document_title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

question_text: who played the twins in darling buds of may

text: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Synopsis[edit]

text: The Larkin family lives on a farm in rural England, in the county of Kent. Sidney ("Pop") and his partner Florence ("Ma") have six children, eldest daughter Mariette, followed by their only son Montgomery, and other daughters Primrose, twins Zinnia and Petunia, and Victoria. Ma is a housewife while Pop supplements his farm income with various other not entirely legitimate enterprises. Tax collector Cedric ("Charlie") visits to audit Pop, but falls in love with Mariette and quits his job to live the rural life. As Ma and Pop raise their other children, Charlie attempts to provide for his now wife Mariette. Ma and Pop soon have a seventh child, Oscar, followed around a year later by Charlie and Mariette's first baby, John Blenheim.

text: Pop and Ma's relationship is depicted as loving and affectionate throughout, although Pop is flirtatious and subject to numerous advances, most of which Ma is aware of and evidently unconcerned by. Proud of all his children, Pop's schemes evidently provide well for the family, enough to fund boarding school for the twins, naval boarding school for Monty, a swimming pool, a fairground, and a holiday to France, although he is just as motivated by doing good and helping others as making a profit. Ma occasionally becomes involved in Pop's schemes, or creates a scheme of her own. Possessing some very close friends, their lifestyle, in particular the fact they have never been married, nonetheless raises eyebrows in the stuffy environs of the local village.

text: Mariette and Charlie's relationship is more torrid, in part due to his insecurity over her attractiveness, and his varying success in providing financially, with their newly acquired hop farm struggling. Mariette's business skills eventual come to bear as they purchase a local brewery. Primrose is depicted as a frustrated romantic, moving to France to live with a boy her own age and attempting to seduce both Charlie and the village minister upon her return. Monty meanwhile contends with bullying, both at home and at naval boarding school. The increasingly mischievous twins gradually grow apart from their younger sibling Victoria, who delights in teasing and embarrassing all her siblings, especially Primrose.

text: Time period[edit]

text: All the episodes are seemingly set during 1958–59 despite the timespan of events across all three series making this a logical impossibility. The first serial is based on the first book, written and set in 1958, during which Florence finds out she is pregnant. In the second serial ("When the green woods laugh") Sidney is accused of committing indecent assault on 23 August 1958. The trial takes place on July 7th, the same day as Charlie's and Mariette's wedding; this would seem to be a continuity error because it cannot be July of the following year as Florence's baby had not yet been born. By the time of the third serial ("A breath of French air") Florence has already given birth to Oscar and the Larkins have a late August holiday in Brittany, during which Charlie and Mariette celebrate their first wedding anniversary. The fourth serial ("Christmas is coming") is set at Christmas and it is established Mariette is five months pregnant; she gives birth in the fifth serial ("Oh! to be in England!"), which would be some time in the spring of 1960 at the earliest according to the dating of the first series and the chronology of events up to that point. However, in the sixth serial ("Stranger at the gates") the twins celebrate their birthday, which a close-up of a wall calendar reveals to be 15 August 1959.

text: In the eighth serial ("Le Grand Weekend") the Larkins' weekend getaway coincides with Charles de Gaulle's state visit, which would date the events of the episode to April 1960 if it does indeed coincide with the real-life visit. Primrose's birthday was revealed to be in May in "Stranger at the gates" and she celebrates it in the ninth serial "The happiest days of your life", dating the events either to May 1960 (using the retconned second series date) or 1961 (going by the date given in the first series). By the eleventh serial ("Climb the greasy pole"), when the children are older and the babies have grown to toddlerhood, another close-up of a calendar reveals the month to be October 1959. At the end of the final episode, Sidney is elected to the Rural District Council on 5 November 1959 (Guy Fawkes Night).

text: Cast[edit]

text: Main cast members[edit]

text: Of the four main cast members, Jason and Ferris appeared in all twenty episodes, while Zeta-Jones and Franks appeared in eighteen, their only absences being in the third series double episode "Cast Not Your Pearls Before Swine" (3.3 & 3.4).

text:
David Jason, as Sidney Charles "Pop" Larkin, the father of the family
Pam Ferris, as Florence Daisy "Ma" (Parker) Larkin, the mother of the family
Catherine Zeta-Jones, as Mariette Charlton, née Larkin, eldest Larkin daughter
Philip Franks, Cedric "Charley" Charlton, husband of Mariette

text: Recurring cast - Larkin family[edit]

text: The actors playing the other Larkin children and grandchild were as below (listed in descending character age). All the children except those yet to be born appeared in the first episode. After appearing in the first six episodes, the actor playing Primrose was replaced, the second appearing from the seventh episode (the first Christmas special) onwards. The actors playing the roles of Oscar and John Blenheim first appear in episodes 1.5 and 2.1 respectively. Although a male character, John Blenheim was played by Daisy-May Bates, granddaughter of the author of the books.

text:
Julie Stichbury, as Primrose Larkin (1991) (6 episodes)
Abigail Rokison, as Primrose Larkin (1991-1993) (12 episodes)
Ian Tucker, as Montgomery 'Monty' Larkin, their eldest son (13 episodes)
Christina Giles, as Petunia Larkin, twin sister to Zinnia (18 episodes)
Katherine Giles, as Zinnia Larkin, twin sister to Petunia (18 episodes)
Stephanie Ralph, as Victoria Larkin, the youngest Larkin daughter (19 episodes)
Ross Marriott, as Oscar Larkin, their youngest child (16 episodes)
Daisy-May Bates, as John Marlborough Churchill Blenheim Charlton, the only son of Charlie and Mariette (11 episodes)

text: Recurring cast - others[edit]

text: Various other actors appeared in more than one story-line, i.e. in more than one double-episode.

text:
Rachel Bell as Edith Pilchester, a local spinster (16 episodes)
Moray Watson as the Brigadier, a local retired army officer (11 episodes)
Kika Mirylees as Angela Snow, a local woman (7 episodes)
Martyn Read as Sergeant Wilson, a local police officer (6 episodes)
Tyler Butterworth as Reverend John Candy, the local vicar (4 episodes)
Michael Jayston as Ernest Bristow, the brewery owner (4 episodes)
Carol MacReady as Mrs. Daws, a local shopkeeper (4 episodes)
Sheila Burrell as Mrs. Kinthley, owner of the hop-garden bought by Charlie (4 episodes)
Steven Brand as Tom Sargent, love interest of Mariette (4 episodes)
Anna Massey as Mademoiselle Antoinette Dupont, a French hotelier (3 episodes)
Michael Culver as Sir George Bluff-Gore, a local landowner (3 episodes)
Richenda Carey as Lady Bluff-Gore, wife of Sir George (3 episodes)
John Carlin as Reverend Spink (3 episodes)

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Series 1[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Original broadcast

1.1 & 1.2
"The Darling Buds of May"
7 and 14 April 1991

Cedric Charlton, the tax inspector, arrives on Home Farm to help the Larkins fill in their tax form. He is distracted by their beautiful daughter, Mariette. The Larkins distract him further by attempting to teach him crib and getting him drunk. He wakes with a hangover, and is unfit to return home. Eventually, he forgets life in the office. He accompanies the family on their annual strawberry-picking trip, where he attracts Pauline Jackson, the local flirt. Mariette and Pauline fight for him but Mariette wins and the episode ends with Mr Charlton (called Charley by the family), proposing to Mariette, and Pop Larkin giving them his blessing.

1.3 & 1.4
"When the green woods laugh"
21 and 28 April 1991

The day of Charley and Mariette's wedding is looming. Pop sells a country mansion to an aristocratic couple. When Pop rejects the advances of Corrine Perrigo (Celia Imrie), she gets her revenge by persuading the woman to charge him with assault, when all he attempted was stop her from falling. The Brigadier is best man for the wedding. Eventually, Pop is found innocent and the wedding goes ahead.

1.5 & 1.6
"A breath of French air"
5 and 12 May 1991

The Larkins go on holiday to Brittany. The weather is appalling, the food revolting, the receptionist unfriendly. The weather improves, and a mechanic sees the crest on the doors of Mr Larkin's car and thinks him a lord. As a result, he is treated better, even by the receptionist, Molet. The hotel patronne, Mademoiselle Dupont, gives Pop and Ma her room. Primrose falls in love with a local boy named Marc - Antoine Gammelin and wants to stay in France. Tension springs up between Charley and Mariette when she attracts local young men and wants to spend time with them on the beach. She refuses to go on a miniature railway with Charlie. Incensed, Charlie says he will go on his own. The train is late and he wanders into a bar, where he meets a tomboy and her pals. They get him drunk; he misses his train and has to be escorted home by Pop. But he sobers up at the sight of Mariette playing in the sea with her new friends. Charley drags her away, and tells her she will come on the train with him next day whether she likes it or not. Mariette surrenders and enjoys it. The Larkins get together with the tomboy, Max (short for Maxime), and Angela Snow (who, by a coincidence, is also visiting Brittany) and her sister Iris, who with the hotel staff organise a wedding anniversary celebration for Charley and Mariette.

1.7
"Christmas is coming!"
22 December 1991

As Christmas approaches, Charley and Mariette go to view a house to rent, unaware that Tommy Mason, an escaped convict is hiding there. Pop later discovers him in the Larkins' hen-house where Victoria is taking food to him. He explains that, since his imprisonment, his wife has severed all ties with him but he is anxious to see his children. Pop usually dresses as Father Christmas to give local children toys but Charley suggests Tommy play the part so he can see his children, which he does, as well as making up with his wife and then returning to prison. Mrs Mason and her children join the throng already invited to spend Christmas Day with the Larkins.

text: Series 2[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Original broadcast

2.1 & 2.2
"Oh! to be in England!"
26 January and 2 February 1992

Mam'selle Dupont comes to stay with the Larkins, and discovers the truth – Mr. Larkin is not a lord. She is disappointed but comes to terms with it, and enjoys her stay. Pop saves an old woman from being cheated, and buys a fair from his friend, Fruity Pears, who is unable to run it after being attacked by thugs. Primrose's relationship with the French boy has fizzled out; back in the UK she falls for Mr Candy, the young vicar in charge of christening the young Larkins ... and a newly arrived Charlton.

