title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: "Like a Prayer" was met with universal acclaim from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, from AllMusic, said in retrospect that it was Madonna's "most explicit attempt at a major artistic statement", and that though she is trying to be "serious", the singer delivers a range of well-written pop songs, making the album her "best and most consistent". Annie Zaleski, from "The A.V. Club", praised the album for its extensive discussion of parental issues, and described it as Madonna's first "truly substantial" record. In "Rolling Stone", reviewer J. D. Considine wrote that Madonna's fame up to that point had been built more on "image than artistry", but that with "Like a Prayer" Madonna was asking, successfully, to be taken seriously; "Daring in its lyrics, ambitious in its sonics, this is far and away the most self-consciously serious album she's made. There are no punches pulled, anywhere". Considine concluded his review by hailing the album "as close to art as pop music gets ... proof not only that Madonna should be taken seriously as an artist but that hers is one of the most compelling voices of the Eighties".


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: Robert Christgau from "The Village Voice" lamented the "kiddie psychedelia" of "Dear Jessie", and was unmoved by "Promise to Try" and "Act of Contrition", but felt all the other songs were memorable, especially the "cocksucker's prayer" of "Like a Prayer" and the "thrilling", independence-themed "Oh Father" and "Express Yourself". Lloyd Bradley of "Q" said, "Musically it's varied, unexpected and far from instantly accessible; lyrically, it's moving, intelligent and candid." Edna Gundersen from "USA Today" described the album's songwriting as a "confessional feast", with the emphasis on Madonna's Catholic upbringing as the highlight. Songs are rife with religious overtones, spiritual and hymnal arrangements and a host of references to joy, faith, sin and power". "NME" critic David Quantick hailed "Like a Prayer" as "a brilliant, thoughtful, startling and joyful example of popular music".


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: Jonathan Takiff from "The Philadelphia Inquirer" praised the album for being "serious and reflective, at times heavily laden with psychic trauma. You might consider "Like a Prayer" to be [Madonna]'s "Misfits"...or her hour in the confessional box". Sal Cinquemani, from "Slant Magazine", described the album as "a collection of pop confections layered with live instrumentation, sophisticated arrangements, deeply felt lyrics, and a stronger, more assured vocal". The review concluded by declaring "Like a Prayer" as "one of the quintessential pop albums of all time". Barry Walters from the "San Francisco Examiner" praised the album's cohesiveness, and described it as Madonna "[crossing] the boundary between craft and inspiration." Walters later wrote in "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide" that "Like a Prayer", with its more substantial songs that "covered topics such as spousal abuse and familial neglect", "effectively upped Madonna's ante as a serious artist".


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: Negative criticism came from "Spin" magazine. Reviewer Christian Logan wrote: "On "Like a Prayer" your relationship to Madonna changes from to song to song, and it makes you uncomfortable. It's like sitting on a table with a friend who's telling too much about herself to people she doesn't know." Joe Levy, from the same magazine, was also critical, writing that "there's not a lot of old Madonna, nothing of the generation of women who grew up in her wake: Regina, Debbie Gibson, and Taylor Dayne", but highlighted "Keep It Together" as "the only great dance song on the record".


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: In the US, "Like a Prayer" debuted at number 11 on the "Billboard" 200, on the issue dated April 8, 1989. It quickly rose to the top of the chart after three weeks, remaining there for six consecutive ones, thus becoming Madonna's longest-running number one album. The album spent a total of 77 weeks on the chart. "Like a Prayer" also reached a peak of number 55 on "Billboard"s R&B Albums list. It was eventually certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of four million units in the US. "Like a Prayer" has sold over 5,000,000 copies in the US, as of March 2015. In Canada, the album debuted at number two on the RPM Albums Chart on May 1, 1989. It was present for a total of 37 weeks on the chart, and was certified five times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for shipments of 500,000 copies in Canada.


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: Throughout Europe, "Like a Prayer" also did well on its charts and topped the European Top 100 Albums. The album moved 3 million units across the continent by July 1989, a sum that increased to 5 million by May 1990. In the UK, "Like a Prayer" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, on April 1, 1989. It remained on this position for two weeks and spent a total of 73 weeks on the chart. The album was certified four-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 1.2 million copies in the UK. According to Belgium's national IFPI group SIBESA, "Like A Prayer" was amongst the top five best selling international albums of 1989 in Belgium. In France, the album debuted at number one on the French Albums Chart on April 9, 1989, staying there for two weeks, totaling 36 weeks on it. In July 1989, it was certified platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipments of 300,000 copies in France, and once again in 2001, for shipments of 600,000 copies. In the Netherlands, "Like a Prayer" entered the MegaCharts at number four during the week of April 4, 1990. It eventually reached the top position, staying a total of 32 weeks on the chart. In Germany, "Like a Prayer" topped the Media Control albums chart for one month, and was later certified three times gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for having shipped over 750,000 copies in the country. In Italy, "Like a Prayer" debuted at the number one position at "Musica e dischi" charts, remaining seven consecutive weeks in that position. By June 1989, the album had sold 550,000 copies there, and remains as one of the best-selling albums in Italy with sales of over 800,000 units.


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: The album was commercially successful in Asia-Pacific countries. In Japan, "Like a Prayer" reached number one on the Oricon Albums Chart and remained on the chart for 22 weeks. At the 1990 Japan Gold Disc Awards held by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), Madonna won three awards for Best Album of the Year – Pops Solo, Grand Prix Album of the Year, and Grand Prix Artist of the Year; the last two were given for the best-selling international album and the best-selling international artist of the year, respectively. The album also became her sixth platinum album in Hong Kong. In Malaysia, the album sold 23,000 units on the first day of release, and another 7,000 copies in two weeks. In Australia, "Like a Prayer" debuted and peaked at number four on April 2, 1989, and was certified quadruple-platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 280,000 copies. In New Zealand, the album peaked at number two, and was certified double platinum by the Recorded Music NZ for shipments of 30,000 copies.


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: The album also achieved success in Latin America, where it received a platinum certification from the Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (CAPIF) for surpassing 60,000 copies units. Actual sales in Argentina stand at more than 270,000 copies, as of 1992. In Brazil, "Like a Prayer" received a double platinum certification from Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD) for the sales of 500,000 copies. It ultimately sold 710,000 units as of 1993 and became in one of the best-selling albums by an international artist in the country. "Like a Prayer" has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: "Entertainment Weekly"s Nicholas Fonseca felt that "Like a Prayer" marked "an official turning point" of Madonna's career, which earned her "a long-awaited, substantive dose of critical acclaim". Mark Savage from BBC noted that the album's release "marks the moment when critics first begin to describe Madonna as an artist, rather than a mere pop singer". Glen Levy from "Time" stated: "Madonna has always been a keen student of pop-culture history, and her creative powers were probably at their peak in the late 1980s on the album "Like a Prayer"." Hadley Freeman from "The Guardian" opined that "Like a Prayer" shaped "how pop stars, pop music, music videos, love, sex and the 80s were and should be". "LA Weekly"s Art Tavana expressed that ""Like a Prayer" was the moment when Madonna went from being the voice of America's teenagers to the worldwide high priestess of pop". With the release of "Like a Prayer", Madonna's impact culminated during the 1980s, and many publications named her the artist of the decade.


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: Taraborrelli wrote that "Like a Prayer" was a turning point's in Madonna's career; "Every important artist has at least one album in his or her career whose critical and commercial success becomes the artist's magic moment; for Madonna [...] "Like a Prayer" was. [Madonna] pushed onwards as an artist, using her creative wit to communicate on another level, musically." Kenneth G. Bielen, author of "The Lyrics of Civility: Biblical Images and Popular Music Lyrics in American Culture", wrote that with the album, Madonna began to be seen as a serious artist; "Five years earlier, she was a dance-pop 'Boy-Toy'. With "Like a Prayer", she proved she was an artist who could think with more than her body."


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: Thomas Harrison on the book "Music of the 1980s", documented that "Like a Prayer" pushed boundaries by addressing "uncomfortable song topics". Jon Pareles, from "The New York Times", said that " ["Like a Prayer"] defiantly grabbed Christian language and imagery". Similarly, Zaleski, for "The A.V. Club", praised the album for "starting a conversation about religion—which remains one of the most incendiary topics a musician can address. [...] All of this pointed to Madonna establishing herself as a serious artist (emphasis on the "art") who had significant things to say".


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: According to Christopher Rosa from VH1, ""Like a Prayer" was the first pop album to evoke what female artists explore today: sexuality, religion, gender equality and independence. It was pioneering, and no woman in music has come close to doing something as groundbreaking." He believed that the album was her peak of cultural and musical influence, saying that "Madonna went from bubbly pop act to a serious artist who received her first bout of universal acclaim". Rosa also stated that "Like a Prayer" will be always more influential than the "iconic" albums of contemporary female artists, such as "Blackout" (2007), "The Fame Monster" (2009), and "Beyoncé" (2013). Singer Taylor Swift stated that with the album, Madonna made "the most incredible, bold, risky, decisions as far as pop music goes", calling the title track "legitimately one of the greatest pop songs of all time".


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: According to Douglas Kellner, "Like a Prayer" and its singles were particularly influential on the music video field. Madonna tried to experiment with different forms and styles with the videos and in the process, she constructed a new set of image and identity. The video for "Like a Prayer", which depicted Madonna as a witness to a murder of a white girl by white supremacists, Catholic symbols such as stigmata, Ku Klux Klan-style cross burning, and a dream about kissing a black saint, was extremely controversial and gained a great deal of attention. Pareles wrote that the video "set a media circus in motion, stirring up just those issues of sexuality and religiosity that Madonna wanted to bring up". The Vatican condemned the video, while critics observed sacrilege and heresy. Madonna commented, "Art should be controversial, and that's all there is to it." Taraborrelli wrote that the song and its video also served to enhance Madonna's reputation as "a shrewd businesswoman, someone who knows how to sell a concept". Stewart M. Hoover wrote that the music video pushed boundaries by "bringing traditional religious imagery into the popular music context". Similarly, Daniel Welsh from "The Huffington Post" wrote that the video "catapulted Madonna to the ranks of music video heavyweight, and proved to the world she really meant business".


