title: Shake It Off

text: The lyrics of the song were inspired by the media scrutiny that Swift had experienced during her rise to stardom. In an interview with "Rolling Stone" in August 2014, Swift said about the song's inspiration: "I've had every part of my life dissected ... When you live your life under that kind of scrutiny, you can either let it break you, or you can get really good at dodging punches. And when one lands, you know how to deal with it. And I guess the way that I deal with it is to shake it off." Discussing the song's message with NPR in October 2014, Swift said that "Shake It Off" represented her more mature perspectives from her previous single "Mean" (2010), which was also inspired by her detractors. According to Swift, if "Mean" was where she assumed victimhood, "Shake It Off" found her in a proactive stance to "take back the narrative, and have ... a sense of humor about people who kind of get under [her] skin – and not let them get under [her] skin".


title: Shake It Off

text: In the first verse of the song, Swift references her perceived image as a flirtatious woman with numerous romantic attachments: "I go on too many dates / But I can't make 'em stay / At least that's what people say." The lines in the chorus are arranged rhythmically to produce a catchy hook: "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate / Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake." The spoken-word bridge opens with Swift asserting, "You could have been getting down to this sick beat," amidst the "dirty cheats of the world". The lyric "this sick beat" is trademarked to Swift by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.


title: Shake It Off

text: On August 13, 2014, Swift appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon", where she announced she would hold a live stream via Yahoo! on August 18, 2014. During the live stream, Swift announced the details of the album "1989". She debuted "Shake It Off" as the album's lead single and premiered the song's music video simultaneously. "Shake It Off" was released digitally worldwide by Big Machine on August 19. The same day, Big Machine, in partnership with Republic Records, released the song to US radio. A limited CD single edition was available on September 11. In Europe, "Shake It Off" was added to a BBC Radio playlist on August 25, Italian radio on August 29, and was released as a CD single in Germany on October 10.


title: Shake It Off

text: The release of "Shake It Off" and its parent album "1989" had been highly anticipated, given Swift's announcement that she would abandon her country roots to release an "official pop" album. The magazine "Drowned in Sound" described the single as "undoubtedly ... the most significant cultural event" since Radiohead's 2011 album "The King of Limbs". While noting that "Shake It Off" was not Swift's first "straight-up pop" song, "Billboard" Jason Lipshutz considered it a sign of a "bold foray into the unknown", in which Swift could experiment beyond her well-known formulaic country pop songs that had been critically and commercially successful.


title: Shake It Off

text: "Shake It Off" received mixed reviews from music critics. While some deemed the production catchy, others found the song repetitive and lacking substance compared to Swift's previous album "Red", which was perceived to be her artistic peak. Critic Randall Roberts from the "Los Angeles Times" lauded the song's energetic production, which they described as "perfect pop confection". Roberts, however, found the lyrics shallow, calling the song insensible to the political events at the time: "When lives are at stake and nothing seems more relevant than getting to the Actual Truth, liars and cheats can't and shouldn't be shaken off."


title: Shake It Off

text: "The Guardian" Molly Fitzpatrick lauded the song's music, but felt that the lyrics fell short of Swift's songwriting abilities. Giving the song a three-out-of-five-stars score, Jeff Terich from "American Songwriter" regarded Swift's new direction as "a left-turn worth following". While Terich agreed that the lyrics were dismissive, he felt that critics should not have taken the song seriously because it was "pretty harmless". In a positive review, Jason Lipshutz from "Billboard" wrote, "Swift proves why she belongs among pop's queen bees ... the song sounds like a surefire hit." In a review of the album "1989", Alexis Petridis praised the lyrics for "twisting clichés until they sound original". In the words of Andrew Unterberger from "Spin", while "Shake It Off" was musically a "red herring" that feels out of place on the album, it thematically represents Swift's new attitude on "1989", where she liberated herself from overtly romantic struggles to embrace positivity. Swift herself acknowledged the song as an outlier on "1989", and deliberately released it as the lead single to encourage audiences to explore the entire album and not just the singles.


title: Shake It Off

text: Retrospectively, Hannah Mylrea from "NME" considered "Shake It Off" an effective opener for Swift's "1989" era, which transformed her image to mainstream pop. While saying that "Shake It Off" was not one of the album's better songs, Rob Sheffield from "Rolling Stone" applauded it for "serving as a trailer to announce her daring Eighties synth-pop makeover". Nate Jones from "Vulture" agreed, but described the song's bridge as "the worst 24 seconds of the entire album". In his 2019 ranking of Swift's singles, Alexis Petridis ranked "Shake It Off" third—behind "Blank Space" (2014) and "Love Story" (2008), lauding its "irresistible" hook and "sharp-tongued wit". Jane Song from "Paste" was less enthusiastic, placing "Shake It Off" among Swift's worst songs in her catalog, writing: "Swift has a pattern of choosing the worst song from each album as the lead single."


title: Shake It Off

text: After one day of release to US radio, "Shake It Off" gained an audience of nine million. The song debuted at 45 on the "Billboard" Radio Songs chart with 29 million in all-format audience after two days of release. After its first week of release, the single debuted at number nine on the "Billboard" Adult Top 40 chart, and number 12 on the "Billboard" Mainstream Top 40, setting the record for the highest debut on both charts. On the Mainstream Top 40 chart, it tied with Mariah Carey's "Dreamlover" (1993) for the highest first-week chart entry. Although not officially released to country radio, the single debuted and peaked at number 58 on the "Billboard" Country Airplay chart, where it stayed for one week.


title: Shake It Off

text: "Shake It Off" debuted at number one on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart dated September 6, 2014, the 22nd song to do so. After two consecutive weeks at number one, it dropped to number two, where it stayed for eight consecutive weeks. "Shake It Off" returned to number one in its tenth charting week, and spent a further week at number one, totaling four non-consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100. It also topped "Billboard" airplay-focused charts including Mainstream Top 40, Adult Top 40, and Adult Contemporary. The song sold 3.43 million digital copies in 2014 in the U.S. "Shake It Off" was one of the best-selling singles of the 2010s decade in the U.S., selling 5.4 million digital copies as of January 2020. As of July 2020, the single remains Swift's biggest chart success on the Hot 100, where it spent nearly six months in the top ten and 50 weeks in the top 100. The song was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which denotes 10 million units. With this achievement, Swift is the first female artist to have both a song and an album ("Fearless") certified Diamond in the U.S.


title: Shake It Off

text: "Shake It Off" also topped the charts in Australia and Canada, where it was certified thirteen times platinum and six times platinum, respectively. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and was the eleventh-best-selling song of 2014. It had sold 987,000 copies by August 2019 and was certified quadruple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In Japan, "Shake It Off" peaked at number four on the Japan Hot 100 and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). The single also topped record charts in Hungary, New Zealand and Poland. It was a top-five hit in other European countries, peaking at number two in Spain; number three in Ireland, Norway and Sweden; number four in Denmark and Israel; and number five in Germany and the Netherlands.


title: Shake It Off

text: The music video for "Shake It Off", directed by Mark Romanek, was released on August 18, 2014, the same day as the song's release. It was shot over three days in June 2014 in Los Angeles. Swift conceived the video as a humorous depiction of her trying to find her identity: "It takes a long time to figure out who you are and where you fit in in the world." To this end, the video depicts Swift as a clumsy person who unsuccessfully attempts dance moves with professional artists, including ballerinas, breakdancers, cheerleaders, and performance artists. She summed up the video: I'm putting myself in all these awkward situations where the dancers are incredible, and I'm having fun with it, but not fitting in ... I'm being embarrassingly bad at it. It shows you to keep doing you, keep being you, keep trying to figure out where you fit in in the world, and eventually you will."


title: Shake It Off

text: The dances were choreographed by Tyce Diorio. The video's final scenes feature Swift dancing with her fans, who had been handpicked by Swift through social media engagement. The video contains references to other areas of popular culture. For instance, VH1 noted the following resemblances: the ballerinas to the 2010 film "Black Swan", the breakdancers to the 2010 film "Step Up 3D", the "sparkling suits and robotic dance moves" to French electronic musicians Daft Punk, the twerking dance moves to Miley Cyrus, the cheerleaders to Toni Basil's 1981 video "Mickey", and Swift's black turtleneck and jeans to the outfits of Audrey Hepburn during an audition scene in the 1957 film "Funny Face". Publications including the "Los Angeles Times" and "The Sydney Morning Herald" also noted references to Lady Gaga and Skrillex.


title: Shake It Off

text: Molly Fitzpatrick of "The Guardian" considered Swift "a little too skilled a dancer" for the video's concept, writing: "The incongruent blend of modern dance, ballet, and breakdancing is fun, but the conceit falls flat." Peter Vincent from "The Sydney Morning Herald" called the video "unoriginal", citing the many popular culture references, and doubted Swift's success in transforming her image to pop. Media professor Maryn Wilkinson noted "Shake It Off" as a representation of Swift's "zany" persona during the "1989" era. Wilkinson noted that as Swift had been associated with a hardworking and authentic persona through her country songs, her venture to "artificial, manufactured" pop required intricate maneuvering to retain her sense of authenticity. As observed by Wilkinson, in the video, after failing every dance routine, Swift laughs at herself implying that she will never "fit in" to "any commercially viable image, and prefers to embrace her natural zany state instead". In doing so, Swift reminded the audience of her authenticity underneath "the artificial manufacture of pop performances".


title: Shake It Off

text: "Shake It Off" attracted allegations of racism and cultural appropriation for perpetuating African American stereotypes such as twerking and breakdancing. Its release coinciding with the race relation debates revolving the Ferguson unrest was also met with criticism. Analyzing the video's supposedly "racializing surveillance" in a post-racial context, communications professor Rachel Dubrofsky noted the difference between Swift's depiction of conventionally white dance moves—such as ballet and cheerleading; and conventionally black dance moves—breakdancing and twerking. She argued that while Swift's outfits and demeanor when she performs ballet or cheerleading fit her "naturally", she "does not easily embody the break-dancer's body nor does the style of dress [while twerking] fit her seamlessly". Dubrofsky summarized the video as Swift's statement of her white authenticity: "I'm so white, you know it, I know it, which makes it so funny when I try to dance like a person of color."