2.3 & 2.4
"Stranger at the gates"
9 and 16 February 1992

A young man named Pieter who says he is Danish arrives on the farm, and starts doing odd jobs for the people in the village. Everyone, including Mariette, thinks he's the bee's knees, much to the resentment of Charley. Meanwhile, Montgomery is being bullied by local boys, and Primrose is attempting to win Mr. Candy's heart. She mistakes his sister for a girlfriend, and angrily leaves him. Charley discovers that Pieter is German and has been hiding his identity because of the anti-German sentiment in post-World War II Britain. The villagers turn against him on this discovery, but Pieter is restored to favour again after he rescues John Watson, one of the bullies from a quarry ledge. The Larkins arrange for Pieter to marry his girlfriend, an English lady named Eileen.

2.5 & 2.6
"A season of heavenly gifts"
23 February and 1 March 1992

Pop Larkin unwittingly becomes involved in smuggling when he receives gifts from a grateful pilot he helped after a crash-landing. Meanwhile, an evil Polish man named Mr. Cope attempts to prevent Charley and Mariette from buying Mrs Kinthley's hopgarden. The pilot invites the family to a party at his club, which they greatly enjoy. Montgomery Larkin is unhappy at Naval College, where he is training to be a sailor in the merchant navy. The family go to his Open Day; the Brigadier goes along and helps them solve the problem by showing Pop how to humiliate the bullying instructor, Strickland.

2.7
"Le Grand Weekend"
26 December 1992

Pop and Ma's proposed week-end in Paris is disrupted by a storm, and they spend the time in a country house.

text: Series 3[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Original broadcast

3.1 & 3.2
"The happiest days of your life"
28 February and 7 March 1993

The twins go to boarding school, while Charley starts doing the books as a part-time job for the brewery to which he wishes to sell his hops. Charley and Mariette decide to buy the brewery. The whole family repairs the twins' boarding school, which was otherwise going to be forced to close by the bank for not keeping up with the repairs.

3.3 & 3.4
"Cast not your pearls before swine"
14 and 21 March 1993

Pop builds a swimming-pool, and buys two hundred pigs from George Harran, a confidence trickster who is also cheating Edith, who has fallen in love with him. Meanwhile, Primrose has a new love interest – a member of the swimming pool building crew, from Liverpool. Pop prepares a trick against George to put all to rights without hurting Edith. Primrose runs away to Liverpool in pursuit of her love after Victoria teases her, causing Pop to realise the scam, but returns home when she realises he is not the man for her.

3.5 & 3.6
"Climb the greasy pole"
28 March and 4 April 1993

Pop runs for rural councillor while Charley and Mariette struggle at the brewery and have problems in their relationship. Gypsies get involved in Pop's campaign for rural councillor. Charley and Mariette have to work on their marriage as Mariette is attracted to Tom Sargent, after which they at last finalise the deal to buy Bristow's brewery.

text: Production[edit]

text: Conception and development[edit]

text: Having been sold to MGM films in 1959, it wasn't until 1989 that Richard Bates, son of the author of the original books H.E Bates, was able to purchase the rights to the novels. At the same time, Yorkshire Television were looking for a new project for David Jason, having starred for them in A Bit of a Do.[1] Richard Bates went on to Executive Produce the show, alongside Vernon Lawrence of Yorkshire Television.[2]

text: Casting[edit]

text: Bates had originally considered Bob Hoskins as ideal for the role of Pop, but Lawrence was of the view his increasing fame as a film actor would create problems.[2] Jason was cast first, followed by Ferris and Franks. Finding an actor to fit with the novel's description of Mariette as a black-haired and olive skinned beauty proved difficult, with over 300 rejected until Zeta-Jones was cast. With filming due to start, she had been spotted appearing in 42nd Street at the Drury Lane Theatre.[1]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Each one-hour episode took two weeks to film, followed by two months in post production.[1]

text: Filming locations[edit]

text: Much of the series was filmed in and around the village of Pluckley in Kent; Executive Producer Richard Bates lived just a few miles away.[3]

text: The location for "Home Farm", the Larkin residence, was Buss Farm a few miles south of Pluckley, owned by the Holmes family. All four main buildings of the Grade II listed farm were utilised, the farmhouse itself, a square oast house (depicted in the title sequence), a Tudor barn and cart lodge. After being put up for sale by the family in 2012, it was purchased in 2013 by a businessman. Renaming it "Darling Buds Farm", several buildings were converted into guest accommodation themed around the show.[4][5]

text: Other locations in Pluckley village itself were used extensively; the Black Horse pub in The Street was renamed the Hare and Hounds and used as the Larkins' local. Church Gate Cottage and Fig Tree Cottage in The Street served as Edith Pilchester's and The Brigadier's homes respectively. Pluckley primary school, also in The Street, served as the village hall. The butcher's shop also featured, and the Post Office (dressed as the grocer's). Church scenes were filmed at St Nicholas Church in the village.[6]

text: The cricket scenes were filmed at Little Chart Cricket Club, a village north east of Pluckley.[6]

text: Further afield, in and around Tenterden, Kent, Halden Place in Halden Lane, Cranbrook, served as Mrs Kinthley's hop garden, Wentwood Cottage in Swain Road served as Charley and Mariette's cottage, and the Kent & East Sussex Railway was the location of Charley's arrival in Kent, and the station used by Ma, Charley and Mariette shopping for her wedding dress. Other scenes shot in Kent included the exteriors of "Bristow's Brewery", filmed at Shepherd Neame Brewery in Faversham, and scenes of the Larkin's beach holiday, filmed in Folkestone, including a backdrop of the Leas Lift. Mlle. Dupont is met by the Larkin's at Folkestone Harbour after her channel crossing.[6]

text: Little filming was done inside the farmhouse, the interiors having been shot in a studio at Yorkshire Television. Scenes shot in the former Wennington School in Yorkshire were included.

text: To mark the series' 20th anniversary, Kent County Council established a tourist trail featuring the various film locations and other local attractions and Kent food.[6][7]

text: Music[edit]

text: The series' music producer Pip Burley wrote the title theme, "Perfick!". He had submitted the piece anonymously, having deemed the submissions received from a shortlist of composers missed the point of the essential romanticism of the show. Although it also featured lyrics, drawn from the words used in the novels, the theme music for the series did not feature them. The song with lyrics was later sung by David Jason for the radio adaptation of the last book in the Larkin series, A Little of What You Fancy.[8][9]

text: Future[edit]

text: After the series ended, Ferris wished to film more episodes. Having performed it for radio in 1996, she theorised in 2008 that the reason the fifth book was never adapted for television was because the storyline featured Pop recovering from a heart attack, something the producers likely thought the audience would not want to see.[10]

text: In 2016, having filmed a cinema adaptation of another classic TV series, Dad's Army, Zeta-Jones responded positively to suggestions that The Darling Buds of May might also be similarly remade, stating "I’d be playing Ma Larkin, but I’m up for it".[11]

text: Themes[edit]

text: Locally produced food and drink intentionally played a core role in the series.[1] Due to not being ripe at the right time, the strawberries used in the series were imported from Holland.[3] One of the most iconic scenes featuring Pop and Ma eating a meal together while having a bath.[3] With several scenes featuring eating, the fact Ferris was a vegetarian had to be worked around by the production staff.[3] Both Ferris and Jason gained weight due to the amount of food they had to consume, often in multiple times and for multiple scenes at one time, to make the scenes look realistic.[2]

text: Another theme of the series was the Larkin family's habit of giving their children unusual or themed first and middle names. Mariette was created by combining 'Marie' and 'Antoinette'. Montgomery was named after wartime officer Field Marshall Montgomery. Victoria was named for being born during the plum season (Victoria plum). While Monty and Victoria have no middle names, the other children have multiple instances of them: Primrose Violet Anemone Iris Magnolia Narcissa, twins Petunia June Florence Nightingale and Zinnia June Florence Nightingale, and Oscar Columbus Septimus Dupont, the last one being in tribute to the French hotelleir Mademoiselle Dupont, who features in the series. In comparison, Mariette's wedding ceremony reveals her middle name is simply Jane. Mariette and Charlie continue the family tradition by naming their son John Marlborough Churchill Blenheim.

text: Release[edit]

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: The first episode was transmitted on the ITV channel at 8pm on a Sunday night.[1]

text: Home media[edit]

text: When the series was first released on video, it sold £1m worth of copies in the first four days.[2]

text: DVD releases:

text:
Country
Publisher
Title
Rating
Release date
Notes

United Kingdom
Cinema Club
The Best of The Darling Buds of May
PG
15 July 2002

Cinema Club
The Darling Buds of May: The Perfect Collection
PG
10 November 2003
all 20 episodes

ITV Studios
The Darling Buds of May: The Complete Series - Special Edition
PG
7 February 2005
all 20 episodes & exclusive interviews

ITV Studios
The Darling Buds of May: The Complete Series
PG
1 September 2008
contains all 20 episodes & exclusive commentary

ITV Studios
The Darling Buds of May: The Complete 20th Anniversary Collection
PG
8 August 2011
all 20 episodes

Australia
Shock Records
The Darling Buds of May: Series One
PG
3 March 2007[12]
Special 2-Disc Edition - contains all 6 episodes & bonus episode "Christmas is Coming"

Shock Records
The Darling Buds of May: Series Two
G
5 May 2007[13]
Special 2-Disc Edition - contains all 6 episodes & bonus episode "La Grande Weekend"

Shock Records
The Darling Buds of May: The Complete Collection
PG
29 March 2008[14]
all 20 episodes

Reel DVD
The Darling Buds of May: The Complete Collection
PG
6 February 2013[15]
all 20 episodes (contains same packaging as UK 2011 release)

text: Note: The 2008 and 2011 DVD sets from ITV Studios list that there are 11 episodes; this is due to the fact that all episodes in series 1-3 (not including the specials) contain two parts making them count as a whole.

