document_title: Telecommunications in India

question_text: when was first telegraph line started in india

text: Telecommunications in India

text: History[edit]

text: The beginning[edit]

text: Telecommunications in India began with the introduction of the telegraph. The Indian postal and telecom sectors are one of the worlds oldest. In 1850, the first experimental electric telegraph line was started between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour. In 1851, it was opened for the use of the British East India Company. The Posts and Telegraphs department occupied a small corner of the Public Works Department,[16] at that time.

text: The construction of 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of telegraph lines was started in November 1853. These connected Kolkata (then Calcutta) and Peshawar in the north; Agra, Mumbai (then Bombay) through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai (then Madras) in the south; Ootacamund and Bangalore. William O'Shaughnessy, who pioneered the telegraph and telephone in India, belonged to the Public Works Department, and worked towards the development of telecom throughout this period. A separate department was opened in 1854 when telegraph facilities were opened to the public.

text: In 1880, two telephone companies namely The Oriental Telephone Company Ltd. and The Anglo-Indian Telephone Company Ltd. approached the Government of India to establish telephone exchange in India. The permission was refused on the grounds that the establishment of telephones was a Government monopoly and that the Government itself would undertake the work. In 1881, the Government later reversed its earlier decision and a licence was granted to the Oriental Telephone Company Limited of England for opening telephone exchanges at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Ahmedabad and the first formal telephone service was established in the country.[17] On 28 January 1882, Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of India's Council declared open the Telephone Exchanges in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The exchange in Calcutta named the "Central Exchange" had a total of 93 subscribers in its early stage. Later that year, Bombay also witnessed the opening of a telephone exchange.[18]

text: Further developments and milestones[edit]

text:
Pre-1902 – Cable telegraph
1902 – First wireless telegraph station established between Sagar Island and Sandhead.
1907 – First Central Battery of telephones introduced in Kanpur.
1913–1914 – First Automatic Exchange installed in Shimla.
1927 – Radio-telegraph system between the UK and India, with Imperial Wireless Chain beam stations at Khadki and Daund. Inaugurated by Lord Irwin on 23 July by exchanging greetings with King George V.
1933 – Radiotelephone system inaugurated between the UK and India.
1953 – 12 channel carrier system introduced.
1960 – First subscriber trunk dialling route commissioned between Lucknow and Kanpur.[citation needed]
1975 – First PCM system commissioned between Mumbai City and Andheri telephone exchanges.
1976 – First digital microwave junction.
1979 – First optical fibre system for local junction commissioned at Pune.
1980 – First satellite earth station for domestic communications established at Sikandarabad, U.P..
1983 – First analogue Stored Programme Control exchange for trunk lines commissioned at Mumbai.
1984 – C-DOT established for indigenous development and production of digital exchanges.
1995 – First mobile telephone service started on non-commercial basis on 15 August 1995 in Delhi.
1995 – Internet Introduced in India starting with Laxmi Nagar, Delhi 15 August 1995[19]

text: Development of Broadcasting: Radio broadcasting was initiated in 1927 but became state responsibility only in 1930. In 1937 it was given the name All India Radio and since 1957 it has been called Akashvani.[20] Limited duration of television programming began in 1959, and complete broadcasting followed in 1965. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting owned and maintained the audio-visual apparatus—including the television channel Doordarshan—in the country prior to the economic reforms of 1991. In 1997, an autonomous body was established in the name of Prasar Bharti to take care of the public service broadcasting under the Prasar Bharti Act. All India Radio and Doordarshan, which earlier were working as media units under the Ministry of I&B became constituents of the body.[14]

text: Pre-liberalisation statistics: While all the major cities and towns in the country were linked with telephones during the British period, the total number of telephones in 1948 numbered only around 80,000. Post independence, growth remained slow because the telephone was seen more as a status symbol rather than being an instrument of utility. The number of telephones grew leisurely to 980,000 in 1971, 2.15 million in 1981 and 5.07 million in 1991, the year economic reforms were initiated in the country.