title: Shake It Off

text: "The Washington Post" noted the video's depiction of dance moves associated with people of color, such as twerking, was another case of an ongoing debate about white pop singers embracing black culture. Romanek defended his work: "We simply choose styles of dance that we thought would be popular and amusing ... If you look at [the video] carefully, it's a massively inclusive piece. And ... it's a satirical piece. It's playing with a whole range of music video tropes and cliches and stereotypes".


title: Shake It Off

text: "Shake It Off" appeared on many publications' lists of the best songs of 2014. It featured in the top ten on lists by "Time Out" (third), "PopMatters" (fourth), "The Village Voice" Pazz & Jop critics' poll (fourth), and "Consequence" (eighth). The track featured on 2014 year-end lists by "Drowned in Sound" (14th), "Dagsavisen" (16th), and "NME" (27th). It was ranked by "NME" and "Consequence" as the 19th and 38th best song of the 2010s decade, respectively. "USA Today" listed "Shake It Off" as one of the ten songs that defined the 2010s.


title: Shake It Off

text: "Shake It Off" has received many industry awards and nominations. It was honored by the 2015 Nashville Songwriters Association International, where Swift was the Songwriter of the Year. The song received an award at the 2016 BMI Pop Awards, where Swift also earned the distinction of Songwriter of the Year. At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in 2015, "Shake It Off" was nominated in three categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, (both categories lost to "Stay with Me" by Sam Smith) and Best Pop Solo Performance but lost to "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.


title: Shake It Off

text: At the 2015 "Billboard" Music Awards, "Shake It Off" received three nominations, winning Top Streaming Song (Video). "Shake It Off" won Song of the Year at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards, Favorite International Video at the 2015 Myx Music Awards (Philippines), and Favorite Song at the 2015 People's Choice Awards. The song was nominated for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, Teen Choice Awards, Rockbjörnen Awards (Sweden), Radio Disney Music Awards, and Los Premios 40 Principales (Spain).


title: Shake It Off

text: Swift premiered "Shake It Off" on television at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on August 24, 2014. She performed the song at the German Radio Awards on September 4. As part of promotion of "1989", she performed the song on television shows including "The X Factor UK" on October 12, "The X Factor Australia" on October 20, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on October 23, and "Good Morning America" on October 29. On October 27, 2014, the day of "1989" release, she performed the song as part of a mini-concert titled the ""1989" Secret Sessions", live broadcast by Yahoo! and iHeartRadio. She also played "Shake It Off" on music festivals including the iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 19, the We Can Survive benefit concert at the Hollywood Bowl on October 24, and the Jingle Ball Tour 2014 on December 5. At the after party for the 40th anniversary of "Saturday Night Live", Swift performed the song in an impromptu performance with host Jimmy Fallon on backing vocals and Paul McCartney on backing vocals and bass guitar.


title: Shake It Off

text: "Shake It Off" was included on the set list on two of Swift's world tours—the 1989 World Tour, where the song was the final number, and Reputation Stadium Tour, where Swift performed the song with Camila Cabello and Charli XCX as supporting acts. On April 23, 2019, she performed an acoustic version of the song at the "Time" 100 Gala, where she was honored as one of the "100 most influential" people of the year.


title: Shake It Off

text: She again performed the song on the finale of the on May 25, on the Wango Tango festival on June 1, at the City of Lover one-off concert in Paris on September 9, and at the We Can Survive charity concert in Los Angeles on October 19, 2019. At the 2019 American Music Awards, where she was honored as the Artist of the Decade, Swift performed "Shake It Off" as part of a medley of her hits. Halsey and Camila Cabello joined Swift onstage during the song. She again performed the song at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball 2019 in London and at iHeartRadio Z100's Jingle Ball in New York City.


title: Shake It Off

text: Following a January 13, 2015 article on BuzzFeed titled "Why Isn't Everyone Voting For 'Shake It Off' In The Hottest 100?", the #Tay4Hottest100 hashtag campaign on social media emerged during the voting period for the Triple J Hottest 100, an annual poll selecting the 100 most prominent songs by Australian radio station Triple J. The campaign led to a significant amount of media coverage as Australian music fans debated the merits of Swift's inclusion in the poll. One criterion for eligibility is being played on air by Triple J at least once in 2014; Swift's "Shake It Off" did not receive airplay, but a cover of the song by the folk group Milky Chance did. According to those critical of the campaign, the Hottest 100 is reserved for non-mainstream artists who were "discovered or fostered by Triple J" and provides valuable exposure for artists in the outer circles of the music industry. Those defending the campaign criticized Triple J's practice of favoring "masculine 'rockist' " and "alternative" artists for perpetuating cultural elitism and sexism. "Guardian Australia"s Elle Hunt wrote, "the virulent response to #Tay4Hottest100 has revealed the persistence of a dichotomy I'd thought we'd thrown out long ago: that of high art versus low."


title: Shake It Off

text: On January 20, 2015, "Guardian Australia" submitted a freedom of information request to the ABC in regard to the station's response to the campaign and the eligibility of "Shake It Off" for the Hottest 100 contest. Triple J's manager Chris Scaddan told the website "Tone Deaf": "We don't comment on voting campaigns while Hottest 100 voting is open. It draws attention to them and may influence the results of the poll." On January 23, "The Sydney Morning Herald" citing University of Queensland reported that the #Tay4Hottest100 campaign had overwhelmed the Hottest 100 for 2014—over 7,341 Hottest 100 posts over the past 30 days related to Swift, compared to 230 related to Chet Faker, the current leader of the contest. "Shake It Off" was eventually disqualified by Triple J on January 26, 2015. In the announcement, Triple J acknowledged Swift's music and career but highlighted that her entry—which had not received airtime—would not reflect their spirit. They subsequently introduced two new rules that prohibited "trolling the poll"-type campaigns for the proceeding Hottest 100 polls.


title: Shake It Off

text: Glen Fuller, a scholar in communications, described the #Tay4Hottest100 campaign as an example of "connective action" in the age of social media. As noted by Fuller, the emergence of personalized "action frames" expressing personal viewpoints intertwining with a larger framework of information created by media publications resulted in fragmented arguments that failed to result in a definite outcome.


title: Shake It Off

text: In November 2015, Jessie Braham, an R&B singer known by the stage name Jesse Graham, claimed that Swift plagiarized his 2013 song "Haters Gonna Hate", citing his lyrics "Haters gone hate, playas gone play. Watch out for them fakers, they'll fake you everyday." He stated that Swift's "hook is the same as mine" and that there would be no "Shake It Off" if he "hadn't written 'Haters Gonna Hate' ". In the lawsuit, he alleged that 92% of Swift's "Shake It Off" came from his song, and demanded $42 million in damages from Swift and the distributor Sony. On November 12, 2015, the lawsuit was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Gail Standish, who ruled that Braham did not have enough factual evidence but could file a new complaint "if his lawsuit deficiencies are corrected". Standish quoted lyrics from Swift's songs "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "Bad Blood", "Blank Space" and "Shake It Off":


title: Shake It Off

text: At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them. As currently drafted, the Complaint has a blank space – one that requires Braham to do more than write his name. And, upon consideration of the Court's explanation ... Braham may discover that mere pleading BandAids will not fix the bullet holes in his case. At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.


title: Shake It Off

text: In September 2017, songwriters Sean "Sep" Hall and Nate Butler sued Swift for copyright infringement. They alleged that the lyrics of "Shake It Off" plagiarized those of "Playas Gon' Play" (2001), a song they wrote for girl group 3LW, citing their lyrics, "Playas they gon' play, and haters they gonna hate / Ballers they gon' ball, shot callers they gonna call." U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald, in February 2018, dismissed the case on the grounds that the lyrics in question were too "banal" to be copyrighted; but U.S. Circuit Judges John B. Owens, Andrew D. Hurwitz, and Kenneth K. Lee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in October 2019, reversed the ruling, holding that the district court had "constituted itself as the final judge of the worth of an expressive work", and sent the case back to the district court.


title: Shake It Off

text: Swift's legal team filed new documents for dismissal of the suit in July 2020, and in July 2021, filed for a summary judgment, arguing that the discovery phase of the lawsuit has turned up evidence in their favor. On December 9, 2021, Fitzgerald refused Swift's request for a summary judgement. Swift's legal team filed a second motion to dismiss the case on December 23, claiming the Fitzgerald's ruling was "unprecedented and cheats the public domain" if the plaintiffs could sue everyone who uses the phrases in any songwriting, singing or says it publicly. On January 14, 2022, Hall and Butler's legal team filed a response stating, "The rules simply do not provide defendants with vehicles for rehashing old arguments and are not intended to give an unhappy litigant one additional chance to sway the judge." On December 12, 2022, the lawsuit was dropped with no final verdict.


title: Shake It Off

text: "Shake It Off" has been covered by other musicians. English singer Labrinth performed a cover of the song at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge September 20, 2014. English singer Charli XCX delivered a punk rock-inspired version at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in February 2015. Her version was nominated for Best Cover Song at the 2015 mtvU Woodie Awards. Rock singer Ryan Adams covered "Shake It Off" on his track-by-track cover of Swift's "1989", released in September 2015. The cover incorporates acoustic instruments and a thumping drum line which critics compared to that on Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "I'm on Fire".


title: Shake It Off

text: The song has featured in parodies and homages. In an April 2015 episode of "Lip Sync Battle", actor Dwayne Johnson lip synced to "Shake It Off" and Bee Gees' 1977 song "Stayin' Alive" in a battle against Jimmy Fallon, and won. The title of "Chris Has Got a Date, Date, Date, Date, Date", a "Family Guy" episode featuring a fictionalized character of Swift aired on November 6, 2016, is a pun on the lyrics of "Shake It Off". Actress Reese Witherspoon and comedian Nick Kroll covered the song with EDM crossover elements for the to the musical animated film "Sing" (2016). "Shake It Off" was also sung by Mexican-Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o on a ukulele in the 2019 film "Little Monsters". A cover of the song by the cast of the 2020 television series "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" was featured in the final episode of its second season.


