanks to Miklós Jr.'s contacts with Portuguese diplomats in Switzerland. Horthy and members of his family were relocated to the seaside town of Estoril, in the house address Rua Dom Afonso Henriques, 1937 2765.573 Estoril. His American supporter, John Montgomery, recruited a small group of wealthy Hungarians to raise funds for their upkeep in exile. According to Horthy's daughter-in-law, Countess Ilona Edelsheim Gyulai, Hungarian Jews also supported Horthy's family in exile, including industrialist Ferenc Chorin and lawyer László Pathy.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: In exile, Horthy wrote his memoirs, "Ein Leben für Ungarn" (English: "A Life for Hungary"), published under the name of Nikolaus von Horthy, in which he narrated many personal experiences from his youth until the end of World War II. He claimed that he had distrusted Hitler for much of the time he knew him and tried to perform the best actions and appoint the best officials in his country. He also highlighted Hungary's mistreatment by many other countries since the end of World War I. Horthy was one of the few Axis heads of state to survive the war, and thus to write post-war memoirs.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: Horthy never lost his deep contempt for communism, and in his memoirs he blamed Hungary's alliance with the Axis on the threat posed by the "Asiatic barbarians" of the Soviet Union. He railed against the influence that the Allies' victory had given to Stalin's totalitarian state. "I feel no urge to say 'I told you so,' " Horthy wrote, "nor to express bitterness at the experiences that have been forced upon me. Rather, I feel wonder and amazement at the vagaries of humanity."


title: Miklós Horthy

text: Horthy married Magdolna Purgly de Jószáshely in 1901; they were married for just over 56 years, until his death. He had two sons, Miklós Horthy, Jr. (often rendered in English as "Nicholas" or "Nikolaus") and István Horthy, who served as his political assistants; and two daughters, Magda and Paula. Of his four children, only Miklós outlived him.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: He died in 1957 in Estoril and was initially buried in the British Cemetery, Lisbon. According to footnotes in his memoirs, Horthy was very distraught about the failure of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. In his will, Horthy asked that his body not be returned to Hungary "until the last Russian soldier has left." His heirs honored the request. In 1993, two years after the Soviet troops left Hungary, Horthy's body was returned to Hungary and he was buried in his hometown of Kenderes. The reburial in Hungary was the subject of some controversy on the part of the left.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: The interwar period dominated by Horthy's government is known in Hungarian as the "Horthy-kor" ("Horthy age") or "Horthy-rendszer" ("Horthy system"). Its legacy, and that of Horthy himself, remain among the most controversial political topics in Hungary today, tied inseparably to the Treaty of Trianon and the Holocaust. According to one school of thought, Horthy was a strong, conservative, but not undemocratic leader who only entered into an alliance with Hitler's Germany in order to restore lands Hungary lost after the First World War and was reluctant, or even defiant, in the face of Germany's demands to deport the Hungarian Jewry. Others see Horthy's alliance with Germany as foolhardy, or think that a positive view of Horthy serves a revisionist historical agenda, pointing to Horthy's passage of various anti-Jewish laws – the earliest in Europe, in 1920 – as a sign of his anti-Semitism and the prelude for Hungary's collaboration in the Holocaust.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: During his own reign, Horthy's reception was fairly positive, though by no means monolithic. Opponents of the short-lived Soviet Republic saw him as a "national saviour", in contrast to the Communist "losers of the nation." Because Horthy distanced himself from everyday politics, he was able to cultivate the image of the nationally governing admiral. The peaceful re-acquisition of Hungarian-majority lands lost after Trianon greatly bolstered this image. The regime's efforts at economic development and modernization also improved contemporaries' opinions, and although the Great Depression initially hurt his image, Horthy's wide-ranging social programs saved face for the most part.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: On the other hand, Horthy's right-wing tendencies were not without their critics even in his time. Bourgeois liberals, among them Sándor Márai, criticized Horthy's authoritarian style as much as they disdained the violent tendencies of the far-left. He was also criticized by monarchists and elements of the aristocracy and clergy. While the harshest opposition to Horthy initially came from the Communist parties he had overthrown and outlawed, the later 1930s saw him come under increasing criticism from the far-right. After the Arrow Cross Party took control of the country in 1944, Horthy was denounced as a "traitor" and "Jew-lover".


title: Miklós Horthy

text: Horthy's reception in the West was positive until the outbreak of the Second World War, and while Hitler initially backed Horthy, relations between the two leaders were soured by Horthy's denial of involvement in the invasions of Poland and Czechoslovakia. Horthy likewise viewed the Nazis as "brigands and clowns." The Little Entente criticized Horthy, mainly for his irredentist policy goals.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: Under the Marxism–Leninism mandated during the Communist era, the Horthy era was generally depicted negatively. Scholars agree that due to political pressure, Horthy's positive achievements were unmentioned while his shortcomings were exaggerated.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: The Communist takeover in 1945 saw the same powers that had denounced Horthy as an "executioner" and a "murdering monster" assume control of the state. During the 1950s, Mátyás Rákosi's hardliner Stalinist government systematically disseminated, through propaganda and state education, the idea that the Horthy era constituted the "lowest point in Hungarian history." These views were supported by socialist or communist activists persecuted under the Horthy administration. Especially critical in this campaign was the 1950 publication of the textbook "The Story of the Hungarian People", which denounced Horthy's military as a "genocidal band" consisting of "sociopathic officers, kulaks, and the dregs of society." It further characterized Horthy himself as a "slave of the Habsburgs", a "red-handed dictator" who "spoke broken Hungarian" and was known for his "hatred of workers and soviets." "The Story of the Hungarian People" was required reading in middle schools throughout the 1950s.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: The Kádár era's relative liberalization, coupled with the concomitant professionalization of Hungarian history and historiography, allowed for more objective historical assessments of Horthy's career. Popular volumes still painted him negatively, openly leveling "ad hominem" attacks: Horthy was accused of bastardy, lechery, sadism, greed, nepotism, bloodthirst, warmongering, and cowardice, among other vices. Academic evaluations became more nuanced, however. Péter Gosztony's 1973 biography, for example, portrayed Horthy as a conscientious, traditional conservative. Gostony argued that Horthy did not seek a dictatorship until the 1930s and, although he was unable to prevent the German invasion of Yugoslavia, sought to maintain a moderately liberal government, citing his replacement of hardliner László Bárdossy with Miklós Kállay as prime minister as evidence of this. Thomas Sakmyster was also sympathetic while acknowledging Horthy's "narrow-mindededness." Contemporary Hungarian-American historian István Deák regards Horthy as typical of other strongmen of the era, especially dictators Francisco Franco of Spain and Philippe Pétain of Vichy France. Deák writes that during the war, Horthy


title: Miklós Horthy

text: The transition to a Western-style democracy allowed the privatization of media, which led to a shift in how Horthy was viewed in Hungary. In 1993, only a few years after the first democratic elections, Horthy's body was returned from Portugal to his hometown of Kenderes. Tens of thousands of people, as well as almost the entirety of József Antall's MDF cabinet, attended the ceremony. Antall had prefaced the burial with a series of interviews praising Horthy as a "patriot." The reburial was broadcast on state television and was accompanied by large-scale protests in Budapest.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: In contemporary Hungary, the hagiography of Horthy is associated with the far-right Jobbik party and its allies. The national-conservative Fidesz has also voiced some positive opinions of Horthy's legacy. Since 2012, Horthy statues, squares have been renamed after, and memorials have been erected to him in numerous villages and cities including Csókakő, Kereki, Gyömrő, and Debrecen. In November 2013, the unveiling of a Horthy statue at a Calvinist church in Budapest drew international attention and criticism.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: "Der Spiegel" has written about the resurgence of what its writers call "the Horthy cult", claiming that Horthy's popularity indicates returning irredentist, reactionary, and ultranationalistic elements. Critics have more specifically connected Horthy's popularity to the "Magyar Gárda", a paramilitary group that uses Árpád dynasty imagery and to recent incidents of antiziganist and antisemitic vandalism in Hungary. Meanwhile, Fidesz has, according to reporters, "hedged its bets" on the Horthy controversy, refusing to outright condemn Horthy statues and other commemorations for fear of losing far-right voters to Jobbik. Some Fidesz politicians have labeled Horthy memorials "provocative," however. This tension has led some to label Fidesz as "implicitly anti-semitic" and to accuse Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of a "revisionist" agenda.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: Left-wing groups such as the Hungarian Socialist Party have condemned positive historiography of Horthy. In 2012, for instance, then-party leader Attila Mesterházy condemned the Orbán government's position as "inexcusable", claiming that Fidesz was "openly associating itself with the ideology of the regime that collaborated with the fascists." Words have led to actions in some instances, as when leftist activist Péter Dániel vandalized a rural bust of Horthy by dousing it in red paint and hanging a sign that read "Mass Murderer – War Criminal" around its neck. Ultranationalist vandals reacted by desecrating a Jewish cemetery in Székesfehérvár and vandalizing several Holocaust memorials in Budapest.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: In 2017, Orbán affirmed his positive view of Horthy, commenting in a speech that he considers Horthy an "exceptional statesman" and giving him credit for the survival of the Hungarian state in the First World War's aftermath. The U.S. Holocaust Museum responded in a statement denouncing Orbán and the Hungarian government for trying to "rehabilitate the reputation of Hungary's wartime leader, Miklós Horthy, who was a vocal anti-Semite and complicit in the murder of the country's Jewish population during the Holocaust."