text: Liberalisation and privatisation[edit]

text: Liberalisation of Indian telecommunication in industry started in 1981 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed contracts with Alcatel CIT of France to merge with the state owned Telecom Company (ITI), in an effort to set up 5,000,000 lines per year. But soon the policy was let down because of political opposition.[21] Attempts to liberalise the telecommunication industry were continued by the following government under the prime-minister-ship of Rajiv Gandhi. He invited Sam Pitroda, a US-based Non-resident Indian NRI and a former Rockwell International executive to set up a Centre for Development of Telematics(C-DOT) which manufactured electronic telephone exchanges in India for the first time.[22] Sam Pitroda had a significant role as a consultant and adviser in the development of telecommunication in India.[23]

text: In 1985, the Department of Telecom(DoT) was separated from Indian Post & Telecommunication Department. DoT was responsible for telecom services in entire country until 1986 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) were carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of metro cities(Delhi and Mumbai) and international long distance operations respectively.[22]

text: The demand for telephones was ever increasing and in the 1990s Indian government was under increasing pressure to open up the telecom sector for private investment as a part of Liberalisation-Privatisation-Globalisation policies that the government had to accept to overcome the severe fiscal crisis and resultant balance of payments issue in 1991. Consequently, private investment in the sector of Value Added Services (VAS) was allowed and cellular telecom sector were opened up for competition from private investments. It was during this period that the Narsimha Rao-led government introduced the National Telecommunications policy (NTP) in 1994 which brought changes in the following areas: ownership, service and regulation of telecommunications infrastructure. The policy introduced the concept of telecommunication for all and its vision was to expand the telecommunication facilities to all the villages in India.[24] Liberalisation in the basic telecom sector was also envisaged in this policy.[25] They were also successful in establishing joint ventures between state owned telecom companies and international players. Foreign firms were eligible to 49% of the total stake. The multi-nationals were just involved in technology transfer, and not policy making.[21]

text: During this period, the World Bank and ITU had advised the Indian Government to liberalise long distance services to release the monopoly of the state owned DoT and VSNL and to enable competition in the long distance carrier business which would help reduce tariff's and better the economy of the country. The Rao run government instead liberalised the local services, taking the opposite political parties into confidence and assuring foreign involvement in the long distance business after 5 years. The country was divided into 20 telecommunication circles for basic telephony and 18 circles for mobile services. These circles were divided into category A, B and C depending on the value of the revenue in each circle. The government threw open the bids to one private company per circle along with government owned DoT per circle. For cellular service two service providers were allowed per circle and a 15 years licence was given to each provider. During all these improvements, the government did face oppositions from ITI, DoT, MTNL, VSNL and other labour unions, but they managed to keep away from all the hurdles.[21]

text: In 1997, the government set up TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) which reduced the interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policy making. The political powers changed in 1999 and the new government under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was more pro-reforms and introduced better liberalisation policies. In 2000, the Vajpayee government constituted the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) through an amendment of the TRAI Act, 1997.[26][27] The primary objective of TDSAT's establishment was to release TRAI from adjudicatory and dispute settlement functions in order to strengthen the regulatory framework. Any dispute involving parties like licensor, licensee, service provider and consumers are resolved by TDSAT. Moreover, any direction, order or decision of TRAI can be challenged by appealing in TDSAT.[28] The government corporatised the operations wing of DoT on 1 October 2000 and named it as Department of Telecommunication Services (DTS) which was later named as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The proposal of raising the stake of foreign investors from 49% to 74% was rejected by the opposite political parties and leftist thinkers. Domestic business groups wanted the government to privatise VSNL. Finally in April 2002, the government decided to cut its stake of 53% to 26% in VSNL and to throw it open for sale to private enterprises. TATA finally took 25% stake in VSNL.[21]

text: This was a gateway to many foreign investors to get entry into the Indian Telecom Markets. After March 2000, the government became more liberal in making policies and issuing licences to private operators. The government further reduced licence fees for cellular service providers and increased the allowable stake to 74% for foreign companies. Because of all these factors, the service fees finally reduced and the call costs were cut greatly enabling every common middle-class family in India to afford a cell phone. Nearly 32 million handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth of the Indian mobile market.[29] Many private operators, such as Reliance Communications, Jio, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, Loop Mobile, Airtel, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market.