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: A 16 track soundtrack of the series was released by EMI on CD in 1991.[16]

text: Reception[edit]

text: The series was a ratings success,[17] its "feel-good" factor during economic recession often noted as the reason[citation needed]. While Yorkshire TV classified it as a drama, audiences and critics have generally considered it a comedy/drama.

text: The first episode broke a British broadcasting record, becoming the first instance of a new series topping the national ratings, beating the soap opera Coronation Street (also an ITV production) on the night. This came as a shock to producers, although they had been hopeful of good ratings, based on the dull weather and the belief people would be looking for something to lift their spirits following the end of the Gulf War.[1]

text: Jason attributed the series' popularity to the public wanting a more wholesome, inclusive and inoffensive viewing option, at a time when violence on television was increasing. This was one of the main reasons he decided to take the role.[2]

text: The series generated an upsurge in sales of H.E. Bates' novels.[2]

text: Awards[edit]

text: 1992 Ivor Novello Award - Best Theme from a TV/Radio Production[18]

text: Source novels and other adaptations[edit]

text: The series is based on the works of H. E. Bates, who died in 1974. Having moved from the industrialised English Midlands to a granary in Little Chart in Kent in 1930 in search of new inspirations for his work, he was initially frustrated in his efforts to create a novel based on the Kent way of life. His inspiration for the Larkin stories eventually came in 1955 while on a trip to Sittingbourne. Pausing at Faversham, he observed the joyful camaraderie of a large boisterous family as they emerged from a shop and departed in a large blue truck. Combining this with observations of another family on a nearby small-holding, he set about writing about how these families might live. Originally a short story, he expanded it into a novel, followed by a further four books, the titles of the first four of which were used as episode titles for the TV series:[1]

text:
The Darling Buds of May (1958)
A Breath of French Air (1959)
When the Green Woods Laugh (1960)
Oh! To be in England! (1963)
A Little of What You Fancy? (1970)

text: The first novel in the series was originally adapted to the screen in 1959 as The Mating Game, starring Debbie Reynolds and Tony Randall as Mariette and Charley.

text: The fifth novel, A Little of What You Fancy?, was never adapted for television, but it was adapted into a six-part series by Eric Pringle for BBC Radio, with Jason and Ferris reprising their roles, first airing in February 1996.[19][20]

text: In May 2011 a stage production of the series was put on at Buss Farm.[7]


document_title: Marvel vs. Capcom

question_text: when did the first marvel vs capcom come out

root

text: Marvel vs. Capcom

text: Games[edit]

text:
Timeline of release years

1996
X-Men vs. Street Fighter

1997
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

1998
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes

1999

2000
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

2012
Marvel vs. Capcom Origins

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

tag: table

text:
X-Men vs. Street Fighter was initially released as an arcade game in 1996.[1] The game was later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1997 and PlayStation in 1998.[2][3] It established the series' basic gameplay conventions by combining Street Fighter-style combat with tag team features.[4] X-Men vs. Street Fighter also borrowed gameplay concepts from Capcom's previous Marvel-licensed fighting games, X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes.[5]
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter was released in arcades in 1997.[1] It was then ported to the Sega Saturn in 1998 and PlayStation in 1999.[6][7] The game expanded the playable roster to the larger Marvel Universe, introducing characters such as Captain America, Hulk, and Spider-Man.[4] It was also responsible for introducing character assist moves to the franchise, a gameplay element which would influence future Marvel vs. Capcom installments.[5]
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes debuted in arcades in 1998.[1] Ports to the Dreamcast and PlayStation soon followed in 1999.[8] Rather than strictly using Street Fighter characters, the game included characters from other Capcom video game franchises, such as Mega Man, Morrigan, and Strider Hiryu.[4] It removed the character assist feature used in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and implemented its own system, which randomly allocated guest characters to each player.[9]
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes was released in arcades in 2000 and ported to the Dreamcast within the same year.[10][11] The game received ports to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2002.[12][13] It was then re-released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 through the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, respectively, in 2009.[14] Lastly, a version for iOS devices was released in 2012.[15] Featuring a large playable roster, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 reused the assist features from Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and changed the series' two-on-two battle system to three-on-three fights.[16]
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011.[17] The series' traditional sprites transitioned into 3D character models while retaining the 2D-style combat.[4] The game includes various gameplay features designed to make it more accessible to newer players, such as the additions of a comeback mechanic and a more simplified control scheme.[18]
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, a standalone updated edition of the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3, was released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox 360 in 2011.[19][20] The game was also released for the PlayStation 4 via the PlayStation Network in 2016; releases for the Xbox One via the Xbox Live Arcade and Microsoft Windows via Steam followed in 2017.[21] It features new characters, stages, modes, and other enhancements to improve game balance and online functionality.[22]
Marvel vs. Capcom Origins, a compilation game which includes Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 through the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, respectively, in 2012.[23] It features high-definition visuals, online multiplayer, dynamic challenges, and unlockables.[23]
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was released in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.[24][25] It features two-on-two battles, similar to earlier Marvel vs. Capcom games, and removes traditional assist moves in favor of its own dual-character combo system.[25][26] The game also implements a gameplay mechanic involving the Infinity Stones, which grants players unique abilities and upgrades depending on the type of stone selected.[26]

tag: ul

text: Related media[edit]

text: In 2011, a series of Minimates based on the playable characters from Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds were released by Art Asylum.[27] On July 2, 2012, Udon Entertainment announced the release of Marvel vs. Capcom: Official Complete Works, an art book consisting of promotional artwork, sketches and bonus material from the video game collaborations between Marvel and Capcom, beginning with the 1993 arcade game The Punisher to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.[28][29] The book contains contributions from a variety of artists and illustrators, including Akiman, Bengus, Shinkiro, Joe Madureira, Adi Granov, Joe Ng, Long Vo, Chamba, Adam Warren and Takeshi Miyazawa.[28] Official Complete Works made its international debut at San Diego Comic-Con on July 11, 2012, in an exclusive hardcover edition.[28][29] The hardcover also featured a wrap-around cover designed by Udon Entertainment and Capcom artist Alvin Lee, and digitally-painted by Udon's Genzoman.[29] A standard-format softcover was released in November 2012 by Diamond Comics.[29]

tag: p

text: Gameplay[edit]

text: The basic gameplay of the Marvel vs. Capcom series was originally derived from X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes.[5] Players compete in battle using characters with unique moves and special attacks.[30] Using a combination of joystick movements and button presses, players must execute various moves to damage their opponent and deplete their life gauge, or alternatively, have the most cumulative health when the timer runs out.[30][31] However, unlike the two aforementioned games, which focus on single combat, the Marvel vs. Capcom series revolve around tag team-based combat.[5] Instead of choosing a single character, players select multiple characters to form teams of two or three.[5] Each character on the team is given their own life gauge.[32][33] Players control one character at a time, while the others await off-screen.[30] Players are also free to swap between their characters at any point during the match.[34] As characters take damage, portions of their life gauge will turn red, known as "red health", which represents the amount of health that a character can recover if the player tags them out.[35] The off-screen, dormant characters will slowly replenish their red health, allowing players to cycle through their team members and prolong their ability to fight.[35] Furthermore, as characters deal and receive damage, a colored meter at the bottom of the screen known as the "Hyper Combo Gauge" will gradually fill.[36] By expending meter from their Hyper Combo Gauge, players can perform "Hyper Combos" – powerful, cinematic attacks that deal heavy damage to the opponent – in addition to several other special techniques.[30][36] If one character loses all of their health, they are knocked out and the next available fighter will automatically come into play.[33]

text: Each successive Marvel vs. Capcom installment has added, removed, or altered gameplay elements over the course of the series' history.[5] X-Men vs. Street Fighter added two-on-two tag team features.[9] Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter introduced the concept of the "assist" by allowing the player to summon their off-screen partner to perform a special move without switching characters.[9][37] This feature was replaced in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, which instead randomly allocated an unplayable guest character with a preset assist move before each match; in addition, assists were limited to only a few uses per round.[9] The assist features from Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter were re-incorporated into the following sequel, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, once again granting players the ability to call in their off-screen characters at any time during the match without constraint.[38] Marvel vs. Capcom 2 also increased the number of characters per team by one, providing a three-on-three battle format.[38] Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds introduced "X-Factor", a comeback mechanic which offers increased damage, speed, and red health regeneration for a limited time upon activation.[36] Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite reverts to two-on-two partner battles and removes traditional character assists.[26] Infinite also implements the Infinity Stones as a gameplay mechanic, where each of the six stones grants unique abilities and enhancements to the player.[26]

text: Another gameplay element that helps to distinguish the Marvel vs. Capcom series from other fighting game franchises is its emphasis on aerial combat.[39][40] Every character in the Marvel vs. Capcom series is given a "Launcher" move, which sends the opponent flying up into the air.[40] The player can then choose to follow up immediately by using a "Super Jump", which allows a character to jump much higher than normal, in order to continue their combo; these airborne combos are called "Air Combos" or "Aerial Raves".[5][31] Marvel vs. Capcom 3 introduced a gameplay feature known as the "Team Aerial Combo" or "Aerial Exchange", giving players the opportunity to extend their Air Combos further by quickly tagging in their other characters while mid-air.[36]

text: As Capcom's design philosophy for the series has changed to appeal to a wider audience, the control scheme has been repeatedly modified to accommodate people less familiar with the fighting game genre.[26][41] The first three installments utilized the same layout of six attack buttons, separated as three pairs of light, medium, and hard punches and kicks.[26][30] In Marvel vs. Capcom 2, in order to make the game more accessible, the layout was tweaked to four attack buttons, consisting of two pairs of light and heavy punches and kicks, and two dedicated assist buttons.[16][42] The control scheme was further simplified with the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which included three attack buttons designated to undefined light, medium, and hard attacks, two assist buttons, and an "exchange button" used to perform Launchers and switch between characters during Air Combos.[42][43] In addition, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 included two different control scheme options: Normal Mode and Simple Mode.[44][45] Simple Mode, designed for casual players, allows players to perform special moves and Hyper Combos with single button presses at the expense of limiting a character's available moveset.[42][44]

text: Characters[edit]

text: Marvel vs. Capcom has featured over 100 playable fighters, primarily drawn from comic book series published by Marvel Comics and video games franchises developed and produced by Capcom. Rarely, the games have introduced original characters, which include Norimaro from Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, and Amingo, Ruby Heart, and SonSon from Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.[9][46] In addition to the playable cast, other characters from the Marvel and Capcom universes make appearances in the games in varying capacities. Both Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes include secret characters which can be played by inputting specific sequences of joystick movements on the character select screen.[47][48] These secret characters consist of palette swaps of existing fighters with different moveset properties.[47][48] Clash of Super Heroes also has unplayable summon characters as part of its "Guest Character/Special Partner" assist system.[34][49] Many Marvel vs. Capcom installments also allow players to fight as the games' boss characters in special game modes, with the exception of Abyss from Marvel vs. Capcom 2.[50][51] Characters that have not been playable frequently make cameo appearances in the games' cutscenes and stage backgrounds.[52] Lastly, numerous non-playable Marvel and Capcom characters are featured as "Ability Cards" in the Heroes and Heralds game mode in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.[53] Out of all the playable characters, Ryu and Chun-Li are the only ones to have appeared in every game released thus far.