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: The music video for "Express Yourself" was also noted by critics for its exploitation of female sexuality, and they came to the conclusion that Madonna's masculine image in the video was gender-bending; authors Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens commented that "the video portrayed the deconstructive gender-bending approach associated with free play and self-reflexivity of images in postmodernism". Michelle Gibson and Deborah Townsend Meem, authors of "Femme/Butch", commended the video for showing a shift in power between the sexes, declaring that "Madonna assertively claimed all possible gender space like Marlene Dietrich". The video for "Express Yourself" was the most expensive video at the time of its release. Author John Semonche explained in his book "Censoring Sex" that with her "True Blue" and "Like a Prayer"-era music videos, Madonna pushed the envelope of what could be shown on television, which resulted in increase of her popularity.


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: In 2003, "Rolling Stone" magazine named "Like a Prayer" the 239th greatest album of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, before moving to number 331 in a 2020 edition. In 2005, a poll of 500,000 people by Channel 4 placed "Like a Prayer" at number eight on list of "The 100 Greatest Albums in Music History". In the same year, "Like a Prayer" was featured in the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". The following year, "Q" magazine placed the album at number 14 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s". According to the 2006 list of "All-TIME 100 Albums" by "Time" magazine's critics, "Like a Prayer" is one of the 100 greatest and most influential musical compilations since 1954. "Like a Prayer" was featured in the book "Spin Alternative Record Guide" with a perfect score of 10/10 from reviewer Rob Sheffield, given to those records to be either "[a]n unimpeachable masterpiece or a flawed album of crucial historical significance". The album was placed at number 237 in the "All Time Top 1000 Albums".


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: In 2012, "Slant Magazine" listed the album at number 20 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s", saying: "By the late '80s, Madonna was already one of the biggest pop stars of all time, but with "Like a Prayer", she became one of the most important". The album was also featured in the "Rolling Stone" "Women Who Rock" list made in 2012, at number 18. In 2019, "The Independent" named it one of the 40 best albums you have to listen before you die. In a 2020 review, "Spin" magazine named "Like a Prayer" the eighth best album of the last 35 years.


title: Like a Prayer (album)

text: At the end of 1989, "Like a Prayer" was voted the 18th best record of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by "The Village Voice," and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album. "Billboard" retrospectively cited "Like a Prayer" as Madonna's best album in 2015.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Simon Thorup Kjær (born 26 March 1989) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club AC Milan and captains the Denmark national team.


title: Simon Kjær

text: He was named 2007 Danish under-19 talent of the year and 2009 Danish Talent of the Year. Kjær has played over 120 matches for Denmark, including participation at the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and 2018, and the UEFA European Championship in 2012 and 2020.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Born in Horsens, Kjær started playing football when he was four years old. This led him to join a small-time club Lund IF near Horsens, before moving to the youth team of Danish Superliga club FC Midtjylland in 2004, where his father was the club's team manager. He was one of the first players to graduate from FCM's football academy, the first of its kind in Denmark, coming through the system alongside Midtjylland teammates Jesper Weinkouff, Christian Sivebæk and former teammate, Winston Reid. Kjær started out playing in the midfield position before one of his coaches switched him to a defender position, a position he plays to date. While at the club system, Kjær was named the best player of a French youth tournament in April 2006. This resulted in Midtjylland subsequently rejecting offers from Lille OSC for Kjær and Jesper Juelsgård.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær made his senior debut for Midtjylland in the Viasat Cup training matches in June 2006, Two months later, he signed his first professional contract, keeping him until 2009. Kjær was promoted to the first team squad in January 2007. He had a successful trial with Real Madrid in August 2007, but their transfer offer was refused by FC Midtjylland. Soon after, Kjær signed a five-year contract with Midtjylland instead in September 2007.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær made his Superliga debut on 30 September 2007, in the 2–0 victory against AGF By October 2007, his performances attracted the likes of Premier League clubs Middlesbrough and Chelsea. He went on to play three more matches in the first half of the Danish Superliga 2007–08 season. Kjær played all 15 games in the second half of the Superliga season, forming a defensive partnership with Magnus Troest. He kept three consecutive clean sheets between 29 March 2008 and 13 April 2008 against OB, Copenhagen and AaB.


title: Simon Kjær

text: In February 2008, Kjær signed a five-year contract with Italian club Palermo, effective from the summer 2008, earning Midtjylland a €4 million transfer fee. On 5 June 2008, he was presented at the club's press conference alongside new signing, Andrea Raggi.


title: Simon Kjær

text: However, his start to his Palermo's career suffered a setback when Kjær faced competitions in the club's defence, as well as, adapting in Italy. On 26 October 2008, he made his Palermo debut, coming on as a half-time substitute against Fiorentina in Serie A, as they lost 3–1. After the match, his performance was praised by the club. This was followed by making his first start for the club, as they drew 1–1 against Lecce three days later. Kjær scored his first goal for Palermo in his third appearance on 2 November 2008, as well as, setting up the club's first goal of the game, in a 3–0 win over Chievo. He has been involved in the first team, establishing himself in the starting eleven, playing in the centre-back position. Due to his physical strength and tenacity, Kjær's performance continued to improve and was named the second best player under 21 in Serie A by La Gazzetta dello Sport. It wasn't until 15 March 2009 when he scored his second goal of the season, in a 5–2 win against Lecce. Kjær then scored his third goal of the season, in a 4–1 win against Bologna on 19 April 2009. For his performance, he was named Serie A's Team of the Week. Kjær ended the 2008–09 season as the club's top scoring defender in Serie A with three goals in 27 appearances in all competitions.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær confirmed his reputation as a first team regular in the 2009–10 season, and formed a strong defensive partnership with fellow centre-back Cesare Bovo. As a result, he signed an improved contract with the Sicilian club in September 2009. From the start of the 2009–10 season, Kjær started in every match until he missed one match, due to suspension. He returned to the starting line-up from suspension, playing the whole game, as Palermo lost 5–3 against Inter Milan on 29 October 2009. A week later on 8 November 2009, Kjær scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss against Bologna. He was named 2009 Danish Talent of the Year in November 2009, beating Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner and Ajax's Christian Eriksen after his successful first season in Palermo. In January 2010, he was also named as Danish Footballer of the Year for 2009. The next day, Kjær celebrated with a goal against Cagliari that decided the match for Palermo as the match ended 2–1. Since returning from suspension, he started in the next ten league matches before being suspended once again. After serving a one match suspension, Kjær returned to the starting line-up against Fiorentina on 24 January 2010 and helped the club keep a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win. He started in the next nine league matches before being sent–off for a second bookable offence, in a 2–2 draw against Genoa on 24 March 2010. After serving a one match suspension, Kjær returned to the starting line–up against Catania on 3 April 2010, as they lost 2–0. He later started the remaining matches of the 2009–10 season and helped the side finish fifth place to qualify for the UEFA Europa League. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Kjær scored twice in a total 35 Serie A games (which was 38 appearances and scoring two times in all competitions).


title: Simon Kjær

text: On 30 June 2010, VfL Wolfsburg confirmed they had opened talks with Kjær. It came after reported interest from teams across Europe, including English sides Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur plus Italian side Juventus. The move was confirmed on 8 July 2010, as the club signed Kjær for an undisclosed fee believed to be in excess of £10 million. Following his move to Wolfsburg, Kjær said: ""The transfer means I have the chance to play for a top club, I think this is the right step for me. We have a strong team that can challenge at the top of the Bundesliga. First, I need to secure a regular place."" The deal made Kjær the most expensive Danish footballer of all time. Making the shift from Serie A football to the Bundesliga meant that Kjær would become one of the best paid Danish footballers with an annual salary of around €3 million. Both national coach Morten Olsen and the player, himself, agreed that the move to Wolfsburg was not only economically justifiable for the young Danish defender but also the shift that this was a step in the right direction for his development.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær made his unofficial debut for VfL Wolfsburg in a pre-season fixture against FC Augsburg, in which Wolfsburg ran out 1–0 winners. His VfL Wolfsburg debut came on 15 August 2010, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 win against Preußen Münster in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. He made his Bundesliga debut for Wolfsburg in a 2–1 loss against Bayern Munich five days later on 20 August 2010. After a poor start to the season for Wolfsburg, with varying results and unmet expectations; Kjær scored his first goal for Wolfsburg in a 2–0 win over Stuttgart when he headed the ball in over the line after a corner kick. However, the goal was eventually credited to Edin Džeko after it was shown that the ball took a deflection from Džeko's shot. Despite much criticism from the media for his poor performances, Kjær played in the starting line-up in all 17 Bundesliga matches in the autumn 2010 season. After having formed a successful partnership with Italy international Andrea Barzagli in Wolfsburg's central defence, he then featured alongside German international Arne Friedrich. On 22 January 2011, Kjær scored his first Bundesliga goal with a headed goal in the 83rd minute, in a 1–0 win against Mainz 05, a win that secured the first club victory in eight matches – after seven drawn games in a row. Following Steve McClaren's sacking (who brought him to the club) due to further poor results in February 2011, Felix Magath returned to Wolfsburg (the manager guided the club to win their first Bundesliga title) and commented on criticising the 'poor condition' of the players he inherited (including Kjær) from McClaren. In connection with the dismissal, Kjær declared affection for Steve McClaren in public. Kjær said he was sorry for the firing, and was happy to work with Steve McClaren. Despite the comment from Magath, Kjær continued to regain his first team place for the rest of the 2010–11 season, though it was met by frustration, as the club narrowly avoided the drop the previous season and he had come under fire for some lacklustre displays. Despite being on the sidelines on three occasions during the 2010–11 season, he made 34 appearances and scoring once in all competitions.