text: In March 2008 the total GSM and CDMA mobile subscriber base in the country was 375 million, which represented a nearly 50% growth when compared with previous year.[30] As the unbranded Chinese cell phones which do not have International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers pose a serious security risk to the country, Mobile network operators therefore suspended the usage of around 30 million mobile phones (about 8% of all mobiles in the country) by 30 April. Phones without valid IMEI cannot be connected to cellular operators.[31] 5–6 years the average monthly subscribers additions were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the total mobile subscribers base in December 2002 stood at 10.5 millions. However, after a number of proactive initiatives taken by regulators and licensors, the total number of mobile subscribers has increased rapidly to over 929 million subscribers as of May 2012.

text: India has opted for the use of both the GSM (global system for mobile communications) and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the mobile sector. In addition to landline and mobile phones, some of the companies also provide the WLL service. The mobile tariffs in India have also become the lowest in the world. A new mobile connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$0.15 only. In 2005 alone additions increased to around 2 million per month in 2003–04 and 2004–05.[citation needed]

text: Telephony[edit]

text:
Airtel: 280.64 million (23.6%)
  Vodafone: 211.93 million (17.9%)
  Idea: 196.28 million (16.5%)
  Jio: 123.36 million (10.4%)
  BSNL: 104.16 million (8.8%)
  Aircel: 90.32 million (7.6%)
  RCom: 81.34 million (6.9%)
  Telenor: 47.34 million (4.0%)
  Tata Docomo: 43.7 million (3.7%)
  MTS: 4.13 million (0.3%)
  MTNL: 3.62 million (0.3%)

text:
BSNL: 13.5 million (55.6%)
  Airtel: 3.87 million (15.9%)
  MTNL: 3.45 million (14.2%)
  Tata Docomo: 1.83 million (7.5%)
  RCom: 1.17 million (4.8%)
  Others: 0.46 million (1.9%)

text: The telephony segment is dominated by private-sector and two state-run businesses. Most companies were formed by a recent revolution and restructuring launched within a decade, directed by Ministry of Communications and IT, Department of Telecommunications and Minister of Finance. Since then, most companies gained 2G, 3G and 4G licences and engaged fixed-line, mobile and internet business in India. On landlines, intra-circle calls are considered local calls while inter-circle are considered long distance calls. Foreign Direct Investment policy which increased the foreign ownership cap from 49% to 74%.Now it is 100%. The Government is working to integrate the whole country in one telecom circle. For long distance calls, the area code prefixed with a zero is dialled first which is then followed by the number (i.e., to call Delhi, 011 would be dialled first followed by the phone number). For international calls, "00" must be dialled first followed by the country code, area code and local phone number. The country code for India is 91. Several international fibre-optic links include those to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany. Some major telecom operators in India include Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel, BSNL, MTNL, Reliance Communications, TATA Teleservices, Infotel, MTS, Uninor, TATA DoCoMo, Videocon, Augere, Tikona Digital.

text: Landline[edit]

text: Hitherto the New Telecom Policy was announced in 1999, only the Government-owned BSNL and MTNL were allowed to provide land-line phone services through copper wire in India with MTNL operating in Delhi and Mumbai and BSNL servicing all other areas of the country. Due to the rapid growth of the cellular phone industry in India, landlines are facing stiff competition from cellular operators. This has forced land-line service providers to become more efficient and improve their quality of service. Land-line connections are now also available on demand, even in high density urban areas. India has over 31 million main line customers.

text: Mobile telephony[edit]

text: In August 1995, then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu made the first mobile phone call in India to then Union Telecom Minister Sukhram.[32] Sixteen years later 4th generation services were launched in Kolkata.[33]

text: With a subscriber base of more than 929 million, the Mobile telecommunications system in India is the second largest in the world and it was thrown open to private players in the 1990s. GSM was comfortably maintaining its position as the dominant mobile technology with 80% of the mobile subscriber market, but CDMA seemed to have stabilised its market share at 20% for the time being. By May 2012 the country had 929 million mobile subscribers, up from 350 million just 40 months earlier. The mobile market was continuing to expand at an annual rate in excess of 40% coming into 2010.