text:
List of playable charactersshow

Character
Side
XvSF
MSHvSF
MvC
MvC2
MvC3
UMvC3
MvCI

Akuma
Capcom

[Note 1]
[Note 2]
Unlockable

Albert Wesker
Capcom

Amaterasu
Capcom

Amingo
Capcom

Anakaris
Capcom

Apocalypse
Marvel
[Note 1]
[Note 1]

Arthur
Capcom

B.B. Hood
Capcom

Unlockable

Blackheart
Marvel

[Note 3]

Unlockable

Black Panther
Marvel

DLC

Black Widow
Marvel

DLC

Cable
Marvel

Cammy White
Capcom

Unlockable

Captain America
Marvel

[Note 3]

Unlockable

Captain Commando
Capcom

Captain Marvel
Marvel

Charlie Nash
Capcom

[Note 3]

Unlockable

Chris Redfield
Capcom

Chun-Li
Capcom

[Note 3]
Unlockable

Colossus
Marvel

Unlockable

Crimson Viper
Capcom

Cyclops
Marvel

Dan Hibiki
Capcom

Unlockable

Dante
Capcom

Deadpool
Marvel

Dhalsim
Capcom

Unlockable

Doctor Doom
Marvel

Doctor Strange
Marvel

Dormammu
Marvel

Felicia
Capcom

Unlockable

Firebrand
Capcom

Frank West
Capcom

Galactus
Marvel

[Note 1]

Gambit
Marvel

Unlockable

Gamora
Marvel

Ghost Rider
Marvel

Guile
Capcom

Hawkeye
Marvel

Hayato Kanzaki
Capcom

Hsien-Ko
Capcom

Hulk
Marvel

[Note 3]

Iceman
Marvel

Iron Fist
Marvel

Iron Man
Marvel

Unlockable

Jedah Dohma
Capcom

Jill Valentine
Capcom

Unlockable
DLC
DLC

Jin Saotome
Capcom

Juggernaut
Marvel

Unlockable

Ken Masters
Capcom

[Note 2]
Unlockable

Magneto
Marvel

Unlockable

Marrow
Marvel

M. Bison
Capcom

Unlockable

Mega Man
Capcom

Unlockable

Mike Haggar
Capcom

M.O.D.O.K.
Marvel

Monster Hunter
Capcom

DLC

Morrigan Aensland
Capcom

[Note 3]
Unlockable

Nathan Spencer
Capcom

Nemesis
Capcom

Norimaro
N/A

[Note 4]

Nova
Marvel

Omega Red
Marvel

Unlockable

Onslaught
Marvel

[Note 1]

Phoenix
Marvel

Phoenix Wright
Capcom

Psylocke
Marvel

Rocket Raccoon
Marvel

Rogue
Marvel

Roll
Capcom

Unlockable

Ruby Heart
Capcom

Ryu
Capcom

Sabretooth
Marvel

Unlockable

Sakura Kasugano
Capcom

[Note 3]

Sentinel
Marvel

Unlockable

Servbot
Capcom

Unlockable

She-Hulk
Marvel

Shuma-Gorath
Marvel

Unlockable
DLC
DLC

Sigma
Capcom

DLC

Silver Samurai
Marvel

Unlockable

SonSon
Capcom

Spider-Man
Marvel

[Note 3]

Spiral
Marvel

Unlockable

Storm
Marvel

Unlockable

Strider Hiryu
Capcom

Super-Skrull
Marvel

Taskmaster
Marvel

Thanos
Marvel

Unlockable

Thor
Marvel

Trish
Capcom

Tron Bonne
Capcom

Ultron
Marvel

Venom
Marvel

[Note 3]

DLC

Vergil
Capcom

Viewtiful Joe
Capcom

War Machine
Marvel

[Note 3]
Unlockable

Winter Soldier
Marvel

DLC

Wolverine
Marvel

Unlockable[Note 5]

X
Capcom

X-23
Marvel

Zangief
Capcom

[Note 3]

Zero
Capcom

Total[Note 6]
18
20
17
56
38
51
36

text:
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Players can fight as final boss characters Apocalypse, Cyber Akuma, Galactus, and Onslaught against waves of AI-controlled enemies in their games' respective boss modes.
^ Jump up to: a b In Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, Ryu has an ability called "Complete Change", which allows him to change his moveset into Ken's or Akuma's.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Alternate, palette-swapped versions of Blackheart (Mephisto), Captain America (U.S. Agent), Charlie (Shadow), Chun-Li (Shadow Lady), Hulk (Orange Hulk), Morrigan (Lilith), Sakura (Sunburned Sakura), Spider-Man (Armored Spider-Man), Venom (Hyper Venom), War Machine (Mega War Machine), and Zangief (Mech-Zangief) appear as secret characters.
Jump up ^ Norimaro is exclusive to the Japanese arcade and console versions of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter.
Jump up ^ An alternate version of Wolverine, named Bone Claw Wolverine, appears as a separate playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.
Jump up ^ Totals include playable boss characters and downloadable content characters, where applicable.

tag: ol

text: Development[edit]

text: Capcom's partnership with Marvel Comics began in 1993 with the release of The Punisher, an arcade beat 'em up based on the comic book series of the same name.[4] Capcom then created their first Marvel-based fighting game, X-Men: Children of the Atom, in 1994.[4] Marvel Super Heroes soon followed in 1995.[4] Many of the gameplay mechanics used in the Marvel vs. Capcom series were first developed and refined in these two fighting games, serving as precursors to the series.[60] In 2011, then-current Capcom USA Strategic Marketing Director of Online and Community Seth Killian stated that many fighting game aficionados, including himself, consider them to have laid the foundation for the series.[60]

text: The idea for implementing tag teams was allegedly inspired by an easter egg from Capcom's own 1995 fighting game Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams.[61] In a secret "Dramatic Battle" mode, two players, controlling Ryu and Ken, were able to fight against an AI-controlled M. Bison at the same time.[61] The easter egg itself had drawn inspiration from the final battle sequence from Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, which featured a similar fight scene.[61] Recognizing the uniqueness of a team-up concept, Capcom began to work on their next project.[61] After their earlier licensing ventures with Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes, the company decided to combine Marvel's X-Men franchise, their own Street Fighter franchise, and their team-up concept, leading to the creation of X-Men vs. Street Fighter.[61][62] The game debuted in Japanese arcades in 1996, establishing the series' fast-paced, tag team-based gameplay style.[9]

text: Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter was then released in 1997, which replaced most of the X-Men cast with other heroes from the Marvel Universe and introduced the character assist mechanic.[5] Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes later followed in 1998, exchanging the majority of the Street Fighter cast with characters from other Capcom video games series, such as Mega Man and Darkstalkers.[5][9] In 1999, Capcom announced the development of yet another sequel, called Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.[63][64] Marvel vs. Capcom 2 heavily re-used assets from previous Capcom-developed games, including Street Fighter Alpha, Darkstalkers, and the earlier Marvel vs. Capcom titles, resulting in a large roster of 56 playable characters.[65] Shortly after the release of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox ports for Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom lost the use of the Marvel license, putting the series on an indefinite hiatus.[66] However, with the resurgence of the fighting game genre in 2008, owing to the success of Street Fighter IV, Marvel requested Capcom to collaborate with them once again.[67] Capcom would announce the development of the next installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, in 2010.[68] The game was eventually released in 2011.[69] An updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, titled Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, was released later in the same year.[22] The high-definition compilation game Marvel vs. Capcom Origins was then released in 2012.[23]

text: Following the release of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for the PlayStation Vita in 2012, Marvel's new parent company, The Walt Disney Company, which acquired Marvel in 2009, chose not to renew Capcom's license with the Marvel characters, instead opting to put them in its own self-published Disney Infinity series.[70][71] As a result, Capcom had to pull both Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 off their online platforms in 2013.[70][71] However, in 2016, Disney announced its decision to cancel the Disney Infinity series, discontinue self-publishing efforts, and switch to a licensing-only model, allowing them to license their characters to third-party game developers, including Capcom.[72][73] Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was revealed in December 2016, and then released in September 2017.[24][25]

text: Reception[edit]

text:
Aggregate review scores

Game
GameRankings
Metacritic

X-Men vs. Street Fighter
64% (PS)[74]
82% (SAT)[75]
N/A

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
74% (PS)[76]
77% (SAT)[77]
N/A

Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
80% (DC)[78]
75% (PS)[79]
N/A

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
90% (DC)[80]
76% (PS2)[81]
67% (Xbox)[82]
83% (X360)[83]
86% (PS3)[84]
61% (iOS)[85]
90/100 (DC)[86]
76/100 (PS2)[87]
65/100 (Xbox)[88]
82/100 (X360)[89]
85/100 (PS3)[90]
64/100 (iOS)[91]

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
86% (X360)[92]
86% (PS3)[93]
85/100 (X360)[94]
84/100 (PS3)[95]

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
81% (PS3)[96]
81% (X360)[97]
82% (Vita)[98]
79% (PS4)[99]
80/100 (PS3)[100]
79/100 (X360)[101]
80/100 (Vita)[102]
77/100 (PS4)[103]

Marvel vs. Capcom Origins
72% (PS3)[104]
80% (X360)[105]
72/100 (PS3)[106]
78/100 (X360)[107]

