title: Nacho (Better Call Saul)

text: The next morning, Kim tells Jimmy that something has happened to the Kettlemans. He rushes to their house to find it surrounded by police, and finds out the entire Kettleman family is missing. Believing Nacho has kidnapped them, Jimmy tries unsuccessfully to reach him by phone. Jimmy is picked up by the police, who tell him they have arrested Nacho and that he has requested Jimmy as his lawyer.


title: Nacho (Better Call Saul)

text: At the police station, Nacho admits to Jimmy that he surveilled the Kettlemans but denies kidnapping them. Nacho warns Jimmy that if he does not get the charges dropped, Nacho will have him killed. Jimmy is unsuccessful at persuading the police to release Nacho but convinces Kim to take him to the Kettleman house so he can investigate. Jimmy notices some inconsistencies, such as a missing child's doll, and theorizes that the Kettlemans staged their kidnapping. Jimmy tells Kim he warned the Kettlemans about Nacho, which probably drove them into hiding.


title: Nacho (Better Call Saul)

text: At the courthouse, Jimmy starts a fight with Mike Ehrmantraut, who subdues him. The police ask Mike to press assault charges so they can leverage Jimmy to testify against Nacho but Mike refuses. He suggests to Jimmy that Jimmy's theory about the Kettlemans' disappearance is correct. Mike then recounts a similar case he investigated as a Philadelphia police officer and tells Jimmy the Kettlemans are probably hiding somewhere close to home. With the new lead, Jimmy explores the desert near the Kettleman house and finds their campsite. He confronts the Kettlemans, gets into a struggle with them, and inadvertently discovers their stolen money.


title: Nacho (Better Call Saul)

text: The episode was written by co-executive producer Thomas Schnauz, who was also a writer and producer on "Breaking Bad". It was directed by Terry McDonough, who directed episodes for "Breaking Bad", including the episode that introduced Saul Goodman.


title: Nacho (Better Call Saul)

text: The episode received positive reviews from critics. Erik Kain of "Forbes" said that "Overall, this was yet another strong entry in the show. Great shots of New Mexico, plenty of humor, and a little bit of mystery all kept this one humming from start to finish."


title: Nacho (Better Call Saul)

text: Roth Cornet of "IGN" gave the episode 8.5 out of 10, saying "Better Call Saul continues to settle into itself, as Jimmy McGill's will to do the right thing is tested."" Richard Vine of "The Guardian" also gave a positive review, and was pleased that the episode began to examine Jimmy's relationships with Chuck and Kim, who "you really get the sense that she's fond of him, against her better judgement".


title: Elise Mertens

text: Elise Mertens (; born 17 November 1995) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in doubles.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens is a three-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2019 US Open and 2021 Australian Open partnering Aryna Sabalenka, and the 2021 Wimbledon Championships with Hsieh Su-wei. Mertens also finished runner-up at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships with Zhang Shuai. She became world No. 1 for the first time in May 2021, the third Belgian to hold the top ranking across both disciplines after Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. Mertens has won 16 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including the 2022 WTA Finals with Veronika Kudermetova, four at WTA 1000 level, and finished runner-up at the 2021 WTA Finals alongside Hsieh.


title: Elise Mertens

text: She is also a successful singles player, and reached her first major semifinal at the 2018 Australian Open, also reaching the US Open quarterfinals in 2019 and 2020. Mertens achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in November 2018, and has won seven WTA titles, including two at WTA 500 level. She has represented Belgium in the Billie Jean King Cup since 2017, and also competed at the 2020 Olympic Games in both singles and doubles.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens was born in Leuven, the second daughter of Liliane Barbe, a teacher, and Guido Mertens, who makes furniture for churches. She was home-schooled and enjoyed studying languages, speaking French, English, and Flemish Dutch. Her older sister, Lauren, is currently an airline pilot and introduced the then four-year-old Elise to tennis. While growing up, Mertens looked up to Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, and was a member of the Kim Clijsters Academy, where she has been training from 2015 until it shut down in 2022.


title: Elise Mertens

text: She made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the 2015 Copa Colsanitas in the doubles event, partnering Nastja Kolar. She won her first WTA doubles title at the 2016 Auckland Open, partnering An-Sophie Mestach.


title: Elise Mertens

text: In January, Mertens won the Hobart International, beating No. 3 seed Monica Niculescu in the final. As a result of this she broke into the WTA top 100 for the first time, on 16 January 2017.


title: Elise Mertens

text: After missing the Australian Open qualifying due to her Hobart campaign, Mertens reached the first round of the St. Petersburg Trophy through qualifying, and lost to Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets. She then competed at the Dubai Championships, where, as a qualifier, she beat Tsvetana Pironkova en route to the second round, where she lost to Agnieszka Radwańska. Despite her loss, Mertens reached a new career-ranking of world No. 69. She then lost in the first round of the Malaysian Open to qualifier and eventual quarterfinalist Lesley Kerkhove. After that, she failed to qualify to both Indian Wells and Miami Open, losing in the first round of qualifying to Sachia Vickery and Alison Van Uytvanck, respectively.


title: Elise Mertens

text: At the Ladies Open Biel Bienne, Mertens upset No. 8 seed Monica Niculescu and beat Mona Barthel en route to the quarterfinals, losing there to eventual finalist Anett Kontaveit.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens began the season by becoming the first woman to win back-to-back titles in Hobart. She defeated Mihaela Buzărnescu in the final, defending her title from 2017. Along with Demi Schuurs, she also won the doubles title.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens' season continued with her main-draw debut at the Australian Open. She defeated qualifier Viktória Kužmová, 23rd seed Daria Gavrilova, Alizé Cornet and Petra Martić, all in straight sets, to advance to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. In the quarterfinal, Mertens achieved her first victory over a top five ranked player, defeating Elina Svitolina, again in straight sets. With her win over Svitolina, Mertens became the third Belgian woman to reach the last four at the tournament, joining former ranking leaders Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. In the semifinals she lost to Caroline Wozniacki, in straight sets.


title: Elise Mertens

text: After her good form in Australia, Mertens had some difficult weeks. She lost, respectively, in the first round of Doha, Dubai and Indian Wells and in the second round in Miami. In April, she reached her fourth singles final and second of the year at the Lugano Open in Switzerland. She won the title by beating Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. Together with compatriot Kirsten Flipkens, she also won the doubles title. Two weeks later, she also won the singles title at the Morocco Open by defeating Australian Ajla Tomljanović, in straight sets.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens lost in the second round at Madrid to top seed Simona Halep. She reached the fourth round at the French Open, defeating Varvara Lepchenko, Heather Watson, and Daria Gavrilova before falling again to Halep, who went on to win the title. Seeded second at 's Hertogenbosch, she lost in the second round to Antonia Lottner.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens started off the grass-court season with first-round loss to qualifier Dalila Jakupović in Birmingham. In Eastbourne she lost in third round to Aryna Sabalenka. At Wimbledon, Mertens lost in third round to Dominika Cibulková.


title: Elise Mertens

text: In the American swing, Mertens reached the semifinals in San Jose as well as quarterfinals in Montreal and Cincinnati. In doubles, she lost the final in Cincinnati and won in Wuhan, partnering Demi Schuurs.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens started in Brisbane with a first-round exit against top-10 player and sixth seed Kiki Bertens, she lost the match in three sets. Then in Sydney, she got her first two wins of the season by defeating Katerina Siniaková and Anett Kontaveit before losing in the quarterfinals to Ashleigh Barty.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Defending semifinalist points from last year, she entered the Australian Open as the 12th seed. She won her first and second match in straight sets before falling to 17th seed Madison Keys in the third round. Due to her early exit, her ranking fell to No. 21.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens played Fed Cup in her homecountry for the first time. She was unable to win her two matches against Alizé Cornet and Caroline Garcia. In the week after, she moved to Doha to play the Qatar Open. She began unseeded at this tournament, but she surprisingly won her first Premier title. On her route to the tournament win, she took the scalp of three top-10 players, including Kiki Bertens, Angelique Kerber and world No. 2, Simona Halep. After her biggest career win to date, she came back in the top 20 at No. 16.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Just two days later, Mertens played in Dubai, where she was placed as 16th seed. She lost in her opening-match against qualifier Zhu Lin after a battle of near three hours.


title: Elise Mertens

text: In March at Indian Wells, as the 16th seeded, she lost in the third round in another battle near three hours against 18th seed Wang Qiang. Even though she lost early in singles, she was able to win a big doubles title alongside Sabalenka at Indian Wells, defeating first seeds Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková in the final. Two weeks later, the pair also won the Miami Open doubles title, completing the Sunshine Double. Mertens and Sabalenka became just the fifth doubles pairing in history, and first since Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in 2015, to complete the Sunshine Double in doubles. These titles took Mertens inside the top 10 in doubles for the first time.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens had a rough start to the clay-court season, losing in the opening round of four of her first five tournaments (the exception being a quarterfinal appearance in Morocco where she was upset by the eventual tournament champion Maria Sakkari). Seeded 20th at the French Open, Mertens beat Tamara Zidanšek and Diane Parry to advance to the third round, where she was beaten by 12th seed Anastasija Sevastova in a three hour 18-minute match three-set match, despite winning the first set and holding five match points in the decider. Mertens and Sabalenka performed well in the doubles draw, where they were seeded sixth. The pair reached the semifinals, where they were defeated by the No. 2 seeds and eventual champions Tímea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens performed much stronger in the grass-court season warmup events, making the quarterfinals in Mallorca and the third round in Eastbourne (in both tournaments she lost to the eventual champions, Sofia Kenin and Karolína Plíšková, respectively). Seeded 21st at Wimbledon, Mertens advanced to the fourth round for the first time, taking out Fiona Ferro, Monica Niculescu and 15th seed Wang Qiang. However, she was upset by world No. 54, Barbora Strýcová, after having a one-set lead. In doubles, Mertens and Sabalenka advanced to the quarterfinals, but were defeated by eventual champions Strýcová and Hsieh Su-wei, the second consecutive Grand Slam the pair lost to the team that would go on to win the tournament.