title: Simon Kjær

text: In the summer transfer window 2011, Kjær revealed that head coach Magath told him that he would be allowed to leave that summer and reported that he had fallen out of favor with Magath. Amid the transfer speculation, Kjær made four appearances for Wolfsburg before departing for Roma.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Italian side Roma revealed the club were on the verge of signing Kjær on a €10 million move from Wolfsburg as a replacement for centre-back Philippe Mexès who left for AC Milan on a free transfer. However, the move to Roma was put back on hold after reports in Italy claimed the defender had been recalled by his club Wolfsburg. Instead on 30 August 2011, Kjær went out on a season-long loan deal to Roma, with the option to purchase at the end of the season.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær made his debut for Roma in a 0–0 draw against Inter Milan on 17 September 2011. However, in a 2–1 loss against rivals, Lazio on 16 October 2011, he received a straight red card in the 50th minute for a foul on Cristian Brocchi, resulting in a penalty and was successfully converted by the opposition team. After the match, Kjær missed the next four matches, due to suspension and his own injury concern. On 20 November 2011, he returned to the starting line-up against Leece, as the club won 2–1. However, his return was short-lived when Kjær suffered an injury that kept him out for a month. On 11 January 2012, he returned to the starting line–up for Roma's match against Fiorentina in the Round of 16 of the Coppa Italia and helped the side keep a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win. However, during the club's 4–2 defeat to Cagliari on 1 February 2012, Kjær was at fault for his poor performance and was largely disappointing for Roma. After the match, Roma director Walter Sabatini dropped a strong hint that the club may decide against signing Kjær on a permanent basis due to his poor performance at Roma. He continued to remain in the first team for the rest of the 2011–12 season. Despite being sidelined on two more occasions later in the 2011–12 season, Kjær made 24 appearances in all competitions. Following this, Roma decided against signing Kjær permanently, citing his poor performances.


title: Simon Kjær

text: After his loan-spell at Roma ended, Kjær stated he would not return to Wolfsburg, after coach Magath decided the Dane was not going to be part of his first team plans for the club's 2012–13 season. However, Magath changed his mind by announcing that he was willing to bury the hatchet with Kjær, and keen to bring him into his first team at Wolfsburg.


title: Simon Kjær

text: He made his first appearance for Wolfsburg in the opening game of the 2012–13 season against VfB Stuttgart, coming on as a late substitute, in a 1–0 win. After missing the follow-up match against Hannover 96 due to a potential transfer to Galatasaray, which later collapsed, Kjær returned to the starting line-up against FC Augsburg on 16 September 2012, as they drew 0–0. After the match, both he and his Danish compatriot Thomas Kahlenberg were praised by Manager Magath. However, Kjær found himself placed on the substitute bench in the first three months to the season. Following Magath's sacking, he returned to the starting line-up against Fortuna Düsseldorf on 27 October 2012, as the club won 4–1. Soon after, Kjær regained his first team place, playing in the centre-back position under the new management of Lorenz-Günther Köstner and Dieter Hecking. On 2 December 2012, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Hamburger SV. A month later on 19 January 2013, Kjær set up the club's second goal of the game, in a 2–0 win against Stuttgart. Following the criticism of his performance against Hannover 96 on 26 January 2013, he was dropped to the substitute bench for the next three matches. But Kjær made his return to the starting line–up against Mainz 05 on 23 February 2013, in a 1–1 draw. Following the match, he regained his first team place for the next seven matches. Kjær then scored his second goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen on 6 April 2013. Two weeks later on 20 April 2013 against Werder Bremen, he set up Wolfsburg's first goal of the game before being substituted in the 54th minute after suffering an abductor problem. Following the match, Kjær never played for the club for the rest of the 2012–13 season. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he went on to make 25 appearances and scored two times in all competitions.


title: Simon Kjær

text: On 5 July 2013, it was announced that Kjær had signed a four-year deal with Ligue 1 side, Lille. About the club, he said: "I think this is the right time for me to come to LOSC. Whether it is in my progression, from a geographical point of view, or in relation to the people who live in this region, it is obvious that the idea of joining such a club can only be the good one."


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær made his Lille debut in the opening game of the season against FC Lorient, where he kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. Since making his debut for the club, he quickly established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the centre-back position, forming a partnership with Marko Baša. Kjær helped Lille keep two consecutive clean sheets between 25 August 2013 and 31 August 2013 against Saint-Étienne and Rennes. Once again, he helped the club keep ten consecutive clean sheets between 24 September 2013 and 3 December 2013. Kjær then set up Lille's only goal of the game, as they lost 2–1 against Stade de Reims on 12 January 2014. Nine days later on 21 January 2014, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–0 win against Iris Club de Croix in the second round of the Coupe de France. Kjær impressed during his first season in the French Ligue 1 as leader of the best defence in the major European national leagues in the 2013–14 season conceding only 26 goals in 38 matches including an impressive number of 21 clean sheets. As a result of the solid performances Kjær frequently appeared on various media's team of the week during the entire season, eventually earning a spot on "the Ligue 1 Team of the Season" alongside teammate and goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. Despite missing three matches during the 2013–14 season, he made 37 appearances and scoring once in all competitions.


title: Simon Kjær

text: At the start of the 2014–15 season, Kjær played in both legs in the third round of the UEFA Champions League Qualifying Round against Grasshopper, as he helped Lille win 3–1 on aggregate to advance to the next round. Kjær then kept three consecutive clean sheets in the first three league matches, including scoring his first ever Ligue 1 goal against Lorient with a deflected free kick. He continued to regain his first team place, playing in the centre-back position. Kjær then scored on his UEFA Europa League debut, in a 1–1 draw against FC Krasnodar on 18 September 2014. Once again, he kept three consecutive clean sheets between 7 January 2015 and 14 January 2015, including scoring his second goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against FC Nantes in the quarter–finals of the Coupe de la Ligue. However, Kjær suffered a thigh injury during a match against Lorient on 17 January 2015 and was substituted in the 33rd minute, resulting in him missing two matches. He returned to the starting line-up against Montpellier on 7 February 2015, as the club won 2–1. Since returning to the first team from injury, Kjær continued to regain his first team place, playing in the centre-back position. Despite being sidelined on five occasions during the 2014–15 season, he went on to make 42 appearances and scored three times in all competitions.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Following a transfer speculation over the summer, it was announced on 16 June 2015 that Kjær joined Turkish side Fenerbahçe, signing a four-year deal for €7.65 million.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær made his Fenerbahçe debut, starting the whole game, in a 0–0 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Third Round. However, in a return leg, he was sent–off for the second bookable offence, as the club lost 3–0, eliminating them from the tournament. Kjær then made his league debut for Fenerbahçe, starting the whole game, as they drew 1–1 against Çaykur Rizespor. However while on international duty, he suffered an ankle injury that saw him out for three weeks. On 27 September 2015, Kjær returned to the starting line–up against Beşiktaş, only for him to score an own goal, as the club lost 3–2. As a result, his performance was subjected of criticism, due to picking up cards in his first seven official matches. Despite this, he continued to regain first team place, playing in the centre–back position. Over time, his performance began to improve. On 28 December 2015, Kjær scored his first goal for Fenerbahçe, in a 2–1 win against Sivasspor. He then helped the club keep five consecutive clean sheets between 20 February 2016 and 3 April 2016. Kjær, once again, helped Fenerbahçe keep four consecutive clean sheets between 20 April 2016 and 5 May 2016, including helping the side reach the final of the Turkish Cup by beating Konyaspor 5–0 on aggregate and scoring his second goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against Gaziantepspor. He then started in the final against rivals, Galatasaray, as they lost 1–0. Despite being sidelined on three more occasions later in the 2015–16 season, Kjær made 45 appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.


title: Simon Kjær

text: At the start of the 2016–17 season, Kjær captained in both legs of the UEFA Champions League Third Round Qualifying Round against AS Monaco, losing 4–3 on aggregate. In a match against Kayserispor on 28 August 2016, he scored Fenerbahçe's first goal of the game but was sent off for a straight red card nine minutes later, as the club drew 3–3. After serving a one match suspension, Kjær scored on his return in the UEFA Europa League match against Zorya Luhansk on 15 September 2016. Since returning from suspension, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in the centre-back position. Two months later on 24 November 2016, Kjær scored against Zorya Luhansk in the UEFA Europa League match, as the club won 2–0. He then helped the club keep two consecutive clean sheets on two separate occasions throughout December. However, later in the 2016–17 season, Kjær was plagued with injuries on five occasions. Despite this, he continued to be involved in the first team for Fenerbahçe. In his second season at the club, Kjær went on to make 43 appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.


title: Simon Kjær

text: As a result of Fenerbahçe's ban from playing European football next season, this led Kjær wanting to leave the club as a result. On 2 August 2017, Kjær joined Spanish side Sevilla, signing a four-year deal for a transfer fee of €12,500,000.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær made his Sevilla debut in the opening game of the season, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against RCD Espanyol. By September, he was sidelined with injuries on two occasions. Kjær then scored his first goal for the club, in a 5–1 loss against Spartak Moscow on 17 October 2017. He became a first team regular for the next two months, playing in the centre–back position. This lasted until Kjær injured his left abductor muscle while training and missed three matches as a result. On 6 December 2017, he returned to the starting line-up against Maribor and helped the club draw 1–1. In the first leg of the Copa Del Rey Round of 16, Kjær set up the club's second goal of the game, in a 2–1 win. Three days later on 6 January 2018, he scored his first league goal for Sevilla, in a 5–3 loss against rivals, Real Betis. However, Kjær suffered a back injury that kept him out for a month. On 28 February 2018, he returned to the starting line-up against Málaga and helped the club keep a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. Kjær started in the next five matches for Sevilla since returning from injury and proved to be instrumental as he helped the club beat Manchester United in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. However, during a 4–0 loss against Celta Vigo on 7 April 2018, Kjær suffered a knee injury and was substituted in the 40th minute. On 12 May 2018, he returned to the starting line–up against rivals, Real Betis, and scored his second league goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw, a result that guaranteed Sevilla's qualification of playing European football next season. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Kjær made 27 appearances and scoring three times in all competitions. Following this, he reflected on his first season at the club, saying: "Personally, it has been a strange year ... Next year I will continue to improve. Not having injuries would be a great help."