title: Miklós Horthy

text: In the 1985 NBC TV film "", the role of Horthy was taken by Hungarian-born actor Guy Deghy, who appeared bearded although Horthy (as photographs bore out) appeared consistently clean-shaven throughout his life.


title: Miklós Horthy

text: In the 2011 Spanish TV film series, "El ángel de Budapest" (The angel of Budapest), also set during Wallenberg's time in Hungary in 1944, he is portrayed by actor László Agárdi. In the 2014 American action drama film "Walking with the Enemy", Horthy is portrayed by Ben Kingsley. The movie depicts a story of a young man during the Arrow Cross Party takeover in Hungary.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Development began in January 1993 by Sega Technical Institute in California, shortly after the release of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2". It was initially developed as an isometric game similar to what would eventually become "Sonic 3D Blast" (1996), but became a conventional 2D platform game due to time constraints. "Sonic 3" was developed simultaneously with "Sonic & Knuckles"; they were planned as a single game until time constraints and cartridge costs forced the developers to split it. The "Sonic 3" cartridge can be attached to an adapter on the "Sonic & Knuckles" cartridge, creating a combined game, Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The pop musician Michael Jackson composed portions of the soundtrack, but left the project and went uncredited; his music was replaced in some rereleases.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic 3" was released in North America and Europe in February 1994, and in Japan in May. As with its predecessors, it was a critical and commercial success, with critics seeing it as an improvement over previous installments. "Sonic 3" and "Sonic & Knuckles" sold a combined four million copies worldwide, placing them among the bestselling Genesis games. They have been rereleased in various Sega and "Sonic" compilations.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" is a 2D side-scrolling platformer. As with "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", players can control Sonic, Tails, or both simultaneously. In the former choice, players control Sonic while Tails runs along beside him; a second player can join at any time and control Tails separately. "Sonic 3" adds the ability for Tails to fly for a short time by spinning his twin tails like a helicopter rotor; when he tires, he falls. Unlike Sonic, Tails can also swim underwater.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic 3" takes place over six zones, each divided into two acts. Levels are populated with "badniks", robots created by the villain, Dr Robotnik; Sonic and Tails can defeat them by jumping on them or using the "spin dash" attack, which also gives the character a speed boost. The levels include obstacles and other features such as vertical loops, corkscrews, breakable walls, spikes, water that the player can drown in, and bottomless pits. There is a miniboss fight with one of Robotnik's large, powerful robots at the end of the first act of each level and a boss fight with Robotnik at the end of the second. Reaching a new level saves the game to one of six save slots.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: As with previous "Sonic" games, "Sonic 3" uses rings, scattered throughout the levels, as a health system; when the player is attacked without rings, is crushed, falls off-screen, drowns, or exceeds the act's ten-minute limit, they lose a life and return to the most recently passed checkpoint. Dying with zero lives gives the player a game over. The levels also include power-ups in television monitors that, when hit, grant the character an extra life, temporary invincibility to most hazards, a number of rings, a shield that allows them to breathe underwater, a shield that allows them to withstand fire from enemy projectiles, or a shield that attracts nearby rings.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic 3" contains two types of "special stages". When the player collects at least 50 rings and passes a checkpoint, they can warp to the first type, which involves bouncing up a gumball machine-like corridor to earn power-ups by hitting a switch. Both sides of the corridor are lined with flippers, which disappear when the character bounces on them, and the switch drops when both flippers supporting it are removed. The corridor's floor contains a bounce pad, which also disappears after one use; falling afterwards causes the player to leave the stage with the most recent power-up collected.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: The second type, triggered by entering giant rings found in secret passages, involves running around a 3D map and passing through all of a number of blue spheres arranged in patterns. Passing through a blue sphere turns it red, and touching a red sphere causes the player to leave the stage, unless the player has just completed a cycle around an arrangement of blue spheres, in which case all of these spheres turn to harmless rings. Removing all of the blue spheres gives the player a Chaos Emerald; if Sonic (not Tails) collects all seven, he unlocks the ability to become Super Sonic, which makes him invincible to most obstacles. Failing to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds triggers a post-credits scene in which Robotnik and Knuckles taunt the player.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic 3" includes a competitive mode: two players, controlling Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles, race through one or all of five stages that do not appear in the main game. In these same stages, a single player can compete against the clock in time attacks.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" and "Sonic & Knuckles" were planned as single game, but were released separately due to time constraints and cartridge size limitations. The "Sonic & Knuckles" cartridge features a "lock-on" adapter that allows other Genesis cartridges to be attached. Connecting the "Sonic 3" cartridge creates a combined game, "Sonic 3 & Knuckles". The lock-on function is available in most rereleases.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles" allows the player to play "Sonic 3" levels as Knuckles or "Sonic & Knuckles" levels as Tails, or both Sonic and Tails. Other new features are the ability to collect Super Emeralds, unlocking new "Hyper" forms for Sonic and Knuckles and a "Super" form for Tails; improved save options; access to areas that Sonic or Tails could not previously access; altered boss forms; and an additional ending that shows Sonic returning the Master Emerald to Angel Island.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: After Sonic and Tails defeat Dr. Robotnik in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", Robotnik's space station, the Death Egg, crash-lands on the floating Angel Island. There, Robotnik meets Knuckles the Echidna, the last member of an ancient echidna civilization that once inhabited the island. Knuckles is the guardian of the Master Emerald, which grants the island its levitation power and has an equal power level of the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Robotnik dupes Knuckles into believing Sonic is trying to steal the Master Emerald, turning the two against each other while he repairs the Death Egg.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Sonic and Tails approach Angel Island in their biplane, the Tornado. Sonic uses the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic, but Knuckles ambushes him and steals the emeralds. Sonic and Tails travel the island hindered by Knuckles and Robotnik. At the Launch Base, where the Death Egg is under repair, Sonic and Tails fight Knuckles, but the Death Egg relaunches. On a platform attached to the Death Egg, they defeat Robotnik, causing the Death Egg to crash-land on Angel Island again. The story resumes in "Sonic & Knuckles".