title: Elise Mertens

text: In the early summer hardcourt season, Mertens struggled to replicate her 2018 success, losing her opening round match in San Jose to Kristie Ahn and falling in the second round of Toronto and Cincinnati to Serena Williams and Elina Svitolina, respectively. At the US Open, in September, Mertens was seeded 25th in singles. She defeated Jil Teichmann, Kristýna Plíšková, and former world No. 9, Andrea Petkovic, in straight sets, before taking revenge on wildcard Kristie Ahn to reach her second Grand Slam singles quarterfinal, becoming the first Belgian woman to reach the last eight since Kim Clijsters won the title in 2010. She once again squandered a one-set lead, going down in three sets to world No. 15 and the eventual champion, Bianca Andreescu. Playing doubles with Sabalenka, the pair reached the final with ease, dropping just one set along the way. The pair then defeated Victoria Azarenka and Ashleigh Barty in the final, winning their first Grand Slam doubles title both as a team and individually. Mertens became the first Belgian to reach a US Open final, as well as winning one, in doubles, and the first Belgian woman to win a Grand Slam doubles title since Clijsters won Wimbledon in 2003. Following the tournament, she reached a new career-high doubles ranking of No. 2 in the world.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens failed to register much success in singles during the Asian hardcourt swing, outside of a semifinal appearance at the Pan Pacific Open, but reached her fourth doubles final of the year with Sabalenka at the Premier 5-level Wuhan Open, where the pair lost to Duan Yingying and Veronika Kudermetova. Mertens' consistency in both disciplines qualified her to compete in both year-end tournaments. She first competed at the WTA Elite Trophy in singles, where she qualified for the second straight year. Drawn in the same group as her doubles partner Sabalenka, she was beaten in three close sets by the Belarusian before defeating Sakkari in three sets. Placing second in her round-robin group, she failed to advance to her semifinals (Sabalenka won the title). She next competed at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, playing doubles. The pair fell to Babos and Mladenovic in three sets before recording a straight sets win over the Taiwanese sisters Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan. Needing a win over Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Demi Schuurs to advance to the semifinals, they were beaten in three close sets, ending their tournament and season. She finished the year ranked No. 17 in singles and No. 6 in the world in doubles.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens opened the year by reaching the quarterfinals in both Shenzhen, where she was beaten by Elena Rybakina, and Hobart, losing to Heather Watson. Seeded 16th at the Australian Open, Mertens eased through to the fourth round with straight-set wins over Danka Kovinić, Watson and CiCi Bellis before being defeated by Simona Halep. In doubles, Mertens and Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals where they lost to Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan. After losing early in both Dubai and Doha, Mertens was next scheduled to play in Indian Wells, but the tournament was cancelled and the tour suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Elise Mertens

text: When the tour resumed in August, Mertens lost her opening match in Palermo, but bounced back by reaching her first final of the year at the Prague Open. She then lost to Halep for the second time that year. At the Cincinnati Open, Mertens advanced to her first ever Premier 5 semifinal, where she was beaten by Naomi Osaka in straight sets.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Seeded 16th at the 2020 US Open, Mertens opened her campaign by beating Laura Siegemund in straight sets, followed by two-set wins over Sara Sorribes Tormo and 18-year old Caty McNally. She then caused a huge upset by defeating the second seed and reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in straight sets, making it to the quarterfinals of the US Open for the second consecutive year. However, she was thrashed in the quarterfinal by former world No. 1, Victoria Azarenka, winning just one game. Mertens and Sabalenka also played doubles together, where they were the defending champions. However, they were beaten in the quarterfinals by the eventual champions Siegemund and Zvonareva.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens continued in good form throughout to the end of the year. She made quarterfinals at Rome, losing again to Karolina Plíšková in three sets. She lost in the third round of the French Open to Caroline Garcia. She then went to the Ostrava Open and defeated Amanda Anisimova and Karolína Muchová both in straight sets. She eventually lost in a rematch against Azarenka however with a closer scoreline this time. She did not leave empty handed though, as her and Aryna Sabalenka took the doubles title together. She finished off the year with a final finish at Linz Open losing to Sabalenka a couple weeks after winning a title together.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens started off her 2021 season at the first edition of the Gippsland Trophy. Seeded seventh, she won her sixth WTA singles title beating Kaia Kanepi in the final. This was her first singles title in two years. Seeded 18th at the Australian Open, she eliminated 11th seed, Belinda Bencic, in the third round. Her winning streak at the start of the season ended at seven when she lost to 25th seed, Karolína Muchová, in the fourth round. In doubles, she and Sabalenka won their second Grand Slam title as a team defeating Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková in the championship match.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens continued her good run of form since the end of lockdown at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Seeded tenth, she reached the semifinals where she fell to ninth seed Garbine Muguruza. Seeded 16th at the Miami Open, she made the fourth round where she was beaten by second seed, Naomi Osaka, who was on a 20-match-win streak at the time.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens began her clay-court season at the Charleston Open. Seeded seventh, she suffered a second-round upset at the hands of Alizé Cornet. As the top seed at the İstanbul Cup, she made it to the final where she lost to Sorana Cîrstea. As the top seed in doubles alongside Kudermetova, they won the title beating Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya in the final. Seeded 13th at the Madrid Open, she upset world No. 3, third seed, and two-time champion, Simona Halep, in the third round. In the quarterfinals, she retired during her match against world No. 7 and fifth seed, Aryna Sabalenka, due to a left thigh injury. As the top seed in doubles with partner Hsieh Su-wei, they lost in the second round to Jeļena Ostapenko and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Despite the loss, Mertens hit a huge milestone in her doubles career on 10 May 2021 by becoming the world No. 1 for the first time, joining Kim Clijsters as the second Belgian player to do so. Seeded 14th in Rome, she fell in the first round to Kudermetova. Seeded 14th at the French Open, she reached the third round where she lost to World No. 18, 17th seed, and eventual semifinalist, Maria Sakkari, in three sets. In doubles, she and Su-wei were defeated in the third round by eventual finalists Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Iga Świątek despite having had seven match points.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens kicked off her grass-court season at the Birmingham Classic. As the top seed, she lost her first-round match to Ajla Tomljanović in three sets which all were tie-breaks. In the doubles event with Hsieh, they reached the semifinals and lost to Ons Jabeur and Ellen Perez. After Birmingham, Mertens competed at the Eastbourne International where she was the seventh seed. Despite winning the first set 6-0, she was beaten in the first round by Coco Gauff. Seeded 13th at Wimbledon, she lost in the third round to 23rd seed Madison Keys. In doubles, again partnering Hsieh, she reached the final. In the final, they faced the pair of Elena Vesnina and Veronika Kudermetova. In a tight match, they fought back, after having lost the first set and their opponents serving for the championship in both the second and third sets, saving two championship points in the former, and Mertens failing to successfully serve for the championship herself, to win the title. In the process, she became the first Belgian player to win three overall as well as different Grand Slam titles in doubles and kept her unbeaten record in Grand Slam finals intact. By reaching the final and winning the title, she regained the world No. 1 spot she held previously for a week in May 2021.


title: Elise Mertens

text: The week of July 24th saw Mertens representing Belgium at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Seeded 12th, she fell in the first round to Ekaterina Alexandrova.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens got her US Open preparation underway at the Silicon Valley Classic. As the top seed, she reached the semifinals where she lost to fourth seed Daria Kasatkina. Seeded ninth at the Canadian Open in Montreal, she was defeated in the first round by eventual champion Camila Giorgi. Seeded 15th at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, she was ousted from the tournament in the second round by Elena Rybakina. Seeded 15th at the US Open, she beat 20th seed, Ons Jabeur, in the third round. She was eliminated in the fourth round by world No. 2 and second seed, Aryna Sabalenka. As the top seed in doubles alongside Hsieh Su-wei, they reached the quarterfinals where they lost to 11th seeded team and eventual finalists, Coco Gauff and Caty McNally.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Seeded second at the Luxembourg Open, Mertens reached the quarterfinals where she lost to fifth seed Markéta Vondroušová. Seeded seventh at the first edition of the Chicago Classic, she was defeated in the third round by tenth seed Danielle Collins. Seeded 14th at the Indian Wells Open, she suffered a second-round loss at the hands of lucky loser Jasmine Paolini. In doubles, she and Hsieh won the doubles title by defeating Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Rybakina in the final. It was Mertens's second Indian Wells doubles title. With the victory, she regained the doubles No. 1 ranking. At the end of 2021 she decided to stop her longstanding collaboration with her coach Ceyssens, choosing Simon Goffin, David Goffin’s brother instead.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens started her 2022 season at the Sydney Classic where she lost to Daria Kasatkina in the second round. Seeded 19th at the Australian Open, she reached the fourth round where she was defeated by 27th seed and eventual finalist, Danielle Collins. Seeded third in doubles, she reached the semifinals with new partner, Veronika Kudermetova, where they lost to eventual champions Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Seeded eighth at the St. Petersburg Trophy, Mertens fell in the quarterfinals to top seed and eventual finalist, Maria Sakkari. In Dubai, she was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by lucky loser and last year semifinalist, Jil Teichmann. She won her fifteenth doubles title with Kudermetova, defeating Jeļena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok in the final. Seeded 16th at the Qatar Open, she won her second-round match when her opponent, two-time champion Petra Kvitová, retired due to a left wrist injury. She was beaten in the third round by fourth seed and eventual finalist, Anett Kontaveit. In doubles, she and Kudermetova reached the final which they lost to Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Seeded 20th at the Indian Wells Open, she lost in the third round to qualifier Daria Saville. As the top seed and defending champion in doubles, she and Kudermetova were defeated in the first round by Eri Hozumi and Makoto Ninomiya. Seeded 20th at the Miami Open, she lost in the second round to Czech wildcard Linda Fruhvirtová. As the top seed in doubles alongside Kudermetova, they made it to the final where they lost to Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens began her clay-court season at the İstanbul Cup. As the top seed and last year finalist, she retired during her first-round match against Rebecca Peterson due to a right leg injury. Mertens returned to action during the week of May 15th at Strasbourg. Seeded fourth, she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Kaja Juvan. In doubles, she and partner, Diane Parry, reached the semifinals where they fell to Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Daria Saville. Seeded 31st at Roland-Garros, she reached the fourth round where she lost to 18th seed and eventual finalist, Coco Gauff. Seeded second in doubles, she and Kudermetova lost in the third round to 13th seeded team of Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan. Despite the third round loss, she regained her No. 1 ranking in doubles following the conclusion of the tournament on 6 June 2022.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Starting her grass-court season seeded eighth at the Libéma Open, Mertens lost in the second round to compatriot Alison Van Uytvanck. Seeded fourth at the Birmingham Classic, she was defeated in the first round by qualifier Caty McNally. In doubles, she and Zhang Shuai, as the top seeds, made it to the final. Unfortunately, they handed Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jeļena Ostapenko a walkover in the final due to a back injury Zhang suffered during her singles final match. Seeded 13th at the Eastbourne International, she was beaten in the second round by qualifier and compatriot, Kirsten Flipkens. Seeded 24th at Wimbledon, she upset 2018 champion and 15th seed, Angelique Kerber, in the third round. She lost in the fourth round to third seed and eventual finalist, Ons Jabeur. Following a seven-month partnership, she announced her split from coach Simon Goffin. As the top seed in doubles with Zhang, she reached the final for a second consecutive time at this major. They lost in the championship match to second seeded team Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková. Mertens withdrew prior to the 2022 Tennis in the Land feeling pain in her right thigh, yet still decided to go to the US Open. She lost in the first round of singles to Irina-Camelia Begu, and as the top seed of the US Open in doubles, partnering Kudermetova, won the first round but withdrew prior to round two due to the leg injury.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens returned back from injury at the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She lost in the second round to Claire Liu in singles but reached the doubles' semifinals partnering Kudermetova. Elise finally broke her poor run of form at the Jasmin Open as she stormed into her first singles final in almost 14 months. She defeated Jaqueline Cristian, Despina Papamichail, Moyuka Uchijima and avenged her last loss to Claire Liu in route to the final. In the final, she cruised past Alizé Cornet in straight sets losing just two games to win her seventh WTA Title in Monastir .