title: Simon Kjær

text: At the start of the 2018–19 season, Kjær started the whole game in the Supercopa de España against Barcelona, as Sevilla lost 2–1. He regained his first team place, playing in the centre-back position, for the club. This lasted until a match against SD Huesca on 28 October 2018 when Kjær suffered a hamstring injury in the 24th minute and was substituted as Sevilla won 2–1. Following this, it was announced that he would be sidelined for a month. On 25 November 2018, Kjær returned to the starting line-up against Real Valladolid and kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. He continued to found in and out of the starting line-up despite being plagued by injuries as the 2018–19 season progressed. Despite this, Kjær made 37 appearances in all competitions. Following this, it was expected that he'll be leaving Sevilla ahead of the 2019–20 season.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær made his Atalanta debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win against Roma on 24 September 2019. He then appeared four more times throughout October. However, just like Martin Škrtel (his former teammate at Fenerbahçe who signed and terminated his contract with Atalanta within August 2019), he failed to convince the team's head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. As a result, the club chose to terminate the loan deal six months ahead of expiration.


title: Simon Kjær

text: On 13 January 2020, Kjær signed with AC Milan on loan for the rest of the 2019–20 season, with the option to make the transfer permanent for an undisclosed sum. He had been linked with the club in the late 2000s and early 2010s during his time with Palermo and even praised in the media by then-current Milan's head coach Carlo Ancelotti yet the move eventually broke down as two clubs failed to agree on his transfer fee. On 15 January 2020, Kjær made his debut for the club, playing for 82 minutes in a home 3–0 win against S.P.A.L. in the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia. Four days later, he played his first game in Serie A as a Milan player in a dramatic 3–2 home win against Udinese. After missing one match due to illness, Kjær returned to the starting line-up, playing in the centre–back position, losing 4–2 against rivals, Inter Milan on 9 February 2020. However, his return was short–lived when he torn his muscle injury and was substituted in the 44th minute, in a 1–0 win against Torino on 17 February 2020. After the match, it was announced that Kjær would be out of action for a few months. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in the suspension of League matches, he managed to recover from his injury and returned to the starting line-up in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals against Juventus; the club drew 0–0, resulting in Milan's elimination from the tournament. In his debut season under head coach Stefano Pioli, Kjær would compete with other central defenders, namely Mateo Musacchio, Léo Duarte, and Matteo Gabbia, for a starting line-up spot in the team's back four alongside left central defender and captain Alessio Romagnoli. He would make 11 more appearances for Milan (9 in Serie A and 4 in Coppa Italia) before the club bought him out from Sevilla for €3.5 million on 15 July 2020, the expiry date of the buy-out clause in his loan deal.


title: Simon Kjær

text: On 15 July 2020, Kjær signed a permanent deal with Milan until 30 June 2022. On 11 March 2021, Kjær scored his first goal for the Rossoneri in a 1–1 away draw against Manchester United in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 tie.


title: Simon Kjær

text: On 1 December 2021, in the opening minutes of the Serie A away game against Genoa, Kjær sustained an injury to his left knee and had to be stretchered off the pitch. After surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament, he was ruled out for six months.


title: Simon Kjær

text: On 22 May 2022, Kjaer won the Serie A when AC Milan beat Sassuolo at the Stadio Città del Tricolore. This was his first major trophy (both domestic and international).


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær made his only appearance for Denmark U18 on 19 September 2006, in a 4–1 win against Slovakia U18. He made his debut for the Denmark national under-19 football team on 6 September 2006, at the age of 17, beating Portugal U19 3–2. He played a total 10 games and scored one goal for the under-19s until October 2007, and was named 2007 Danish under-19 talent of the year as the under-19s coach found Kjær had shown himself a talented defender despite his young age. Following his breakthrough with Midtjylland, Kjær was rested from the under-19s in March 2008 to avoid wearing him out.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær was called up for the Denmark national under-21 football team in May 2008 as a replacement for Michael Jakobsen, making his debut in a 0–4 defeat against the Germany under-21s. He was out of the under-21 team during his first time at Palermo, but was recalled in October 2008, spending the game as an unused substitute to Magnus Troest and Mathias Jørgensen. Kjær was an unused substitute for the friendly match against Greece, and returned to the under-21s for a single game in March 2009, playing well enough that under-21 coach Keld Bordinggaard recommended him for a recall to Olsen's squad. He went on to make two appearances for the U21 side.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær was called up to the senior Danish national team in February 2009, as national team coach Morten Olsen was impressed by his form for Palermo, and saw him and Per Krøldrup as main competitors to replace the retired defender Martin Laursen.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær was once again a part of the senior squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification game against Sweden on 6 June 2009 after Per Krøldrup was unavailable due to injury. He played the full game despite an injury of his own, as Denmark won 1–0. Kjær established himself in the Danish starting line-up, played the following three qualification games, and helped Denmark qualify for the 2010 World Cup despite facing injury along the way. For the September 2009 qualification game against Portugal, Kjær told reporters that Cristiano Ronaldo should be stopped by a series of small fouls and one hard tackle. This prompted a complaint to FIFA by the Portuguese Football Federation requesting Kjær be suspended for unsportsman-like conduct, but the case was dropped following the mediation of the Danish Football Association.


title: Simon Kjær

text: On 28 May 2010, Denmark coach Morten Olsen announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Kjær was in the starting eleven in Denmark's first two games, against the Netherlands and Cameroon, where he received a yellow card in both games and therefore missed the third and crucial group game against Japan. However, in the match against Cameroon, Kjær was highly praised for his excellent long-range passing which helped to set up Nicklas Bendtner's first goal. Despite, his performance in the World Cup was praised by the media and Samuel Eto'o, himself. He said playing in the tournament benefited him, claiming it has strengthened him a lot.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Following Denmark's win over Iceland in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, Stig Tøfting criticised his performance, as he witnessed him for making too many mistakes during the match. This led to Kjær responded and criticised Tøfting saying: "These statements hit me personally! It is the first time that I have come under pressure and I try to take these words as a motivation. I am not happy about his (Tøfting's) opinion. He just says that to stay in the public attention. He should be serious!" Tøfting continued to remain critical of the player, criticising him once again throughout his Denmark's career. The next two years saw the player regaining his first team place for the national side and helped them qualify for the UEFA Euro 2012 following their 2–1 win against Portugal on 11 October 2011. In May 2012, he was inducted in the final squad for Euro 2012. Kjær was among the starting 11 in each of the three group games, against the Netherlands, Portugal and Germany, as they were eliminated in the Group Stage.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Following the end of the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, Kjær appeared four more times by the end of the year. On 22 March 2013, he scored his first goal for Denmark, in a 3–0 win against Czech Republic for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. However, Kjær sat out the remaining matches of the qualification, as the national side failed to earn a place in the World Cup after finishing second place.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Following Denmark's unsuccessful qualification at the World Cup, Kjær regained his place for the national side. He then scored his second Denmark's goal, in a 3–1 win against Serbia in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualification on 14 November 2014. Kjær then helped the national side keep three consecutive clean sheets between 13 June 2015 and 7 September 2015 against Serbia, Albania and Armenia. In the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying play-offs against Sweden, Kjær played in both legs, as he failed to help Denmark qualify for the UEFA Euro 2016 following a 4–3 defeat on aggragate.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Following the national side's unsuccessful qualification to the UEFA Euro 2016, Kjær captained Denmark for the first time in his career against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 3 June 2016, as Denmark lost, 4–3, in a penalty shootout after playing 120 minutes, in a 2–2 draw. Following the retirement of Daniel Agger, it was announced he would succeed him as the national side's captain. Once again, Kjær helped the national side keep three consecutive clean sheets between 7 June 2016 and 4 September 2016 against Bulgaria, Liechtenstein and Armenia. He then helped Denmark finish second place in the Group E of the FIFA World Cup qualification. Kjær played in both legs of the World Cup play-offs for a place in the World Cup against Republic of Ireland, as the national side won 5–1 on aggregate and qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He helped the national side keep four consecutive clean sheets in friendly matches between 22 March 2018 and 9 June 2018 against Panama, Chile, Sweden and Mexico. In May 2018, Kjær was named in Denmark's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He served as Denmark's captain at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Kjær captained his first World Cup match against Peru and helped the national side win 1–0 on 16 June 2018. He helped the national side reach the knockout stage following a draw against Australia and France. Denmark ultimately progressed from their group after which they were drawn with Croatia in the Round of 16. There they were defeated after a penalty shoot-out, with Kjær being one of the two players to have his spot-kick successfully converted.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Following the World Cup, Kjær captained three more matches for the national side's matches by the end of the year and helping them keep three consecutive clean sheets against Wales, Republic of Ireland and Austria. He then played an important role for Denmark by setting up two goals, in a 5–1 win against Georgia on 10 June 2019. This was followed up by keeping four consecutive clean sheets against Gibraltar, Georgia, Switerzland, Luxembourg and Gibraltar. Kjær captained the side against Republic of Ireland on 18 November 2019 and helped Denmark to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020. On 14 October 2020, Kjær played his 100th match for Denmark in a 1–0 away win against England.


title: Simon Kjær

text: He captained the side for the UEFA Euro 2020. On 12 June 2021, while playing their opening match against Finland, when Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch, Kjær was the first to help him and summon the medical team to quickly get onto the pitch. He also made sure that Eriksen's airways stayed unobstructed when he was unconscious. Afterwards, he guided his teammates to cover Eriksen while he received medical treatment, and consoled Eriksen's wife Sabrina afterward. Eriksen was taken off the pitch on a stretcher and the match was suspended. Around an hour after the incident, UEFA and Danish Football Association officials confirmed from the Rigshospitalet that Eriksen had been stabilized and was awake. The match re-commenced later that evening, resulting in 1–0 victory for Finland. Despite the opening loss, Denmark went on to advance to the semi finals of the UEFA Euro 2020 losing to England in extra time. On 27 August 2021 Kjær was awarded the UEFA President's Award together with the medical team that stabilized Eriksen at the Finland game.