title: Deadwind

text: Deadwind () is a Finnish crime drama and Nordic noir television series directed and created by Rike Jokela, starring Pihla Viitala, Lauri Tilkanen, Jani Volanen, and Tommi Korpela. It premiered in Finland in March 2018 on Yle TV2 and in August 2018 on Netflix. The show follows Sofia Karppi, a detective of the Finnish police who is recently widowed in her 30s with two children. She returns to police work in Helsinki, and her first case is the murder of Anna Bergdahl, a social affairs consultant.


title: Deadwind

text: Season 1 received strong reviews after airing in Finland and was compared to the Danish "The Killing" and to the Danish-Swedish "The Bridge". Season 2 of the show premiered on Yle TV on April 5, 2020 and was added to Netflix on July 1, 2020. Season 3 of the show premiered on Yle TV on October 29, 2021. Netflix has announced October 29, 2022, as its release date for the third season.


title: Deadwind

text: Sofia Karppi (Pihla Viitala) returns to her work as a homicide detective in the Helsinki Police Department while taking care of two children after the accidental death of her husband. Rookie detective Sakari Nurmi (Lauri Tilkanen) is transferred from the financial crime unit to the homicide unit as Karppi's partner. Their first case begins as a routine disappearance.


title: Deadwind

text: Women's clothes found at a construction site lead the detectives to the body of social affairs consultant Anna Bergdahl (Pamela Tola) — buried with flowers in her hands at a shore belonging to wind power research firm Tempo. Anna has been murdered, and her husband, Usko Bergdahl (Jani Volanen), is confused after hearing about the incident. Karppi and Nurmi start investigating Anna's background, such as her job with the Tempo company and its critical construction project.


title: Deadwind

text: The third season aired in Finland from late October 2021. The season starts after Karppi has been on one year of leave for obfuscating her daughter's drug smuggling. The two detectives will be pursuing a brutal murderer who leaves an odd symbol on their victims. Over the course of the murder investigation, Karppi begins to unravel that her husband's death may not have been an accident – but a crime.


title: Deadwind

text: "Deadwind" is produced for Yle by Dionysos Films' Producers Riina Hyytiä and Pauliina Ståhlberg, and co-produced by the German company H&V Production.


title: Deadwind

text: "Deadwind" season 1 premiered in Finland in spring 2018 on Yle TV2 and in the autumn on Netflix. Season 2 was shown by Yleisradio and Netflix in 2020, and Season 3 aired from October 2021.


title: Deadwind

text: Season 1 of "Deadwind" received strong reviews and ratings in Finland after it aired on Yle TV2. It was compared to the Danish crime series "The Killing" and was nominated at the 2018 Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize in the Best Nordic Screenplay category. Noel Murray of "The Verge" described the series as "realistically grim, but also offers the simple satisfaction of watching smart professionals bring some order to a chaotic world, one case at a time."


title: Deadwind

text: Bustle magazine's Rebecca Patton compared the show, for example, to the Danish-Swedish "The Bridge" series. She summarized, "Deadwind" is "just as compelling and addictive as its predecessors. After all, no one does brooding crime shows like the Scandinavians."


title: Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer

text: The wedding of the Prince of Wales (future King Charles III) and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday, 29 July 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London, United Kingdom. The groom was the heir apparent to the British throne, and the bride was a member of the Spencer family.


text: The ceremony was a traditional Church of England wedding service. Alan Webster, Dean of St Paul's, presided at the service, and Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury, conducted the marriage. Notable figures in attendance included many members of other royal families, republican heads of state, and members of the bride's and groom's families. After the ceremony, the couple made the traditional appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The United Kingdom had a national holiday on that day to mark the wedding. The ceremony featured many ceremonial aspects, including use of the state carriages and roles for the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry.


text: Their marriage was widely billed as a "fairytale wedding" and the "wedding of the century". It was watched by an estimated global television audience of 750 million people. Events were held around the Commonwealth to mark the wedding. Many street parties were held throughout the United Kingdom to celebrate the occasion. The couple separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996 after fifteen years of marriage.


text: Prince Charles had known Lady Diana Spencer for several years. They first met in 1977 while Charles was dating her elder sister Lady Sarah. He took serious interest in her as a potential bride in 1980 when they were guests at a country weekend, where she watched him play polo. He invited her for a sailing weekend to Cowes aboard the royal yacht "Britannia" as their relationship began to develop. This was followed by an invitation to Balmoral Castle, the Royal family's Scottish home, to meet his family. Diana was well received at Balmoral by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The couple then had several dates in London. Diana and Charles had been seeing each other for about six months when he proposed on 3 February 1981 in the nursery at Windsor Castle. Diana had planned a holiday for the next week, and Charles hoped she would use the time to consider her answer. Diana accepted, but their engagement was kept secret for the next few weeks. Diana later claimed that the couple had met only 13 times in total before the announcement of their engagement.


text: Their engagement became official on 24 February 1981, and the couple gave an exclusive interview. During the public announcement of the engagement, Diana wore a "cobalt blue skirt suit" by the British label Cojana. Diana selected a large engagement ring that consisted of 14 solitaire diamonds surrounding a 12-carat oval blue Ceylon sapphire set in 18-carat white gold, which was similar to her mother's engagement ring. The ring was made by the Crown jewellers Garrard. In 2010, it became the engagement ring of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. The Queen Mother gave Diana a sapphire and diamond brooch as an engagement present. A series of photographs taken by the Earl of Snowdon were published in "Vogue" in February 1981 to mark the engagement. Clayton Howard did Diana's make-up and John Frieda did her hair for the official portrait. The couple later sat down for another interview with BBC's Angela Rippon and ITV's Andrew Gardner.


text: Two nights before the wedding, a gala ball was held at Buckingham Palace, and the Queen subsequently hosted a dinner for a crowd of 90 individuals. A reception with dancing for 1,500 people was also held. Among the invitees were the royal household's members and staff. The night before the wedding 150 people, including heads of states and governments, were invited for a dinner with the Queen.


text: In a series of tapes recorded for her 1992 biography, Diana said that she recalled discovering a bracelet which Charles had bought for his longtime lover Camilla Parker Bowles shortly before their wedding. Due to her suspicions she wanted to call off the wedding but was put off the idea by her sisters. In March 1981, she was photographed holding back tears at the airport where Charles was departing for a trip to Australia. Diana later revealed that she had been left disturbed after hearing a telephone conversation between Charles and Camilla in his study.


text: The wedding took place on 29 July 1981. 3,500 guests made up the congregation at St Paul's Cathedral. Charles and Diana selected St Paul's over Westminster Abbey, the traditional site of royal weddings, because St Paul's offered more seating and permitted a longer procession through London.


text: The ceremony was a traditional Church of England wedding service, presided over by the Most Reverend Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Very Reverend Alan Webster, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral. Two million spectators lined the route of Diana's procession from Clarence House, with 4,000 police and 2,200 military officers to manage the crowds. The security increased and sharpshooters were stationed due to the potential threat of an attack by the Irish Republican guerrillas. The security screenings in the airports also increased. The cost of the wedding was later estimated to be $48 million in total (between $70M and $110M when adjusted for inflation), with $600,000 being spent on security. Regiments from the Commonwealth realms participated in the procession, including the Royal Regiment of Canada.


text: At 10:22 BST the Queen and the royal family were taken to the cathedral in eight carriages, the Prince of Wales in the 1902 State Landau, which was later used following the ceremony to take the couple back to Buckingham Palace. Lady Diana arrived at the cathedral in the Glass Coach with her father, John Spencer; she was escorted by six mounted Metropolitan Police officers. She arrived almost on time for the 11:20 BST ceremony. The carriage was too small to hold the two of them comfortably due to her voluminous dress and train. As the orchestra played Trumpet voluntary, an anthem by Jeremiah Clarke, the bride made the three-and-a-half minute walk up the aisle.


text: Diana accidentally changed the order of Charles's names during her vows, saying "Philip Charles Arthur George" instead of the correct "Charles Philip Arthur George". She did not promise to "obey" him as part of the traditional vows. That word was eliminated at the couple's request, which caused a sensation at the time. Charles also made an error. He said he would offer her "thy goods" instead of "my worldly goods". In keeping with tradition, the couple's wedding rings were crafted from Welsh gold from the Clogau St David's mine in Bontddu. The tradition of using Welsh gold within the wedding rings of the Royal Family dates back to 1923. Upon marriage Diana automatically acquired the title of Princess of Wales.


text: Other church representatives present who gave prayers after the service were a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Donald Coggan, Cardinal Basil Hume, the Right Reverend Andrew Doig and the Reverend Harry Williams CR.


text: Three choirs, three orchestras and a fanfare ensemble played the music for the service. These were the Bach Choir, the Choir of St Paul's Cathedral, the Choir of the Chapel Royal, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra and a fanfare ensemble from the Royal Military School. The choirs were conducted by Barry Rose, the choirmaster at St Paul's. The cathedral's organist, Christopher Dearnley; and its sub-organist, John Scott; played the organ. The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra were conducted by Sir David Willcocks, who was the director of the Royal College of Music and of the Bach Choir; Richard Popplewell, the organist at Chapel Royal; and Sir Colin Davis, who was the musical director of Covent Garden. Music and songs used during the wedding included the "Prince of Denmark's March", "I Vow to Thee, My Country", "Pomp and Circumstance No.4" and the British National Anthem ("God Save the Queen"). New Zealand soprano, Kiri Te Kanawa sang "Let The Bright Seraphim" from G. F. Handel's Samson.


text: Diana's wedding dress was valued at £9,000 (equivalent to £ in ). The dress was made of ivory silk taffeta, decorated with lace, hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls. It was designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel and had a train of ivory taffeta and antique lace. The dress was designed according to Diana's wishes who wanted it to have the longest train in the royal wedding history. The bride wore her family's heirloom tiara over an ivory silk tulle veil, and had her hair styled short crop down by hair dresser Kevin Shanley. She wore a pair of low-heeled Clive Shilton shoes "with C and D initials hand-painted on her arches" and decorated with 542 sequins and 132 pearls. For the customary bridal themes of "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue", Diana's wedding dress had an antique lace "made with a fabric spun at a British silk farm" (the "old"), the Spencer family tiara and her mother's earrings (the "borrowed"), and a blue bow sewn into the waistband (the "blue"). The official parfumeur of the royal wedding was Houbigant Parfum, the oldest French fragrance company. Diana chose the floral scent Quelques Fleurs, which featured "notes of tuberose, jasmine and rose". She was reported to have accidentally spilled perfume over a part of her dress which she later covered with her hand during the ceremony. The bride also had a pair of slippers made out of hand-made ivory silk with pearl and sequin embroidery. Barbara Daly did the bride's make-up for the ceremony.