text: The country is divided into multiple zones, called circles (roughly along state boundaries). Government and several private players run local and long distance telephone services. Competition has caused prices to drop and calls across India are one of the cheapest in the world.[34] The rates are supposed to go down further with new measures to be taken by the Information Ministry.[35] Call drop fine: Telcos warn of raising tariff.[36] In September 2004, the number of mobile phone connections crossed the number of fixed-line connections and presently dwarfs the wireline segment by a ratio of around 20:1. The mobile subscriber base has grown by a factor of over a hundred and thirty, from 5 million subscribers in 2001 to over 929 million subscribers as of May 2012. India primarily follows the GSM mobile system, in the 900 MHz band. Recent operators also operate in the 1800 MHz band. The dominant players are Airtel, Reliance Infocomm, Vodafone, Idea cellular and BSNL/MTNL. There are many smaller players, with operations in only a few states. International roaming agreements exist between most operators and many foreign carriers. The government allowed Mobile number portability (MNP) which enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another.[37]

text: Frequency bands[edit]

text: As of 2016, India has deployed telecom operations in a total of 8 radio frequency bands.[38]

text: Subscriber base by circle[edit]

text: This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2017)

text: India is divided into 22 telecom circles:

text:
Telecom circle
Landline subscriber base in million (April 2017)[2]
Wireless subscriber base in million (April 2017)[2]
Teledensity (September 2014)[39]

Andhra Pradesh & Telangana
1.62
85.37
81.06

Assam
0.15
21.88
50.41

Bihar & Jharkhand
0.31
84.93
47.66

Delhi
3.22
53.74
232.22

Gujarat & Daman & Diu
1.32
72.14
93.34

Haryana
0.34
25.07
80.31

Himachal Pradesh
0.14
10.42
109.55

Jammu and Kashmir
0.12
12.01
69.98

Karnataka
2.27
69.02
94.20

Kerala & Lakshadweep
2.09
39.31
95.96

Kolkata(including West Bengal )
0.85
29.36
73.0

Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh
1.01
70.15
57.04

Maharashtra & Goa (including Mumbai )
1.88
94.43
92.20 *

Mumbai*
3.04
36.62
Not available *

North East ^**
0.11
12.47
72.00

Orissa
0.28
34.45
63.41

Punjab
0.99
36.32
103.49

Rajasthan
0.72
67.25
76.18

Tamil Nadu(including Chennai since 2005)[40]
2.52
89.42
114.71

Uttar Pradesh(East)
0.49
105.01
58.09(Combined)*

Uttar Pradesh(West) & Uttarakhand
0.38
66.64
58.09(Combined)*

West Bengal(including Kolkata)***
0.32
58.47
73.40 *

text: ^* Population statistics are available state-wise only. ^** North east circle includes Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, & Tripura ^*** West Bengal circle includes Andaman-Nicobar and Sikkim

text: Internet[edit]

text: The history of the Internet in India started with launch of services by VSNL on 15 August 1995.[41] They were able to add about 10,000 Internet users within 6 months.[42] However, for the next 10 years the Internet experience in the country remained less attractive with narrow-band connections having speeds less than 56 kbit/s (dial-up). In 2004, the government formulated its broadband policy which defined broadband as "an always-on Internet connection with download speed of 256 kbit/s or above."[43] From 2005 onward the growth of the broadband sector in the country accelerated, but remained below the growth estimates of the government and related agencies due to resource issues in last-mile access which were predominantly wired-line technologies. This bottleneck was removed in 2010 when the government auctioned 3G spectrum followed by an equally high-profile auction of 4G spectrum that set the scene for a competitive and invigorated wireless broadband market. Now Internet access in India is provided by both public and private companies using a variety of technologies and media including dial-up (PSTN), xDSL, coaxial cable, Ethernet, FTTH, ISDN, HSDPA (3G), WiFi, WiMAX, etc. at a wide range of speeds and costs. As per IAMAI India will have the world's second largest number of Internet users with over 300 million by December 2014.[44]