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
71% (PS4)[108]
77% (XONE)[109]
70% (PC)[110]
72/100 (PS4)[111]
77/100 (XONE)[112]
69/100 (PC)[113]

text: The Marvel vs. Capcom series has received reviews ranging from average to positive from critics. According to Capcom President and COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto, the games have enjoyed broad appeal, especially in markets outside of Japan.[114] Approximately 8.6 million units of the series had been sold by December 2017, making it Capcom's seventh best-selling franchise.[114][115]

text: The series' first three titles, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, received praise for their frantic gameplay style, visual flair, playable character rosters, and the quality of their sprite animations.[6][32][116] The games' Dreamcast and Sega Saturn ports were also lauded for their technical performance, matching the capabilities of the arcade versions.[6][32][116] Conversely, the PlayStation ports were criticized for their removal of tag team battles and noticeable decline in frame rate and animation quality – changes which stemmed from the console's RAM limitations.[34][117][118]

text: Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes received similar praise, with particular attention given towards the large cast and the addition of three-on-three combat.[11][119] The Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and Xbox versions were criticized for their lack of online multiplayer support outside Japan.[119][120] These concerns were addressed with the release of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ports, which reviewers commended for their smooth online experience.[121][122] A common source of complaints was the game's jazz-inspired soundtrack, which critics deemed as out of place.[123][124]

text: In addition to its character variety and visual presentation, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds garnered praise for simplifying the series' combat mechanics and control scheme, thus making it more accessible for players new to fighting games.[125][126] Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom was applauded for its additions to the character roster, gameplay tweaks, and improved online functionality.[127][128] Both games, however, were criticized for their lack of game modes and single-player content.[126][129] Marvel vs. Capcom Origins was praised for preserving the original arcade releases' integrity and its addition of online multiplayer, dynamic challenges, and unlockable content; however, in remaining faithful to the arcade versions, some reviewers criticized the games for their outdated gameplay and unbalanced fighters.[130][131] Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite received mixed reviews, with critics praising its implementation of new gameplay mechanics, such as the "Active Switch" combo system and the six Infinity Stones.[132][133] On the other hand, the game was criticized for its presentation, particularly its art direction, and its character roster.[134][135]

text: In 2012, Complex ranked Marvel vs. Capcom at number 37 on the list of the best video game franchises, commenting that "a frenetic pace and over the top effects work together to make this franchise stand the test of time."[136]


document_title: Terry's Chocolate Orange

question_text: how many pieces in a terry's chocolate orange

question_tokens: how many pieces in a terry 's chocolate orange

text: Terry's Chocolate Orange

text: Development[edit]

text: The company opened the Art Deco-style factory The Chocolate Works in 1926, and began launching new products.[1] These included the Dessert Chocolate Apple (1926), Terry's All Gold (1931) and the Chocolate Orange (1932). [2] At the onset of World War II, confectionery production was immediately halted. The factory was taken over by F. Hills and Sons of Manchester as a shadow factory to manufacture and repair aircraft propeller blades. With the factory handed back to the company post-war, production was difficult due to continued rationing in the United Kingdom, and limited imports of raw cocoa. In 1954, production of the chocolate apple was phased out in favour of increased production of the chocolate orange.[1]

text: In the North American market, where it has had a variety of importers over the years, it was briefly sold as a Tobler (maker of the Toblerone) product.

text: Chocolate oranges appeared on the South Korean market in the GS25 chain of convenience stores in 2017.

text: Since 2005 and the closure of the Terry factory in York, Chocolate Orange products have been manufactured near Jankowice, Poland.[3]

text: In 1979, Terry's launched the Chocolate Lemon, but it was withdrawn three years later.[2]

text: Structure[edit]

text: The Terry's Chocolate Orange comprises an orange-shaped ball of chocolate mixed with orange oil, divided into 20 segments, similar to a real orange, and wrapped in orange-skin patterned foil. When packaged, the segments are stuck together firmly in the centre; therefore, prior to unwrapping, the ball is traditionally tapped severely on a hard surface to cause the segments to separate from each other (dubbed "Tap and Unwrap" or "Whack and Unwrap").

text: Spin-offs[edit]

text: There have been a number of spin-off products, currently including:

text:
Chocolate Orange bar: a bar of six segments, initially produced with smooth vertical segments (similar to a Toblerone bar), then, later, with textured segments that mimic the traditional orange shape.
Chocolate Orange minis: a bag of small segments
Chocolate Orange White Eggs: egg-shaped white-chocolate versions of Chocolate Orange that were available for one Easter
Segsations: individual segments of chocolate in different flavours, including: milk chocolate, puffed rice, honeycomb, cornflake, white chocolate and a "double seg" of layered milk and dark chocolate, all flavoured with orange oil.
Segsations Mini Eggs: individual foil-wrapped eggs of chocolate in same flavours as Segsations, for Easter
Chocolate Orange – Egg & Spoon: a milk chocolate egg filled with an orange fondant filling (similar to Cadbury's Creme Egg)

text: Advertising[edit]

text: The Chocolate Orange product is known for its unusual marketing, which is usually at its heaviest around Christmas. At one time it was estimated that the Chocolate Orange was found in a tenth of British Christmas stockings.[4] Actress Dawn French has fronted numerous campaigns for the brand, often in a posed scene of defending and hiding "her" Chocolate Orange from others. Famous marketing phrases include:

text:
Tap it and unwrap it (since replaced with "whack and unwrap")
It's not Terry's, it's mine
Don't tap it... Whack it!

text: More recent advertisements (after the rebranding) do not feature French and contain the new slogan "Round but not round for long" (some include the Countdown theme tune). The newest advertising campaign in the United Kingdom features various situations in which people are trying to break the segments of their Terry's Chocolate Orange apart with the slogan "Smash it to pieces, love it to bits".

text: Product range[edit]

text:
Terry's Dessert Chocolate Apple (1926–1954 precursor to the Orange)[2]
Terry's Chocolate Lemon (short-lived 1979-1980s variant)[2]
Terry's Chocolate Orange Dark (formerly 'Plain')
Terry's Chocolate Orange Snowball (white chocolate)
Terry's Chocolate Orange Mint (Discontinued 2012)
Terry's Chocolate Orange Toffee
Terry's Chocolate Orange Bars (chocolate bars)
Terry's Chocolate Orange Mini segments/Segsations (individually wrapped segments)
Terry's Chocolate Orange White Egg
Terry's Chocolate Orange Flavour Carte D'Or ice cream (no longer in production)
Terry's Chocolate Orange Tangy
Terry's Chocolate Orange Cookies
Terry's Chocolate Orange Exploding Candy
Terry's Chocolate Orange Siesta
Terry's Chocolate Orange Hazelnut
Terry's Chocolate Orange Raspberry
Terry's Chocolate Orange White Chocolate Smasher
Terry's Chocolate Orange Toffee Crunch
Terry's Chocolate Orange Birthday Cake
Terry's Chocolate Orange Orange
Terry's Chocolate Orange Ice-Creams (currently sold as limited edition)

text: Changes to product weight in 2016[edit]

text: On 29 May 2016, the UK product size was reduced from 175g to 157g by changing the moulded shape of each segment to leave an air gap between each piece.


document_title: History of media studies

question_text: when did the study of media effects begin

text: History of media studies

text: Chicago School[edit]

text: Though not yet named as such, media studies' roots are in the Chicago School and thinkers such as John Dewey, Charles Cooley and George Mead. These authors saw American society on the cusp of positive social change toward pure democracy. Mead argued that for an ideal society to exist, a form of communication must be developed to allow the unique individual to appreciate the attitudes, viewpoints and positions of others unlike himself, and allow him to be understood by others as well. Mead believed that this "new media" would allow humans to empathize with others, and therefore moves toward an "ideal of human society."[1] Where Mead sees an ideal society, Dewey names it the "Great Community," and further asserts the assumption that humans are intelligent enough for self-government, and that that knowledge is "a function of association and communication."[2] Similarly, Cooley asserts that political communication makes public opinion possible, which in turn promotes democracy. Each of these authors represent the Chicago School’s attention to electronic communication as a facilitator of democracy, its faith in the informed electorate, and its focus on the individual as opposed to the mass.

text: First M.A. Media Studies program in the U.S.[edit]

text: The social impact of mass communication has been studied at The New School University in New York since its founding in 1919. The first college course to investigate the motion picture was offered here in 1926. Marshall McLuhan's colleague, John Culkin, brought his Center for Understanding Media to The New School in 1975 and The New School began offering the Master of Arts degree in Media Studies, one of the first graduate programs of its kind.[3] Today, among other programs,[4] MA in Media Studies is still being offered by School of Media Studies, The New School, which will celebrate 40th anniversary of Media Studies at The New School during the academic year 2015-2016[5]

text: Propaganda studies[edit]

text: Between the First and Second World Wars, the Institute for Propaganda Analysis briefly rose to importance. Their definition of propaganda was

text: "expression of opinion or action by individuals or groups deliberately designed to influence opinion or actions of other individuals or groups with reference to predetermined ends."[6]

text: Harold Lasswell, who worked in the paradigm of the Chicago School of sociology wrote Propaganda Technique in the World War, which included this definition of propaganda:

text: "Propaganda in the broadest sense is the technique of influencing human action by the manipulation of representations. These representations may take spoken, written, pictorial or musical form."[7]

text: These definitions of propaganda clearly show that this was a school of thought that focused on media effects, as it highlighted the influence that media could have over its audiences attitudes and actions.[8]

text: Epitomizing this early school of media effects studies are experiments done by The Experimental Section of the Research Branch of the U.S. War Department's Information and Education Division. In the experiments, the effects of various U.S. wartime propaganda films on soldiers were observed.[9]

text: Current Propaganda studies are applied into many fields besides politics. Herman described a propaganda model as "a model of media behavior and performance, not of media effects." (Herman, 2000, p. 63) He argued: "They are profit-seeking business, owned by very wealthy people (or other companies); and they are funded largely by advertisers who are also profit-seeking entities, and who want their advertisements to appear in a supportive selling environment."[10] He also presented "five factors: owner ship, advertising, sourcing, flak and anti-communist ideology-work as filters through which information must pass, and that individually and often in cumulative fashion they greatly influence media choices."[10] Until now, there is no conclusion of propaganda, debate still continues.

text: Frankfurt School and Critical Theory[edit]

text: Typified by the philosophical and theoretical orientations of Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Leo Lowenthal, and Herbert Marcuse, the Frankfurt school contributed greatly to the development and application of critical theory in media studies. Their Marxist critique of market-driven media was critical of its atomizing and leveling effects.

text: The Frankfurt school also lamented the effects of the "culture industry" on the production and appreciation of art. For example, in A Social Critique of Radio Music, Adorno asserts:

text: "…music has ceased to be a human force and is consumed like other consumers’ goods. This produces ‘commodity listening’…The listener suspends all intellectual activity."[11]

text: As the Frankfurt school lamented on the effects of the "culture industry" they also began to identify mass culture and high culture as two distinct entities. Scholars like Benjamin (1936) and Adorno (1945) can be credited with what would eventually become known as popular culture and high culture. Their finite distinction of equating original production with ritualistic behavior as compared with mass culture that finds its identifying symbols in reproductions. These reproductions are souless and lacking in definition and originality.