text: Per the Queen's orders, two similar bouquets were prepared for the bride by David Longman which contained "gardenias, stephanotis, odontolglossum orchid, lily of the valley, Earl Mountbatten roses, freesia, veronica, ivy, myrtle and trasdescantia".


text: Charles wore his full dress naval commander uniform. He also wore stars of the orders of the Garter and the Thistle, the Queen's silver jubilee medal, and "the royal cipher of the Prince of Wales in gold on epaulettes on both shoulders." He carried a "full dress sword tassled in gold."


text: The royal couple had seven bridal attendants. Eleven-year-old Lord Nicholas Windsor, son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and eight-year-old Edward van Cutsem, godsons of the Prince of Wales, were page boys. Diana's bridesmaids were seventeen-year-old Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, daughter of the Earl of Snowdon and Princess Margaret; thirteen-year-old India Hicks, daughter of David and Lady Pamela Hicks, and granddaughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten; six-year-old Catherine Cameron, daughter of Donald and Lady Cecil Cameron and granddaughter of the Marquess of Lothian; eleven-year-old Sarah-Jane Gaselee, daughter of Nick Gaselee and his wife; and five-year-old Clementine Hambro, daughter of Rupert Hambro and the Hon Mrs Hambro and granddaughter of Lord and Lady Soames and great-granddaughter of Winston Churchill. Princes Andrew and Edward were the Prince of Wales's supporters (the equivalent of "best man" for a royal wedding).


text: All of the governors-general of the Commonwealth realms, as well as the reigning European monarchs, attended, with the exception of King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain. (The Spanish king was "advised" not to attend by his government because the newlyweds' honeymoon included a stopover in the disputed territory of Gibraltar). Most of Europe's elected heads of state were among the guests, with the exceptions of the President of Greece, Constantine Karamanlis (who declined because Greece's exiled monarch, Constantine II, a kinsman and friend of the bridegroom, had been invited as "King of the Hellenes"), and the President of Ireland, Patrick Hillery (who was advised by Taoiseach Charles Haughey not to attend because of the dispute over the status of Northern Ireland). First Lady Nancy Reagan represented the United States at the wedding. While Gambian President Dawda Jawara attended the wedding, the Gambia Socialist Revolutionary Party attempted a coup d'état in his home country. Among other invitees were the couple's friends and the bride invited the staff of the nursery school in which she had worked to the wedding. Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe were among the entertainers who were invited to the ceremony by the Prince of Wales.


text: The couple and 120 guests went to Buckingham Palace for a wedding breakfast following the ceremony. Diana and Charles made a traditional appearance on a balcony of Buckingham Palace at 13:10 BST, and delighted the crowd when they kissed, initiating the tradition of kissing the bride on the balcony. Over the night, fireworks were displayed above Hyde Park and 100 beacons were lit up across the country to celebrate the royal wedding.


text: The couple had 27 wedding cakes. The Naval Armed Forces supplied the official wedding cake. David Avery, head baker at the Royal Naval cooking school in Chatham Kent, made the cake over 14 weeks. They made two identical cakes in case one was damaged. The Prince of Wales's coat of arms and the Spencer family's crest were used in the decoration of the five-foot-tall layered fruitcake which weighed 225 pounds. The couple's other wedding cake was created by Belgian pastry chef SG Sender, who was known as the "cakemaker to the kings". Another wedding cake was created by Chef Nicholas Lodge; Chef Nicholas had previously made the Queen Mother's 80th Birthday Cake and also commissioned to create a Christening Cake for Prince Harry. A slice of the couple's wedding cake was later auctioned off by Julien's Auctions in 2018 and was estimated to sell between $800–$1,200. Another slice sold for £1,850 ($2,565) in a 2021 auction.


text: An estimated 750 million people watched the ceremony worldwide, and this figure allegedly rose to a billion when the radio audience is added in, although there are no means of verifying these figures. 28.4 million watched the event on BBC and ITV in the UK. Angela Rippon, Peter Woods, Tom Fleming, Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, Rolf Harris, and Terry Wogan provided the coverage for the BBC on television and radio. BBC Two's coverage was designed to draw in hearing impaired viewers by providing subtitles, which marked "the first big outing for the Palantype system". The event was broadcast in 50 countries with near 100 television companies covering it. In the UK, the National Grid reported a huge surge in demand for power after the service. The wedding ceremony was positively received by the public, and according to "The New York Times" symbolised "the continuity of the monarchy" in the UK. A number of ceremonies and parties were held at different places by the public to celebrate the occasion across the United Kingdom. 600,000 people lined the streets of London to watch the ceremony, and it was estimated that around 10 million people took part in the street parties. The wedding was widely broadcast on television and radio in many countries, and news channels covered the ceremony in different languages. Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom John Betjeman released a poem in honour of the couple.


text: A group of people left London and travelled to France and Ireland in protest to the wedding. Others released black balloons over London amidst the wedding procession.


text: The couple received gifts from foreign officials including "an engraved Steuben glass bowl and a handmade porcelain centerpiece by Boehm" from the US, a set of antique furniture and "a watercolor of loons" by Canadian Robert Bateman for Prince Charles, together with "a large brooch of gold, diamonds and platinum" for Diana from Canada, handcrafted silver platters from Australia, an "all-wool broadloom carpet" from New Zealand, "a matching diamond and sapphire watch, bracelet, pendant, ring, and earrings" from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and a "small oil painting by the American artist Henry Kohler of Prince Charles playing polo", and a clock in Art Deco style by Cartier's chief designer, Daniel Ciacquinot. The Edinburgh District Council was among the organisations that made a charitable donation in honour of the couple's wedding and donated $92,500 to the Thistle Fund, "a charity for the disabled". The Greater Manchester Council offered engineering apprenticeships for a small number of unemployed young people, and Cambridge University sent "a spare copy of "The Complete English Traveller"" by Robert Sanders. The Worshipful Company of Glovers of London presented the couple with gloves made out of leather, silks and cotton. A number of these gifts were displayed at St James's Palace from 5 August to 4 October 1981.


text: A "just married" sign was attached to the landau by Princes Andrew and Edward. The couple was driven over Westminster Bridge to catch the train from Waterloo station to Romsey in Hampshire to begin their honeymoon. The couple left from Waterloo station in the British Royal Train + 975025 "Caroline". They travelled to Broadlands, where Prince Charles's parents had spent their wedding night in 1947. They stayed there for three days, then flew to Gibraltar, where they boarded the Royal Yacht "Britannia" for an eleven-day cruise of the Mediterranean, visiting Tunisia, Sardinia, Greece and Egypt. Then they flew to Scotland, where the rest of the royal family had gathered at Balmoral Castle, and spent time in a hunting lodge on the estate. During that time, the press was given an arranged opportunity to take pictures. Despite their happy appearance, Diana's suspicion over Charles having an enduring affection for his former lover Camilla grew as Camilla's photographs fell out of his diary and Diana discovered that he was wearing cufflinks that were given to him by Camilla. By the time the couple returned from their honeymoon, their wedding gifts were displayed at St James's Palace.


title: Toolsidas Junior

text: Toolsidas Junior is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age sports film written and directed by Mridul Mahendra, who based it on his own life and childhood. Produced jointly by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under T-Series Films along with Sunita Gowariker and co-screenwriter Ashutosh Gowariker in his first production-only venture under Ashutosh Gowariker Productions, the film stars Sanjay Dutt, Rajiv Kapoor, Dalip Tahil and debutante Varun Buddhadev in the lead roles, marking Kapoor's final and posthumous release following his death in February 2021, while Ankur Vikal, Chinmai Chandrashuh, Tasveer Kamil and Sara Arjun play supporting roles.


title: Toolsidas Junior

text: "Toolsidas Junior" was initially scheduled to release in cinemas on 4 March 2022. Eventually, it was released on television and digital platforms. At the 68th National Film Awards, it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi, and Buddhadev was awarded the National Jury Award — Special Mention.


title: Toolsidas Junior

text: When an ace snooker player, who 'only plays for his son', loses an important tournament to arch-rival Jimmy Tandon, his son decides to fulfill his father's dream. Along this journey, guidance comes from the most unlikely source - former snooker national level ex champion Mohammad Salaam, who now trains lowly players.


title: Toolsidas Junior

text: Due to its non-starter status at the box office, "Toolsidas Junior" had a direct-to-television world release, a rare instance at the time, on Sony Max, premiering on 23 May 2022. On 25 May 2022, just two days after its television premiere, the film was made available for streaming on Netflix.


title: Toolsidas Junior

text: The film has only one song, composed by Daniel B. George, who also wrote the background score. Titled "Udd Chala", the song is sung by Sachet Tandon and Ujjwal Kashyap, with lyrics by Swanand Kirkire.


title: The 'Burbs

text: The 'Burbs is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Joe Dante, and starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal, Henry Gibson, and Gale Gordon. The film was written by Dana Olsen, who made a cameo appearance in the film. It pokes fun at suburban environments and their sometimes eccentric dwellers.


title: The 'Burbs

text: Suburban homeowner Ray Peterson is home on a week-long vacation. Late one night, he hears strange noises coming from the basement of his new and reclusive neighbors, the Klopeks. Ray and his other neighbors—Art Weingartner and Vietnam War veteran Mark Rumsfield—gradually suspect the Klopeks may be ritualistic murderers. On another night, they observe the youngest Klopek cart an oversized garbage bag to their curbside garbage can and aggressively mash it down. Later that night, during a rainstorm, Ray sees the Klopeks digging in their backyard. In the morning, Ray, Mark, and Art search the garbage truck for human remains after the Klopeks' trash is collected, but find nothing.