title: Simon Kjær

text: In addition to speaking Danish, Kjær speaks five languages, including English and Italian (having learnt the language from his time at Palermo). Growing up, he idolised John Terry and Fabio Cannavaro and supported Liverpool. While his father was supportive of him becoming a footballer, his mother, a teacher, was not.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Despite not liking studying while attending school, Kjær was able to receive his diploma. He married his long-term girlfriend, Camilla. They have known each other since they were fifteen. However, they broke up and at some point, Kjær began a relationship with Elina Gollert, a Swedish national. Together, they have two children, Milas and Viggo. In the summer of 2017, they were married.


title: Simon Kjær

text: Kjær talked about superstitions, saying: "I am a believer but not a practitioner. The first sock I wear is always the right one. But not just before every game. I do it every morning."


title: Karyotype

text: A karyotype is a preparation of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, sorted by length, centromere location and other features and for a test that detects this complement or counts the number of chromosomes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is prepared from photographs of chromosomes, in order to determine the chromosome complement of an individual, including the number of chromosomes and any abnormalities.


title: Karyotype

text: Karyotypes describe the chromosome count of an organism and what these chromosomes look like under a light microscope. Attention is paid to their length, the position of the centromeres, banding pattern, any differences between the sex chromosomes, and any other physical characteristics. The preparation and study of karyotypes is part of cytogenetics.


title: Karyotype

text: The study of whole sets of chromosomes is sometimes known as "karyology". The chromosomes are depicted in a standard format known as a "karyogram" or "idiogram", wherein chromosomes are organized in pairs, ordered by size and position of centromere for chromosomes of the same size. A photomicrographic karyogram is generally made by sorting the chromosomes under a microscope. In schematic karyograms, just one of the sister chromatids of each chromosome is generally shown for brevity, and in reality they are generally so close together that they look as one on photomicrographs as well unless the resolution is high enough to distinguish them.


title: Karyotype

text: The basic number of chromosomes in the somatic cells of an individual or a species is called the "somatic number" and is designated "2n". In the germ-line (the sex cells) the chromosome number is "n" (humans: n = 23). Thus, in humans 2n = 46.


title: Karyotype

text: So, in normal diploid organisms, autosomal chromosomes are present in two copies. There may, or may not, be sex chromosomes. Polyploid cells have multiple copies of chromosomes and haploid cells have single copies.


title: Karyotype

text: Karyotypes can be used for many purposes; such as to study chromosomal aberrations, cellular function, taxonomic relationships, medicine and to gather information about past evolutionary events ("karyosystematics").


title: Karyotype

text: The study of karyotypes is made possible by staining. Usually, a suitable dye, such as Giemsa, is applied after cells have been arrested during cell division by a solution of colchicine usually in metaphase or prometaphase when most condensed. In order for the Giemsa stain to adhere correctly, all chromosomal proteins must be digested and removed. For humans, white blood cells are used most frequently because they are easily induced to divide and grow in tissue culture. Sometimes observations may be made on non-dividing (interphase) cells. The sex of an unborn fetus can be predicted by observation of interphase cells (see amniotic centesis and Barr body).


title: Karyotype

text: A full account of a karyotype may therefore include the number, type, shape and banding of the chromosomes, as well as other cytogenetic information.


title: Karyotype

text: Both the micrographic and schematic karyograms shown in this section have a standard chromosome layout, and display dark and white regions as seen on G banding, which is the appearance of the chromosomes after treatment with trypsin (to partially digest the chromosomes) and staining with Giemsa stain. They show the normal human diploid karyotype, which is the typical composition of the genome within a normal cell of the human body, and which contains 22 pairs of autosomal chromosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes (allosomes). A major exception to diploidy in humans is gametes (sperm and egg cells) which are monoploid with 23 unpaired chromosomes, and this ploidy is not shown in these karyograms.


title: Karyotype

text: The schematic karyogram in this section is a graphical representation of the idealized karyotype. For each chromosome pair, the scale to the left shows the length in terms of million base pairs, and the scale to the right shows the designations of the bands and sub-bands. Such bands and sub-bands are used by the International System for Human Cytogenomic Nomenclature to describe locations of chromosome abnormalities. Each row of chromosomes is vertically aligned at centromere level.


title: Karyotype

text: Based on the karyogram characteristics of size, position of the centromere and sometimes the presence of a chromosomal satellite (a segment distal to a secondary constriction), the human chromosomes are classified into the following groups:


title: Karyotype

text: Alternatively, the human genome can be classified as follows, based on pairing, sex differences, as well as location within the cell nucleus versus inside mitochondria:


title: Karyotype

text: Schematic karyograms generally display a DNA copy number corresponding to the G phase of the cellular state (outside of the replicative cell cycle) which is the most common state of cells. The schematic karyogram in this section also shows this state. In this state (as well as during the G phase of the cell cycle), each cell has 2 autosomal chromosomes of each kind (designated 2n), where each chromosome has one copy of each locus, making a total copy number of 2 for each locus (2c). At top center in the schematic karyogram, it also shows the chromosome 3 pair after having undergone DNA synthesis, occurring in the S phase (annotated as S) of the cell cycle. This interval includes the G phase and metaphase (annotated as "Meta."). During this interval, there is still 2n, but each chromosome will have 2 copies of each locus, wherein each sister chromatid (chromosome arm) is connected at the centromere, for a total of 4c. The chromosomes on micrographic karyograms are in this state as well, because they are generally micrographed in metaphase, but during this phase the two copies of each chromosome are so close to each other that they appear as one unless the image resolution is high enough to distinguish them. In reality, during the G and G phases, nuclear DNA is dispersed as chromatin and does not show visually distinguishable chromosomes even on micrography.


title: Karyotype

text: Although the replication and transcription of DNA is highly standardized in eukaryotes, the same cannot be said for their karyotypes, which are highly variable. There is variation between species in chromosome number, and in detailed organization, despite their construction from the same macromolecules. This variation provides the basis for a range of studies in evolutionary cytology.


title: Karyotype

text: In some cases there is even significant variation within species. In a review, Godfrey and Masters conclude:


title: Karyotype

text: Although much is known about karyotypes at the descriptive level, and it is clear that changes in karyotype organization has had effects on the evolutionary course of many species, it is quite unclear what the general significance might be.


title: Karyotype

text: Instead of the usual gene repression, some organisms go in for large-scale elimination of heterochromatin, or other kinds of visible adjustment to the karyotype.


title: Karyotype

text: A spectacular example of variability between closely related species is the muntjac, which was investigated by Kurt Benirschke and Doris Wurster. The diploid number of the Chinese muntjac, "Muntiacus reevesi", was found to be 46, all telocentric. When they looked at the karyotype of the closely related Indian muntjac, "Muntiacus muntjak", they were astonished to find it had female = 6, male = 7 chromosomes.


title: Karyotype

text: The number of chromosomes in the karyotype between (relatively) unrelated species is hugely variable. The low record is held by the nematode "Parascaris univalens", where the haploid n = 1; and an ant: "Myrmecia pilosula". The high record would be somewhere amongst the ferns, with the adder's tongue fern "Ophioglossum" ahead with an average of 1262 chromosomes. Top score for animals might be the shortnose sturgeon "Acipenser brevirostrum" at 372 chromosomes. The existence of supernumerary or B chromosomes means that chromosome number can vary even within one interbreeding population; and aneuploids are another example, though in this case they would not be regarded as normal members of the population.


title: Karyotype

text: The fundamental number, "FN", of a karyotype is the number of visible major chromosomal arms per set of chromosomes. Thus, FN ≤ 2 x 2n, the difference depending on the number of chromosomes considered single-armed (acrocentric or telocentric) present. Humans have FN = 82, due to the presence of five acrocentric chromosome pairs: 13, 14, 15, 21, and 22 (the human Y chromosome is also acrocentric). The fundamental autosomal number or autosomal fundamental number, "FNa" or "AN", of a karyotype is the number of visible major chromosomal arms per set of autosomes (non-sex-linked chromosomes).


title: Karyotype

text: Polyploid series in related species which consist entirely of multiples of a single basic number are known as euploid.


title: Karyotype

text: Aneuploidy is the condition in which the chromosome number in the cells is not the typical number for the species. This would give rise to a chromosome abnormality such as an extra chromosome or one or more chromosomes lost. Abnormalities in chromosome number usually cause a defect in development. Down syndrome and Turner syndrome are examples of this.


title: Karyotype

text: Aneuploidy may also occur within a group of closely related species. Classic examples in plants are the genus "Crepis", where the gametic (= haploid) numbers form the series x = 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7; and "Crocus", where every number from x = 3 to x = 15 is represented by at least one species. Evidence of various kinds shows that trends of evolution have gone in different directions in different groups. In primates, the great apes have 24x2 chromosomes whereas humans have 23x2. Human chromosome 2 was formed by a merger of ancestral chromosomes, reducing the number.


title: Karyotype

text: Some species are polymorphic for different chromosome structural forms. The structural variation may be associated with different numbers of chromosomes in different individuals, which occurs in the ladybird beetle "Chilocorus stigma", some mantids of the genus "Ameles", the European shrew "Sorex araneus". There is some evidence from the case of the mollusc "Thais lapillus" (the dog whelk) on the Brittany coast, that the two chromosome morphs are adapted to different habitats.


title: Karyotype

text: The detailed study of chromosome banding in insects with polytene chromosomes can reveal relationships between closely related species: the classic example is the study of chromosome banding in Hawaiian drosophilids by Hampton L. Carson.


title: Karyotype

text: In about , the Hawaiian Islands have the most diverse collection of drosophilid flies in the world, living from rainforests to subalpine meadows. These roughly 800 Hawaiian drosophilid species are usually assigned to two genera, "Drosophila" and "Scaptomyza", in the family Drosophilidae.