text: According to the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the Internet user base in the country stood at 190 million at the end of June, 2013.[45] As of October, 2013 report, it is over 205 million.[44] The number of broadband subscribers at the end of May 2013 was 15.19 million.[46] Cumulative Annual Growth rate (CAGR) of broadband during the five-year period between 2005 and 2010 was about 117 per cent.[43] DSL, while holding slightly more than 75% of the local broadband market, was steadily losing market share to other non-DSL broadband platforms, especially to wireless broadband.

text: There were 161 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offering broadband services in India as of 31 May 2013. The top five ISPs in terms subscriber base were BSNL (9.96 million), Bharti Airtel (1.40 million), MTNL (1.09 million), Hathway (0.36 million) and You Broadband (0.31 million).[46] Cyber cafes remain the major source of Internet access. In 2009, about 37 per cent of the users access the Internet from cyber cafes, 30 per cent from an office, and 23 per cent from home. However, the number of mobile Internet users increased rapidly from 2009 on and there were about 274 million mobile users at the end of September 2010, with a majority using 2G mobile networks.[43] Mobile Internet subscriptions as reported by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in March 2011 increased to 381 million.

text: One of the major issues facing the Internet segment in India is the lower average bandwidth of broadband connections compared to that of developed countries. According to 2007 statistics, the average download speed in India hovered at about 40 KB per second (256 kbit/s), the minimum speed set by TRAI, whereas the international average was 5.6 Mbit/s during the same period. In order to attend this infrastructure issue the government declared 2007 as "the year of broadband".[47][48] To compete with international standards of defining broadband speed the Indian Government has taken the aggressive step of proposing a $13 billion national broadband network to connect all cities, towns and villages with a population of more than 500 in two phases targeted for completion by 2012 and 2013. The network was supposed to provide speeds up to 10 Mbit/s in 63 metropolitan areas and 4 Mbit/s in an additional 352 cities. Also, the Internet penetration rate in India is one of the lowest in the world and only accounts for 8.4% of the population compared to the rate in OECD counties, where the average is over 50%.[12][49][50] Another issue is the digital divide where growth is biased in favour of urban areas; according to 2010 statistics, more than 75 per cent of the broadband connections in the country are in the top 30 cities.[43] Regulators have tried to boost the growth of broadband in rural areas by promoting higher investment in rural infrastructure and establishing subsidised tariffs for rural subscribers under the Universal service obligation scheme of the Indian government.

text: As of May 2014, the Internet was delivered to India mainly by 9 different undersea fibres, including SEA-ME-WE 3, Bay of Bengal Gateway and Europe India Gateway, arriving at 5 different landing points.[51]

text: Net neutrality[edit]

text: As of 2015[update], India had no laws governing net neutrality and there have been violations of net neutrality principles by some service providers. While the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) guidelines for the Unified Access Service license promote net neutrality, they are not enforced. The Information Technology Act, 2000 does not prohibit companies from throttling their service in accordance with their business interests.[52]

text: In March 2015, the TRAI released a formal consultation paper on Regulatory Framework for Over-the-top (OTT) services, seeking comments from the public. The consultation paper was criticised for being one sided and having confusing statements. It was condemned by various politicians and internet users.[53][54][55] By 18 April 2015, over 800,000 emails had been sent to TRAI demanding net neutrality.[55][56][57]

text: Television broadcasting[edit]

text: Television broadcasting began in India in 1959 by Doordarshan, a state run medium of communication, and had slow expansion for more than two decades.[58] The policy reforms of the government in the 1990s attracted private initiatives in this sector, and since then, satellite television has increasingly shaped popular culture and Indian society. However, still, only the government owned Doordarshan has the licence for terrestrial television broadcast. Private companies reach the public using satellite channels; both cable television as well as DTH has obtained a wide subscriber base in India. In 2012, India had about 148 million TV homes of which 126 million has access to cable and satellite services.[59]