title: Elise Mertens

text: In Guadalajara, Mertens lost to Anna Kalinskaya in the second round but she reached the doubles quarterfinal with Kudermetova and qualified for the WTA Finals in doubles for a fourth consecutive year with four different partners. In Fort Worth, Mertens along with Kudermetova raced into the doubles final, as they finish 3-0 in the round robin stage and eased past Desirae Krawczyk/Demi Schuurs in the semifinals. In the final, they came back from 2-7 down in the match-tiebreak to outlast defending champions & six time grand slam champions Barbora Krejčíková/Kateřina Siniaková and win their third doubles title together. This made Mertens the first Belgian to win the World Tour Finals in doubles.


title: Elise Mertens

text: Mertens is a baseline player, whose game blends her excellent defensive skills with aggressive shot making capabilities. Her groundstrokes are hit very flat, with little topspin applied, allowing her shots to penetrate consistently deep into the court, despite Mertens' comparatively slight build. Although both her groundstrokes are reliable, her backhand is stronger, and is responsible for the majority of winners she accumulates on the court; she particularly excels at redirecting power down the line with her backhand. When in good form, Mertens hits a significant number of winners, although this can be accompanied by a large number of unforced errors. One of Mertens' major weapons is her return of serve, hitting many return winners, and effectively neutralising powerful first serves. Mertens' serve is strong, with her first serve peaking at 115 mph (185 km/h) and averaging at 99 mph (159 km/h), allowing her to serve multiple aces in any match; her first serve isn't reliable, however, with her first serve percentage typically averaging 58%. To minimise double faults, however, Mertens possesses an effective second serve, which has a tremendous amount of kick, averaging 79 mph (127 km/h); this also prevents opponents from scoring free points off her second serve. Due to her increasing doubles experience, Mertens is a highly effective net player, and frequently chooses to finish points at the net. Mertens' superlative fitness, stamina, speed, footwork, and court coverage allow her to excel at counterpunching, and extend points until she creates the opportunity to hit low-risk winners; as such, she is one of the most effective players on the WTA Tour at turning defence into offence, due to her excellent point construction. Mertens possesses extreme mental toughness, and has been noted for her consistency and determination on court, making her a formidable opponent. Mertens has stated that her favourite surface is grass, although the vast majority of her success has come on hard courts.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: The Wild Thornberrys Movie is a 2002 American animated adventure film based on the television series of the same name. Directed by Cathy Malkasian and Jeff McGrath, the film follows Eliza Thornberry, on her quest to save a cheetah cub named Tally from ruthless poachers. It was produced by Klasky Csupo and distributed by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. The film was released on December 20, 2002, to mostly positive reviews and grossed more than $60 million worldwide.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: The film was also nominated for Best Original Song at the 75th Academy Awards, making it the first and only film based on a Nicktoon to be nominated. It is also the third film to be based on a Klasky Csupo series (after "The Rugrats Movie" and ""). A crossover/sequel titled "Rugrats Go Wild", featuring characters from "Rugrats" was released on June 13, 2003.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: Eliza Thornberry plays with a family of cheetahs in East Africa's Kenya after their mother, Akela, puts her in charge of the cubs. When Eliza accidentally strays too far from the cheetahs' home, poachers kidnap one of the cheetah cubs, Tally. Eliza is determined to save the cub, causing her older sister Debbie to tell her family about Eliza's antics. This prompts her caring but straight-laced grandmother Cordelia to send Eliza to a boarding school in London for her safety - much to Debbie's dismay, since Debbie wanted a normal life. Upon arriving, Eliza discovers that her pet chimpanzee, Darwin, stowed away in her suitcase. He attempts to blend in, but gets himself and Eliza in trouble.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: After having a dream in which Shaman Mnyambo tells her to save Tally, Eliza convinces her roommate Sarah Wellington to buy plane tickets for her and Darwin to return to Africa. While taking a train from Nairobi, they encounter an injured male rhinoceros, who was shot at the river by the same poachers who kidnapped Tally. They jump off the train to save the rhino with the help of veterinarians Bree and Sloan Blackburn. Meanwhile, Debbie is left alone with her feral adoptive younger brother Donnie at their Comvee, while their parents, Nigel and Marianne, go to film a solar eclipse at Tempo Valley. Eliza returns to the Comvee for supplies, and has a small confrontation with Debbie, who demands to know why Eliza ran away from London and gave up her chance for a normal life. Eliza locks her in a cage, but Debbie escapes and pursues her, Darwin, and Donnie. Cordelia and her husband, Colonel Radcliffe, try to find Eliza and take her back to London before Nigel and Marianne find out; however, they meet up with Nigel and Marianne to inform them of Eliza's escape. They also begin searching for Debbie, Eliza, Donnie and Darwin.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: Darwin, Eliza, and Donnie meet a gorilla who mentions seeing people setting up a fence across Tempo Valley. They then run into the Blackburns again, and Eliza concludes that the poachers are targeting the elephant herd traveling through the valley. Later, the trio are invited to spend the night at the Blackburns' RV, but the next day, they find Tally inside the RV. The Blackburns reveal their true agenda as the poachers and capture them, revealing that the fence is electrified. Eliza and Darwin have a falling out, with Eliza angrily telling Darwin to be quiet for once. Meanwhile, Debbie meets a local Mbuti boy named Boko, who is sent by his village elders to assist her. The two reach the Blackburns' RV, but Sloan holds Debbie hostage after she reveals she's Eliza's sister. When Sloan threatens to kill Debbie if Eliza doesn't tell him how she discovered their plan, Eliza admits it was because of her ability to talk to animals. A storm comes and takes away Eliza's powers while the Blackburns flee, and Eliza, Debbie, Darwin, Donnie and Tally ride a log on the river.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: After the storm, Eliza tells Debbie about her ability to talk to animals and that she lost it because she revealed her secret to the Blackburns. Debbie reconciles with Eliza when she learns Eliza gave up her powers to save her. They reach Tempo Valley in time to see the elephant herd heading for the electric fence. When Eliza becomes doubtful of herself, Debbie reminds her that she has been helping animals long before gaining her powers, restoring her confidence. The Blackburns, riding a helicopter, order their men to set off explosives, scaring the elephants and making them charge toward the fence. Eliza triggers the fence's electricity prematurely, causing the herd to stop temporarily, then convinces the lead elephant to turn around. Infuriated, Sloan throws Eliza into a river and attempts to shoot the elephants, but they pull the Blackburns' helicopter out of the air by its rope ladder and destroy it, causing Sloan and Bree to fall. Eliza nearly drowns until Shaman Mnyambo saves her; he praises her for saving the elephants using her heart instead of her powers. As a reward, he returns her powers, on the condition that Debbie will also keep Eliza's powers a secret.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: Following the eclipse, the Blackburns have survived the fall and are arrested by rangers. Eliza reconciles with Darwin and she reunites with her family, who decide not to send her back to boarding school since she saved the elephants. Boko returns to his village, keeping Debbie's watch as a memento. The Thornberrys return to the Savannah, where Eliza reunites Tally with his family. Eliza tells Debbie she will turn into a baboon if she reveals Eliza's secret, much to her anger, and in the process frightens a group of baboons Nigel and Marianne are filming. One of them activates the radio, which plays music that the Thornberrys and the baboons dance to.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: The film opened in the U.S. box office on December 20, 2002, and finished at #6 for the weekend, with only $6 million for 3,012 theaters, for an average of only $1,997 per venue. The film ended up with a modest $40 million domestically, partly because the film came out on the same week as "". But, in light of generally favorable reviews, it managed to out-gross its holiday animated feature behind "Treasure Planet", which only grossed about $38 million domestically.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: It is one of only fourteen feature films to be released in over 3,000 theaters, and still improve on its box office performance in its second weekend, increasing 22.5% from $6 million to $7.4 million.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that of critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is . The site's consensus states: ""The Wild Thornberrys Movie" brings its beloved clan to the big screen for an animated adventure that should prove entertaining for all ages." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper both praised the film and gave it “Two Thumbs Up” on their television show.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" called it "a witty and delightful Christmas present for the entire family". Thomas said it "balances some honest heart-tugging with a sophisticated sense of humor", making it rare among children's films. Writing for "The New York Times", Dave Kehr described it as an "extended Saturday morning cartoon" that is "bland but harmless", comparing it negatively to Disney's "The Lion King". In "USA Today", Claudia Puig rated it 3/4 stars and wrote, ""The Wild Thornberrys" will no doubt brighten the day of parents looking for family activities during the holidays." It was also reviewed by Boston.com and Film4.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Father and Daughter" by Paul Simon, but lost to "Lose Yourself" by Eminem for "8 Mile".