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Like "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" was developed in California by Sega Technical Institute (STI). After the completion of "Sonic 2", STI split into two teams: one comprised Japanese developers, who worked on "Sonic 3," and the other Americans, who worked on "Sonic Spinball". Yuji Naka and Hirokazu Yasuhara were the primary creators of the "Sonic 3" design document and project schedule. Naka selected the majority of the team, while STI director Roger Hector oversaw development, and Pamela Kelly led the marketing for Sega.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Development began in January 1993, with a deadline of February 1994, when Sega and McDonald's would launch a major promotional campaign in America. Initially, the team used the new Sega Virtua Processor chip, allowing for 3D graphics. They created a prototype with isometric graphics with the working title "Sonic 3D;" the original special stage featured a polygonal Sonic in a figure eight-shaped stage. When it became apparent that the chip would not be finished by 1994, "Sonic 3" was restarted as a more conventional 2D platform game. The isometric concept was eventually used for "Sonic 3D Blast" in 1996.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: According to Naka, the team felt that they needed a deeper story to expand the world of "Sonic", which "made the project huge"; the levels are triple the size of those in "Sonic 2". Many elements were conceived during the development of "Sonic 2" but deferred to "Sonic 3". "Sonic 3" and "Sonic & Knuckles" were originally planned as a single game. However, time was limited and the manufacturing costs of a 34-megabit cartridge with NVRAM would have been prohibitively expensive. Due to the game's scope and the Sega's commitment to the start date of the McDonald's Happy Meal promotion and corresponding TV ad campaign, the team reluctantly split it in half, allowing more time to develop the second part and splitting the cost between two cartridges. The "Sonic & Knuckles" cartridge's lock-on technology was created, named and implemented so "Sonic 3" could be experienced as intended.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic 3" features the debut of Sonic's rival, Knuckles the Echidna. Many designs for the character were considered; for the final design, Takashi Yuda chose the kind of animal, and Pamela Kelly chose the name. Yuda envisioned him as a supporting character for Sonic, and felt he would make a good playable character. Whereas Sonic symbolizes speed, Knuckles symbolizes power, and the emphasis of the character was to break walls. His shoe coloration was inspired by Jamaica's flag. The original name for the character was "Dreds", referring to his dreadlocks. The design was tested with focus groups of American children.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Hector said "Sonic 3" had a troubled development. He recalled having to prevent the rest of Sega from bothering the team while simultaneously making sure the game would be finished in time. Additionally, Hector struggled to balance resources between "Sonic 3" and other projects, Naka was sometimes seen as a harsh leader, and STI staff not on the "Sonic 3" team became jealous of the priority given to the game.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: In 2005, Hector said that Sega hired the American pop musician Michael Jackson to compose music for "Sonic 3". Jackson was a "Sonic" fan and had collaborated with Sega on the 1990 arcade game "Moonwalker". Jackson's tour director at the time, Brad Buxer, assembled a team and worked on the project for four weeks at Record One in Los Angeles in 1993. They developed fully fledged tracks, with extensive samples of Jackson beatboxing, to be adapted for the Genesis. Hector said the work had a recognizable Jackson sound. According to Buxer, Jackson only worked on one of the 41 tracks that the team composed.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Around this time, allegations of child sexual abuse against Jackson emerged. Buxer said the team received no instruction to halt work, and that the finished soundtrack was sent to Sega in mid-1993. According to Hector, Jackson's involvement was terminated following the allegations; his music had already been implemented and had to be quickly reworked by Howard Drossin. Drossin joined the project having expected to collaborate with Jackson. Naoto Ohshima, the co-creator of Sonic, said Jackson recorded an a cappella demo tape for the game, but that Sega could not use the compositions due to the allegations.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Buxer and two other members of Jackson's team, Doug Grigsby III and Cirocco Jones, said the music remained in the game. They said Jackson went uncredited because he was unhappy with how the Genesis, which was incapable of playing back high-quality audio, replicated his music. Jones credited himself along with Jackson and Buxer for musical cues for "levels 2 & 3" of ""Sonic the Hedgehog"" on his website. An anonymous source involved in development also told "GameTrailers" that Jackson's contributions, such as the Carnival Night Zone theme, remained and that he had chosen to remain uncredited. Buxer said that the "Sonic 3" credits music became the basis for Jackson's 1996 single "Stranger in Moscow". In 2013, it was discovered that the music for IceCap Zone was derived from a previously unreleased 1982 song, "Hard Times", by Buxer's band the Jetzons. In 2019, "GameRevolution" noted that "Sonic 3" had been rereleased less frequently since Jackson's death in 2009 and speculated that this was due to legal problems with his estate.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Sega staff including senior producer Mike Latham, marketing director Al Nilsen, "Sonic 3" marketing director Pam Kelly and Sega of America president Tom Kalinske said that any involvement of Jackson was arranged without their knowledge, and that no contracts nor formal agreements were made. In 2013, Hector said that any similarities to Jackson's music in "Sonic 3" were unintentional. The journalist Ken Horowitz raised questions about Jackson's alleged involvement, such as how an agreement between Sega and Jackson could have been kept secret from the media, why Sega's marketing never mentioned Jackson's involvement and why Jackson would reuse music originally composed for a video game.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Other tracks were composed by Sega sound team members such as Jun Senoue, who became a regular composer for the series. Some tracks were replaced in the 1997 Windows port "Sonic & Knuckles Collection," as well as the remaster included in the 2022 compilation "Sonic Origins". These tracks also appear in a "Sonic 3" prototype discovered in 2019, suggesting that they were originally written for the Genesis before being replaced by Jackson's music. In 2022, Naka confirmed that Jackson had been involved and said that the development team had visited Jackson's home at Neverland Ranch. He expressed surprise that Sega did not use Jackson's music in "Sonic Origins".


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic 3" was released in North America on February 2, 1994 (Groundhog Day), in Europe on February 24, and in Japan on May 27. Sega spent $20 million marketing it in the United States. To promote the European release, the British band Right Said Fred adapted their song "Wonderman" to include references to Sonic. The song was used in "Sonic 3" advertisements and released as a single, which charted in the UK at number 55. A single-cartridge version of "Sonic 3" and "Sonic & Knuckles", "Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Limited Edition", was canceled. A ROM image of this version was leaked online in 2008.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic 3" is included in the compilations "Sonic Jam" (1997) for the Sega Saturn, "Sonic & Knuckles Collection" (1997) and "Sonic & Garfield Pack" (1999) for Windows, "Sonic Mega Collection" (2002) for the GameCube, "Sonic Mega Collection Plus" (2004) for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows, "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" (2009) for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and "Sonic Classic Collection" (2010) for the Nintendo DS. The "Sonic Jam" version introduces "remix" options: "Normal" mode alters the layout of rings and hazards, and "Easy" mode removes certain acts.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" was released for the Wii Virtual Console in September 2007 and Xbox Live Arcade on June 10, 2009. The Xbox version was developed by Backbone Entertainment and has enhanced graphics for high-definition, online leaderboards, support for multiplayer via split screen and Xbox Live, and a new saving system that allows progress to be saved anywhere during play. A PC version was released via Steam in January 2011, as "Sonic 3 & Knuckles".


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic 3" was not included in the Sega Genesis Mini (2019), a dedicated console containing 40 Genesis games. AtGames, which was briefly involved with the console's development, said the exclusion was due to licensing problems with the soundtrack. In 2014, independent developers Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley proposed a remaster of "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" for iOS and Android, developed using Whitehead's Retro Engine, to Sega, similar to their remasters of previous "Sonic" games. Despite fan enthusiasm, Sega did not develop the project. Thomley speculated that this was due to legal problems regarding the music.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" has been re-released for the first time since 2011 as part of the "Sonic Origins" compilation in 2022. The "Origins" version is a new remaster running on the Retro Engine, and was developed by Simon Thomley of Headcannon, who previously worked on "Sonic Mania" and remastered versions of other Genesis "Sonic" games. Since Sega was unable to use the original soundtrack, Senoue was brought on to produce rearrangements of the MIDI music featured in "Sonic & Knuckles Collection" using the original Genesis sound chip.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: In the United States, "Sonic 3" was the top-selling Sega Genesis game in February 1994. It became one of the best-selling Genesis games, selling at least 1.02 million copies in the United States, with "Sonic 3" and "Sonic & Knuckles" selling a combined cartridges worldwide.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Like its predecessors, "Sonic 3" received critical acclaim. Critics generally felt "Sonic 3" was the best game in the series so far. Andrew Humphreys of "Hyper", who declared himself not a "Sonic" fan, said it was "undoubtedly" the best of the series, including the acclaimed but obscure "Sonic CD", though he said he preferred "Sonic 2" special stages by a small margin. "Sega Magazine", however, stated that "Sonic 3" has better special stages and was not only superior to "Sonic 2" as a whole but would be "a serious contender for the Best Platform Game Ever award". "Sega Power" wrote that despite their skepticism, they found it "excellent" and easily "the most explorable and playable" in the series. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" also compared "Sonic 3" favorably to "Sonic 1", "2", and "CD" and awarded it their "Game of the Month" award. They later ranked it number 1 in The EGM Hot 50, indicating that it received the highest average score of any game they had reviewed in the past year. Lionel Vilner of "" believed "Sonic 3" offered more challenge than its predecessors. The Unknown Gamer of "GamePro" proclaimed that it "proves that you can teach an old hedgehog new and exciting tricks. Take that old "Sonic" magic, add fun new variations, and you have another spectacular game."