title: The 'Burbs

text: Mark's wife Bonnie finds their neighbor Walter's dog running loose. Worried about the elderly man, Ray, Art, the Rumsfields, and teenage neighbor Ricky Butler enter Walter's house and find overturned chairs and Walter's toupée, but no Walter. Ray collects the dog, leaves a note for Walter, slips the toupée back in through the mail slot, and sees one of the Klopeks watching him from their house. Ray and Art theorize that the Klopeks may have used Walter as a human sacrifice, becoming further convinced when Ray's dog digs up a human femur from along the Klopeks' fence line. Ray's wife Carol, tired of the men's behavior, organizes a welcome visit to the Klopeks. While the Petersons and Rumsfields meet Hans, Reuben, and Dr. Werner Klopek, Art snoops around the Klopeks' backyard and is chased out by a large dog. Afterward, Ray reveals to Art and Mark that he found Walter's mail and toupée at the Klopeks', proving they had been in Walter's house.


title: The 'Burbs

text: The next day, Ray sends Carol and their son Dave to visit Carol's sister. When the Klopeks leave, Art and Ray enter their backyard to search for Walter's corpse while Mark acts as lookout. Finding nothing in the yard, Art and Ray break into the Klopeks' basement, discover what appears to be a crematorium, and dig deep into the floor in search of human remains. The Klopeks return, accompanied by the police after having seen their basement lights on. Ray strikes a gas line with his pickaxe; Art escapes before the house explodes, and Ray emerges from the flames scorched and disheveled just as Carol returns home.


title: The 'Burbs

text: Walter arrives home during the commotion, having spent a few days in the hospital due to palpitations. He had asked the Klopeks to collect his mail for him, and they had mistakenly gathered up his toupée as well. Ray declares that he and the others were wrong about the Klopeks, and climbs into an ambulance. Werner enters and accuses Ray of having seen a human skull in the basement furnace, revealing that the Klopeks murdered the previous homeowners so they could live in their house. Werner attempts to lethally inject Ray as Hans drives the ambulance away. Their struggle causes the ambulance to crash into the Weingartners' house, ejecting Werner and Ray, who then makes a citizen's arrest. Ricky uncovers human skeletal remains in the Klopeks' car trunk. The Klopeks are arrested, and charges against Ray are dropped. Ray states that he and his family are going away for awhile, and asks Ricky to watch over the neighborhood.


title: The 'Burbs

text: Additional minor roles were played by Dick Miller and Robert Picardo as garbagemen Vic and Joe; Franklyn Ajaye and Rance Howard as detectives; Bill Stevenson, Gary Hays, and Carey Scott as Ricky's friends; and Kevin Gage and Dana Olsen as policemen.


title: The 'Burbs

text: Screenwriter Dana Olsen based the script on experiences from his own childhood: "I had an ultranormal middle-class upbringing, but our town had its share of psychos. There was a legendary hatchet murder in the thirties, and every once in a while, you'd pick up the local paper and read something like 'LIBRARIAN KILLS FAMILY, SELF'. As a kid, it was fascinating to think that Mr. Flanagan down the street could turn out to be Jack the Ripper. And where there's fear, there's comedy. So I approached "The 'Burbs" as "Ozzie and Harriet" meet Charles Manson." Olsen's script attracted producer Larry Brezner, who brought it to Imagine Films. It was greeted with a warm reception from Imagine co-founder Brian Grazer: "I liked the concept of a regular guy taking a vacation in his own neighborhood, plus it was funny and well written. It suddenly dawned on me that Joe Dante would be fantastic [as a director] because it's a mixture of comedy, horror, and reality."


title: The 'Burbs

text: Dante, who had directed "Gremlins" and "Innerspace", and his partner, Michael Finnell, were immediately impressed by the concept of the movie. Dante, who specialized in offbeat subject matter, was intrigued by the blending of real-life situations with elements of the supernatural: "When I tell people about the story, a remarkable number say, 'On my grandmother's block, there were people like that. They never mowed their lawn, and they never came out, and they let their mail stack up, and nobody knew who they were.' And I must confess that in my own neighborhood there's a house like that, falling to wrack and ruin. I think this is perhaps a more common event than most people are aware of."


title: The 'Burbs

text: Dante, Brezner, and Finnell agreed that Tom Hanks would be the most suitable actor to portray the married Ray Peterson, a conservative man who tries to introduce excitement into his life by investigating the activities of his strange neighbors. Dante referred to Hanks as "the reigning everyman, a guy that everybody can identify with", comparing him to James Stewart. Brezner echoed this sentiment, saying "Hanks is an actor capable of acting funny rather than funny acting. He also has no problem with transition from comedy to Pathos, as he showed in "Nothing in Common", and he's now proving himself as one of the country's most versatile actors."


title: The 'Burbs

text: Hanks accepted the role of Ray with enthusiasm, later saying "What's so bizarrely interesting about this black psychocomedy is that the stuff that goes on in real life in a regular neighborhood will make your hair stand up on the back of your neck." He was also intrigued by his character's distinctive personality traits: "Sometimes there's more of an opportunity to create than others. Here's a guy with a great life – a nice house, a wife, a beautiful tree, a nice neighborhood – and he's happy. Next day, he hates it all. I thought something must've happened to him offstage. And that's the challenge for me of the part: to communicate Ray's offscreen dilemma. One of the reasons Ray doesn't go away on vacation is because it's another extension of the normalcy he's fallen into. So he thinks he'll try a more Bohemian thing, which is to just hang around the house. With a week's worth of free time on his hands, Ray is drawn into the pre-occupations of his neighbors, who always seem to be at home. But what I did is just back-story embellishment that any actor will do. Perhaps from my repertory experience. I don't ask a director for motivation. If he says, 'Go over to the window', I find the reason myself."


title: The 'Burbs

text: Hanks found admiration for Dante's directorial style, saying "Joe has a stylized, visionary way of looking at the entire movie. It's pure film-making – the story is told from the camera's point of view, and that's a type of movie I haven't made." Dante, in turn, praised his star. "The most impressive thing about Tom Hanks as a comic actor is how effortless he makes it seem. He actually is very diligent about his acting, but his comic sense of what is going to work – and what isn't – is really unparalleled." Dante's laid-back, casual style encouraged improvisation among the actors. He noted, "Tom doesn't like to do scenes the way they're always done. He goes out of his way to put a different spin on everything and his being good as he is and as open as he is encouraged the other actors to do the same. It set a tone for the movie that made it a lot of fun to make."


title: The 'Burbs

text: "The 'Burbs" was filmed entirely at Universal Studios over ten weeks in the summer of 1988, mainly on the Colonial Street set on the back lot, which served as the Mayfield Place cul-de-sac. "I can't think of many pictures since "Lifeboat" that all take place in the same area," Dante said as production got under way. "There was a lot of temptation to broaden it and go outside the neighborhood, but it seemed to violate the spirit of the piece. It's almost the kind of thing that could be a stage play except that you could never do on-stage what we've done in this movie." The Colonial Street set had been used in 1987's "Dragnet", also starring Hanks. At the time "The 'Burbs" began production, it was being used as the location for "The New Leave It to Beaver" television series, so the entire area "reeked" of normalcy. Dante said, "I asked [production designer] James Spencer, a veteran of "Poltergeist" and "Gremlins" if he thought he could turn that street into the neighborhood we needed in that period of time." Spencer rose to the challenge, and within a few days they began work on sketching out the proposed designs for the sets. Spencer observed, "We had to be on the spot. Due to the lack of time, it would have been ludicrous to do our drawing elsewhere."


title: The 'Burbs

text: The film opened at number 1 with $11,101,197 in its opening weekend (February 17–20, 1989). Overall, in the US, the film made $36,601,993 and $49,101,993 worldwide.


title: The 'Burbs

text: Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" gave "The 'Burbs" a negative review, calling it "as empty as something can be without creating a vacuum".


title: The 'Burbs

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave it two out of four stars, writing ""The 'Burbs" tries to position itself somewhere between "Beetlejuice" and "The Twilight Zone", but it lacks the dementia of the first and the wicked intelligence of the second and turns instead into a long shaggy dog story." On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 53% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 5.98/10. The site's critical consensus reads, ""The 'Burbs" has an engaging premise, likable cast, and Joe Dante at the helm – so the mixed-up genre exercise they produce can't help but feel like a disappointment." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.


title: The 'Burbs

text: Arrow Video released "The 'Burbs" on Blu-ray in 2014 in the UK with a new 2K scan of the inter-positive. The edition included a commentary by screenwriter Dana Olsen, a newly commissioned feature-length documentary titled "There Goes the Neighborhood: The Making of The Burbs". In the United States, the film was first given a Blu-ray release in 2016 by Universal Studios. However, this release was criticized for poor quality and being a bare bones release. In 2018, Shout! Factory re-released the film on Blu-ray with the transfer and majority of the special features from the 2014 Arrow release from the UK.


title: The 'Burbs

text: The soundtrack album received a release on LP record in 2018 on the Waxwork Records label, as an expanded double-LP package. Additional music used in the film but not included on the soundtrack albums includes "Machine" by Circus of Power; "Se Sei Qualcuno è Colpa Mia" by Ennio Morricone; "Questa o Quella" by Enrico Caruso; and "Locked in a Cage", "Make Some Noise", and "Bloodstone" by Jetboy.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed constitution or the separation of powers in government, his in-depth discussion of checks and balances to limit power, and his introduction of "the people", which influenced Montesquieu's "The Spirit of the Laws", John Locke's "Two Treatises of Government", and the framers of the United States Constitution.


title: Polybius

text: The leading expert on Polybius for nearly a century was F. W. Walbank (1909–2008), who published studies related to him for 50 years, including a long commentary of his "Histories" and a biography.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius was born around 200 BC in Megalopolis, Arcadia, when it was an active member of the Achaean League. The town was revived, along with other Achaean states, a century before he was born.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius' father, Lycortas, was a prominent, land-owning politician and member of the governing class who became "strategos" (commanding general) of the Achaean League. Consequently, Polybius was able to observe first hand during his first 40 years the political and military affairs of Megalopolis, gaining experience as a statesman. In his early years, he accompanied his father while travelling as ambassador. He developed an interest in horse riding and hunting, diversions that later commended him to his Roman captors.