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: THQ released a video game of the movie, released for the Game Boy Advance and PC. The game's story mode you control Eliza as it loosely follows the events of the movie, and contains mini-games that allow the player to control other members of the Thornberrys.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: An original soundtrack for the film was released on November 26, 2002, on compact disc and audio cassette by Zomba Music, Jive Records, and Nick Records. The executive producer was George Acogny. Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter", written for the film, was released as a single. It went on to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: The score was released on April 8, 2003, from Silverline Records, and includes the theme song "Bridge to the Stars", music by Randy Kerber (who composed the additional music for the score) and J. Peter Robinson, with lyrics by Maribeth Derry and performed by Tracey Amos and Lisa McClowry. The album is currently out of print.


title: The Wild Thornberrys Movie

text: A crossover with "Rugrats" (another series from Klasky Csupo), "Rugrats Go Wild", was released on June 13, 2003.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Murdoch started his wrestling career in 1965, and three years later, he began teaming with longtime partner Dusty Rhodes as the Texas Outlaws. After they split up, Murdoch wrestled for several territories including the National Wrestling Alliance, Florida Championship Wrestling, and Mid-South Wrestling, also touring overseas. He would join the World Wrestling Federation in 1984 and teamed with Adrian Adonis to form the North-South Connection, winning the WWF Tag Team Championship.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: In 1981, Murdoch gained international exposure by joining New Japan Pro-Wrestling and stayed there until 1989. He later wrestled for Jim Crockett Promotions, engaging in feuds with the likes of Ric Flair, Nikita Koloff, and Dusty Rhodes. He also worked for World Championship Wrestling in 1991 in a tag team with Dick Slater until going into semi-retirement, while making appearances at the 1995 Royal Rumble and .


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Murdoch was born in Waxahachie, Texas. A second-generation wrestler, the stepson of 1950s Texas wrestler Frankie Hill Murdoch, he grew up with fellow second-generation wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, watching their fathers wrestle all around Texas. Frank Murdoch held the NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship three times in his career. Dick attended Caprock High School, where he took part in amateur wrestling.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Murdoch started wrestling in 1965 as "Ron Carson" in a tag team with Don Carson. He soon started wrestling under his real name. In 1968, he formed a tag team that would continue throughout the early 1970s with Dusty Rhodes called The Texas Outlaws, and during that time he adopted his Dick Murdoch name. After splitting with Rhodes, he wrestled for several territories within the National Wrestling Alliance, most famously Florida Championship Wrestling and also wrestled in Mid-South Wrestling. Also, during that time, Murdoch would partially wrestle with All Japan Pro-Wrestling, feuding with Giant Baba, The Destroyer, Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta. His most famous matches there were a Two Out Of Three Falls match against Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on May 8, 1979, which ended in a draw (1–1) after time limit expired, and the other one also being a Two Out Of Three Falls against Jumbo Tsuruta for the NWA United National Championship on March 5, 1980, with Tsuruta defeating Murdoch (2–1). Even though Murdoch wrestled there for so long, he didn't get too much exposure like his fellow foreigners would, and wrestled his last match on March 3, 1981 in a tag team match involving him and Mario Milano losing to Jumbo Tsuruta and Tiger Toguchi.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Murdoch's most noted work as a wrestler came in Mid-South Wrestling in the early 1980s, where he teamed with Junkyard Dog. The pair was the most popular champions in the region, attracting the hardcore, working-class white fans with his "Captain Redneck" persona and JYD drawing the support of the black fan base. Their feud with the Fabulous Freebirds was perhaps Mid-South's most compelling storyline.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: In 1984, Murdoch went to the World Wrestling Federation and formed a tag team with Adrian Adonis called "North-South Connection", since Adrian was a New York (North) native while Dick was a Texas (South) native. Both men were involved in a series of vignettes alongside Mean Gene Okerlund, with both men visiting each other's hometowns, not being used with each other's urban and country lifestyles. They captured the World Tag Team Titles, defending them against Jack and Jerry Brisco, Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda, The Wild Samoans, Paul Roma and Salvatore Bellomo, and many other teams. He left the WWF in 1985 after dropping the tag-team title to The U.S. Express for Mid-South, while Adonis left to wrestle in Japan.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: In 1981, Murdoch started what truly would be his international exposure, by wrestling for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He entered the MSG Tag League of that year, teaming with fellow Texan Stan Hansen, with the team finishing 3rd place with 36 points, scoring victories over teams such as El Canek and Super Maquina, Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu, Seiji Sakaguchi and Kengo Kimura and Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: In 1982, Murdoch returned for the MSG League 1982 tournament, finishing 4th place with 41 points, scoring victories over wrestlers like The Iron Sheik, Seiji Sakaguchi, Tatsumi Fujinami, Don Muraco and Tiger Toguchi. He also engaged in a few encounters with Hulk Hogan, which ended in double count-out or with Murdoch being disqualified. He once again entered the MSG Tag League, this time with the Masked Superstar with the team finishing 4th place with 21 points, scoring victories over teams such as El Canek and Perro Aguayo, Tiger Toguchi and Killer Khan and Dino Bravo and Murdoch's future tag team partner Adrian Adonis.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: In 1983, he mainly feuded with Riki Choshu's Ishin Gundan, mainly wrestling Choshu, Killer Khan, Animal Hamaguchi and Yoshiaki Yatsu. He also teamed with Paul Orndorff and Adrian Adonis against the Gundan and a few New Japan's loyalists such as Osamu Kido, Seiji Sakaguchi and Kengo Kimura. He would once again enter the MSG Tag League of that year, this time teaming with Adonis, with the team reaching the finals with 27.5 points, in a losing effort against the winners Antonio Inoki and Hulk Hogan. A year later, after his team with Adonis officialized while both were in the WWF, they started regularly to team up against New Japan's top tag-team contenders and having iconic encounters against Inoki, Fujinami, Andre The Giant, Gerry Morow, Strong Machines (#1 and #2) and other top threats. Both men individually entered the MSG League, in which Murdoch finished 5th place with 30 points, defeating Ken Patera, Big John Quinn, Otto Wanz and even his own partner Adonis. The team of Murdoch and Adonis entered the MSG Tag League of that year, once again reaching the finals with 23 points, but again coming up short against the winners Inoki and Fujinami.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: In 1985, Murdoch entered the IWGP League, a single-elimination system-styled tournament, defeating Kengo Kimura in the first round, advancing to the quarterfinals in which he defeated Seiji Sakaguchi, until losing to Andre the Giant in the semifinals. He and Adonis were wrestling in Japan while both were WWF Tag Team Champions, at one point successfully defending both belts against Kengo Kimura and Tatsumi Fujinami. After both men left the WWF, they wrestled full-time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, once competing for the vacated WWF International Tag Team Championship against the team they defended their national belts, Kimura and Fujinami, in a losing effort. They tried to gain them in a rematch, but both men came up short. After failing to win the belts, Murdoch and Adonis partied ways and each man went singles competition. Murdoch would resume his singles career by feuding with Inoki and Fujinami, and also having bloody encounters with Abdullah The Butcher and Bruiser Brody. He reunited with the Masked Superstar to compete in the IWGP Tag Team League of that year, with both men finishing 4th place with 19 points, defeating the Kelly Twins (Mike and Pat), Dos Caras and El Canek, and Kendo Nagasaki and Mr. Pogo. In 1986, Murdoch started to feud with the new breed of wrestlers, such as Keiji Mutoh, Shinya Hashimoto, Tatsutoshi Goto and UWF crusaders Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, as well as veterans like Osamu Kido and Yoshiaki Fujiwara. Murdoch participated in the IWGP League of that year, wrestling his way to the finals, where he lost to Inoki. Later, he and Masked Superstar took another shot at the IWGP Tag Team League tournament, reaching the semifinals where they lost to Akira Maeda and Osamu Kido.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: The following year saw Murdoch not having much exposure, as he was wrestling often in tag team action alongside younger foreign wrestlers, such as Scott Hall, Owen Hart, Matt Borne and The Cuban Assassin. Later, he found an uncommon tag team partnership with Inoki as both men competed in the Japan Cup Tag Team League together. They wrestled their way to the finals, where both men lost to Kengo Kimura and Tatsumi Fujinami.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: In 1988, Adrian Adonis returned to NJPW, immediately reuniting with Murdoch, reforming their tag team, and later forming a trio with Owen Hart. Murdoch and Adonis' only title match occurred on June 23, where they unsuccessfully faced reigning IWGP Tag Team Champions Masa Saito and Riki Choshu. The duo teamed together until Adonis' death on July 4, and after that date, Murdoch would not return to Japan for 5 months. In November 1988, Murdoch returned to NJPW, taking part into the Japan Cup Tag Team Elimination League, a round-robin tournament of trios consisting of six-man tag team elimination matches. Murdoch teamed up with Scott Hall and Bob Orton Jr., wrestling their first tournament match on November 17, defeating the six-man combination of Antonio Inoki, Riki Choshu and Kantaro Hoshino, with Murdoch last eliminating Inoki with Orton's assistance. They suffered their first loss at the hands of Masa Saito, Tatsutoshi Goto and Seiji Sakaguchi, but quickly rebounded by defeating Super Strong Machine, The Tiger and The Jaguar, with Murdoch last eliminating the Strong Machine. They later defeated Kengo Kimura, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Osamu Kido, even though Murdoch got eliminated by Kimura during the match, his team got the win after Orton last eliminated Fujiwara. Their winning streak continued when they defeated George Takano, Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers, after Murdoch last eliminated Takano. However, they suffered another loss at the hands of Tatsumi Fujinami, Shinya Hashimoto and Masahiro Chono, but once again quickly rebounded by defeating Hiro Saito, Shiro Koshinaka and Kuniaki Kobayashi, after Murdoch eliminated Kobayashi and Saito. After defeating Buzz Sawyer, Manny Fernandez and Kendo Nagasaki by forfeit, they once again faced the Saito, Sakaguchi and Goto combination. In what would seem to be another loss after Hall and Orton were the two first eliminated, Murdoch single handedly eliminated Sakaguchi and Saito, before finally making quick work out of Goto, eliminating him and avenging their loss. However, the team couldn't reach the finals due to the two losses they suffered.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: The year of 1989 saw Murdoch's last stand with New Japan, as he briefly returned in July, facing the likes of Shinya Hashimoto, Hiroshi Hase, Vladimir Berkovich, and Evgeny Artyukhin. His last match occurred on August 5, where he defeated Berkovich. Murdoch never wrestled for New Japan ever again after that year.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: He briefly wrestled in Mid-South Wrestling again, before turning up in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions in 1986 as a babyface. He feuded with Ric Flair and attempted to win Flair's NWA World Title. He also teamed with Ron Garvin against Flair and the Four Horsemen. In early 1987, Murdoch turned heel and joined Ivan Koloff and Vladimir Petrov in their attempt to get Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes. Then a NWA United States Tag Team Champion with Ivan, he injured Nikita's neck after a brain-buster suplex on the floor that summer, resulting in his (kayfabe) suspension for 30 days and the team being stripped of the title. He continued wrestling as a heel until summer 1988, when he would turn face again and reunite with Dusty in a feud with Gary Hart's team of Garvin, who had at that time recently turned heel on Rhodes, and Al Perez. He left the NWA and wrestled in the World Wrestling Council and Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in 1990, before returning to World Championship Wrestling as one half of the "Hardliners," or "Hardline Collection Agency," with Dick Slater in 1991, once again a heel by this point. They feuded with Rick and Scott Steiner but could not win their title.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: After leaving WCW, Murdoch went to Puerto Rico for World Wrestling Council where he won the WWC Television Championship defeating TNT on November 23, 1991. A month later he dropped the title to Invader 1. Then on October 25, 1992, he defeated Invader 1 for the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship and also a month later he dropped the title to Carlos Colon. During his time in Puero Rico he feuded, with Colon, Invader 1 and Miguel Perez Jr.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: He also returned to Japan working for W*ING, WAR and IWA Japan from 1992 to 1994. In May 1993 he returned to WCW's where he teamed with Don Muraco and Jimmy Snuka against Blackjack Mulligan, Jim Brunzell and Wahoo McDaniel in a non-contest. That June, he made a one-night appearance for Extreme Championship Wrestling's Super Summer Sizzler Spectacular where he defeated Dark Patriot II. From 1993 to 1994 he worked in Smoky Mountain Wrestling being managed by Jim Cornette where they feuded with Bob Armstrong. Later in his career he worked in Texas on the independent circuit where he feuded with Black Bart, Kevin Von Erich and Greg Valentine.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Murdoch was the twenty-seventh entrant in the 1995 WWF Royal Rumble. He was eliminated by Henry O. Godwinn. That May, he wrestled Wahoo McDaniel in a black-and-white "Legends Match" at Slamboree. In March 1996, he defeated Vampire Warrior and The Viking in Kuantan, Malaysia, then he made his last appearance in Japan on the May 23 main event of a Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi show in Tokyo, losing to Yoshiaki Fujiwara. His last match was a victory over Rod Price at a show in Amarillo, Texas on June 6, 1996.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Murdoch was married on September 21, 1966 in Potter County, Texas to Janice Hix. Together, they had one child before divorcing on October 1, 1973.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Over the years, several within professional wrestling who knew Murdoch have said he was racist and was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. In a shoot interview, Bad News Brown accused him of being a member of the Klan. This was also mentioned by Tito Santana in his autobiography, "Tales From The Ring". Former "WWE SmackDown" head writer Alex Greenfield also relayed a story told to him by Dusty Rhodes about Murdoch driving him to a Klan party without telling him it was a KKK party beforehand. In 2014, former wrestling star Rocky Johnson, father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, claimed Murdoch was a member of the Klan and that he once knocked him unconscious during a match stating during an interview, "Because he was KKK and didn't like blacks, he kept kicking me hard and punching me. I said, 'you hit me one more time, I'm hitting you back.' He hit me, and I knocked Murdoch out." However, these claims have been disputed by Dick's one time manager Jim Cornette on his podcast.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Murdoch appeared in four movies: "The Wrestler" (1974), "Paradise Alley" (1978), "Grunt! The Wrestling Movie" (1985), and "Manhattan Merengue!" (1995). He also appeared on an episode of "Learning The Ropes" and an episode of "The Jerry Springer Show". Murdoch appeared in various rodeo events and at one point, ran his own bar, "Dirty" Dick's Dive.