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Some critics felt that "Sonic 3" had innovated too little from previous "Sonic" games. Humphreys of "Hyper" saw only "a few new features" while "Sega Power" thought it was "not all that different" and Nintendo Life writer Damien McFerran said that "there's not a lot of new elements here to be brutally frank". While Deniz Ahmet of "Computer and Video Games" agreed that the game was "more of the same", he was placated by the new and imaginative ideas. However, "Electronic Gaming Monthly" enjoyed the new power-ups. Many aspects of the level design were praised; "Electronic Gaming Monthly" and "Sega Power" enjoyed the expansive stages, secret areas, much less linear level design, and difficulty. "Mean Machines" agreed, describing the game as "a rollercoaster ride from start to finish" and listing Carnival Night as their favorite level, which they described as "probably the most slickly programmed portion of game in Megadrive history". Humphreys and "Mean Machines" felt that the game was too short, but they and "Sega Magazine" felt that its two-player mode and the Emerald collecting would significantly extend the replay value. "Sega Magazine" enjoyed having the ability to play as Knuckles in the two-player mode. The Unknown Gamer felt that while the two-player mode was less fun than the main game, it was much improved over that of its predecessor due to the change of format from split-screen to full-screen.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: The visuals were very well received. Humphreys described "Sonic 3" as "one of the most beautiful games around" and full of "flashy new visual tricks", highlighting Sonic's ascension up pipes and spiraling pathways as particularly inventive. "Sega Magazine" exclaimed that its graphics were "brilliant" even for a "Sonic" game, while Provo praised the "elaborate" backgrounds. "Mean Machines" thought similarly, giving special praise to the camera's quick scrolling, the diversity of the level themes, and the "chunkier, more detailed" overall aesthetic. Rik Skews of "Computer and Video Games" stated that "the graphics were stunning, attention to detail is breathtaking". Ahmet of the same publication also noted that the graphics were more detailed than those of previous installments. The Unknown Gamer described the settings as having "gorgeous background detail and lots of visual treats" and was impressed by the new obstacles that Sonic can traverse at top speeds.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: The sound effects and music were also well received, though somewhat less so than the visuals. "Sega Magazine" described them as "brilliant" and "far superior" to "Sonic 2". "Mean Machines" stated that every level had "great tunes" and sound effects and particularly praised the ending music. However, Humphreys described the sound as "Sonicky ... with the emphasis on the 'icky'"; he also found it strikingly similar to the first two "Sonic" games' soundtracks. The Unknown Gamer also saw musical similarity to previous installments, and described the individual tracks as "catchy... until you've heard it a hundred times."


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Following the release of "Sonic & Knuckles", the "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" version of the game was critically acclaimed. "Computer and Video Games" rated this version of the game 97% and said, while "you need to buy both "Sonic 3" and "Sonic and Knuckles" to fully enjoy" it, "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" "is the best platform experience ever" and "what video games were invented for."


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Retrospectively, it holds a score of 89% at review aggregator GameRankings based on five reviews published online in the 2000s. Lucas M. Thomas of IGN stated that "Sonic 3" "completed the trilogy as the best of them all". Dan Whitehead of "Eurogamer," however, considered "Sonic & Knuckles" superior.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Frank Provo of "GameSpot" stated that the most significant addition was its save system. He also enjoyed the new power-ups. Whitehead said that the large stages would keep players sufficiently engrossed. Thomas and Provo enjoyed the use of wordless cutscenes to create a coherent story and thematically connect the zones. McFerran, however, felt that the visuals had been downgraded, particularly Sonic's "dumpier" sprite and "the infamous 'dotty' textures". Thomas thought the music was "impressive", but not quite on par with "Sonic 2".


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: Reviews of ports have been slightly less positive; the Xbox 360 release has scores of 78% and 79% at GameRankings and Metacritic, respectively. Some critics, such as Adam Ghiggino of "PALGN", felt "Sonic 3" had been insufficiently upgraded for re-releases; Whitehead of "Eurogamer" wished online co-op had been implemented. Provo of GameSpot and Thomas of IGN wished Sega had re-released "Sonic 3" and "Sonic & Knuckles" together as "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" instead. "Mega" ranked it the fifth best Genesis game ever in November 1994. In 2014, GamesRadar ranked "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" as the seventh best Genesis game; in 2013, Jeremy Parish of "US Gamer" ranked it eighth.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: "Sonic 3" was the first appearance of Knuckles the Echidna, who featured prominently in later "Sonic" games. "Sonic the Comic" (UK) and the Archie "Sonic the Hedgehog" comic (US) published adaptations of the game.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

text: For "Sonic" 20th anniversary, Sega released "Sonic Generations", a game that remade aspects of various past games from the franchise. The Nintendo 3DS version features a remake of the final boss, "Big Arms", and re-arranged version of the "Game Over" theme. The Angel Island and Hydrocity levels were included in remixed form in "Sonic Mania" (2017).


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of ASEAN's series of post-ministerial conferences launched in the mid-1980s, APEC started in 1989, in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world; it aimed to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe. Headquartered in Singapore, APEC is recognized as one of the highest-level multilateral blocs and oldest forums in the Asia-Pacific region, and exerts a significant global influence.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: The heads of government of all APEC members except Taiwan (which is represented by a ministerial-level official under the name Chinese Taipei as "economic leader") attend an annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. The location of the meeting rotates annually among the member economies, and a famous tradition, followed for most (but not all) summits, involves the attending leaders dressing in a national costume of the host country. APEC has three official observers: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. APEC's Host Economy of the Year is considered to be invited in the first place for geographical representation to attend G20 meetings following G20 guidelines.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: The APEC was initially inspired when ASEAN’s series of post-ministerial conferences, launched in the mid-1980s, had demonstrated the feasibility and value of regular conferences among ministerial-level representatives of both developed and developing economies. By 1996, the post ministerial conferences had expanded to embrace 12 members (the then six members of ASEAN and its six dialogue partners). The developments led Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke to believe the necessity of region-wide co-operation on economic matters. In January 1989, Bob Hawke called for more effective economic co-operation across the Pacific Rim region. This led to the first meeting of APEC in the Australian capital of Canberra in November, chaired by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Gareth Evans. Attended by ministers from twelve countries, the meeting concluded with commitments for future annual meetings in Singapore and South Korea. Ten months later, 12 Asia-Pacific economies met in Canberra, Australia, to establish APEC. The APEC Secretariat, based in Singapore, was established to co-ordinate the activities of the organisation.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: During the meeting in 1994 in Bogor, Indonesia, APEC leaders adopted the Bogor Goals that aim for free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for industrialised economies and by 2020 for developing economies. In 1995, APEC established a business advisory body named the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), composed of three business executives from each member's economy.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: In April 2001, the APEC, in collaboration with five other international organisations (Eurostat, IEA, OLADE, OPEC and the UNSD) launched the Joint Oil Data Exercise, which in 2005 became the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI).