text: Following the economic reforms in the 1990s, satellite television channels from around the world—BBC, CNN, CNBC, and other private television channels gained a foothold in the country.[14] There are no regulations to control the ownership of satellite dish antennas and also for operating cable television systems in India, which in turn has helped for an impressive growth in the viewership. The growth in the number of satellite channels was triggered by corporate business houses such as Star TV group and Zee TV. Initially restricted to music and entertainment channels, viewership grew, giving rise to several channels in regional languages, especially Hindi. The main news channels available were CNN and BBC World. In the late 1990s, many current affairs and news channels sprouted, becoming immensely popular because of the alternative viewpoint they offered compared to Doordarshan. Some of the notable ones are Aaj Tak (run by the India Today group) and STAR News, CNN-IBN, Times Now, initially run by the NDTV group and their lead anchor, Prannoy Roy (NDTV now has its own channels, NDTV 24x7, NDTV Profit and NDTV India). Over the years, Doordarshan services also have grown from a single national channel to six national and eleven regional channels. Nonetheless, it has lost the leadership in market, though it underwent many phases of modernisation in order to contain tough competition from private channels.[14]

text: Today, television is the most penetrative media in India with industry estimates indicating that there are over 554 million TV consumers, 462 million with satellite connections, compared to other forms of mass media such as radio or internet.[60] Government of India has used the popularity of TV and radio among rural people for the implementation of many social-programmes including that of mass-education. On 16 November 2006, the Government of India released the community radio policy which allowed agricultural centres, educational institutions and civil society organisations to apply for community based FM broadcasting licence. Community Radio is allowed 100 watts of Effective Radiated Power (ERP) with a maximum tower height of 30 metres. The licence is valid for five years and one organisation can only get one licence, which is non-transferable and to be used for community development purposes.

text: Radio[edit]

text: As of March 2016, there are 345 radio stations in India.[6]

text: Next-generation networks (NGN)[edit]

text: Historically, the role of telecommunication has evolved from that of plain information exchange to a multi-service field, with Value Added Services (VAS) integrated with various discrete networks like PSTN, PLMN, Internet Backbone etc. However, with decreasing ARPU and increasing demand for VAS has become a compelling reason for the service providers to think of the convergence of these parallel networks into a single core network with service layers separated from network layer.[61] Next-generation networking is such a convergence concept which according to ITU-T is:[62]

text: A next-generation network (NGN) is a packet-based network which can provide services including Telecommunication Services and able to make use of multiple broadband, quality of Service-enabled transport technologies and in which service-related functions are independent from underlying transport-related technologies. It offers unrestricted access by users to different service providers. It supports generalised mobility which will allow consistent and ubiquitous provision of services to users.

text: Access network: The user can connect to the IP-core of NGN in various ways, most of which use the standard Internet Protocol (IP). User terminals such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and computers can register directly on NGN-core, even when they are roaming in another network or country. The only requirement is that they can use IP and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Fixed access (e.g., Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable modems, Ethernet), mobile access (e.g. W-CDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, GPRS) and wireless access (e.g.WLAN, WiMAX) are all supported. Other phone systems like plain old telephone service and non-compatible VoIP systems, are supported through gateways. With the deployment of the NGN, users may subscribe to many simultaneous access-providers providing telephony, internet or entertainment services. This may provide end-users with virtually unlimited options to choose between service providers for these services in NGN environment.[61]

text: The hyper-competition in telecom market, which was effectively caused by the introduction of Universal Access Service (UAS) licence in 2003 became much tougher after 3G and 4G competitive auction. About 670,000 route-kilometer (419,000-mile) of optical fibres has been laid in India by the major operators, including in the financially nonviable rural areas and the process continues.[citation needed] Keeping in mind the viability of providing services in rural areas, the government of India also took a proactive role to promote the NGN implementation in the country; an expert committee called NGN eCO was constituted in order to deliberate on the licensing, interconnection and Quality of Service (QoS) issues related to NGN and it submitted its report on 24 August 2007. Telecom operators found the NGN model advantageous, but huge investment requirements have prompted them to adopt a multi-phase migration and they have already started the migration process to NGN with the implementation of IP-based core-network.[61]

text: Regulatory environment[edit]

text: LIRNEasia's Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index, which summarises stakeholders' perception on certain TRE dimensions, provides insight into how conducive the environment is for further development and progress. The most recent survey was conducted in July 2008 in eight Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines. The tool measured seven dimensions: i) market entry; ii) access to scarce resources; iii) interconnection; iv) tariff regulation; v) anti-competitive practices; and vi) universal services; vii) quality of service, for the fixed, mobile and broadband sectors.