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Murdoch was featured as a playable character in the 2001 video game "Fire Pro Wrestling" and 2007 video game "Wrestle Kingdom 2".


title: Dick Murdoch

text: Murdoch died of a heart attack on June 15, 1996, at the age of 49. He was found dead at 4:30 AM on a couch in his living room by his ex-wife. Murdoch suffered from high blood pressure in later years and had no prior heart problems.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Olympia Jean Snowe (; born February 21, 1947) is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States Senator from Maine from 1995 to 2013. Snowe, a member of the Republican Party, became known for her ability to influence the outcome of close votes, including whether to end filibusters. In 2006, she was named one of America's Best Senators by "Time" magazine. Throughout her Senate career, she was considered one of the most moderate members of the chamber.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: On February 28, 2012, Snowe announced that she would not seek re-election in November 2012, and retired when her third term ended on January 3, 2013. She cited hyper-partisanship leading to a dysfunctional Congress as the reason for her retirement from the Senate. Her seat went to former governor Angus King, a former Democrat and current independent.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe is a senior fellow for the Bipartisan Policy Center and co-chairs its Commission on Political Reform.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe was born Olympia Jean Bouchles in Augusta, Maine, the daughter of Georgia ("née" Goranites) and George John Bouchles. Her father emigrated to the United States from Sparti, Greece, and her maternal grandparents were also Greek. She is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: When she was eight years old, her mother died of breast cancer, and less than a year later, her father died of heart disease. Orphaned, she was moved to Auburn, to be raised by her aunt and uncle, a textile mill worker and a barber, respectively, along with their five children. Her brother John was raised separately by other family members. Within a few years, disease would also claim her uncle's life. Snowe attended St. Basil's Academy in Garrison, New York, from the third grade to the ninth. One of her teachers was Athena Hatziemmanuel, a notable Greek-American educator at the school. Returning to Auburn, she attended Edward Little High School before entering the University of Maine in Orono, from which she earned a degree in political science (1969). Shortly after graduation, Bouchles married her fiancé, Republican state legislator Peter T. Snowe, on December 29, 1969, in New York City.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe entered politics and rose quickly, winning a seat on the Board of Voter Registration and working for Congressman (later U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of Defense) William Cohen. Tragedy struck Snowe again in 1973, when her husband was killed in an automobile accident. At the urging of family, friends, neighbors and local leaders, Snowe ran for her husband's Auburn-based seat in the Maine House of Representatives at the age of 26 and won. She was re-elected to the House in 1974, and, in 1976, won election to the Maine Senate, representing Androscoggin County. That same year, she was a delegate to both the state and national Republican conventions.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978 and represented Maine's 2nd Congressional District from 1979 to 1995. The district included most of the northern two-thirds of the state, including Bangor and her hometown of Auburn. She served as a member of the Budget and International Relations Committees. Snowe voted for the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday in August 1983 and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 in March 1988 (as well as to override President Reagan's veto).


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe married John R. McKernan, Jr., then Governor of Maine, in February 1989. Snowe and John McKernan served together in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1986, McKernan representing the 1st District. While Snowe was First Lady of Maine from 1989 to 1995, she served as a member of Congress of the United States.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Tragedy struck Snowe once more in 1991 when her stepson Peter McKernan died from a heart ailment at the age of 20.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: In 1994, when Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell declined to run for re-election, Snowe immediately declared her candidacy for the seat. The Democratic nominee was her House colleague, 1st District Congressman Tom Andrews. Snowe defeated Andrews 60–36%, carrying every county in the state. Snowe was part of the Republican election sweep of 1994, when the Republican party captured both the House and Senate for the first time since 1954. Snowe was easily re-elected in 2000 over State Senate President Mark Lawrence, increasing her winning margin to 69%–31%. She cruised past Democratic opponent Jean Hay Bright in 2006, winning by 74% to 20.6%. She won every single county in Maine in all three of her elections.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe was an important voice during the Senate's 1999 impeachment trial of then-President Bill Clinton. She and fellow Maine Senator Susan Collins sponsored a motion that would have allowed the Senate to vote separately on the charges and the remedy – a "finding of fact" resolution. When the motion failed, Snowe and Collins voted to acquit, arguing that Clinton's perjury did not warrant his removal from office. Her occasional breaks with the Bush administration drew attacks from conservative Republicans; the Club for Growth and Concerned Women for America label her a "Republican In Name Only" (RINO).