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: Currently, APEC has 21 members. The criterion for membership, however, is that each member must be an independent economic entity, rather than a sovereign state. As a result, APEC uses the term "member economies" rather than "member countries" to refer to its members. One result of this criterion is that membership of the forum includes Taiwan (officially the Republic of China, participating under the name "Chinese Taipei") alongside People's Republic of China (see Cross-Strait relations), as well as Hong Kong, which entered APEC as a British colony but it is now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. APEC also includes three official observers: ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: India has requested membership in APEC, and received initial support from the United States, Japan, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Officials have decided not to allow India to join for various reasons, including the fact that India does not border the Pacific Ocean, which all current members do. However, India was invited to be an observer for the first time in November 2011.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Macau, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, are among a dozen other economies that have applied for membership in APEC. Colombia applied for APEC's membership as early as in 1995, but its bid was halted as the organisation stopped accepting new members from 1993 to 1996, and the moratorium was further prolonged to 2007 due to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Guam has also been actively seeking a separate membership, citing the example of Hong Kong, but the request is opposed by the United States, which currently represents Guam.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: As a regional organization, APEC has always played a leading role in the area of reform initiatives in the area of business facilitation. The APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAPI) has contributed to a reduction of 6% in the cost of business transactions across the region between 2002 and 2006. According to APEC's projections, the cost of conducting business transactions will be reduced by another 5% between 2007 and 2010. To this end, a new Trade Facilitation Action Plan has been endorsed. According to a 2008 research brief published by the World Bank as part of its Trade Costs and Facilitation Project, increasing transparency in the region's trading system is critical if APEC is to meet its Bogor Goal targets. The APEC Business Travel Card, a travel document for visa-free business travel within the region is one of the concrete measures to facilitate business. In May 2010 Russia joined the scheme, thus completing the circle.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: APEC first formally started discussing the concept of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) at its summit in 2006 in Hanoi. However, the proposal for such an area has been around since at least 1966 and Japanese economist 's proposal for a Pacific Free Trade agreement proposal. While it gained little traction, the idea led to the formation of Pacific Trade and Development Conference and then the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in 1980 and then APEC in 1989.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: In the wake of the 2006 summit, economist C. Fred Bergsten advocated a Free Trade Agreement of Asia-Pacific, including the United States amongst the proposed parties to any agreement at that time. His ideas convinced the APEC Business Advisory Council to support this concept. Relatedly, ASEAN and existing free trade agreement (FTA) partners negotiated the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), not officially including Russia. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without China or Russia involved became the US-promoted trade negotiation in the region. At the APEC summit in Beijing in 2014, the three plans were all in discussion. President Obama hosted a TPP meeting at the US Embassy in Beijing in advance of the APEC gathering.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: The proposal for a FTAAP arose due to the lack of progress in the Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations, and as a way to overcome the "noodle bowl" effect created by overlapping and conflicting elements of the copious free trade agreements – there were approximately 60 free trade agreements in 2007, with an additional 117 in the process of negotiation in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. In 2012, ASEAN+6 countries alone had 339 free trade agreements – many of which were bilateral.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: The FTAAP is more ambitious in scope than the Doha round, which limits itself to reducing trade restrictions. The FTAAP would create a free trade zone that would considerably expand commerce and economic growth in the region. The economic expansion and growth in trade could exceed the expectations of other regional free trade areas such as the ASEAN Plus Three (ASEAN + China, South Korea and Japan). Some criticisms include that the diversion of trade within APEC members would create trade imbalances, market conflicts and complications with nations of other regions. The development of the FTAAP is expected to take many years, involving essential studies, evaluations and negotiations between member economies. It is also affected by the absence of political will and popular agitations and lobbying against free trade in domestic politics.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: At the 2014 APEC summit in Beijing, APEC leaders agreed to launch "a collective strategic study" on the FTAAP and instruct officials to undertake the study, consult stakeholders and report the result by the end of 2016. APEC Executive Director Alan Bollard revealed in the Elite Talk show that FTAAP will be APEC's big goal out into the future.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: The Trans-Pacific Partnership included 12 of the 21 APEC members and had provisions for the accession of other APEC members, five of which expressed interest in membership.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: In 1993, APEC Leaders decided to establish a network of APEC Study Centres (APCs) among universities and research institutions in member economies. The purpose is to foster cooperation among tertiary and research institutes of member economies, thus having better academic collaboration on key regional economic challenges. To encourage independence from the APEC conference, the APCs are funded independently and choose their own research topics.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: As of December 2018, there are 70 APCs among the member economies. An annual conference is usually held in the host economy for that year.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was created by the APEC Economic Leaders in November 1995 with the aim of providing advice to the APEC Economic Leaders on ways to achieve the Bogor Goals and other specific business sector priorities, and to provide the business perspective on specific areas of co-operation.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: Each economy nominates up to three members from the private sector to ABAC. These business leaders represent a wide range of industry sectors. ABAC provides an annual report to APEC Economic Leaders containing recommendations to improve the business and investment environment in the Asia-Pacific region, and outlining business views about priority regional issues. ABAC is also the only non-governmental organisation that is on the official agenda of the APEC Economic Leader's Meeting.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: Since its formation in 1989, APEC has held annual meetings with representatives from all member economies. The first four annual meetings were attended by ministerial-level officials. Beginning in 1993, the annual meetings are named APEC Economic Leaders' Meetings and are attended by the heads of government from all member economies except Taiwan, which is represented by a ministerial-level official. Despite a similar nature, the annual Leaders' Meetings are not called summits.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: In 1997, the APEC meeting was held in Vancouver. Controversy arose after officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police used pepper spray against protesters. The protesters objected to the presence of autocratic leaders such as Indonesian president Suharto.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: At the 2001 Leaders' Meeting in Shanghai, APEC leaders pushed for a new round of trade negotiations and support for a program of trade capacity-building assistance, leading to the launch of the Doha Development Agenda a few weeks later. The meeting also endorsed the Shanghai Accord proposed by the United States, emphasising the implementation of open markets, structural reform, and capacity building. As part of the accord, the meeting committed to develop and implement APEC transparency standards, reduce trade transaction costs in the Asia-Pacific region by 5 percent over 5 years, and pursue trade liberalisation policies relating to information technology goods and services.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: In 2003, Jemaah Islamiah leader Riduan Isamuddin had planned to attack the APEC Leaders Meeting to be held in Bangkok in October. He was captured in the city of Ayutthaya, Thailand by Thai police on 11 August 2003, before he could finish planning the attack.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: Chile became the first South American nation to host the Leaders' Meeting in 2004. The agenda of that year was focused on terrorism and commerce, small and medium enterprise development, and contemplation of free agreements and regional trade agreements.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: The 2005 Leaders' Meeting was held in Busan, South Korea. The meeting focused on the Doha round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, leading up to the WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005 held in Hong Kong in December. Weeks earlier, trade negotiations in Paris were held between several WTO members, including the United States and the European Union, centred on reducing agricultural trade barriers. APEC leaders at the summit urged the European Union to agree to reduce farm subsidies. In a continuation of the climate information sharing initiative established by the APEC Climate Network working group, it was decided by the leaders to install the APEC Climate Center in Busan. Peaceful protests against APEC were staged in Busan, but the meeting schedule was not affected.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: At the Leaders' Meeting held on 19 November 2006 in Hanoi, APEC leaders called for a new start to global free-trade negotiations while condemning terrorism and other threats to security. APEC also criticised North Korea for conducting a nuclear test and a missile test launch that year, urging the country to take "concrete and effective" steps toward nuclear disarmament. Concerns about nuclear proliferation in the region was discussed in addition to economic topics. The United States and Russia signed an agreement as part of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: The APEC Australia 2007 Leaders' Meeting was held in Sydney from 2–9 September 2007. The political leaders agreed to an "aspirational goal" of a 25% reduction of energy intensity correlative with economic development. Extreme security measures including airborne sharpshooters and extensive steel-and-concrete barricades were deployed against anticipated protesters and potential terrorists. However, protest activities were peaceful and the security envelope was penetrated with ease by a spoof diplomatic motorcade manned by members of the Australian television program "The Chaser", one of whom was dressed to resemble the Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: The APEC Chile 2019, originally to be held 16–17 November 2019 in Chile, was cancelled due to ongoing protests by sections of its population over inequality, the cost of living and police repression.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: At the end of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the leaders gather for the official APEC Leaders' Family Photo. A tradition has the leaders dressing to reflect the culture of the host member. The tradition dates to the first such meeting in 1993 when then-U.S. President Bill Clinton insisted on informal attire and gave the leaders leather bomber jackets. At the 2010 meeting, Japan had the leaders dress in smart casual rather than the traditional kimono. Similarly, when Honolulu was selected in 2009 as the site for the 2011 APEC meeting, U.S. President Barack Obama joked that he looked forward to seeing the leaders dressed in "flowered shirts and grass skirts". After viewing previous photos, and concerned that having the leaders dress in aloha shirts might give the wrong impression during a period of economic austerity, Obama instead decided it might be time to end the tradition. Leaders were given a specially designed aloha shirt as a gift but were not expected to wear it for the photo. Leaders in Bali, Indonesia at the 2013 conference wore a batik outfit; in China 2014 Tang suit jackets; in the Philippines 2015 Barong Tagalogs; in Peru 2016 vicuña wool shawls; in 2017 Vietnamese silk shirts.