title: Polybius

text: In 182 BC, he was given quite an honor when he was chosen to carry the funeral urn of Philopoemen, one of the most eminent Achaean politicians of his generation. In either 169 BC or 170 BC, Polybius was elected "hipparchus" (cavalry officer) with the intention of fighting for Rome during the Third Macedonian War. This event often presaged election to the annual "strategia" (chief generalship). His early political career was devoted largely towards maintaining the independence of Megalopolis.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius' father, Lycortas, was a prominent advocate of neutrality during the Roman war against Perseus of Macedon. Lycortas attracted the suspicion of the Romans, and Polybius subsequently was one of the 1,000 Achaean nobles who were transported to Rome as hostages in 167 BC, and was detained there for 17 years. In Rome, by virtue of his high culture, Polybius was admitted to the most distinguished houses, in particular to that of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, the conqueror in the Third Macedonian War, who entrusted Polybius with the education of his sons, Fabius and Scipio Aemilianus (who had been adopted by the eldest son of Scipio Africanus). Polybius remained on cordial terms with his former pupil Scipio Aemilianus and was among the members of the Scipionic Circle.


title: Polybius

text: When Scipio defeated the Carthaginians in the Third Punic War, Polybius remained his counsellor. The Achaean hostages were released in 150 BC, and Polybius was granted leave to return home, but the next year he went on campaign with Scipio Aemilianus to Africa, and was present at the Sack of Carthage in 146, which he later described. Following the destruction of Carthage, Polybius likely journeyed along the Atlantic coast of Africa, as well as Spain.


title: Polybius

text: After the destruction of Corinth in the same year, Polybius returned to Greece, making use of his Roman connections to lighten the conditions there. Polybius was charged with the difficult task of organizing the new form of government in the Greek cities, and in this office he gained great recognition.


title: Polybius

text: In the succeeding years, Polybius resided in Rome, completing his historical work while occasionally undertaking long journeys through the Mediterranean countries in the furtherance of his history, in particular with the aim of obtaining firsthand knowledge of historical sites. He apparently interviewed veterans to clarify details of the events he was recording and was similarly given access to archival material. Little is known of Polybius' later life; he most likely accompanied Scipio to Spain, acting as his military advisor during the Numantine War.


title: Polybius

text: He later wrote about this war in a lost monograph. Polybius probably returned to Greece later in his life, as evidenced by the many existent inscriptions and statues of him there. The last event mentioned in his "Histories" seems to be the construction of the Via Domitia in southern France in 118 BC, which suggests the writings of Pseudo-Lucian may have some grounding in fact when they state, "[Polybius] fell from his horse while riding up from the country, fell ill as a result and died at the age of eighty-two".


title: Polybius

text: "The Histories" describes the rise of the Roman Republic as a global power in the ancient Mediterranean world. The work includes eyewitness accounts of the Sack of Carthage and Corinth, and the Roman annexation of mainland Greece after the Achaean War.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius' "Histories" cover the period from 264 BC to 146 BC. It focuses mainly on the years 220 BC to 167 BC, detailing Ancient Rome's overcoming of their geopolitical rival, Carthage, and thereby becoming the dominant Mediterranean force. Books I through V are "The Histories" introduction, set during his lifetime. They describe political affairs in the leading Mediterranean states during the time, including in Ancient Greece and Egypt, explaining their ""συμπλοκή"" or interconnectedness.


title: Polybius

text: In Book VI, Polybius describes the political, military, and moral institutions that allowed the Romans to succeed. He also describes the First and Second Punic Wars. Polybius concludes that the Romans are the pre-eminent power because they have customs and institutions which promote a deep desire for noble acts, a love of virtue, piety towards parents and elders, and a fear of the gods ("deisidaimonia"). Polybius also details the battles between Hannibal and Scipio Africanus in the Second Punic War; such as the Battle of Ticinus, the Battle of the Trebia, the Siege of Saguntum, the Battle of Lilybaeum, the Battle of Rhone Crossing and the Battle of Zama, among others.


title: Polybius

text: In Book XII, Polybius discusses the worth of Timaeus' account of the same period of history. He asserts Timaeus' point of view is inaccurate, invalid, and biased in favor of Rome. Christian Habicht considered his criticism of Timaeus to be spiteful and biased, However, Polybius' "Histories" is also useful in analyzing the different Hellenistic versions of history and of use as a credible illustration of actual events during the Hellenistic period.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius held that historians should only chronicle events whose participants the historian was able to interview, and was among the first to champion the notion of factual integrity in historical writing. In the twelfth volume of his "Histories", Polybius defines the historian's job as the analysis of documentation, the review of relevant geographical information, and political experience. In Polybius' time, the profession of a historian required political experience (which aided in differentiating between fact and fiction) and familiarity with the geography surrounding one's subject matter to supply an accurate version of events.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius himself exemplified these principles as he was well travelled and possessed political and military experience. He did not neglect written sources that provided essential material for his histories of the period from 264 BC to 220 BC. When addressing events after 220 BC, he examined the writings of Greek and Roman historians to acquire credible sources of information, but rarely did he name those sources.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius wrote several works, most of which are lost. His earliest work was a biography of the Greek statesman Philopoemen; this work was later used as a source by Plutarch when composing his "Parallel Lives"; however, the original Polybian text is lost. In addition, Polybius wrote an extensive treatise entitled "Tactics", which may have detailed Roman and Greek military tactics. Small parts of this work may survive in his major "Histories", but the work itself is lost, as well. Another missing work was a historical monograph on the events of the Numantine War. The largest Polybian work was, of course, his "Histories", of which only the first five books survive entirely intact, along with a large portion of the sixth book and fragments of the rest. Along with Cato the Elder (234–149 BC), he can be considered one of the founding fathers of Roman historiography.


title: Polybius

text: Livy made reference to and uses Polybius' "Histories" as source material in his own narrative. Polybius was among the first historians to attempt to present history as a sequence of causes and effects, based upon a careful examination and criticism of tradition. He narrated his history based upon first-hand knowledge. "The Histories" capture the varied elements of the story of human behavior: nationalism, xenophobia, duplicitous politics, war, brutality, loyalty, valour, intelligence, reason and resourcefulness.


title: Polybius

text: Aside from the narrative of the historical events, Polybius also included three books of digressions. Book 34 was entirely devoted to questions of geography and included some trenchant criticisms of Eratosthenes, whom he accused of passing on popular preconceptions or "laodogmatika". Book 12 was a disquisition on the writing of history, citing extensive passages of lost historians, such as Callisthenes and Theopompus. Most influential was Book 6, which describes Roman political, military, and moral institutions, which he considered key to Rome's success; it presented Rome as having a mixed constitution in which monarchical, aristocratic and popular elements existed in stable equilibrium. This enabled Rome to escape, for the time being, the cycle of eternal revolutions ("anacyclosis"). While Polybius was not the first to advance this view, his account provides the most cogent illustration of the ideal for later political theorists.


title: Polybius

text: A key theme of "The Histories" is the good statesman as virtuous and composed. The character of the Polybian statesman is exemplified in that of Philip II. His beliefs about Philip's character led Polybius to reject historian Theopompus' description of Philip's private, drunken debauchery. For Polybius, it was inconceivable that such an able and effective statesman could have had an immoral and unrestrained private life as described by Theopompus.


title: Polybius

text: In recounting the Roman Republic, Polybius stated that "the Senate stands in awe of the multitude, and cannot neglect the feelings of the people".


title: Polybius

text: Other important themes running through "The Histories" are the role of Fortune in the affairs of nations, his insistence that history should be demonstratory, or "apodeiktike", providing lessons for statesmen, and that historians should be "men of action" ("pragmatikoi").


title: Polybius

text: Polybius is considered by some to be the successor of Thucydides in terms of objectivity and critical reasoning, and the forefather of scholarly, painstaking historical research in the modern scientific sense. According to this view, his work sets forth the course of history's occurrences with clearness, penetration, sound judgment, and, among the circumstances affecting the outcomes, he lays special emphasis on geographical conditions. Modern historians are especially impressed with the manner in which Polybius used his sources, particularly documentary evidence as well as his citation and quotation of sources. Furthermore, there is some admiration of Polybius' meditation on the nature of historiography in Book 12. His work belongs, therefore, amongst the greatest productions of ancient historical writing. The writer of the "Oxford Companion to Classical Literature" (1937) praises him for his "earnest devotion to truth" and his systematic pursuit of causation.


title: Polybius

text: It has long been acknowledged that Polybius' writings are prone to a certain hagiographic tone when writing of his friends, such as Scipio, and subject to a vindictive tone when detailing the exploits of his enemies, such as Callicrates, the Achaean statesman responsible for his Roman exile.


title: Polybius

text: As a hostage in Rome, then as client to the Scipios, and after 146 BC, a collaborator with Roman rule, Polybius was probably in no position to freely express any negative opinions of Rome. Peter Green advises that Polybius was chronicling Roman history for a Greek audience, to justify what he believed to be the inevitability of Roman rule. Nonetheless, Green considers Polybius' "Histories" the best source for the era they cover. For Ronald Mellor, Polybius was a loyal partisan of Scipio, intent on vilifying his patron's opponents. Adrian Goldsworthy, while using Polybius as a source for Scipio's generalship, notes Polybius' underlying and overt bias in Scipio's favour. H. Ormerod considers that Polybius cannot be regarded as an 'altogether unprejudiced witness' in relation to his "betes noires"; the Aetolians, the Carthaginians and the Cretans. Other historians perceive considerable negative bias in Polybius' account of Crete; on the other hand, Hansen notes that the same work, along with passages from Strabo and Scylax, proved a reliable guide in the eventual rediscovery of the lost city of Kydonia.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius was responsible for a useful tool in telegraphy that allowed letters to be easily signaled using a numerical system, called "the Polybius square," mentioned in Hist. X.45.6 ff.. This idea also lends itself to cryptographic manipulation and steganography. Modern implementations of the Polybius square, at least in Western European languages such as English, Spanish, French, German and Italian, generally use the Roman alphabet in which those languages are written. However, Polybius himself was writing in Greek, and would have implemented his cipher square in the Greek alphabet. Both versions are shown here.