title: Olympia Snowe

text: In February 2006, TheWhiteHouseProject.org named Snowe one of its "8 in '08", a group of eight female politicians who could possibly run and/or be elected president in 2008.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe voted in favor of the nominations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: In April 2006, Snowe was selected by "Time" as one of "America's 10 Best Senators". She was the only woman so recognized. "Time" praised Snowe for her sensitivity to her constituents, also noting that: "Because of her centrist views and eagerness to get beyond partisan point scoring, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe is in the center of every policy debate in Washington." She received an honorary degree from Bates College in 1998, and another from the University of Delaware in 2008. Snowe did not miss any of the 657 votes on the Senate floor during the 110th Congress from 2007 to 2009. She was one of only eight senators who did not miss any votes during that session.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe is the fourth woman to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the first to chair its seapower subcommittee which oversees the Navy and Marine Corps. In 2001, Snowe became the first Republican woman to secure a full-term seat on the Senate Finance Committee.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe was the youngest female Republican ever elected to the United States House of Representatives; she is also the first woman to have served in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of the U.S. Congress. She is the first Greek-American congresswoman. With her 1989 marriage to McKernan, she became the first person to simultaneously be a member of Congress and First Lady of a state. She never lost an election in her 35 years as an elected official, and in the 2006 midterm senatorial elections, she won with a reported 73.99% of votes. However, on Tuesday, February 27, 2012, citing excessive partisanship and a dispiriting political environment, Snowe announced she would not run for re-election in November 2012. Her unexpected decision delivered a potential blow to Republicans, who needed just a handful of seats to regain control of the Senate; Snowe was considered one of their safer incumbents.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: On May 23, 2005, Snowe was one of fourteen senators dubbed the Gang of 14, who defused a confrontation between Senate Democrats (who were filibustering several judicial nominees) and the Senate Republican leadership (who wanted to use the nominations as a flashpoint to eliminate filibusters on nominees through the so-called nuclear option). The Gang-brokered compromise precluded further filibusters and the implementation of the nuclear option for the remainder of the 109th Congress; under its terms, the Democrats retained the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee in an "extraordinary circumstance", and nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor) received a simple majority vote by the full Senate. The Gang later played an important role in the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, as they asserted that neither met the "extraordinary circumstances" provision outlined in their agreement. Snowe ultimately voted for both Roberts and Alito.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe shares a centrist ideology with Susan Collins, her former colleague in the Senate from Maine, who still serves in the chamber. Collins is considered a "half-turn more conservative" than Snowe. Snowe supports abortion rights and gay rights, and though she previously voted to block the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell", she was one of eight Republican senators to vote for the act's repeal on December 18, 2010, ending the policy. In her 2006 re-election campaign, she was one of two Republican Senate candidates endorsed by the prominent gay rights organization the Human Rights Campaign (the other was Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, who became a Democrat in 2013 and a Libertarian in 2019). According to GovTrack, Snowe was the most liberal Republican senator in 2012–13 being placed by GovTrack's analysis to the left of every Republican and several Democrats. In 2012, the non-partisan "National Journal" gave Snowe a composite 57% conservative score and a 43% liberal score.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe supported both President Clinton's involvement in Kosovo and President George W. Bush's invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq. On fiscal issues, she has voiced support for cutting taxes as economic stimulus, although she joined fellow Republican senators Lincoln Chafee and John McCain in voting against the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. In 2004, she opposed the accelerated implementation of the Bush tax cuts citing budget concerns and she was joined by Senators Collins, McCain, and Chafee.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem cell research. She is also a member of Republicans for Environmental Protection, the Republican Majority for Choice, Republicans for Choice and The Wish List (Women In the Senate and House), a group of pro-choice Republican women. Her highest composite conservative score according to the National Journal was a 63% in 2010 and her highest composite liberal score was a 55.5% in 2006. She voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, an amendment aimed at banning gay marriage, in 2004. She voted against banning gay marriage in 2006 for a second time. In 2005 and 2007, she voted to support embryonic stem-cell research. In 2008, Snowe endorsed Republican candidate John McCain for President of the United States.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: In the 111th Congress, Snowe backed the release of additional Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. While she opposed President Obama's budget resolution, she pledged to work in a bipartisan manner on the issues of health care reform and energy.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: In 2007, Olympia Snowe was among the Republicans who voted in favor of the McCain-Kennedy bill to give citizenship to undocumented immigrants. However, she voted against the DREAM Act in 2010. She also voted to continue funding to 'sanctuary cities,' voted against eliminating the 'Y' guestworker visa program, but she also voted in favor of building a fence along the southern border and voted to make English the official language of the United States.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: "In October 2009, Snowe was the sole Republican in the Senate to vote for the Finance Committee’s health care reform bill." However, she stated that she might not support the final bill due to strong reservations. Snowe was one of three Republicans to break with their party and vote with Democrats to end a filibuster of a defense spending bill; the filibuster was meant to delay or stop the vote on health care legislation. In December 2009, Snowe voted against cloture for two procedural motions and ultimately against the Senate Health Care Reform Bill. Snowe again voted against health care reform when she voted "no" on the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: When Snowe announced in February 2012 that she would not seek re-election, it was reported that she and Democrat Ben Nelson, who also did not seek re-election, had the closest overlap of any two members of the U.S. Senate.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: In 2012, Snowe endorsed Republican candidate Mitt Romney for President of the United States. After leaving the Senate, Snowe announced her support for same-sex marriage.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: Snowe has been on the board of directors for the investment counsel firm T. Rowe Price since 2013. She opposed Donald Trump as the GOP nominee in 2016. She said that Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton were the least partisan 2016 presidential candidates.


title: Olympia Snowe

text: On November 8, 2020, five days after the election, while President Trump and some other members of the Republican Party were falsely claiming he had won the election, Snowe congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. On January 9, 2021, following the storming of the United States Capitol, she called on President Trump to "resign from office now to allow our nation to begin to heal and prepare for the transition to the Biden presidency."


title: Material conditional

text: The material conditional (also known as material implication) is an operation commonly used in logic. When the conditional symbol formula_1 is interpreted as material implication, a formula formula_2 is true unless formula_3 is true and formula_4 is false. Material implication can also be characterized inferentially by modus ponens, modus tollens, conditional proof, and classical reductio ad absurdum.


title: Material conditional

text: Material implication is used in all the basic systems of classical logic as well as some nonclassical logics. It is assumed as a model of correct conditional reasoning within mathematics and serves as the basis for commands in many programming languages. However, many logics replace material implication with other operators such as the strict conditional and the variably strict conditional. Due to the paradoxes of material implication and related problems, material implication is not generally considered a viable analysis of conditional sentences in natural language.


title: Material conditional

text: In logic and related fields, the material conditional is customarily notated with an infix operator →. The material conditional is also notated using the infixes ⊃ and ⇒. In the prefixed Polish notation, conditionals are notated as C"pq". In a conditional formula "p" → "q", the subformula "p" is referred to as the "antecedent" and "q" is termed the "consequent" of the conditional. Conditional statements may be nested such that the antecedent or the consequent may themselves be conditional statements, as in the formula .


title: Material conditional

text: In "Arithmetices Principia: Nova Methodo Exposita" (1889), Peano expressed the proposition “If A then B” as “A Ɔ B” with the symbol Ɔ, which is the opposite of C. He also expressed the proposition “A ⊂ B” as “A Ɔ B”. Russell followed Peano in his "Principia Mathematica" (1910–1913), in which he expressed the proposition “If A then B” as “A ⊃ B”. Following Russell, Gentzen expressed the proposition “If A then B” as “A ⊃ B”. Heyting expressed the proposition “If A then B” as “A ⊃ B” at first but later came to express it as “A → B” with a right-pointing arrow.


title: Material conditional

text: From a semantic perspective, material implication is the binary truth functional operator which returns "true" unless its first argument is true and its second argument is false. This semantics can be shown graphically in a truth table such as the one below.


title: Material conditional

text: The 3rd and 4th logical cases of this truth table, where the antecedent is false and is true, are called vacuous truths.


title: Material conditional

text: Material implication can also be characterized deductively in terms of the following rules of inference.


title: Material conditional

text: Unlike the semantic definition, this approach to logical connectives permits the examination of structurally identical propositional forms in various logical systems, where somewhat different properties may be demonstrated. For example, in intuitionistic logic, which rejects proofs by contraposition as valid rules of inference, is not a propositional theorem, but the material conditional is used to define negation.


title: Material conditional

text: When disjunction, conjunction and negation are classical, material implication validates the following equivalences:


title: Material conditional

text: Similarly, on classical interpretations of the other connectives, material implication validates the following entailments:


title: Material conditional

text: Material implication does not closely match the usage of conditional sentences in natural language. For example, even though material conditionals with false antecedents are vacuously true, the natural language statement "If 8 is odd, then 3 is prime" is typically judged false. Similarly, any material conditional with a true consequent is itself true, but speakers typically reject sentences such as "If I have a penny in my pocket, then Paris is in France". These classic problems have been called the paradoxes of material implication. In addition to the paradoxes, a variety of other arguments have been given against a material implication analysis. For instance, counterfactual conditionals would all be vacuously true on such an account.


title: Material conditional

text: In the mid-20th century, a number of researchers including H. P. Grice and Frank Jackson proposed that pragmatic principles could explain the discrepancies between natural language conditionals and the material conditional. On their accounts, conditionals denote material implication but end up conveying additional information when they interact with conversational norms such as Grice's maxims. Recent work in formal semantics and philosophy of language has generally eschewed material implication as an analysis for natural-language conditionals. In particular, such work has often rejected the assumption that natural-language conditionals are truth functional in the sense that the truth value of "If "P", then "Q"" is determined solely by the truth values of "P" and "Q". Thus semantic analyses of conditionals typically propose alternative interpretations built on foundations such as modal logic, relevance logic, probability theory, and causal models.