title: Karyotype

text: The polytene banding of the 'picture wing' group, the best-studied group of Hawaiian drosophilids, enabled Carson to work out the evolutionary tree long before genome analysis was practicable. In a sense, gene arrangements are visible in the banding patterns of each chromosome. Chromosome rearrangements, especially inversions, make it possible to see which species are closely related.


title: Karyotype

text: The results are clear. The inversions, when plotted in tree form (and independent of all other information), show a clear "flow" of species from older to newer islands. There are also cases of colonization back to older islands, and skipping of islands, but these are much less frequent. Using K-Ar dating, the present islands date from 0.4 million years ago (mya) (Mauna Kea) to 10mya (Necker). The oldest member of the Hawaiian archipelago still above the sea is Kure Atoll, which can be dated to 30 mya. The archipelago itself (produced by the Pacific plate moving over a hot spot) has existed for far longer, at least into the Cretaceous. Previous islands now beneath the sea (guyots) form the Emperor Seamount Chain.


title: Karyotype

text: All of the native "Drosophila" and "Scaptomyza" species in Hawaii have apparently descended from a single ancestral species that colonized the islands, probably 20 million years ago. The subsequent adaptive radiation was spurred by a lack of competition and a wide variety of niches. Although it would be possible for a single gravid female to colonise an island, it is more likely to have been a group from the same species.


title: Karyotype

text: There are other animals and plants on the Hawaiian archipelago which have undergone similar, if less spectacular, adaptive radiations.


title: Karyotype

text: Chromosomes display a banded pattern when treated with some stains. Bands are alternating light and dark stripes that appear along the lengths of chromosomes. Unique banding patterns are used to identify chromosomes and to diagnose chromosomal aberrations, including chromosome breakage, loss, duplication, translocation or inverted segments. A range of different chromosome treatments produce a range of banding patterns: G-bands, R-bands, C-bands, Q-bands, T-bands and NOR-bands.


title: Karyotype

text: In the "classic" (depicted) karyotype, a dye, often Giemsa "(G-banding)", less frequently mepacrine (quinacrine), is used to stain bands on the chromosomes. Giemsa is specific for the phosphate groups of DNA. Quinacrine binds to the adenine-thymine-rich regions. Each chromosome has a characteristic banding pattern that helps to identify them; both chromosomes in a pair will have the same banding pattern.


title: Karyotype

text: Karyotypes are arranged with the short arm of the chromosome on top, and the long arm on the bottom. Some karyotypes call the short and long arms "p" and "q", respectively. In addition, the differently stained regions and sub-regions are given numerical designations from proximal to distal on the chromosome arms. For example, Cri du chat syndrome involves a deletion on the short arm of chromosome 5. It is written as 46,XX,5p-. The critical region for this syndrome is deletion of p15.2 (the locus on the chromosome), which is written as 46,XX,del(5)(p15.2).


title: Karyotype

text: Multicolor FISH and the older spectral karyotyping are molecular cytogenetic techniques used to simultaneously visualize all the pairs of chromosomes in an organism in different colors. Fluorescently labeled probes for each chromosome are made by labeling chromosome-specific DNA with different fluorophores. Because there are a limited number of spectrally distinct fluorophores, a combinatorial labeling method is used to generate many different colors. Fluorophore combinations are captured and analyzed by a fluorescence microscope using up to 7 narrow-banded fluorescence filters or, in the case of spectral karyotyping, by using an interferometer attached to a fluorescence microscope. In the case of an mFISH image, every combination of fluorochromes from the resulting original images is replaced by a pseudo color in a dedicated image analysis software. Thus, chromosomes or chromosome sections can be visualized and identified, allowing for the analysis of chromosomal rearrangements.


title: Karyotype

text: In the case of spectral karyotyping, image processing software assigns a pseudo color to each spectrally different combination, allowing the visualization of the individually colored chromosomes.


title: Karyotype

text: Multicolor FISH is used to identify structural chromosome aberrations in cancer cells and other disease conditions when Giemsa banding or other techniques are not accurate enough.


title: Karyotype

text: "Digital karyotyping" is a technique used to quantify the DNA copy number on a genomic scale. Short sequences of DNA from specific loci all over the genome are isolated and enumerated. This method is also known as virtual karyotyping. Using this technique, it is possible to detect small alterations in the human genome, that cannot be detected through methods employing metaphase chromosomes. Some loci deletions are known to be related to the development of cancer. Such deletions are found through digital karyotyping using the loci associated with cancer development.


title: Karyotype

text: Chromosome abnormalities can be numerical, as in the presence of extra or missing chromosomes, or structural, as in derivative chromosome, translocations, inversions, large-scale deletions or duplications. Numerical abnormalities, also known as aneuploidy, often occur as a result of nondisjunction during meiosis in the formation of a gamete; trisomies, in which three copies of a chromosome are present instead of the usual two, are common numerical abnormalities. Structural abnormalities often arise from errors in homologous recombination. Both types of abnormalities can occur in gametes and therefore will be present in all cells of an affected person's body, or they can occur during mitosis and give rise to a genetic mosaic individual who has some normal and some abnormal cells.


title: Karyotype

text: Chromosomes were first observed in plant cells by Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli in 1842. Their behavior in animal (salamander) cells was described by Walther Flemming, the discoverer of mitosis, in 1882. The name was coined by another German anatomist, Heinrich von Waldeyer in 1888. It is New Latin from Ancient Greek κάρυον "karyon", "kernel", "seed", or "nucleus", and τύπος "typos", "general form")


title: Karyotype

text: The next stage took place after the development of genetics in the early 20th century, when it was appreciated that chromosomes (that can be observed by karyotype) were the carrier of genes. The term karyotype as defined by the phenotypic appearance of the somatic chromosomes, in contrast to their genic contents was introduced by Grigory Levitsky who worked with Lev Delaunay, Sergei Navashin, and Nikolai Vavilov. The subsequent history of the concept can be followed in the works of C. D. Darlington and Michael JD White.


title: Karyotype

text: Investigation into the human karyotype took many years to settle the most basic question: how many chromosomes does a normal diploid human cell contain? In 1912, Hans von Winiwarter reported 47 chromosomes in spermatogonia and 48 in oogonia, concluding an XX/XO sex determination mechanism. Painter in 1922 was not certain whether the diploid of humans was 46 or 48, at first favoring 46, but revised his opinion from 46 to 48, and he correctly insisted on humans having an XX/XY system. Considering the techniques of the time, these results were remarkable.


title: Karyotype

text: Joe Hin Tjio working in Albert Levan's lab found the chromosome count to be 46 using new techniques available at the time:


title: Karyotype

text: The work took place in 1955, and was published in 1956. The karyotype of humans includes only 46 chromosomes. The other great apes have 48 chromosomes. Human chromosome 2 is now known to be a result of an end-to-end fusion of two ancestral ape chromosomes.


title: George Eads

text: George Eads is an American actor, known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS police drama "". He later starred as Jack Dalton on the CBS action-adventure series "MacGyver" for three seasons.


title: George Eads

text: Eads graduated from Texas Tech University (1989) with a degree in marketing. In college, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Prior to beginning an acting career, Eads worked as a copy machine salesman, as well as selling first aid and safety supplies for Cintas.


title: George Eads

text: Eads drove to Los Angeles, California in a pickup truck borrowed from his stepfather, to pursue his acting career. When he arrived in Los Angeles, he could only drive during the day because the truck had two broken headlights. Eads got his big break on the prime time soap opera "Savannah", in which he played the conniving Travis Peterson and later Travis's twin brother, Nick Corelli.


title: George Eads

text: Eads guest-starred as paramedic Greg Powell on "ER" in 1997 and worked on several made-for-television films such as "Crowned and Dangerous" (1997).


title: George Eads

text: In 2000, Eads became one of the lead characters of the CBS police drama "", in which he portrayed a Las Vegas forensic scientist named Nick Stokes.


title: George Eads

text: Parallel to "CSI", Eads worked on made-for-television films, such as 2003's "Monte Walsh" and 2004's "Evel Knievel".


title: George Eads

text: In August 2013, prior to "CSI" 14th season, Eads reportedly took a leave of absence after having an altercation with a writer from the show over what was described as "creative issues". On November 25, 2014, it was announced that Eads would be leaving the show, which in any event was not renewed for the following season; he only missed the series finale television movie, "".


title: George Eads

text: From 2016 to 2019, Eads starred as Jack Dalton in CBS's reboot series "MacGyver". In 2018, while the series' third season was filming, Eads asked to be released from his contract so he could spend more time with his young daughter who resides in Los Angeles, as "MacGyver" is filmed in Atlanta. Producers ultimately agreed with Eads being written out of the show but left open the opportunity for him to return as a guest star in the future. The February 1, 2019 episode "Father + Bride + Betrayal" was his last on "MacGyver".


title: George Eads

text: In 2011, Eads married Monika Casey. In January 2014, they were reported to be expecting their first child, and later that year, Casey gave birth to their daughter, Dylan. The couple divorced in 2015.


title: George Eads

text: In March 2009, Eads was voted as one of "TV Guide"s Sexiest Male Actors in the "TV Guide's" "Sexiest Stars" issue. The "Sexiest Stars" issue voted "The Mentalist"s Simon Baker as the Sexiest Male Actor. Eads was not discouraged by this, however, and said that he was very appreciative of his fans calling him "sexy". "It’s sweet and kind. It makes me want to work harder for them. It makes me want to be sexier."


title: The Asylum

text: The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and scripts very similar to those of current blockbusters in order to lure customers. These titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press. Its titles are distributed by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, GT Media, and as of 2015, Cinedigm.


title: The Asylum

text: The studio is best known for producing the "Sharknado film series" and the Syfy original series "Z Nation".


title: The Asylum

text: The Asylum was founded by director David Michael Latt and former Village Roadshow executives David Rimawi and Sherri Strain in 1997. The company focused on producing straight-to-video low-budget films, usually in the horror genre, but were unable to find a market due to competition from major studios, such as Lions Gate Entertainment. In 2005, the company produced a low-budget adaptation of H. G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds", which was released in the same year as Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the same material. Blockbuster Inc. ordered 100,000 copies of The Asylum's adaptation, a significantly larger order than any of the company's previous releases, resulting in Latt and Rimawi reconsidering their business model.