title: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

text: APEC has been criticised for promoting free trade agreements that would impose restrictions on national and local laws, which regulate and ensure labour rights, environmental protection and safe and affordable access to medicine. According to the organisation, it is "the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region" established to "further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community". The effectiveness and fairness of its role has been questioned, especially from the viewpoints of European countries that cannot take part in APEC and Pacific Island nations that cannot participate but stand to be affected by its decisions.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Artemis Fowl is a 2020 American science fantasy action adventure film based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Irish author Eoin Colfer. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, from a screenplay co-written by Conor McPherson and Hamish McColl, the film stars Ferdia Shaw, Lara McDonnell, Josh Gad, Tamara Smart, Nonso Anozie, Colin Farrell, and Judi Dench. It details the adventures of Artemis Fowl II, a twelve-year-old Irish prodigy who teams up with his faithful servant, as well as a dwarf and a fairy, in order to rescue his father, Artemis Fowl I, who has been kidnapped by another fairy looking to reclaim an item the Fowl family has stolen.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Originally intended to be launched as a franchise by Miramax in 2001, the film languished in development hell with several writers and directors attached until Walt Disney Pictures revived the project in 2013. Branagh was hired in 2015 and filming began in 2018.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: "Artemis Fowl"s intended 2019 theatrical release was delayed to 2020, and then cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, it was released digitally worldwide exclusively on Disney+ on June 12, 2020. The film received negative reviews from critics, who criticized the film's plot, dialogue, characters, visual effects, and changes made to the source material.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: On the coast of Ireland, a media frenzy descends on Fowl Manor, where a stolen collection of world-famous relics is linked to wealthy businessman, Artemis Fowl. Arrested at the manor, Mulch Diggums is interrogated by British intelligence and claims that his employer has stolen the powerful "Aculos". Offering to prove the existence of magic, Diggums tells the story of Artemis Fowl, Jr.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Three days earlier, Artemis, a twelve-year-old genius, lives at Fowl Manor with his widowed father Artemis Sr, who goes missing from his boat, accused of the theft of several priceless artifacts found aboard. Artemis Jr receives a call from a hooded figure. Holding his father captive, the hooded figure gives Artemis three days to recover the Aculos, which Artemis Sr. has stolen and hidden. Domovoi "Dom" Butler, Artemis' bodyguard, shows him a hidden library where generations of Fowls have catalogued proof of the existence of magical creatures.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Deep underground inside the Earth's core is the Haven City – home to a civilization of fairies – Mulch, an oversized dwarf thief, encounters Lower Elements Police reconnaissance (LEPrecon) officer Holly Short as he is taken to prison. Commander Julius Root dispatches the LEPrecon force to search for the Aculos, the fairies' greatest resource which makes anyone teleport through worlds across universe and biggest source of heat and light energy to the fairies. Foaly, LEPrecon's centaur technical advisor, discovers an unauthorized creature has reached the surface. Holly is sent to investigate, despite the fact that her father, Beechwood Short, stole the Aculos and was killed. In Martina Franca, Italy, Holly intervenes as a rogue troll attacks a human wedding party. Using a "time freeze", LEPrecon subdues the troll and wipes the humans' memories.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Dom's twelve-year-old niece Juliet arrives at the manor. From his father's journal, Artemis learns that Beechwood brought the Aculos to Artemis Sr. to keep it from the hooded figure, revealed to be Opal Koboi, most powerful fairy warlord and once a ruthless dictator of Haven City who is now planning to wipe out humankind and establish fairy rule upon all the worlds. Artemis sends Dom to stakeout the Hill of Tara. Holly, determined to clear her father's name, disobeys orders and flies to the Hill of Tara, where she finds Beechwood's ID tag, but is captured by Dom and imprisoned inside the manor.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Root and an army of LEPrecon officers seal Fowl Manor in a time freeze, but Artemis and Dom fight them off using Holly's equipment. Artemis demands the Aculos in exchange for Holly's release, forbidding fairies to enter his home while he is alive. Bound by fairy rules, Root retrieves Mulch from prison, offering him a reduced sentence to infiltrate Fowl Manor. Mulch tunnels inside and breaks into Artemis Sr.'s safe, finding the Aculos, while Artemis frees Holly and asks for her help. Lieutenant Briar Cudgeon, a spy for Koboi, seizes command of LEPrecon and releases the captured troll into the house, jamming all magic inside.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Mulch swallows the Aculos as Artemis, Holly, Juliet, and Dom evade the troll, which is later killed by Dom. After killing it, Dom is mortally wounded. Against orders, Holly's fellow officers unblock her magic, and she revives Dom. Mulch and the LEPrecon army escape as the time freeze collapses. Left with the Aculos, Artemis refuses to give it to Koboi, and Holly agrees to use it to rescue Artemis' father. As Koboi attempts to kill Artemis Sr., Holly summons him to Fowl Manor.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Artemis Sr. tells Holly that her father gave his life to protect the Aculos, giving her a list of Koboi's accomplices. Holly returns the Aculos to Haven City, where Root, back in command, directs her to investigate every name on the list. Artemis calls Koboi, Artemis promises that after destroying her associates, he will come after her and restore the balance of the universe. Mulch's interrogator offers him freedom in exchange for help capturing Artemis Sr., but Mulch reveals that Artemis arranged his arrest to prove the incident to the authorities, and confirms the existence of magic on camera. As the interrogator calls for backup, the Fowls' helicopter rescues Mulch and, joined by Holly, they fly off for their next mission to hunt down Koboi's associates.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: In scenes that were filmed but not used, Miranda Raison portrayed Angeline Fowl, Artemis' deceased mother, and Laurence Kinlan portrayed Beachwood Short, Holly's deceased father and a former member of the LEP. Additionally, Hong Chau voices Opal Koboi in an uncredited capacity, portraying a fairy blackmailed by Artemis in a deleted scene that takes place in Ho Chi Minh City. Koboi is physically portrayed in the film by stand-ins Emily Brockmann, Jessica Rhodes and Charlie Cameron, credited as "Shadowy Female Figure", with Chau's voice dubbed over.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Miramax Films (owned by The Walt Disney Company at the time) purchased the film rights in conjunction with Tribeca Productions in 2000, before the novel was published. Plans were first announced for a film adaptation of the series in 2001, with Lawrence Guterman signed to direct, Jeff Stockwell to write, and Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal as producers. In 2003, Eoin Colfer stated that a screenplay had been finalized and that casting was due to start the same year but expressed skepticism over whether or not this would come to pass. The film remained in development hell, in part because of disputes over the rights between The Walt Disney Company and Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who were leaving Miramax. During this time, Jim Sheridan, his daughter Naomi Sheridan, and Colfer co-wrote a non-commissioned screenplay, and it was reported in 2011 that Jim Sheridan was negotiating to direct and had met with Saoirse Ronan to possibly star in the film.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: In July 2013, Walt Disney Pictures announced that they would produce an "Artemis Fowl" film with The Weinstein Company, covering the events of the first and second novels of the series, with the screenplay written by Michael Goldenberg.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: On September 1, 2015, "Variety" reported that Kenneth Branagh had been hired to direct the film for Disney, with Irish playwright Conor McPherson as screenwriter and Harvey Weinstein, Judy Hofflund, and Branagh as producers. On September 12, 2017, Disney announced that the film adaptation would be released on August 9, 2019. The following month, Disney removed Weinstein as producer of the film and terminated its production partnership with The Weinstein Company following the exposure of Weinstein's criminal sexual misconduct.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: On September 18, 2017, it was reported that Judi Dench was in talks for an undisclosed role. On December 20, 2017, it was announced that Irish newcomer and grandson of Robert Shaw, Ferdia Shaw, had been cast as Artemis Fowl II, alongside Dench as Commander Root, Josh Gad as Mulch Diggums, Lara McDonnell as Captain Holly Short, and Nonso Anozie as Butler. Colin Farrell was added to the cast as Artemis Fowl I during reshoots, and his involvement was revealed through the second trailer in March 2020.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: McDonnell's casting as Short brought accusations of whitewashing, given the character in the book series is described as having dark nut-brown skin of a coffee complexion. Similarly, Anozie's casting as Butler was criticized, as the books describe him as a Eurasian who can pass as Japanese and Russian; and because the character's physical description of terrifying anyone in his presence, combined with his backstory of his family having served the Fowl family for centuries, was seen with Anozie's casting as embodying several stereotypes of African Americans and Africans, in particular the "scary black man" and "black servant" tropes.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Author Eoin Colfer filmed a cameo appearance as an extra. Describing his one scene, filmed in Northern Ireland, Colfer said, "I walked across a field with a lot of other people. It wasn't too taxing – although I did manage to get it wrong a few times. The only direction they gave was: 'Walk across the field and don't look at the camera.' I must have looked at the camera about 20 times. I have a new respect for actors."


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Principal photography commenced on March 12, 2018. The film was shot in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Italy, and Vietnam. Fowl Manor was built at Longcross Studios and was designed to last for the production of sequels, but had been torn down by May 2020. Many changes were made from the source material, which Colfer has stated that he supports.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: The film was originally scheduled for a theatrical release on August 9, 2019, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. In May 2019, the film was pushed back to May 29, 2020. Later however, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, the film's theatrical release was cancelled and it was exclusively released on Disney+ on June 12, 2020. "Vulture" wrote that "given Disney's continuing commitment to theatrical openings for its megabudget event films... it's impossible to read "Artemis Fowl"s Disney+ debut as anything but an abandonment of faith." In November 2020, "Variety" reported the film was the 18th-most watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020 up to that point.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: According to ScreenEngine/ASI, "Artemis Fowl" was the 18th-most-watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020, as of November 2020.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "A would-be franchise-starter that will anger fans of the source material and leave newcomers befuddled, "Artemis Fowl" is frustratingly flightless." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews."