text: Media effects[edit]

text: The less paradigm in media studies since the Second World War has been associated with the ideas, methods and findings of Paul F. Lazarsfeld and his school: media effect studies. Their studies focused on measurable, short-term behavioral ‘effects’ of media and concluded that the media played a limited role in influencing public opinion. The "Limited-Effects" Model developed by Lazarsfeld and his colleagues from Columbia was highly influential in the development of media studies. The model claims the mass media has "limited-effects" on voting patterns. Voters are influenced, rather, through the ‘two-step flow’ model, the idea that media messages are disseminated through personal interaction with ‘opinion leaders’.[12]

text: The model of limited- effects was so influential that the question of media "effects" on politics was left largely unaddressed until the late 1960s. Eventually Mass Communication scholars began to study political behavior again and the limited-effects model was called into question.[13]

text: Uses and Gratification Model[edit]

text: As a response to the previous emphasis upon media effects, from the 1970s researchers became interested in how audiences make sense of media texts.[14] The "uses and gratifications" model, associated with Jay Blumler and Elihu Katz, reflected this growing interest in the 'active audience'. One such example of this type of research was conducted by Hodge and Tripp,[15] and separately Palmer,[16] about how school-children make sense of the Australian soap opera Prisoner. They found that pupils could identify with the prisoners: they were "shut in", separated from their friends and wouldn't be there had they not been made to be, etc. Also, the children could compare the wardens to their teachers: "the hard-bitten old [one], the soft new one, the one you could take advantage of..."[17]John Fiske summarises:

text: The children inserted meanings of the program into their social experience of school in a way that informed both -- the meanings of school and the meanings of Prisoner were each influenced by the other, and the fit between them validated the other.[17]


document_title: Ready Player One

question_text: what is the oasis in ready player one

question_tokens: what is the oasis in ready player one

text: Ready Player One

text: Synopsis[edit]

text: Setting[edit]

text: In the 2040s,[7] the world has been gripped by an energy crisis from the depletion of fossil fuels and the consequences of global warming, and overpopulation, causing widespread social problems and economic stagnation. To escape the decline their world is facing, people turn to the OASIS,[a] a virtual reality simulator accessible by players using visors and haptic technology such as gloves. It functions both as an MMORPG and as a virtual society, with its currency being the most stable in the real world. It was created by James Halliday who, when he died, had announced in his will to the public that he had left an Easter egg inside OASIS, and the first person to find it would inherit his entire fortune and the corporation. The story follows the adventures of Wade Watts, starting about five years after the announcement, when he discovers one of the three keys pointing to the treasure.

text: Plot[edit]

text: Teenager Wade Watts lives with his aunt in Oklahoma City[8] in the "stacks", a poverty-stricken district constructed of trailer homes piled on top of each other. He spends his spare time as a "gunter" ("egg hunter"), logging on to the OASIS as an avatar under the moniker Parzival, reading Halliday's journal Anorak's Almanac, and researching details of the 1980s pop culture, mainly classic video games and movies, that Halliday loved. One day, he realizes that the first key is located on the same virtual world as his own online high school, in a re-creation of the Dungeons & Dragons module Tomb of Horrors. He meets Art3mis, a famous female gunter and blogger who has been exploring the place, and advances further than she does when he defeats the AI Acererak at the video game Joust. He is awarded the Copper Key, and Parzival appears on the "Scoreboard", attracting the world's attention.

text: Parzival completes the gate's puzzles by playing through the Dungeons of Daggorath video game and then role-playing Matthew Broderick's character in the film WarGames. Art3mis clears the gate shortly afterwards, as does Wade's friend Aech. Wade’s fame enables him to make a living by endorsing virtual products. It also brings him to the attention of Nolan Sorrento, head of operations at Innovative Online Industries (IOI), a multinational corporation bent on taking control of the OASIS and monetizing it through a well-funded effort to find the Easter Egg. When Wade refuses to join IOI, Sorrento attempts to kill him by blowing up the stacks where Wade lives, disguising the explosion as a meth lab accident.

text: Wade escapes Oklahoma City and moves to Columbus, Ohio, where he lies low, assuming the pseudonym Bryce Lynch and living in an anonymous apartment designed for hardcore OASIS users. He considers an alliance with Aech, Art3mis, and Daito and Shoto, two Japanese gunters who have also earned the Copper Key. Instead, he and Art3mis begin a wary friendship, but when he asks her out, Art3mis declines. IOI operatives, called Sixers, attempt to assassinate Wade and Art3mis at the birthday party of OASIS co-founder Ogden Morrow. They are stopped by Morrow, who has special privileges and powers within the OASIS. Five months pass. Neither Wade nor anyone else has found the next token, the Jade Key.

text: When Art3mis finds the Jade Key, Parzival scrambles to planet Archaide, where he plays a perfect game of Pac-Man, receiving only a quarter as a prize. Aech provides a hint leading him to the planet Frobozz where he solves the text adventure game Zork. Sorrento, who had tracked Art3mis and Aech using a premium locator artifact, establishes a base there to farm their company's avatars with keys, and unlocks the second Gate and acquires the Jade Key. Shoto tells Parzival that the Sixers infiltrated Daito's real-life apartment and threw him out of the building, killing him.

text: Parzival unlocks the Jade Gate, a Voight-Kampff machine in the Blade Runner universe, and completes the arcade game Black Tiger as a character from the first-person shooter perspective. Using his knowledge of Rush, he acquires the Crystal Key, and after playing "Discovery", the third movement from the title track of their album "2112", finds a clue regarding the conditions to unlock the final gate. As he messages Art3mis, Aech, and Shoto with his solution, Sorrento ends their covert attempts to clear the third gate, Castle Anorak, and places a force field around it.

text: Wade manipulates his assumed identity in order to be arrested and placed in indentured servitude in IOI's tech support department. While inside IOI, he uses black market passwords and security exploits to hack into IOI's intranet: he acquires a wealth of information, including footage of Daito's murder. The information also includes the attempt on his own life, as well as plans to kill Shoto and Art3mis in real life. After escaping the corporation, he shares his information with his friends and publicizes a gathering of avatars to storm the castle. They are interrupted by Ogden Morrow, who offers them a safe haven at his home in Oregon. Wade meets the real-life Aech and Ogden, but not Art3mis and Shoto, who are already hooked into Ogden's immersion pods.

text: The day of the battle, Wade uses his planted hack to bring down the barricade, and a massive fight among avatars ensues. After Parzival uses the giant robot Leopardon to fight against Sorrento's Mechagodzilla Kiryu, Parzival and friends unlock the gate, at which point the Sixers use an artifact called the Cataclyst to destroy the castle and all avatars over a large area. Parzival survives because having the Pac-Man quarter granted him an extra life. As he enters the Crystal Gate, he announces that if he wins he will share his fortune with his three friends. With Sorrento and his Sixers on his heels, Parzival plays Tempest, role-plays King Arthur and various characters in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and retrieves the Easter egg in Adventure. His victory grants him control of the OASIS, including wiping out his enemies' avatars, resurrecting his friends, and a Big Red Button that would wipe OASIS. Sorrento is arrested for the murder of Daito and for conspiring to kill Wade and the others. Back in Oregon, Wade and Art3mis meet in person and rekindle their relationship with a kiss.

text: Characters[edit]

text:
Wade Owen Watts a.k.a. Parzival: the viewpoint character, an orphan from the "stacks" surrounding metropolitan Oklahoma City. Wade names his OASIS character Parzival after the Arthurian knight involved in the quest for the holy grail, and dedicates his life to finding James Halliday's Easter egg. He is 18 years old when he finds the Copper Key in the prologue of the book. His username at the virtual high school he attends is Wade3.[b] Wade's character was based on a mix of Cline as well as his geek friends.[9]
James Donovan Halliday a.k.a. Anorak: creator of OASIS. A big fan of 1980s culture, he announces in his will his plans to leave his entire fortune to whoever can find his Easter egg that he had hidden in OASIS. His character was initially inspired by Willy Wonka who Cline described as a "rich eccentric holding a fantastic contest". Cline used the personalities of Howard Hughes and Richard Garriott, and placed Halliday's birth year around the same as his own so that his pop culture interests would coincide with Cline's "and the other middle-aged uber geeks I know".[10][9]
Aech (pronounced like the letter H):Ch. 33 Wade's best friend, fellow gunter, and rival in the quest to find the egg. Aech's specialty is in PvP and first-person shooter games, and is one of the top combatants on OASIS. Although Aech's avatar is an athletic Caucasian heterosexual male,p. 38-39 Aech is played by an African-American lesbian named Helen Harris, who grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and is about the same age as Wade.Ch. 33 Aech is based partly on Cline's friend Harry Knowles as well as himself and other geeks, both men and women.[9]
Art3mis: a famous female gunter and blogger. Wade has a huge cyber-crush on her, which is complicated by their competition in search of the egg.p. 35 She chose her avatar's name from the Greek goddess of the hunt.[c] Like other characters, Cline based Art3mis on himself and other geeks, both men and women.[9] Her real name is Samantha Evelyn Cook from Vancouver, British Columbia and she has a port-wine stain on her face.Ch. 30
Ogden "Og" Morrow: Co-creator of the OASIS and best friend of James Halliday. They founded the video game company Gregarious Games, where he would handle the business operations, and which would later become Gregarious Simulation Systems (GSS), the company that launched OASIS.p. 54-56 His appearance and personality are described as being "a cross between Albert Einstein and Santa Claus." Concerned that people were using it to escape reality, he quits GSS and works on educational software with his wife Kira until her death. His relationship with Halliday deteriorated, and the two men remained estranged until before Halliday's death, when he is entrusted with ensuring that the hunt goes smoothly and without cheating.Ch. 32-33 Ogden lives in Oregon and owns a set of advanced OASIS consoles and immersion rigs, and is able to monitor everyone in the OASIS, even in private chat rooms.Ch. 12, 32-33 He rarely appears in public, and only shows up on the OASIS once a year on his birthday, where he assumes the avatar of the Great and Powerful Og. Ogden's character and relationship with Halliday was inspired by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, with Morrow being more like Jobs as a "charismatic tech leader".[10][11]
Daito: one of the two Japanese gunters who rise to the top of the scoreboard early on in the hunt, working in a team with "brother", Shoto. The pair have a generally tense, but not unfriendly relationship with Aech, and Art3mis, They are closer to Parzival, and work together on quests unrelated to the hunt. They are based on otaku: Japanese geeks who enjoy movies and anime, as well as hikikomori: people who live as recluses inside their family's homes.[9] Daito's real name is revealed to be Toshiro Yoshiaki after he is killed by the IOI.
Shoto: the second and younger of the two Japanese gunters working as a team in their quest for the egg.p. 129 Shoto's real name is Akihide Karatsu.p. 292 Following the death of his partner, Shoto collaborates with Art3mis, Aech and Wade to finish the hunt.
Nolan Sorrento: the head of operations at Innovative Online Industries (IOI), the multinational corporation that serves as an Internet service provider for most of the world, and that plans to take over and monetize the OASIS. Sorrento is head of IOI's Oology division, which is dedicated to searching for Halliday's Easter egg.p. 33 His avatar name is IOI-655321, after his employee number.Ch. 14, 16 IOI employees in the division are nicknamed Sixers, after their six-digit employee numbers that also begin with the number 6.p. 33 Cline said that he named Sorrento after Nolan Bushnell, founder of the video game company Atari, and said, "Not that I think Nolan is a bad guy, or anything. It’s meant as a subtle tribute!"[12]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Ready Player One was a New York Times bestseller.[13][14][15] Among those praising the book were Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe, The A.V. Club, CNN.com, io9, and Boing Boing. USA Today wrote that the novel "undoubtedly qualifies Cline as the hottest geek on the planet right now."[16] NPR said that the book was "ridiculously fun and large-hearted". Cline "takes a far-out premise and engages the reader instantly" with a "deeply felt narrative [that] makes it almost impossible to stop turning the pages."[17] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that "The book gets off to a witty start" but noted that it lacks at least one dimension, stating that gaming had overwhelmed everything else about this book.[18] Rebecca Serle of HuffPost described the book as "the grown-up's Harry Potter" and that it "has it all – nostalgia, trivia, adventure, romance, heart and, dare I say it, some very fascinating social commentary."[19]