title: Polybius

text: In the Polybius square, letters of the alphabet were arranged left to right, top to bottom in a 5 × 5 square. When used with the 26-letter Latin alphabet two letters, usually I and J, are combined. When used with the Greek alphabet, which has exactly one less letter than there are spaces (or code points) in the square, the final "5,5" code point encodes the spaces in between words. Alternatively, it can denote the end of a sentence or paragraph when writing in continuous script.


title: Polybius

text: Five numbers are then aligned on the outside top of the square, and five numbers on the left side of the square vertically. Usually these numbers were arranged 1 through 5. By cross-referencing the two numbers along the grid of the square, a letter could be deduced.


title: Polybius

text: In "The Histories", Polybius specifies how this cypher could be used in fire signals, where long-range messages could be sent by means of torches raised and lowered to signify the column and row of each letter. This was a great leap forward from previous fire signaling, which could send prearranged codes only (such as, 'if we light the fire, it means that the enemy has arrived').


title: Polybius

text: Other writings of scientific interest include detailed discussions of the machines Archimedes created for the defense of Syracuse against the Romans, where Polybius praises the 'old man' and his engineering in the highest terms, and an analysis of the usefulness of astronomy to generals (both in the "Histories").


title: Polybius

text: Polybius was considered a poor stylist by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, writing of Polybius' history that "no one has the endurance to reach [its] end". Nevertheless, clearly he was widely read by Romans and Greeks alike. He is quoted extensively by Strabo writing in the 1st century BC and Athenaeus in the 3rd century AD.


title: Polybius

text: His emphasis on explaining causes of events, rather than just recounting events, influenced the historian Sempronius Asellio. Polybius is mentioned by Cicero and mined for information by Diodorus, Livy, Plutarch and Arrian. Much of the text that survives today from the later books of "The Histories" was preserved in Byzantine anthologies.


title: Polybius

text: His works reappeared in the West first in Renaissance Florence. Polybius gained a following in Italy, and although poor Latin translations hampered proper scholarship on his works, they contributed to the city's historical and political discourse. Niccolò Machiavelli in his "Discourses on Livy" evinces familiarity with Polybius. Vernacular translations in French, German, Italian and English first appeared during the 16th century. Consequently, in the late 16th century, Polybius' works found a greater reading audience among the learned public. Study of the correspondence of such men as Isaac Casaubon, Jacques Auguste de Thou, William Camden and Paolo Sarpi reveals a growing interest in Polybius' works and thought during the period. Despite the existence of both printed editions in the vernacular and increased scholarly interest, however, Polybius remained an "historian's historian", not much read by the public at large.


title: Polybius

text: Printings of his work in the vernacular remained few in number—seven in French, five in English (John Dryden provided an enthusiastic preface to Sir Henry Sheers' edition of 1693) and five in Italian.


title: Polybius

text: Polybius' political analysis has influenced republican thinkers from Cicero to Charles de Montesquieu to the Founding Fathers of the United States. John Adams, for example, considered him one of the most important teachers of constitutional theory. Since the Age of Enlightenment, Polybius has in general held appeal to those interested in Hellenistic Greece and early Republican Rome, while his political and military writings have lost influence in academia. More recently, thorough work on the Greek text of Polybius, and his historical technique, has increased the academic understanding and appreciation of him as a historian.


title: Polybius

text: According to Edward Tufte, he was also a major source for Charles Joseph Minard's figurative map of Hannibal's overland journey into Italy during the Second Punic War.


title: Polybius

text: In his "Meditations On Hunting", Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset calls Polybius "one of the few great minds that the turbid human species has managed to produce", and says the damage to the "Histories" is "without question one of the gravest losses that we have suffered in our Greco-Roman heritage".


title: Polybius

text: The Italian version of his name, Polibio, was used as a male first name—for example, the composer Polibio Fumagalli—though it never became very common.


title: Polybius

text: The University of Pennsylvania has an intellectual society, the Polybian Society, which is named in his honor and serves as a non-partisan forum for discussing societal issues and policy.


title: The Blacklist: Redemption

text: The Blacklist: Redemption is an American crime thriller television series that aired on NBC from February 23 to April 13, 2017. A spin-off from the NBC series "The Blacklist", "The Blacklist: Redemption" stars Famke Janssen as Susan Scott "Scottie" Hargrave, president of Halcyon Aegis, a private military company with teams of corporate operatives, and Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen. Eggold appeared in "The Blacklist" and returned to it after completing his role in "The Blacklist: Redemption". After an episode of "The Blacklist" served as a backdoor pilot, the new series was ordered by NBC in May 2016. NBC cancelled the series after one season on May 12, 2017 due to low ratings.


title: The Blacklist: Redemption

text: "The Blacklist: Redemption" focuses on secret agent Tom Keen and his mother, Susan Hargrave, who runs Halcyon, a covert mercenary organization. While investigating cases, Tom learns that his father, Howard, is alive, which leads Tom to discoveries about his past and the rivalry between Susan and Howard, discoveries that force Tom to choose a side.


title: The Blacklist: Redemption

text: Additionally, "The Blacklist" stars Megan Boone and Harry Lennix made guest appearances during the season.


title: The Blacklist: Redemption

text: In March 2016, NBC began developing a spin-off series created by "The Blacklist" creator Jon Bokenkamp and showrunner John Eisendrath, who would both executive produce with John Davis and John Fox, the rest of their team from the original series. The project stars Famke Janssen as Susan "Scottie" Hargrave and Ryan Eggold reprising his role as Tom Keen, and was conceived to highlight a similar dynamic between Scottie and Tom to what Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) has to Liz Keen (Megan Boone) on "The Blacklist". Additionally, Janssen first appeared in the role in "The Blacklist" episode "Susan Hargrave" in May, with the following episode, "Alexander Kirk", serving as a backdoor pilot for the potential series. The new series, named "The Blacklist: Redemption", was ordered on May 14. In October, David Amann was named the series' showrunner and executive producer. The series aired on Thursdays at 10 p.m., the same slot its mother series had for its fourth season. On May 12, 2017, NBC canceled the series after one season and Eggold returned to his role on "The Blacklist". "The Hollywood Reporter" reported that the network made this decision following the first season's disappointed ratings compared to "The Blacklist".


title: The Blacklist: Redemption

text: The cast of "The Blacklist: Redemption" included Famke Janssen as Susan Hargrave, Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen, Edi Gathegi as Matias Solomon, and Tawny Cypress as Nez Rowan. Adrian Martinez was added in a recurring role as computer hacker Dumont. Eggold was having a main role on the original series, and was mostly absent from the show's fourth season due to filming a spin-off. The rest of the actors previously guest-starred on "Blacklist", being introduced in the third season.


title: The Blacklist: Redemption

text: Terry O'Quinn was cast as Howard Hargrave, Tom's father, in a recurring role. Additional recurring characters in the series include Theodora Miranne as Kat Carlson, and Dan Amboyer as Daniel / "Trevor". Boone and Harry Lennix reprised their "Blacklist" roles as Elizabeth Keen and Harold Cooper, respectively, in the series. Showrunners reported it was highly unlikely for James Spader to reprise his role of Raymond Reddington, the original series’ titular character, in the first season of the spin-off; however, he could appear later in the series.


title: The Blacklist: Redemption

text: The series premiere drew in 4.2 million viewers, with a Nielsen rating of 0.8 among adults aged 18-49. The series averaged 6.3 million viewers and a rating of 1.2, making it the third lowest rated NBC series that year after "Emerald City" and "Powerless".


title: The Blacklist: Redemption

text: "The Blacklist: Redemption" did not receive enough critical reviews to have a score on either Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic. In her review of the first episode, Sonia Saraiya of "Variety" wrote that she did not find the charisma of the series’ three main actors to equal that of "The Blacklist"s James Spader, while Jodi Walker of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote that the season was a satisfying foundation on which to create what she hoped would be better seasons.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Storm Shadow is a fictional character from the toyline, comic books and animated series. He is best known as the Cobra Commander's ninja bodyguard, and for his history with fellow ninja Snake Eyes.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Throughout their history, he has changed sides several times; conflicted in loyalties between Cobra, G.I. Joe, and his blood brother, Snake Eyes. Storm Shadow is one of the most prominent characters in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise, and has appeared in every series since its inception. He is portrayed by Lee Byung-hun in the 2009 live-action film "", and the 2013 sequel "". Andrew Koji portrayed Storm Shadow in the 2021 film, "Snake Eyes".


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: In his original "A Real American Hero" incarnation, Storm Shadow's real name is Thomas S. Arashikage (トーマス・嵐影) ("Arashi" meaning "Storm" and "kage" meaning "shadow" in Japanese), a Japanese American. Storm Shadow served in the U.S. Army special operations group along with Snake Eyes, and later invited him to train as a ninja with his family in Japan. The duo have been everything to one another from the bitterest of enemies, to the most loyal of friends, who would fight and die for one another.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Storm Shadow can trace his family history through thirty generations of assassins. He is an 8th degree black belt in several martial arts, and can endure unimaginable amounts of hardship and pain. Storm Shadow moves with blinding speed, can scale sheer walls with bare hands and feet, and is an expert with a long bow, katana, shuriken and nunchaku. He usually wears a white uniform and mask. When out of his uniform, he is shown to be Japanese with black hair and dark eyes.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: In 2007, the character's creator, Larry Hama, revealed an alternate name for the character, Tomisaburo Arashikage (嵐影富三郎), in the solo series "Storm Shadow". His tattoo is a hexagram of the I Ching named 既濟 (jì jì), or "Already Fording".


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Storm Shadow was only listed with a rank while a member of the Joe team. There are four instances where his file card provides a pay-grade: 1991, 1994, and 1997 releases all have him listed as a Master Sergeant or E-8 (the same rank as Duke), and in the 2007, 25th anniversary release, the file card lists him as E-5.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Storm Shadow is one of the few characters from the "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" line that has been released as both a member of Cobra and a member of G.I. Joe. He first appeared in 1984 as a member of Cobra, but with his second figure released in 1988, he had defected to being a member of G.I. Joe. A new version of Storm Shadow was released as part of the Ninja Force line in 1992. The figure was repainted and released as part of the "Shadow Ninjas" line in 1994.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: His loyalties remained with G.I. Joe until in 2000 his figure was released again as a Cobra agent. Since then, he has remained a member of Cobra. He is most often paired with his sword brother, Snake Eyes, in multi or comic packs. He has been released two times unmasked as Tommy Arashikage (once as a mail-away figure and once in a comic pack).