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: "Comic Book Resources" summarized that critics were generally "blasting the film for not being entertaining enough and [for] poor execution." Kate Erbland of "IndieWire" gave the film a "D+" and noted that it "lacks an effective star, good effects, general coherency, and any sense of actual magic." David Rooney of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote that the film "becomes a wearying slog, with too little reason to invest in the bland characters amid all the chaos." Peter Debruge of "Variety" called the film "tortuously long at just 93 minutes" and "downright awful." Scott Mendelssohn of "Forbes" wrote that the film "fails on a fundamental level of 'Is this movie fun?' and 'Do I want to spend any more time with these characters?'" and described it as "one of the worst YA fantasy movies ever." Robbie Collin of "The Daily Telegraph" gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "Lots of things happen but nothing unfolds. It's like watching a feature-length trailer for a film that doesn't exist." Barry Hertz of "The Globe and Mail" gave the film 1.5/4 stars, saying that it was "a confusing, muddled, sloppy mess of bad intentions and worse execution." Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Images and characters bounce around like shapes on a screensaver and only McDonnell and Gad's performances have any fizz. This is a YA-franchise by numbers."


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave a positive review of 3 out of 4 stars, writing that the film "does a marvelous job of capturing the decidedly Irish tone of the adventure" and features a "wonderful and diverse collection of characters." Mark Kermode said that it was: "A fun, fleeting, rather flimsy romp... it doesn't have classic qualities, but it works if you take it for what it is: a 95-minute supernatural fantasy". Brian Lowry of CNN wrote: ""Artemis Fowl" isn't an unqualified good egg, but it's perfectly adequate... Adapted from popular books, this busy, hectic film races to build an ornate world, and winds up feeling like it's jumping to "franchise" status before getting on its cinematic feet."


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Steve Rose of "The Guardian" criticized the film's "color-blind" casting. He said that the casting of Butler, who was Eurasian in the books, was "not a great look casting the guy whose family has served the white Fowl dynasty for generations as a black man", and also criticized Holly Short being played by a white actress in the film despite being described as "nut brown" in the books.


title: Artemis Fowl (film)

text: Ferdia Shaw received a nomination for Best Performance in a Streaming Film - Teen Actor at the 2021 Young Artist Awards. "Collider" included "Artemis Fowl" in their "Best Original Movies on Disney Plus" list.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from June 10, 1989, to July 19, 1996, on the premium cable channel HBO for seven seasons with a total of 93 episodes. It was executive produced by Joel Silver, Richard Donner, Robert Zemeckis, Walter Hill and David Giler (the Crypt Partners). The first two seasons were produced by William Teitler. Beginning the show's third season, HBO and the Crypt Partners hired Gilbert Adler and A L Katz to take over the show. Adler and Katz ran Crypt through to its conclusion five seasons and 69 episodes later.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: The show's title is based on the 1950s EC Comics series of the same name and most of the content originated in that comic or other EC Comics of the time ("The Haunt of Fear", "The Vault of Horror", "Crime SuspenStories", "Shock SuspenStories", and "Two-Fisted Tales"). The series is hosted by the Cryptkeeper, a wisecracking corpse performed by puppeteers and voiced by John Kassir.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: Because it was aired on HBO, a premium cable television channel, "Tales from the Crypt" was allowed to have full freedom from censorship by network standards and practices. As a result, HBO allowed the series to include content that had not appeared in most television series up to that time, such as graphic violence, profanity, sexual activity, and nudity. The series is subsequently edited for such content when broadcast in syndication or on basic cable. While the series began production in the United States, in the final season filming moved to the United Kingdom, resulting in episodes which revolved around British characters.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: Each episode begins with a tracking shot leading to the front door of the decrepit mansion of the Cryptkeeper, the show's host. Once inside, the camera pans down from the foyer to the hallways and stairways, finally descending into the basement. The Cryptkeeper then pops out from his coffin, cackling wildly; green slime pours down over the screen as the main title appears. The Cryptkeeper is depicted as an animated corpse, as opposed to the original comics in which he was a living human being. The wisecracking Cryptkeeper (performed by puppeteers like Van Snowden, Mike Elizalde, Frank Charles Lutkus, Patty Maloney, David Arthur Nelson, Anton Rupprecht, Shaun Smith, David Stinnent, Mike Trcic, and Brock Winkless, and voiced by John Kassir) would then introduce the episode with intentionally hackneyed puns, "e.g.", his frequent greeting to viewers: "Hello, Boils and Ghouls" or "Hello, Kiddies". Each episode was self-contained, and was bookended by an outro sequence, again involving the Cryptkeeper. Comic book cover art was created by Mike Vosburg and Shawn McManus.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: The success of the series led Universal Pictures to make a three picture deal with the Crypt Partners to produce three Crypt-branded feature films.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: The first Crypt branded feature was "Tales From The Crypt Presents Demon Knight" (1995). With a screenplay by Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Vorhis and Mark Bishop, Demon Knight became a commercial success. Three weeks before starting prep on Demon Knight's intended follow up - a psychological thriller called "Dead Easy" - Universal changed its mind, canceled "Dead Easy" and had the creative team make Tales From The Crypt Presents: Bordello Of Blood instead.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: The film "Ritual" (2002) was not produced as a "Tales from the Crypt" film, but is considered to be a third entry in the "Tales" series.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: In 1993, a Saturday morning cartoon called "Tales from the Cryptkeeper" was spun off from the HBO series. Produced by Nelvana for ABC in the United States and YTV in Canada, the violence of the prime time series was substantially toned down and the gore was omitted. Nelvana employed a child psychologist to review the scripts to ensure the episodes would be suitable for young viewers. The Cryptkeeper puppet was considered as the host for the series but it was ultimately decided that it might frighten youngsters, so instead an animated version was created; John Kassir reprised his role. Kassir later said "Nelvana created a kinder, gentler personality for the children's Cryptkeeper, and it feels a little uncharacteristic at times,". In addition to the Cryptkeeper, EC Comics' mascots The Vaultkeeper and The Old Witch also made frequent appearances, often fighting with the Cryptkeeper for control of the show's hosting duties. The series lasted two seasons on ABC with a total of 26 episodes.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: In 1999, the series was revived on CBS for an additional 13 episodes under the title "New Tales from the Cryptkeeper".


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: A kid's game show called "Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House" was featured on CBS from 1996 to 1997. The Cryptkeeper (again voiced by John Kassir) was the announcer of the show (he would often break into the action with appropriate wisecracks), and contestants competed in physical challenges on a variety of elaborate haunted house sets at Universal Studios Florida. In addition to The Cryptkeeper, the series also boasted an original character named Digger the Skeleton (voiced by Danny Mann).


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: In 2000, several "Tales from the Crypt" "radio shows" were recorded for Seeing Ear Theatre, an online subsidiary of The Sci-Fi Channel, and were offered free as streaming RealAudio files on their website, as well as for sale on Audible.com. Although 13 episodes were planned (with forthcoming episodes listed as "TBA"), only eight stories were recorded. Seven of the eight shows were released on CD in 2002 by Highbridge Audio ("This Trick'll Kill You" was omitted from the CD set).


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: In 1991, the Fox television network aired a pilot for "Two-Fisted Tales", a spin-off based on the 1950s EC action comics. When Fox passed on the pilot, Cryptkeeper segments were tacked onto the three stories ("Yellow", "Showdown", and "King of the Road"), and HBO ran them as "Tales from the Crypt" episodes.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: After the original series ended, a spin-off called "Perversions of Science" premiered in June 1997 on HBO, this time being based more on science fiction instead of horror. The series was unsuccessful and lasted for a short run, ending only a month after it had begun airing. This iteration of the franchise featured a stylized female robot host in place of The Cryptkeeper.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: A variety of notable guests have starred in episodes of "Tales from the Crypt." This includes Academy Award-winning actors and A-list celebrities.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: In 1991, Big Screen Records released a soundtrack album featuring assorted music from the series. The album includes the theme music, suites from 11 episodes and an original song titled "Crypt Jam" performed by The Cryptkeeper (John Kassir). A music video for "Crypt Jam" was filmed and is available as an extra on the Region 1 Season 3 DVD.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: In 1994, a Christmas album, "Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas", was released by The Right Stuff, a subsidiary of Capitol Records. Most of the songs are spoofs of holiday standards performed by The Cryptkeeper, such as "Juggle Bills" ("Jingle Bells"), "We Wish You'd Bury the Missus" ("We Wish You a Merry Christmas") and "Deck the Halls with Parts of Charlie" ("Deck the Halls"), with narration and a few original songs mixed in. The CD booklet includes a black and white reprint of the comic "And All Through the House".