text: The book has been translated into over 20 languages.[20]

text: In an interview with Fortune, Cline said that his book had inspired designers at companies such as Oculus VR which recommended the book for their new employees.[21][22] Oculus has also invited Cline several times to sign books and demo hardware.[23]

text: Spin-offs and sequels[edit]

text: Short story[edit]

text: Lacero, a fan-fiction story by Andy Weir, was published in the 2016 edition of Ready Player One. It follows the story of Nolan Sorrento and functions as a precursor to the main novel, and is considered canonical to the Ready Player One fictional universe.[24][25][26]

text: Sequel novel[edit]

text: In 2015, in an interview with Den of Geek, screenwriter Zak Penn reported that Cline was working on a sequel to the novel.[27] In December 2017, Cline himself confirmed he is writing a sequel.[28]

text: In other media[edit]

text: Easter egg hunt promotion[edit]

text: Ten months after the first edition release, Cline revealed on his blog that Ready Player One itself contained an elaborately hidden Easter egg. This clue would form the first part of a series of staged video gaming tests, similar to the plot of the novel. Cline also revealed that the competition's grand prize would be a DeLorean.[29] The game Ultimate Collector: Garage Sale by Austin-based developer Portalarium was featured in one part of the contest.[30][31] The final stage of the contest was announced on August 1, 2012, and was to set a world record on one of several classic arcade or Atari 2600 games. This was completed on August 9, 2012 by Craig Queen, who set a new world record in Joust. He was awarded the DeLorean on the TV show X-Play.[32]

text: Film adaptation[edit]

text: The film rights were purchased by Warner Bros. on the same day Cline finalized his publishing deal with Random House, one year prior to the novel's publication. Dan Farah brought the project into the studio and is producing it with Donald De Line. Cline adapted his novel into a screenplay.[33] Over the years, Eric Eason and Zak Penn assisted Cline with rewrites.[34]

text: Steven Spielberg signed on to direct in March 2015.[35] Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger of Amblin Partners also joined Deline and Farah as producers. Warner Bros. initially announced a release date of December 15, 2017.[36] On February 9, 2016, the release date was pushed back to March 30, 2018, to avoid competition with Star Wars: The Last Jedi.[37] The movie began production in the spring of 2016 and was filmed in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

text: On June 9, 2016, Variety stated that Spielberg's regular collaborator John Williams was planning on composing the film's score.[38] However, scheduling conflicts with another Spielberg film, The Post, led to Spielberg signing Alan Silvestri for the score.

text: The film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, Simon Pegg, Hannah John-Kamen and Mark Rylance. It premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2018, and was theatrically released by Warner Bros. in the United States on March 29, 2018. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its visuals and brisk pacing, and noting it an improvement over the book, though criticism for the lack of character development and "achingly regressive" view of pop culture fans.[39][40]


document_title: Steptoe and Son

question_text: what was the name of the horse in steptoe and son

text: Steptoe and Son

text: Background[edit]

text: The show had its roots in a 1962 episode of Galton & Simpson's Comedy Playhouse.[3] Galton and Simpson's association with comedian Tony Hancock, for whom they had written Hancock's Half Hour, had ended and they had agreed to a proposal from the BBC to write a series of 10 comedy shows. The fourth in the series, "The Offer", was born both out of writer's block and budgetary constraints.[4] Earlier shows in the series had cost more than expected, so the writers decided to write a two-hander set in one room. The idea of two brothers was considered but father and son worked best. Ronald Fraser was second choice for Harold, which would have produced a totally different character.

text: Galton and Simpson were not aiming to make a pilot for a series, having worked for seven years with Hancock. However, Tom Sloan, the BBC's head of comedy, told them during rehearsals that "The Offer" was a definite series pilot: he saw that the Steptoe idea had potential, as did the audience of that edition of Comedy Playhouse. Galton and Simpson were reportedly overwhelmed by this reaction, and the first of what became eight series was commissioned, the first four of which were transmitted between 1962 and 1965. The last four series were broadcast between 1970 and 1974, in colour. At the peak of the series' popularity, it received viewing figures of some 28,000,000 viewers per episode. In addition, the early 1970s saw two feature films, two 46-minute Christmas specials. In 2005, the play Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane, written by Ray Galton and John Antrobus, brought the storyline to a close.

text: The series was one of the first UK situation comedy programmes to employ actors rather than comedians in the principal roles. Galton and Simpson had decided that they wanted to try to write for performers who "didn't count their laughs".

text: The series' title music, "Old Ned", won its composer Ron Grainer his second successive Ivor Novello award.[1] The series had no standard set of opening titles but the opening sequences would often feature the Steptoe's horse, Hercules. "Steptoe and Son" is the Steptoes' trading name, but as established in the first episode, the "Son" is not Harold as initially believed, but Albert. The name dates from when he and his mother—Mrs. Steptoe—worked the rounds. The first series has the pair as very rough looking and often dirty and wearing ragged clothes, but they quickly "tidied up" for later series.

text: Outside filming of the Steptoe's yard took place at a car breakers' yard in Norland Gardens, London W11, then changing to Stable Way, Latimer Road, for the later series.[5] Both sites have subsequently been redeveloped with no evidence now remaining of the iconic entrance gates through which the horse and cart were frequently driven.

text: Characters[edit]

text: Main Article: List of Steptoe and Son characters

text: Situation[edit]

text: The episodes often revolve around (sometimes violent) disagreements between the two men, Harold's attempts to bed women and momentary interest over things found on his round. As in many of the best examples of British comedy, much of the humour derives from the pathos of the protagonists' situation, especially Harold's continually thwarted (usually by the elder Steptoe) attempts to "better himself" and the unresolvable love/hate relationship that exists between the pair.

text: Albert almost always comes out on top, and routinely and effortlessly proves himself easily superior to his son whenever they compete, e.g. in their frequent game-playing, such as snooker played into the night and pouring rain in 1970 and the Scrabble and badminton games in the 1972 series. Harold takes them desperately seriously and sees them as symbols of his desire to improve himself, but his efforts come to nothing every time. His father's success is partly down to superior talent but is aided by cynical gamesmanship and undermining of his son's confidence. In addition, Albert habitually has better judgement than his son, who blunders into all sorts of con tricks and blind alleys as a result of his unrealistic, straw-clutching ideas. Occasionally the tables are turned, but overall the old man is the winner, albeit in a graceless fashion.

text: Harold is infuriated by these persistent frustrations and defeats, even going to the extent in "Divided We Stand" (1972) of partitioning the house in two so that he does not have to share with his selfish, uncultured and negative father. Predictably, his plan ends in failure and ultimately he can see no way out. However, for all the bitterness there is an essential bond between the pair. Deep down, Albert seems to love his son and his behaviour is perhaps a selfish but misguided way of holding on to him so he does not have to face life alone. When the crunch comes, Harold sticks by his father. This protective bond is much in evidence in "The Seven Steptoerai" (1974) when they are menaced by a local gangster running a protection racket. Typically though, it is Albert who gets them ingeniously out of a very hazardous predicament.

text: The 1974 Christmas special ended the run and seems Harold once again is on the bad end of poor planning, when he books a Christmas holiday abroad, but then finds his passport is out of date. His father must go alone, and Harold, tearfully it seems, waves him off to enjoy a potential good time without him. Harold trudges away, only to jump in a car with a woman to drive off on his own holiday, revealing that he had engineered the whole situation from the beginning. A victory, but only a temporary one, the viewers know that once their holidays end they will return to the familiar status quo once more.

text: Production[edit]

text: Both of the main actors used voices considerably different from their own. Brambell, despite being Irish, spoke with a received pronunciation English accent, as did Corbett. Brambell was aged 49 when he accepted the role of Albert, only 13 years older than Corbett. For his portrayal, he acquired a second set of "rotten" dentures to accentuate his character's poor attitude to hygiene.

text: During its production in the 1960s and 1970s, Steptoe and Son marked itself out as radical compared to most UK sitcoms. This was an age when the predominant sources of laughter in British comedy were farce, coincidence, slapstick and innuendo. However Steptoe and Son brought greater social realism. Its characters were not only working class but demonstrably poor. The earthy language and slang used were in marked contrast to the refined voices heard on most television of the time: e.g., in "Back in Fashion", Harold warns Albert that when the models arrive, "if you feels like a D'Oyly Carte (rhyming slang for 'fart'), you goes outside." Social issues and debates were routinely portrayed, woven into the humour. The programme did not abandon the more traditional sources of comedy but used them in small doses. The characters, and their intense and difficult relationship, displayed deeper qualities of writing and performance than comedy fans were used to.

text: The pilot episode and the first four series which aired from 1962–1965 was recorded in the BBC Lime Grove Studios in London. When the show returned in 1970 after a four-year hiatus, the programme was made in the BBC Television Centre studios in west London, as from 1970 the show was recorded in colour.[6][7][8][9]