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: The year 2007 was the 25th anniversary of the launch of "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero", the third major reinvention of the G.I. Joe brand since 1964. To celebrate, Hasbro created two boxed sets of brand new figures, featuring modern sculpts with updated articulation (including the replacement of G.I. Joe's trademark O-ring construction). Storm Shadow contained some new, more intricate details that the original character didn't have. He was included in the Cobra set, along with Cobra Commander, Destro, Baroness, and a Cobra Trooper. He was also included in a two-pack consisting of Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes in their original costumes, and a reissued "G.I. Joe" #21 comic book, Storm Shadow's first appearance in the series. He was also included in the first wave of single pack figures in his 1988 G.I. Joe urban-camouflage ninja uniform, but still contained slight differences from the 1988 character outfit, since Hasbro decided to reuse most of the tooling of the first figure; hence, he didn't have long sleeves, the placement of his arm tattoo had been moved, and he was missing the recurve bow and the calves garments (the latter of which were actually included on a Cobra-aligned figure featured in a comic pack with Firefly, along with a black backpack based on the 1988 figure's red backpack). A modified version of his 2007 figure appeared in the 2009 Hall of Heroes sub-line, as well as a new Cobra box set, featuring the sleeveless version of his original outfit as it appeared in the original comics and cartoons.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: As a featured character in the live-action movie franchise, Storm Shadow received several figures in the respective movie-based toy lines based on his appearances in the films. In addition, as part of the "" toyline in 2013, he received an "Ultimate" edition figure based on his original Cobra costume (without sleeves), featuring an additional unmasked head and numerous accessories, including a jet pack with colors and markings based on the Cobra C.L.A.W. jet glider. A budget-line figure exclusive to discount retailers was released in 2012, based on his Ninja Force costume. As part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the "G.I. Joe" franchise, Storm Shadow received one more release based upon his G.I. Joe urban camo outfit (although his file card and figure stand aligned him with Cobra) in a two-pack with Spirit Iron-Knife in 2015. This figure more accurately replicated the 1988 figure than the 2007 release, and used the backpack and swords from the Firefly comic-pack release, with the backpack colored red like the 1988 toy.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Storm Shadow first appeared in Marvel's "" #21 (March 1984), and was created by Larry Hama. Storm Shadow served in Southeast Asia on the same Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol team as future Joes Stalker and Snake Eyes. The intense nature of this service together forged a strong friendship between him and Snake Eyes. After Vietnam, Storm Shadow visited his family in Japan. His family, the Arashikage Clan, had actually been a fierce ninja clan, but for many centuries had remained clandestine. Hoping to learn the ways of the ninja, Storm Shadow studied under the tutelage of his estranged uncle, the Hard Master. When Snake Eyes arrived in Japan following the death of his entire family in a horrific automobile crash, he was invited to study with the clan. He quickly began to surpass Storm Shadow's abilities and was the Hard Master's choice to succeed him as the head of the clan. This caused a rift between the two friends, and Snake Eyes decided that he would leave the clan. However, before he could, an assassin killed the Hard Master while he was demonstrating a ninja technique to Snake Eyes. Due to no one else seeing the assassin, his immediate departure (chasing the assassin who fled in a mini-helicopter belonging to Cobra), that the killer appeared to use a ninja technique that Storm Shadow was a master of, and that the arrow that killed the Hard Master was one of Storm Shadow's personal arrows, Snake Eyes, the Soft Master, and the remaining clan members thought that Storm Shadow was to blame for the murder. (Later it was revealed that Zartan was the assassin. He had used technology to replicate Storm Shadow's "ear that sees" blind aiming technique. His intended target was Snake-Eyes, a revenge killing ordered by Cobra Commander, but the Hard Master had been imitating Snake-Eyes's heartbeat and Zartan shot the wrong target. The arrow was genuinely Storm Shadow's, Zartan had recovered it from outside the Arashikage compound after Stormshadow had callously showed-off and used the "ear that sees" technique to kill a squirrel by shooting through a wall.)


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Years passed and Storm Shadow eventually was led to the international terrorist organization Cobra. He was quickly made Cobra Commander's bodyguard and soon thereafter encountered his old friends, Stalker and Snake Eyes, as members of the American strike team, G.I. Joe, designed to destroy Cobra. Storm Shadow befriends the son of Cobra Commander, a teenager named Billy. Eventually the two escape together. After several battles with the Joes, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes would work together to bring down the men responsible for the death of the Hard Master (Zartan, Cobra Commander, and Firefly). During their first attempt, while trying to flee Cobra Island, Storm Shadow was shot by the Baroness and believed to be dead. He was revived during Doctor Mindbender's creation of Serpentor. Finally, Storm Shadow was made an official member of the G.I. Joe team and regained his honor through countless acts of courage. He would later return to Cobra after being captured and brainwashed along with several other former Cobra agents. He was frequently given continuous sessions of brainwashing to ensure his loyalty, and it took him a few years to finally shake off the programming and rejoin his sword brother, Snake Eyes. Storm Shadow participates in training the Joe's official Ninja Force. He relates to the students how he was unable to master a specific skill until he attempted to teach it; this allowed him to view the skill from different angles and ultimately master it. In the next issue, Storm Shadow and the Ninja Force encounter an attack from the Cobra allied mercenary force called the 'Night Creepers'.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: When the G.I. Joe team is reactivated in Devil's Due Publishing's "", Storm Shadow is added to the team due to his expertise as a covert ops specialist and ninja. However, what proves more important to the team, is the knowledge he gained as Cobra Commander's bodyguard. While Snake Eyes and Stalker accept him as a member, fellow team member Shipwreck is the most vocal about his suspicions, considering the ninja's constantly changing loyalties. Storm Shadow is the first to learn of the Baroness being alive and being held in the basement of the new G.I. Joe command center, "The Rock". After Snake Eyes' death aboard Destro's sub, Storm Shadow assists the team in search of the body, and encounters Major Bludd in Australia. He finds the Red Ninja clan had raised Snake Eyes from the dead, and had used some of their ancient techniques to place Sei-Ten in the body of T'jbang. After stopping Snake Eyes by placing Scarlett's life in danger, Storm Shadow temporarily leaves the team to assist the Red Ninjas in rebuilding and reviving their leader to set things right. Storm Shadow returns to stop Cobra from liberating prisoners from the G.I. Joe prison facility "The Coffin", assisted by a mole within Cobra. He is partially successful, but Tomax manages to free Major Bludd and several others, while killing those Cobra Commander considered "loose ends". Storm Shadow then tracks down Destro and the Baroness, so that they can help disable Cobra's M.A.R.S. tech devices. They join the rest of the main team, in defeating several Cobra cells, and disarming nuclear weapons that Cobra Commander has placed in the Amazon and Antarctica.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: The seven-issue solo series "Storm Shadow", written by the original writer Larry Hama, follows Storm Shadow after leaving the G.I. Joe team.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: In the alternate continuity series "G.I. Joe: Reloaded", Storm Shadow is similar to his original continuity counterpart in his Cobra roots, as he serves as Cobra Commander's assassin/bodyguard. He does not wear a mask, and instead, is seen wearing a much different white uniform with a long jacket. He does face off with Snake Eyes, who in this series is his half-brother, and comments on Snake Eyes' traitorous nature. This series ended without fully exploring their relationship.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Unlike the comic, the never explored the relationship between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. He first appeared in the miniseries "The Revenge of Cobra", in which he fights G.I. Joe member Spirit for one of three fragments of the Weather Dominator. He lets Spirit keep the fragment for saving him from drowning, but later steals it from G.I. Joe headquarters after Zartan captures the third component and offers it to the highest bidder. In this series, Storm Shadow was often depicted as a counterpart to Spirit, and later on against G.I. Joe member Quick Kick. In the episode "Excalibur", he crashes into a lake during an aerial battle and finds King Arthur's sword, stealing it from the Lady of the Lake. This causes a thunderstorm that only stops when Excalibur is returned. Also in that episode, Storm Shadow encounters Quick Kick twice, breaking his leg on both occasions.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Storm Shadow remained loyal to Cobra until the end of the Sunbow series. In season two, he sided with Cobra Commander against Serpentor, and was seen helping the Commander in several of his plots to overthrow Serpentor.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: In "", Storm Shadow is seen in two frames when Serpentor yells at all the Cobra characters in the beginning.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Storm Shadow returns in the , but this time on the side of the Joe team and as a member of the Ninja Force, reflecting his status in both the toy-line and the comics at that time. He came to side with the Joes because the initial cartoon's storyline ended after "" and so the comic dictated the path of the toys. Had the series continued with a third season, Storm Shadow would still have been a Cobra. Cobra Commander makes several comments in the episode "Shadow of a Doubt" about Storm Shadow being a traitor. Storm Shadow claims that he only joined Cobra to find out who had dishonored his ninja clan. Aside from that, he is given little backstory in the animated series. The relationship between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow is best showcased in the Season 2 episode, "The Sword", when it is shown that they both respect each other's ninja skills and abilities. Storm Shadow was voiced by Scott McNeil.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: Storm Shadow appeared in the direct-to-video CGI animated movies "" and "", voiced by Ty Olsson. These two movies seem to ignore the previous continuity, and deal more with the continuity of the toys and cartoon at that time. Storm Shadow is again a Cobra ninja as in previous Sunbow cartoons; however, unlike previous times, he now faces Snake Eyes.


title: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

text: In the animated short "", a new ninja Tiger Claw is joining G.I. Joe, and learns of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's past in the Arashikage clan. The rivalry between the two ninjas is explained to some degree, and it shows how they have dealt with each other to this day. Most of the movie is narration over original artwork, and some scenes from the previous movies, as well as some new footage at the end.