title: Material conditional

text: Similar discrepancies have been observed by psychologists studying conditional reasoning. For instance, the notorious Wason selection task study, less than 10% of participants reasoned according to the material conditional. Some researchers have interpreted this result as a failure of the participants to confirm to normative laws of reasoning, while others interpret the participants as reasoning normatively according to nonclassical laws.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Heaven is a superclub in Charing Cross, London, England. It has a long association with London's LGBT scene and is home to long-running gay night G-A-Y. The club is known for Paul Oakenfold's acid house events in the 1980s, the underground nightclub festival Megatripolis, and for being the birthplace of ambient house.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Soundshaft also hosted Future, a regular night on Thursdays run by Andrew Weatherall and Terry Farley. At the end of the night, both crowds would come together when the doors connecting Heaven & Future opened for the last couple of songs.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Heaven was opened in December 1979 by Jeremy Norman in a former night club called Global Village, which was housed in the arches beneath Charing Cross railway station, once part of Adelphi Arches, a large wine-cellar for the hotel above. Norman was also chairman of Burke's Peerage, the publishers. The original hi-tech interior was designed by his partner, Derek Frost. Norman, an entrepreneur, had started an earlier club, The Embassy, in Old Bond Street in 1978. The Embassy proved to be successful and attracted a fashionable clientele; it is generally seen as the London equivalent of New York's Studio 54. Norman used his knowledge and experience of establishing and running a nightclub to create an entirely new kind of gay club on a larger scale. Heaven quickly established itself as the centre of the (then understated) gay London nightlife. Until it opened, most gay clubs were small hidden cellar-bars or pub discos. Heaven brought gay clubbing into the UK mainstream and gave London a club to rival New York's gay super club at the time, The Saint.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Heaven's first resident DJ was Ian Levine, who has been credited with being one of the first DJs in the UK of the now customary style of "beatmixing". His mix of Disco, Hi-NRG, and early House music became what is known as the "Original Heaven Sound".


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Under the direction of the club's original manager David Inches, Heaven sought DJs who would become exclusive to the club and were groundbreaking in terms of their music selection and style. Many Heaven DJs would go on to find greater acclaim in both the gay and mainstream music industry. Original Heaven DJs include: Tony De Vit, Colin Holsgrove, Marc Andrews, Marc Monroe, George Mitchell, Ian D, Tallulah, Jon Dennis, Rich B, Wayne G, and Steve Whyte. Heaven also attracted legendary names from the United States such as House music pioneer Frankie Knuckles, who played at the Thursday night "Delirium!".


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: In 1980, London Weekend Television ran a weekly documentary series titled Gay Life in which Heaven nightclub and various other London gay clubs and bars were featured.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: In 1982, Heaven was acquired from Norman by Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Branson was one of the first to identify the burgeoning 'pink pound' and saw the club as an investment opportunity, Branson reported in his autobiography that the £500,000 used to purchase Heaven were financed by the brewery supplying drinks to the venue.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Kevin Millins' club night "Asylum" (on Thursdays) started on 14 April 1983, with resident DJs Colin Faver and Mark Moore (S'Express). By 1985 this had become "Pyramid" (shifted to Wednesdays) and was one of the first clubs in the country to play emerging House music from Chicago.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: As one of the first gay clubs in London, and one of the first openly so in the world, Heaven courted controversy, frequently appearing in the tabloid press, especially in "The Sun" headlines about ecstasy use in the nightclub in 1989.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: In the late 1980s, Heaven would host two what would become legendary nights during the height of Acid House, Techno, and Breakbeat Hardcore rave culture. The first was "Spectrum" promoted by Paul Oakenfold and Ian St Paul, which ran on Monday nights between April 1988 and 1990, and the other was "Rage", a Thursday night running between October 1988 and 1993 which included DJs Fabio & Grooverider, Colin Faver, and Trevor Fung. Oakenfold brought in Jimmy Cauty and Alex Paterson (The Orb) as ambient DJs for his "The Land of Oz" nights at Heaven, club nights which Dom Phillips in "Mixmag" called "seminal". These chillout sessions in "The White Room", also involving Youth, heralded the birth of ambient house. Cauty's other band, The KLF, made their premier live performance at the Land of Oz in July 1989.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Replacing "Rage" on Thursday from October 1993 until 1996 was Megatripolis, with Mixmaster Morris and regular guests such as Mr. C and Alex Paterson.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: In the mid 1990s, Wednesday night was "Fruit Machine", hosted by Miss Kimberly with a strong Drag theme. Fridays were "Garage" playing Techno and Hardbag with DJs Blu Peter and Mrs Wood. Saturday nights were 'Heaven is Saturday – Saturday is Heaven' which hosted a variety of parties and weekly changing themes.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: "Soundshaft" was a small club attached to Heaven, which had a separate entrance on Hungerford Lane, behind Craven Street, although it was also accessible from the main club. Between 1988 and 1990, this hosted the seminal "Troll" night and which launched the career of DJs Daz Saund and Luke Slater. It is now called "The Stage Bar".


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: In 1998, the club was refurbished and relaunched as a more mainstream venue to challenge increasingly popular clubs such as Trade and The Fridge. As part of this broadening appeal, a new Monday Indie night called "Room Two" started alongside its more trademark night of "Popcorn" which started on a Monday (and replaced Fridays "Popstarz"). To ensure the club stayed relevant, it also hosted nights from popular promoters such as Gatecrasher and Bedrock (on a Thursday night until 2005, with resident DJ John Digweed.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: At the beginning of the 2000s, Heaven adopted a more mainstream Tribal house and Disco-influenced sound, employing DJs that had been resident at other major gay London nightclubs such as Trade and Salvation, such as Billy Gonzalez.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: In 2003, Virgin sold the club to a consortium which comprised Paul Savory, David Inches, and Jeremy Millins (Pure Group).


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Towards the mid 2000s, the music policy of its main room became more underground-oriented, with Progressive, Tech, and Deep House on a Saturday night from resident DJs Pagano and Nick Tcherniak.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: On 22 September 2008, Heaven was purchased by the MAMA Group through its jointly owned subsidiary company G-A-Y Ltd. "G-A-Y" was a popular and long-running gay night hosted for many years at the London Astoria, and on Friday 3 October 2008, MAMA Group moved G-A-Y to Heaven. Little over a year later, MAMA Group itself was bought by music retailer HMV


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: When HMV went into administration in 2013, Jeremy Joseph founder of G-A-Y acquired the outstanding shares in G-A-Y Ltd, and with it Heaven.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Nightclubs across England, including Heaven, were closed for much of the coronavirus pandemic. When it was announced on 14 July 2021 by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that all remaining coronavirus restrictions would be lifted on July 19, Heaven launched a digital clock counting down the hours until nightclubs could reopen. Footage of revellers queuing for Heaven and dancing inside the nightclub to celebrate the final lifting of restrictions in England gained worldwide media attention.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: On Sunday 8 August, Heaven opened up between midday and 9pm as a vaccination drop-in centre, offering first doses of Pfizer vaccines and second doses of AstraZenica vaccines without appointment.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Heaven often features live performances by notable artists. These have included, but are not limited to (in alphabetical order):


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Monday continues to play host to "Popcorn", a largely student night which plays pop and funky house music. It is a predominantly gay event.


title: Heaven (nightclub)

text: Thursday plays host to "Porn Idol", a strip competition for men and women previously held at the Astoria, with £250 offered to the winner each week. The competition comprises several rounds, with £1,000 awarded to the season winner. It is preceded and followed by three rooms of pop.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: Brexit: The Uncivil War (simply Brexit in the US) is a 2019 British television drama film written by James Graham and directed by Toby Haynes. It depicts the lead-up to the 2016 referendum through the activities of the strategists behind the Vote Leave campaign, that prompted the United Kingdom to exit the European Union, known as Brexit. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Dominic Cummings, the Campaign Director of the officially designated Brexit-supporting group, Vote Leave. Rory Kinnear stars as Craig Oliver, one of the leaders of the officially designated Remain-supporting group, Britain Stronger in Europe.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: It aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 7 January, and aired on HBO in the United States on 19 January. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its pacing, black comedy, and the depiction of the campaign as a thriller, and with particular praise for Cumberbatch's performance which was likened to his role in the TV series "Sherlock". The film received a nomination at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Television Movie.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: The film opens in 2020, at a future (fictional) public inquiry, where a frustrated Dominic Cummings attempts to explain to the panel that they have no understanding of the way in which technology is reshaping politics and therefore society in the United Kingdom.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: In 2015, Cummings rejects an offer by UKIP MP Douglas Carswell and political strategist Matthew Elliott to lead the Vote Leave campaign due to his contempt for "Westminster politics", but accepts when Carswell promises him full control. Cummings uses "algorithmic database-driven micro-targeting tools" delivered via social media/internet, instead of a traditional campaign of posters/phone calls/leaflets delivered by local MPs. Cummings rejects an approach by Nigel Farage and Arron Banks of Leave.EU to merge campaigns, as his data shows Farage is an obstacle to winning a majority. Cummings' technology-driven approach causes friction with Vote Leave MPs and donors. John Mills, chair of Vote Leave, tries to fire Cummings to merge with Leave.EU, but finds himself instead fired.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: Cummings and his Remain counterpart, Craig Oliver, lay out their strategies and opinion of each other to their respective teams. Both identify the one-third of undecided UK voters as the key. Oliver targets "Jobs and the Economy", while Cummings feels the "Loss of Control" and the possible accession of Turkey to the EU is a greater concern. Cummings invokes a strategy from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and avoids refuting "Jobs and the Economy" to instead focus on their own message – "Take Back Control" – that positions Remain as the "historical status quo" and Vote Leave as the "change" option. Cummings meets and hires Canadian Zack Massingham, co-founder of AggregateIQ, who offers to build a database using social media tools of voters who are not on the UK electoral register but are inclined to vote to leave. Arron Banks meets Robert Mercer, who discusses the potential of social media database tools.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: Cummings, using the AggregateIQ database, brings MP Douglas Carswell to Jaywick, a part of his constituency he did not know existed, where a couple articulates the destitution of their position. Oliver, using the traditional focus-groups, realises that his campaign has failed to understand the concerns of many UK voters as one focus-group descends into a mass quarrel with one member breaking down crying: "I'm sick of feeling like nothing like I have nothing! Like I know nothing. Like I am nothing. I'm sick of it". Oliver's own staff becomes demoralised and angry.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: In the final stages of the campaign, high-profile Conservative MPs Michael Gove and Boris Johnson join the Vote Leave campaign emphasising the need to "Take Back Control", while Penny Mordaunt raises concerns on BBC over the accession of Turkey. Gove and Johnson have some reticence over specific Vote Leave claims (e.g. £350 million for NHS, and 70 million potential Turkish emigrants) but overcome them. Oliver conducts an emergency Tory-Labour Remain conference call with the prime minister David Cameron and Peter Mandelson, but each side blames the other for the Remain campaign's decline. Following the murder of MP Jo Cox, Cummings and Oliver share a drink and discuss events, with Cummings comparing his campaign as having started a train that cannot be stopped, and Oliver replying: "Be careful what you wish for. You won't be able to control it either".