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Steptoe and Son is rare among 1960s BBC television programmes in that every episode has survived, despite the mass wiping of BBC archive holdings between 1972 and 1978. However, all the instalments from the first 1970 series and all but two from the second that were originally made in colour only survive in the form of black and white domestic videotape recordings. Copies were made from the master tapes for them by an engineer at the BBC using a Shibaden SV-700 half-inch reel-to-reel b/w video recorder—a forerunner of the video cassette recorder. In 2008, the first reel of a b/w telerecording of the Series 5 episode "A Winter's Tale" (lasting approximately 15 minutes) was returned to the BBC; this is the only telerecording of a colour Steptoe and Son episode known to still exist.[citation needed]

text: The original 2" Quad videotapes of all the episodes of the original 1962–65 series were wiped in the late-1960s. However, these episodes mostly survive on film transfers of the original videotapes as 16mm black and white telerecordings. The exception being "My Old Man's a Tory" which only exists as an optical transfer made from a domestic 405 line reel to reel videotape obtained from Galton and Simpson.[citation needed]

text: The BBC has released 10 DVDs of the series—each of the eight series, and two compilations entitled "The Very Best of Steptoe and Son" volumes 1 and 2. Two Christmas specials are also available on DVD, as are two feature films: Steptoe and Son and Steptoe and Son Ride Again. A boxed set of Series 1–8 and the two Christmas specials was released on Region 2 DVD by 2entertain on 29 October 2007.[citation needed]

text: Also, 52 episodes were remade for BBC Radio, initially on the Light Programme in 1966–67 and later Radio 2 from 1971 to 1976.[citation needed]

text: A special one-off remake of the "A Winter's Tale" episode aired on BBC Four on 14 September 2016,[10] as part of the BBC's Lost Sitcom season recreating lost episodes of classic sitcoms.[11]

text: Sketch appearances[edit]

text:
In 1962, Brambell and Corbett appeared as Steptoe and Son in a short sketch written by Galton and Simpson on the BBC's annual Christmas Night with the Stars programme, broadcast on 25 December 1962. There are no known recordings.
In 1963, they appeared on the ITV Royal Variety Performance in a sketch written by Galton and Simpson featuring Steptoe and Son totting outside Buckingham Palace, the telerecording of the live show, broadcast on 10 November 1963, still exists. The audio of the sketch was also released on a 7-inch single.
In 1966, they appeared on the BBC series The Ken Dodd Show in another live on stage sketch written by Galton and Simpson featuring Steptoe and Son on Blackpool beach, with Ken Dodd in the last two minutes as a strange golf professional. A telerecording of the show, broadcast on 24 July 1966, survives.
In 1967, they appeared in character in a short filmed sequence for the BBC's annual Christmas Night with the Stars programme. The black and white film sequence featuring Steptoe and Son, broadcast on 25 December 1967, still exists.
In 1978, they recorded a Radio 2 sketch, referred to by fans as "Scotch on the Rocks", produced especially for a show titled Good Luck Scotland. This was again written by Galton and Simpson and had a basic premise of Albert wishing to go to Argentina to watch the Scottish football team play in the 1978 World Cup as the "Good Luck Scotland" title of the programme referred to Scotland's chances of winning the World Cup that year.

text: Adverts[edit]

text: In 1977, Brambell and Corbett appeared in character for two television ads for Ajax cleaning products, recorded during their tour of Australia.[citation needed] In 1981, their final ever appearance together was in a UK advert for Kenco Coffee. This led to what proved to be unfounded rumours of a new series for 1981.[citation needed]

text: Audio[edit]

text: A number of LPs and EPs featuring TV soundtracks have been released.

text: Books[edit]

text: To tie-in with the original series, two novelisations were written by Gale Pedrick:

text:
—— (1964). Steptoe and Son. Hodder & Stoughton.
—— (1966). Steptoe and Son at the Palace. Hodder & Stoughton.

text: In 2002 BBC Books published Steptoe and Son by Galton, Simpson and Ross[12] which comprehensively covered the television series, the radio series, films, Royal Variety Shows, commercials and the Sanford & Son spin-off.

text: Other countries[edit]

text:
United States: In 1965 Joseph E. Levine produced a pilot based on The Offer for the American market with Galton and Simpson. Starring Lee Tracy as Albert and Aldo Ray as Harold, it was unscreened, and did not lead to a series. The pilot was released on DVD in the UK in 2018.[13] The concept was later re-worked as Sanford and Son, a top-rated series that ran for five years (1972–77) on the NBC network.[14]
Sweden; Sten-Åke Cederhök and Tomas von Brömssen starred in Albert & Herbert. The pair lived at Skolgatan 15, an address in a working-class neighbourhood of Haga, Gothenburg.[15][16]
The Netherlands; Stiefbeen en Zoon (re-translation; Stepbone and Son) ran for seventeen episodes. It was awarded the 1964 Golden Televizier Ring.[17]
Portugal; Camilo & Filho Lda., starring famous Portuguese comedian Camilo de Oliveira, with Nuno Melo as his son.[18]

text: Spin-offs[edit]

text: Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane[edit]

text: In October 2005, Ray Galton and John Antrobus premiered their play, Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane, at the Theatre Royal, York. It then went on tour across the country. It was set in the present day and related the events leading to Harold killing his father and their eventual meeting 30 years later, Albert then appearing as a ghost. By the end, it is clearly established that this is very much a conclusion to the Steptoe saga.

text: It was not the first time this idea had been considered. When Wilfrid Brambell left the UK after the third series to pursue an eventually unsuccessful Broadway musical career, Galton and Simpson toyed with the concept of 'killing off' Albert in order to continue the show without having to await Brambell's return. The character would have been replaced with Harold's illegitimate son, Arthur (a part thought to be intended for actor David Hemmings). This idea was detested by Corbett, who thought it ridiculous, although the 2008 drama The Curse of Steptoe depicts Corbett as being delighted with the concept, since assuming the role of father would allow Harold's character some development and growth, which he felt was long overdue.[19]

text: Films[edit]

text: In 1972 a film version was released of the show proving highly popular. This first film, also called Steptoe and Son – featuring a young Mike Reid and focusing on Harold getting married but still not being able to get away from his father. Due to popular demand another film, Steptoe and Son Ride Again, was released in 1973 which was also highly popular with fans.

text: When Steptoe Met Son[edit]

text: When Steptoe Met Son was a 2002 Channel 4 documentary about the personal lives of Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett. It aired on 20 August 2002.

text: The programme reveals how Brambell and Corbett were highly dissimilar to their on-screen characters. Corbett felt he had a promising career as a serious actor, but was trapped by his role as Harold and forced to keep returning to the series after typecasting limited his choice of work. Brambell, meanwhile, was a homosexual, something that in the 1960s was still frowned upon and, until the Sexual Offences Act 1967, illegal and was thus driven underground. The documentary went on to describe an ill-fated final tour of Australia, during which the already strained relationship between Corbett and Brambell finally broke down for good.[20]

text: The Curse of Steptoe[edit]

text: The Curse of Steptoe is a television play which was first broadcast on 19 March 2008 on BBC Four as part of a season of dramas about television personalities. It stars Jason Isaacs as Harry H. Corbett and Phil Davis as Wilfrid Brambell. The drama is based upon the actors' on-and-off-screen relationship during the making of the BBC sitcom Steptoe and Son, and is based on interviews with colleagues, friends and family of the actors, and the Steptoe writers, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.[21]

text: The screenplay was written by Brian Fillis, also responsible for the similarly themed 2006 drama Fear of Fanny, which is about television personality Fanny Cradock off-screen. The 66-minute film is directed by Michael Samuels and produced by Ben Bickerton.

text: Both When Steptoe Met Son and The Curse of Steptoe were considered inaccurate by writers Galton and Simpson[22][23][24] and Corbett's family.[25][26]

text: Steptoe and Son[edit]

text: In March 2011 the Engine Shed Theatre Company performed three episodes of the iconic series live on stage at the Capitol Theatre, Horsham. Jack Lane played Albert Steptoe and Michael Simmonds played Harold. The three episodes performed by the company were: Men Of Letters, Robbery With Violence and Seance in a Wet Rag and Bone Yard. Engine Shed went on to adapt and perform the two Christmas Specials later that year.

text: Many of the original TV episodes of Steptoe and Son have now been officially adapted to the stage by the original writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, with David Pibworth and are available for production on www.classiccomedyscripts.co.uk

text: Steptoe and Son by Kneehigh[edit]

text: Performed in 2012 and 2013 by Kneehigh Theatre, Steptoe and Son was adapted from four of the show's original scripts. The production was designed to highlight the Beckettian nature of Albert and Harold's situation, focusing on themes of over-reliance and being trapped within social class. The production toured the UK and received positive reviews from the Financial Times and three stars from The Guardian's Lynn Gardner.[27]

text: DVD releases[edit]

text:
The first series with all six episodes was released in 2004 followed by the second series in 2005 and the third, fourth and fifth in 2006. Series 6, 7 and 8 were released in 2007 alongside the Christmas specials.
The two Steptoe films were released in 2006.
The complete boxed set containing all eight series and two Christmas specials was released in October 2007. In October 2011 the boxset was re released with new packaging.

text: In Australia, Season 1 was released in 2004, Season 2 and Season 3 in 2006, Season 4 and Season 5 in 2007, Season 6 and Season 7 in 2008 and Season 8 in 2009.

text:
DVD Title
Disc No.
Year
Ep. No.
DVD release
Notes

Region 2
Region 4

Complete Series 1
1
1962
6
13 September 2004
10 November 2004
Includes the pilot

Complete Series 2
1
1963
7
8 August 2005
2 March 2006
—

Complete Series 3
1
1964
7
13 February 2006
6 July 2006
—

Complete Series 4
2
1965
7
15 May 2006
7 March 2007
—

Complete Series 5
2
1970
7
24 July 2006
1 August 2007
—

Complete Series 6
2
1970
8
8 January 2007
5 March 2008
—

Complete Series 7
2
1972
7
26 March 2007
7 August 2008
—

Complete Series 8
1
1974
6
14 May 2007
3 March 2009
—

The Christmas Specials
1
1973–74
2
29 October 2007
6 November 2008
Includes the 1973 and 1974 specials

Complete Series 1–8
13
1962–74
57
29 October 2007
1 October 2009
Includes the pilot and the 1973 and 1974 specials