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: In 2000, Capitol Records released another album titled "Tales from the Crypt: Monsters of Metal". This album is a compilation of horror-themed songs from popular heavy metal bands with wraparound narration by the Cryptkeeper (John Kassir).


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: Warner Home Video has released all seven seasons on DVD Region 1. The DVDs for the first three seasons feature all-new Cryptkeeper introductions and segments. No new segments were filmed for seasons 4–7. On June 6, 2017, all seven seasons were reissued in a box set entitled "Tales From the Crypt: The Complete Series". A Region 2 version of the whole series was released by '84 Entertainment on June 4, 2010,


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: Reruns aired on Fox from 1994 to 1995 under the name "Primetime Tales From the Crypt"; episodes also aired in 1994 in a late-night time slot. It aired late night on CBS in 1997-1998. It also aired on other channels, such as Syfy, Chiller, and Fearnet.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: In the United Kingdom, the series aired Fridays on ITV. Sky1 Satellite and cable channel Horror Channel (then Zone Horror) aired the series in both late night and daytime slots. The daytime versions were billed as "cut"; however, they remained uncut.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: "Tales from the Crypt" is not available on HBO streaming services HBO Go (discontinued), HBO Now, or HBO Max reportedly due to licensing issues.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: In July 2011, it was announced that Gilbert Adler, who produced the original series, was working with Andrew Cosby to develop a new "Tales from the Crypt" series. It was said to be a continuous story, rather than an anthology, and would also omit The Cryptkeeper. The series was unsuccessfully shopped to several major networks.


title: Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

text: In January 2016, "Entertainment Weekly" reported that M. Night Shyamalan would helm a series reboot as part of TNT's new two-hour horror block. The network ordered a 10-episode season that was slated for fall 2017. The series was to keep the episodic anthology format, but without The Cryptkeeper. In June 2017, it was announced that TNT would not move forward with the series due to legal rights issues concerning the rights for the characters from Tales from the Crypt Holdings.


title: Neil Finn

text: Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late 1970s with Split Enz and wrote many of the band's most successful songs, including "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats", "I Got You", and "Message to My Girl".


title: Neil Finn

text: After Split Enz broke up in 1984, Finn founded Crowded House with Split Enz's final drummer Paul Hester in 1985 and served as the band's lead singer. The group achieved international success in 1987 when they released the single "Don't Dream It's Over", written by Finn. After Crowded House disbanded in 1996, Finn and his brother released two albums as the Finn Brothers, before reforming Crowded House in 2006. In April 2018, Finn joined Fleetwood Mac for their forthcoming tour that year. Finn has also recorded several successful solo albums and assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide project.


title: Neil Finn

text: Finn was born the youngest of four children to Dick and Mary Finn in Te Awamutu, New Zealand. His mother, a devout Catholic who moved to New Zealand from Ireland at the age of two, maintained a religious influence over the family. Speaking of Catholicism, Finn stated "It's a great fertile ground for pulling lyrics out. [There's] lots of good stuff going on in there, good rituals and imagery and lots of guilt. It's a very potent combination. I think you're blessed, really, to be brought up with some kind of weird dogma like that." His father, the son of a farmer from Waikato, served in the army in Italy and became an accountant during World War II. His parents instilled an "inspiring admiration of music" in young Finn; the family would often engage in sing-alongs around the family piano. In addition to music, Finn also enjoyed sports, particularly swimming, rugby, tennis, and biking.


title: Neil Finn

text: As a child, Finn would often perform at family gatherings with his older brother Tim. Finn recalled, "We'd sing all night. It was very much part of our upbringing... That was the first inkling of the seduction of live performance." He idolised his brother and wished to imitate his actions, learning to play guitar and piano at the same time Tim did. Tim was more public about his musical aspirations, and won ten shillings in his annual talent contest at school shortly after enrolling. When Tim left to study at Sacred Heart College, a boarding school in Auckland, eight-year-old Neil started playing a guitar that his older brother left behind. A natural performer, Finn was nicknamed 'The Ant' by his family due to his determined and ambitious nature.


title: Neil Finn

text: Finn attended Sacred Heart boarding school in Auckland and Te Awamutu College. He decided to become a musician at the age of 12 and throughout his school years performed in prisons and hospitals, as well as at home gatherings.


title: Neil Finn

text: In 1976, Finn formed the group After Hours, with Mark Hough, Geoff Chunn, and Alan Brown. Not long after the band's debut performance, Finn's brother Tim invited him to join Split Enz in London, replacing original singer-songwriter Phil Judd. By 1980, he was sharing lead singer duties and wrote their first international hit, "I Got You". Finn contributed significantly to the band's later albums, and even briefly assumed leadership in the band's final days when Tim Finn left in 1984.


title: Neil Finn

text: After the breakup of Split Enz in 1984, Finn formed a new band called The Mullanes (Mullane being both his middle name and his mother's maiden name) with Split Enz drummer Paul Hester, guitarist Craig Hooper (of The Reels), and bassist Nick Seymour (younger brother of Hunters & Collectors leader Mark Seymour) who Finn met on the final Split Enz tour. Hooper left just before they recorded their first album, at which time the band was renamed Crowded House, inspired by the rental home they shared while recording in Los Angeles.


title: Neil Finn

text: Crowded House went on to enjoy worldwide acclaim; particularly, with its two major hits "Don't Dream It's Over" (1987: US No. 2; Canada and New Zealand No. 1) and "Weather With You" (1992: UK No. 7). Both Neil and his brother Tim were appointed as Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours. After releasing four albums—"Crowded House", "Temple of Low Men", "Woodface", and "Together Alone", the group broke up in 1996 and soon after released their greatest hits album "Recurring Dream".


title: Neil Finn

text: Following the breakup of Crowded House, Finn embarked on a solo career. The album "Afterglow" was released in 1999, which contained previously unreleased Crowded House recordings. Finn appeared as part of the BBC Four's "Songwriters' Circle" series in 1999, and explained that "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Better Be Home Soon" were both written quickly, with all of the elements of each song—such as lyrics and verses—emerging at the same time. Finn also sang the opening lines of The Verve song "The Drugs Don't Work" to the opening chords of the latter song. Finn penned a theme song for the All Blacks' participation in the 1999 Rugby World Cup, "Can You Hear Us?", that made it to the top of the New Zealand charts in October.


title: Neil Finn

text: Finn has recorded four solo albums, "Try Whistling This" (1998), "One Nil" (2001), "Dizzy Heights" (2014), and "Out of Silence" (2017). "One Nil" was released in the US and Canada in a remixed version with two new tracks, one track deleted and reordering, and was renamed "One All" (2002). Neil and Tim Finn also collaborated on a Finn Brothers album, "Finn", that was released in 1995.


title: Neil Finn

text: In 2001, Finn released a live album/DVD ("7 Worlds Collide") consisting of songs recorded at St James Theatre in Auckland with several other artists. Finn was also heavily involved in creating the 2001 soundtrack for the motion picture "Rain". "Everyone Is Here", a second Finn Brothers album, was released in 2004.


title: Neil Finn

text: In January 2007, Crowded House reformed with Finn, Nick Seymour, Mark Hart, and new drummer Matt Sherrod, as Paul Hester had died in 2005. The group's new album "Time on Earth" was released in June 2007. In the pre-release build up, they headlined a show at Coachella in April 2007. The band then commenced a world tour.


title: Neil Finn

text: Finn and his wife Sharon began a side project called Pajama Club in 2011. After Finn's children, Liam and Elroy, left the family home to pursue their own musical careers, the two wondered what to do to fill the time left open by their children's absence. The two decided to repair the music room in their Auckland home and begin making music of their own: "We've had a bit more time on our hands since the boys left home, and we just decided to make a record. It was as simple as that. We called the group Pajama Club, because we were dressed in our pyjamas when we started." Sharon began to play the bass guitar and Neil sat behind the drum set, despite the fact that neither had played either instrument before.


title: Neil Finn

text: On 23 October 2011, Finn performed with Ryan Adams and Janis Ian on BBC Four's Series 2 Episode 4 of the series, "Songwriters' Circle". The night resulted in controversy, ending with an awkward exchange between the performers when there seemingly was confusion between them about who was to perform and join in on each other's songs.


title: Neil Finn

text: During February and March 2013, Finn and Paul Kelly undertook their collaborative Goin' Your Way Tour of Australia. One of their performances at the Sydney Opera House was recorded for the live album, "Goin' Your Way" (8 November 2013). It was issued as a double CD, which peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It was also issued as a DVD, which peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Music DVD Chart.