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: On 23 June 2016, Britain narrowly votes to leave the EU. After a victory speech, Cummings quietly leaves the Vote Leave campaign office. Back in the present at the 2020 (fictional) public inquiry, Cummings outlines his disappointment at how the political system reacted post the Vote Leave victory, and walks out in disgust.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: The film also includes: Richard Durden as Sir Bill Cash, Conservative MP and board member of Vote Leave; Gavin Spokes as Andrew Cooper, political strategist and polling expert for Britain Stronger in Europe; Aden Gillett as Robert Mercer, US businessman and donor to Leave.EU; Mark Dexter as the voice of David Cameron, the prime minister; Mark Gatiss as the voice of Peter Mandelson, Labour peer and board member of Britain Stronger in Europe.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: In addition, the focus-group casting includes: Annabelle Dowler as the focus group facilitator; Gabriel Akuwudike as Robin, the "ardent internationalist" focus group participant; John Arthur as Roger, the "EU hostile" focus group participant; Rakie Ayola as Camilla, the "comfortable Europhile" focus group participant; Jay Simpson as Steve, the "strong skeptic" focus group participant; Heather Coombs as Sandra, the "hearts vs heads" focus group participant; and Kiran Sonia Sawar as Shamara the "disengaged middle" focus group participant


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: James Graham, the film's screenwriter, originally wrote a first draft focusing on David Cameron, the UK's prime minister during the vote. However, he then changed it to Dominic Cummings, the campaign director of the official designated Brexit-supporting group, Vote Leave. In a "Channel 4 News" interview, Graham revealed that the film was based on the books "All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain's Political Class" by "Sunday Times" political editor Tim Shipman, and "Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit" by David Cameron's Downing Street communications director Craig Oliver, and on interviews with the campaign strategists involved, Cummings in particular. Oliver acted as a consultant on the film. In order to better play lead character Dominic Cummings, Benedict Cumberbatch visited him at his family home.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: The film was commissioned in May 2018 by Channel 4 with Benedict Cumberbatch cast to play Dominic Cummings. Filming commenced in June with the supporting cast set, including Rory Kinnear and John Heffernan.


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: Critic reviews were generally positive after the 7 January 2019 broadcast of the film in the UK by Channel 4. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "With acerbic wit and a mesmerizingly eccentric performance from Benedict Cumberbatch, "Brexit" energetically renders recent history with unflinching poise." Metacritic reports a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: Asa Bennet of "The Daily Telegraph" gave the film five out of five stars, calling it a "thrilling romp through the referendum" and praised Cumberbatch's performance as Cummings, comparing it to his role as Sherlock Holmes in the TV series "Sherlock". Will Gompertz of the BBC gave the film four out of five stars and called the film "a very watchable TV movie that has a clear structure and a well-defined plot" and called Cumberbatch's performance "compelling". Carol Midgley of "The Times" gave the film four out of five stars stating, "Brexit without the boring bits is a blast". "The Independent"'s Hugh Montgomery gave the film four out of five stars and praised Cumberbatch's acting, comparing it to both "Sherlock" and "The Social Network". Peter Crawley in the "Irish Times" gave the film five out of five stars and called it a "political tragicomedy with the verve of a tech thriller", and that "it drips with great British humour". Suzi Feay in the "Financial Times" gave the film five out of five stars calling it: "An exhilarating, almost farcical dramatisation of 2016's successful Vote Leave campaign and its Machiavellian director", and "The only hindrance to enjoyment is the fact that we are all now living in the chaotic reality dreamt up by the diamond-eyed ideologue".


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: Lucy Mangan of "The Guardian" was very critical of the film, only awarding it two out of five stars, and calling it "superficial, irresponsible TV" and criticised the depiction of Nigel Farage and Arron Banks as "cartoonish buffoons instead of dangerous shit-stirrers".


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: British playwright and non-fiction author Sarah Helm, praised the film in "The Guardian" saying: "Nor has any piece of journalism bettered Graham's focus-group scene in portraying how the poison of Brexit has set ordinary people against each other, or exposed how easily our feeble leaders were led by opportunistic apparatchiks". Alice Jones in "The New York Times" said that "Brexit Is Dividing Britain. So Is a Brexit Movie". Charles Moore wrote in "The Daily Telegraph" that the film "told a story of forgotten people finding their voice".


title: Brexit: The Uncivil War

text: On 4 January 2019, Matthew Elliott, played in the film by John Heffernan, wrote an article about the film in the "Financial Times" summarising that "Whatever happens, the 2016 campaign marked an important moment, and the film captures it well". Dominic Cummings's wife, Mary Wakefield wrote in "The Spectator" that Cumberbatch's portrayal of her husband even fooled their own son. "The Guardian" quoted Peter Mandelson (briefly portrayed on a conference call), as saying "The film is extraordinary", and "It presses every button and captures Britain at the time".


title: Ravi Patel (actor)

text: Ravi Vasant Patel (born December 18, 1978) is an American actor. He and his sister wrote and directed an autobiographical documentary, "Meet the Patels".


title: Ravi Patel (actor)

text: Patel was born in Freeport, Illinois to Indian American parents, the son of financial consultant father Vasant Patel and real estate agent mother Champa Patel. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001 with double majors in Economics and International Studies. His sister, Geeta Patel, is a writer and director. An investment banker after college, Patel co-founded poker magazine "All In" while living in LA.


title: Ravi Patel (actor)

text: An emcee job with improvised stand-up in between acts, led to auditions, Patel's first agent, and two dozen commercials in a year. He has been in over 70 national commercials, films and TV shows, most notably "Transformers", "Scrubs", "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", "The Comedians", and "Hawaii Five-O".


title: Ravi Patel (actor)

text: In 2008-09, Patel appeared as George Patil in six episodes on The CW's "Easy Money". In 2010, he starred in "Past Life" on Fox.


title: Ravi Patel (actor)

text: Patel co-directed and starred in "Meet the Patels", a documentary that he made with his sister, Geeta Patel which won the audience award at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival. The film portrays Patel's autobiographical journey of trying to find an Indian wife. The duo have a deal with Fox Searchlight Pictures to write and direct a narrative remake of the film.


title: Ravi Patel (actor)

text: Patel worked in multiple episodes of the Aziz Ansari series "Master of None". From 2015 to 2016, Patel appeared on the John Stamos TV series "Grandfathered.


title: Ravi Patel (actor)

text: In 2020, Patel also created the CNN-produced docuseries "Pursuit of Happiness" which aired on HBO Max. Patel has also worked in Indian Cinema in the show Bhaag Beanie Bhaag.


title: Ravi Patel (actor)

text: Patel is the co-founder of This Bar Saves Lives, which donates a meal packet for every granola bar they sell. He is an active investor in start-ups in health and wellness.


title: Mercury-in-glass thermometer

text: The mercury-in-glass or mercury thermometer was invented by physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in Amsterdam (1714). It consists of a bulb containing mercury attached to a glass tube of narrow diameter; the volume of mercury in the tube is much less than the volume in the bulb. The volume of mercury changes slightly with temperature; the small change in volume drives the narrow mercury column a relatively long way up the tube. The space above the mercury may be filled with nitrogen gas or it may be at less than atmospheric pressure, a partial vacuum.


title: Mercury-in-glass thermometer

text: In order to calibrate the thermometer, the bulb is made to reach thermal equilibrium with a temperature standard such as an ice/water mixture, and then with another standard such as water/vapour, and the tube is divided into regular intervals between the fixed points. In principle, thermometers made of different material (e.g., coloured alcohol thermometers) might be expected to give different intermediate readings due to different expansion properties; in practice the substances used are chosen to have reasonably linear expansion characteristics as a function of thermodynamic temperature, and so give similar results.


title: Mercury-in-glass thermometer

text: Anders Celsius, a Swedish scientist, devised the Celsius scale, which was described in his publication "The origin of the Celsius temperature scale" in 1742.


title: Mercury-in-glass thermometer

text: To define his scale Celsius used two fixed temperature points: the temperature of melting ice and the temperature of boiling water, both under atmospheric pressure of the standard atmosphere. This was not a new idea, since Isaac Newton was already working on something similar. The distinction of Celsius was to use the condition of melting and not that of freezing. The experiments for reaching a good calibration of his thermometer lasted for 2 winters. By performing the same experiment over and over again, he discovered that ice always melted at the same calibration mark on the thermometer. He found a similar fixed point in the calibration of boiling water to water vapour (when this is done to high precision, a variation will be seen with atmospheric pressure; Celsius noted this). At the moment that he removed the thermometer from the vapour, the mercury level climbed slightly. This was related to the rapid cooling (and contraction) of the glass.


title: Mercury-in-glass thermometer

text: When Celsius decided to use his own temperature scale, he originally defined his scale "upside-down", i.e. he chose to set the boiling point of pure water at 0 °C (212 °F) and the freezing point at 100 °C (32 °F). One year later, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Christin proposed to invert the scale with the freezing point at and the boiling point at . He named it centigrade (100 steps).