title: The Asylum

text: In 2007, similarities between the distributor's titles and those of major studios were reported. For example, the film "Transmorphers" bears a number of similarities to the film "Transformers", which was released theatrically two days after the release of "Transmorphers". According to Latt, "I'm not trying to dupe anybody. I'm just trying to get my films watched. Other people do tie-ins all the time, they’re just better at being subtle about it. Another studio might make a giant robot movie that ties into the "Transformers" release and call it "Robot Wars". We’ll call ours "Transmorphers"."


title: The Asylum

text: In 2009, Asylum producer David Rimawi stated in an interview that most Asylum films "break even after about three months".


title: The Asylum

text: In February 2015, The Asylum signed a multi-year deal with Cinedigm Corp; the deal provided 12 films over three years.


title: The Asylum

text: The company received its first theatrical release in 2022, with their film "Top Gunner: Danger Zone" playing in six theaters across the United States.


title: The Asylum

text: In 2008, 20th Century Fox threatened legal action against The Asylum over "The Day the Earth Stopped", a film capitalizing on "The Day the Earth Stood Still".


title: The Asylum

text: Similarly in May 2012, Universal Pictures filed a lawsuit against The Asylum for their film "American Battleship", claiming infringement on their film, "Battleship". As a result, The Asylum changed their title to "American Warships".


title: The Asylum

text: In 2013, Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and "The Hobbit" producer Saul Zaentz commenced legal action against The Asylum for their film "Age of the Hobbits" (later called "Lord of the Elves"), claiming that they were "free-riding" on the worldwide promotional campaign for Peter Jackson's forthcoming films. The Asylum claimed its film is legally sound because its hobbits are not based on the J. R. R. Tolkien creations. The lawsuit resulted in a temporary restraining order preventing The Asylum from releasing the film on its scheduled release date.


title: The Asylum

text: In 2021, several of The Asylum's executive producers, David Rimawi, David Michael Latt, Paul Bales and Steve Graham were placed on the Writers Guild of America West's "Strike/ Unfair List" for lack of payment on Z Nation residuals.


title: The Asylum

text: The Asylum had been producing "Z Nation" for the Syfy Network since late 2014. The show is about a group that attempts to get the only known person with immunity to a zombie virus from New York to the last operating lab in California. According to show-runner Karl Shaefer, the show is intended to bring "a sense of hope to the horror of the apocalypse." Ratings for "Z Nation" have been unexpectedly high, there have been about 1.6 million views per episode, and the series ran for 5 seasons.


title: The Asylum

text: An eight-episode spin-off of "Z Nation", "Black Summer", was ordered by Netflix. It focuses on a mother (Jaime King) who is searching for her daughter during the worst summer of the zombie apocalypse. The show eschews the comedy elements of the parent series and focuses instead on horror themes. In November 2019, Netflix renewed the series for a second season of eight episodes which released in June 2021.


title: The Asylum

text: As of 2009, The Asylum's usual budget for a production was "well under a million dollars", and films would typically break even after about three months. The company's productions have been called B movies and "mockbusters". Latt prefers the term "tie-ins" to "mockbusters", stating that The Asylum's productions, even those that capitalize on major releases, contain original stories. Latt states that the company plans its productions around the word of mouth of the financial prospects of upcoming films. The Asylum's films are usually released on video shortly before the theatrical release of a major studio film with similar themes or storylines.


title: The Asylum

text: The Asylum has also produced films with strong religious themes. For example, "The Apocalypse" was initially developed as a straightforward disaster film in the style of "Deep Impact", but Latt states that certain buyers wanted the company to develop a religious film. As a result, the company consulted priests and rabbis in order to incorporate faith-based elements. The division Faith Films was created in order to distribute titles with such themes. "Sunday School Musical" was produced after The Asylum staff attended a seminar for marketing to a Christian audience where the seminar's host suggested that the perfect film would be a Christian version of "High School Musical".


title: The Asylum

text: The Asylum productions sometimes feature more overt sexuality or graphic violence than their major studio counterparts, because The Asylum's releases are not in competition with films rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association. Rolf Potts of "The New York Times" described "Transmorphers" as having "no recognizable actors, no merchandising tie-ins and a garbled sound mix. Also unlike "Transformers", it has cheap special effects and a subplot involving lesbians."


title: The Asylum

text: The 2008 release "Death Racers" featured the hip hop group Insane Clown Posse and wrestler Scott "Raven" Levy in major roles. In 2009, the Asylum released its first 3D picture, "Sex Pot".


title: 2004 United States men's Olympic basketball team

text: The men's national basketball team of the United States competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The team was led by future Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Larry Brown. Having won gold in the previous three straight Olympic Games, the Americans were favored to win Olympic gold again in 2004. However, the team won bronze, while losing three games against its opponents, the most games ever lost by a U.S. men's Olympic basketball team.


text: The team lost its opening game to Puerto Rico by 19 points, which stands as the largest margin of defeat for the U.S. in the Olympics. It ended their 24-game Olympic winning streak since 1992, when National Basketball Association (NBA) players were first allowed to compete. The team also lost games in the Olympics to Lithuania and Argentina. In addition, the team lost a friendly preparation game prior to the Olympics, against Italy, by a score of 95–78. This was the second time that Team USA won the bronze medal, having also done so at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.


text: After the United States finished in sixth place in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, the Americans overhauled their roster for the 2003 FIBA Tournament of the Americas in Puerto Rico, where they needed to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics. The team cruised to a first-place finish at the Americas Championship, and earned a spot in Athens, Greece, the following summer. However, the only players from the 2003 squad to compete in the Olympics were Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, and Richard Jefferson; the rest of the team opted out. Newcomers to the team included young players LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Emeka Okafor. The team featured just one All-NBA selection (Duncan) and two All-Stars (Duncan and Iverson) from the prior NBA season, which are both all-time lows for a U.S. Olympic team since NBA players were first allowed in 1992. Team USA was coached by Larry Brown, who was coming off a championship in the 2004 NBA Finals.


text: The United States struggled with its outside shooting, finishing the tournament ranked last in three point field goals made (5.5 per game) and 11th in percentage (31.4) out of 12 teams. They also struggled defensively.


text: The team's loss to Puerto Rico was just the third in U.S. Olympic men's basketball history. Their two previous losses were both to the Soviet Union (1972 and 1988), with six having been the largest margin of defeat.


title: Marjorie Finlay

text: Marjorie Moehlenkamp Finlay (October 5, 1928June 1, 2003) was an American opera singer and television personality. She is best known as the maternal grandmother of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. A coloratura soprano, Finlay performed concert, opera, and supper club singing. After winning a talent contest in 1950, she toured on the ABC radio network show "Music With the Girls". Finlay later had her own television program and served as an MC for "El Show Pan-Americano" in Puerto Rico. She toured South America and released an album in Mexico.


title: Marjorie Finlay

text: Marjorie Moehlenkamp was born on October 5, 1928, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Elmer Henry Moehlenkamp of St. Charles, Missouri, and Cora Lee Morrow of Arkansas. She was raised in St. Charles. Three of her paternal great-grandparents were from Germany.


title: Marjorie Finlay

text: In 1948, Moehlenkamp performed at Mexico Senior High School as a soloist in the Lindenwood Vesper Choir. She earned her Bachelor of Music from Lindenwood University in 1949. Moehlenkamp was in Mu Phi Epsilon, a professional music fraternity. She was a singer in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's pop concert at Kiel Auditorium.


title: Marjorie Finlay

text: In 1950, Moehlenkamp was working as a receptionist at Boatmen's National Bank in St. Louis. She won a talent contest on the ABC network show "Music With the Girls". This awarded her a radio spot and she toured on the network radio show for 15 months. During the summer of 1951, Moehlenkamp studied at the Berkshire Music Center and then in New York City on the advice of musician Edwin McArthur.


title: Marjorie Finlay

text: She married Robert Finlay, president of Raymond Construction Company, on March 22, 1952, in Palm Beach, Florida. After her marriage, Finlay and her husband moved to Havana, Cuba, where his office was located before relocating to Puerto Rico due to political unrest. They moved to Caracas before returning to Santurce with their children. In Puerto Rico, Finlay had her own television program and performed in concerts, operas, and supper clubs, including a two-week stint at the Caribe Hilton Hotel.


title: Marjorie Finlay

text: Finlay was the mistress of ceremonies for "El Show Pan-Americano" on APA-TV in Santurce. She was active in the Pro Arte Societies, a civic music organization. Her Spanish was reportedly "bad" enough to be funny to her audiences. Her television show ran six nights a week for 17 months.


title: Marjorie Finlay

text: In 1962, Finlay performed at a Kiel Auditorium Pop Concert. Her performance included "Fanciulla È Sbocciato L'Amore" from "La rondine" and "Jewel song" in addition to pop songs.


title: Marjorie Finlay

text: Finlay died on June 1, 2003 in Reading, Pennsylvania. Finlay was the mother of Andrea Gardner Swift (née Finlay, born 1958), and through her was maternal grandmother of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and her brother, actor Austin Swift. Taylor Swift cited Finlay for inspiring her to pursue a career in music. In 2020, Swift released the song "Marjorie" from her ninth studio album "Evermore"; Swift credited her grandmother with backing vocals which were sampled in the track. In 2022, Swift included a photograph of Finlay in the music video of "Anti-Hero."


title: Victoria Wood

text: Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director.


title: Victoria Wood

text: Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades and her live comedy act was interspersed with her own compositions which she performed at the piano. Much of her humour was grounded in everyday life and included references to activities, attitudes and products that are considered to exemplify Britain. She was noted for her skills in observational comedy and in satirising aspects of social class.


title: Victoria Wood

text: Wood started her career in 1974 by appearing on, and winning, the ATV talent show "New Faces". She established herself as a comedy star in the 1980s, winning a BAFTA TV Award in 1986 for the sketch series "" (1985–87), and became one of Britain's most popular stand-up comics, winning a second BAFTA for "An Audience with Victoria Wood" (1988). In the 1990s, she wrote and co-starred in the television film "Pat and Margaret" (1994), and the sitcom "dinnerladies" (1998–2000), which she also produced. She won two more BAFTA TV Awards, including Best Actress, for her 2006 ITV1 television film, "Housewife, 49". Her frequent long-term collaborators included Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, and Anne Reid. In 2006, Wood came tenth in ITV's poll of the British public's 50 Greatest TV Stars.


title: Victoria Wood

text: Victoria Wood was the youngest child of Stanley Wood, an insurance salesman, who also wrote songs for his company's Christmas parties, was the author of the musical play "Clogs" based in a Lancashire village in 1887 and also wrote part time for Coronation Street, Northern Drift and others; and Ellen "Nellie" Wood ("née" Mape). She had three siblings: a brother, Chris, and two sisters, Penny and Rosalind.


title: Victoria Wood

text: Wood was born in Prestwich and brought up in nearby Bury. She was educated at Fairfield County Primary School and Bury Grammar School for Girls, where she immediately found herself out of her depth.


title: Victoria Wood

text: Wood developed eating disorders, but in 1968, her father gave her a piano for her 15th birthday. She later said of this unhappy time "The good thing about being isolated is you get a good look at what goes on. I was reading, writing and working at the piano all the time. I was doing a lot of other things that helped me to perform". Later that year, she joined the Rochdale Youth Theatre Workshop, where she felt she was "in the right place and knew what I was doing" and she made an impression with her comic skill and skill in writing. She went on to study in the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham.


title: Victoria Wood

text: Wood began her show business career while an undergraduate, appearing on the TV talent show "New Faces" in 1974. It led to an appearance in a sketch show featuring the series' winners "The Summer Show". A further break came as a novelty act on the BBC's consumer affairs programme "That's Life!" in 1976. She had met long-term collaborator Julie Walters in 1971, when Wood applied to the Manchester School of Theatre, then part of Manchester Polytechnic. Coincidentally the pair met again when they appeared in the same theatre revue "In at the Death" in 1978 (for which Wood wrote a brief sketch). Its success led to the commissioning of Wood's first play "Talent" (in 1978), starring Hazel Clyne (in a role originally written for Walters), for which Wood won an award for the Most Promising New Writer. Peter Eckersley, the head of drama at Granada Television, saw "Talent" and invited Wood to create a television adaptation. This time, Julie Walters took the lead role, while Wood reprised her stage role.


title: Victoria Wood

text: The success of the television version of "Talent" led to Wood writing the follow-up "Nearly a Happy Ending". Shortly afterwards she wrote a third play for Granada, "Happy Since I Met You", again with Walters alongside Duncan Preston as the male lead. In 1980 she wrote and starred in the stage play "Good Fun".


title: Victoria Wood

text: Recognising her talent, Eckersley offered Wood a sketch show, although Wood was unsure of the project: she only agreed to go ahead if Walters received equal billing. Eckersley came up with an obvious title – "Wood and Walters", and the pilot episode was recorded. It led to a full series, featuring Duncan Preston and a supporting cast. In the period between the completion of the pilot and the shooting of the series, Eckersley died. Wood credited him with giving her her first big break, and felt that "Wood and Walters" suffered due to his death. She was not impressed by Brian Armstrong, his fill-in, and was of the opinion that he hired unsuitable supporting actors.


title: Victoria Wood

text: Wood appeared as a presenter in Yorkshire Television's 1984 schools television programme for hearing-impaired children, "Insight", in a remake of the series originally presented by Derek Griffiths. In 1982 and 1983 she appeared as a panellist on BBC Radio 4's "Just a Minute".


title: Victoria Wood

text: In October 1983 Wood performed her first solo stand-up show, "Lucky Bag", in a five-week run at the King's Head Theatre in Islington. The show transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre for a 12-night run in February 1984. "Lucky Bag" went on a short UK tour in November and December 1984 and was also released as a live album recorded at the Edinburgh Festival in 1983.


title: Victoria Wood

text: Wood left Granada in 1984 for the BBC, which promised her more creative control over projects. Later that year her sketch show "" went into production. Wood chose the actors: her friend Julie Walters once again starred, as did Duncan Preston. Wood's friends Celia Imrie, Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge were in the cast. "As Seen on TV" featured the "Acorn Antiques" series of sketches, parodying the low-budget soap opera "Crossroads", and rumoured to be named after an antiques shop in her birthplace. "Acorn Antiques" is remembered for characters such as "Mrs Overall" (played by Walters), the deliberately bad camera angles and wobbling sets, and Celia Imrie's sarcastic tone as "Miss Babs". One of Wood's most popular comic songs, "The Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let's Do It)", originated on this show. It tells the story of Freda (a woman eager for sex) and Barry (an introverted man terrified of intimate relations), and makes clever use of allusions to a multitude of risqué activities while avoiding all taboo words.


title: Victoria Wood

text: Following the success of the first series of "", Wood went on tour again with "Lucky Bag" in March 1985. "Scene", a documentary for BBC2 later that year, showed footage of Wood preparing for the tour.


title: Victoria Wood

text: A second series of "" was made in 1986. Before filming began in the summer, Wood went on a short 23 date tour of England and Scotland during March and April. A final 'Special' 40-minute episode of "As Seen on TV" was made in 1987 and broadcast later that year.


title: Victoria Wood

text: During autumn 1987 Wood went on the road with what was to be her largest tour yet. The tour included a sell-out two-week run at the London Palladium, and had a second leg in the spring of 1988.


title: Victoria Wood

text: In 1988 she appeared in the BAFTA-winning "An Audience with Victoria Wood" for ITV. At the time of recording the show she was six months pregnant. The end of 1988 saw the release of her second live performance "Victoria Wood Live", recorded at the Brighton Dome.


title: Victoria Wood

text: During this period Wood moved away from the sketch show format and into more self-contained works, often with a bittersweet flavour. "Victoria Wood" (six parts, 1989) featured Wood in several individual stories such as "We'd Quite Like To Apologise", set in an airport departure lounge, and "Over to Pam", set around a fictional talk show.


title: Victoria Wood

text: In May 1990, Wood began a large tour of the United Kingdom, which was followed by a ten-week run at the Strand Theatre in London titled "Victoria Wood Up West". Wood took the show on the road again during March and April 1991, where it was recorded at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, and later released as "Victoria Wood Sold Out" in 1991.


title: Victoria Wood

text: In 1991, she appeared on the Comic Relief single performing "The Smile Song", the flipside to "The Stonk" (a record by ITV comedians


title: Victoria Wood

text: A UK number-one single for one week on 23 March 1991, the record was the UK's 22nd-best-selling single of the year. However, even though it was a joint-single (with "The Smile Song" credited on the front of the single cover and listed as track 2 on the seven-inch and CD single rather than being a B-side), the UK singles chart compilers (now the Official Charts Company) did not credit her with having number one hit, in a situation similar to the fate of BAD II's "Rush", the AA-side of the preceding number one, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash.


title: Victoria Wood

text: She briefly returned to sketches for the 1992 Christmas Day special "Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast", and also branched out into children's animation, voicing all the characters for the CBBC series "Puppydog Tales".


title: Victoria Wood

text: In April 1993, Wood began a seven-month tour of the UK. The 104-date tour broke box office records, including 15 sell out shows at London's Royal Albert Hall, and played to residencies in Sheffield, Birmingham, Plymouth, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Leicester, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Oxford, Southampton, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds and Hull.


title: Victoria Wood

text: The television film "Pat and Margaret" (1994), starring Wood and Julie Walters as long-lost sisters with very different lifestyles, continued her return to stand-alone plays with a poignant undercurrent to the comedy.


title: Victoria Wood

text: In 1994, Wood starred in the one-off BBC 50-minute programme based on her 1993/94 stage show "Victoria Wood: Live in Your Own Home". The special featured stand-up routines, character monologues and songs. An extended 80 minute version was released on VHS.


title: Victoria Wood

text: Wood set out on a 68-date tour of the UK in May 1996, which played at venues in Leicester, Sheffield, Ipswich, Blackpool, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Brighton, Nottingham, Oxford, Southend, Manchester and Cambridge. The tour culminated with another 15 sell-out shows at London's Royal Albert Hall in the autumn. The tour recommenced in April 1997 in Liverpool and then travelled to Australia and New Zealand during the summer. It was later released as "Victoria Wood Live 1997".


title: Victoria Wood

text: In October 1997, Wood released a compilation of 14 of her songs titled "Victoria Wood, Real Life The Songs".


title: Victoria Wood

text: Her first sitcom "dinnerladies" (1998), continued her now established milieu of mostly female, mostly middle-aged characters depicted vividly and amusingly, but with a counterpoint of sadder themes.


title: Victoria Wood

text: December 2000 saw the Christmas sketch show special "Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings", featuring her regular troupe of actors as well as a string of special guest stars including Hugh Laurie, Angela Rippon, Bob Monkhouse, Bill Paterson, Delia Smith and Roger Moore.


title: Victoria Wood

text: 2001 saw Wood embark on her final stand-up tour, "Victoria Wood at It Again" but was postponed slightly by Wood having to have an emergency hysterectomy shortly before the tour was due to begin. She re-wrote the entire first half of the show and incorporated the operation into her act. The 62-date tour included 12 nights at the Royal Albert Hall and had a further 23 dates in 2002.


title: Victoria Wood

text: During this period, Wood tended to move away from comedy to concentrate on drama. She continued to produce one-off specials including "Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story" (2002) and "Victoria Wood's Big Fat Documentary" (2005).


title: Victoria Wood

text: Wood wrote her first musical, "", which opened in 2005 at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London, for a limited period, directed by Trevor Nunn. It starred several of the original cast, with Sally Ann Triplett playing Miss Berta (played in the series by Wood). Wood played Julie Walters' lead role of "Mrs Overall" for Monday and Wednesday matinee performances.