text: The results for India, point out to the fact that the stakeholders perceive the TRE to be most conducive for the mobile sector followed by fixed and then broadband. Other than for Access to ScarceResources the fixed sector lags behind the mobile sector. The fixed and mobile sectors have the highest scores for Tariff Regulation. Market entry also scores well for the mobile sector as competition is well entrenched with most of the circles with 4–5 mobile service providers. The broadband sector has the lowest score in the aggregate. The low penetration of broadband of mere 3.87 against the policy objective of 9 million at the end of 2007 clearly indicates that the regulatory environment is not very conducive.[63]

text: In 2013 the home ministry stated that legislation must ensure that law enforcement agencies are empowered to intercept communications.[64]

text: Revenue and growth[edit]

text: The total revenue in the telecom service sector was ₹867.2 billion (US$13.5 billion) in 2005–06 as against ₹716.74 billion (US$11.2 billion) in 2004–2005, registering a growth of 21% with estimated revenue of FY'2011 of ₹8.35 billion (US$130 million). The total investment in the telecom services sector reached ₹2,006 billion (US$31.3 billion) in 2005–06, up from ₹1,788 billion (US$27.9 billion) in the previous fiscal.[65] Telecommunication is the lifeline of the rapidly growing Information Technology industry. Internet subscriber base has risen to more than a 121 million in 2011.[66] Out of this 11.47 million were broadband connections. More than a billion people use the Internet globally. Under the Bharat Nirman, the Government of India will ensure that 66,822 revenue villages in the country, which have not yet been provided with a Village Public Telephone (VPT), will be connected. However doubts have been raised about what it would mean for the poor in the country.[67]

text: It is difficult to ascertain fully the employment potential of the telecom sector but the enormity of the opportunities can be gauged from the fact that there were 3.7 million Public Call Offices in December 2005[68] up from 2.3 million in December 2004.

text: The Total Revenue of Indian Telecom Services company is likely to exceed ₹2,000 billion (US$31 billion) ( US$44 Bn approx) for FY 11–12 based on FY 10–11 nos and latest quarterly results. These are consolidated numbers including foreign operation of Bharti Airtel. The major contributions to this revenue are as follows:[69]

text:
Airtel ₹65,060 (US$1,000)
Reliance Communications ₹31,468 (US$490)
Idea ₹16,936 (US$260)
Tata Communications ₹11,931 (US$190)
MTNL ₹4,380 (US$68)
TTML ₹2,248 (US$35)
BSNL ₹32,045 (US$500)
Vodafone India ₹18,376 (US$290)
Tata Teleservices ₹9,200 (US$140)
Aircel ₹7,968 (US$120)
SSTL ₹600 (US$9.40)
Uninor ₹660 (US$10)
Loop ₹560 (US$8.70)
Stel ₹60 (94¢ US)
HFCL ₹204 (US$3.20)
Videocon Telecom ₹254 (US$4.00)
DB Etisalat/ Allianz ₹47 (73¢ US)
Grand Total ₹2,019 billion (US$31 billion)

text: International[edit]

text:
Nine satellite earth stations – 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region).
Nine gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad and Ernakulam.

text: Submarine cables[edit]

text:
LOCOM linking Chennai to Penang, Malaysia
India-UAE cable linking Mumbai to Al Fujayrah, UAE.
SEA-ME-WE 2 (South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 2)
SEA-ME-WE 3 (South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 3) – Landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai. Capacity of 960 Gbit/s.
SEA-ME-WE 4 (South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4) – Landing sites at Mumbai and Chennai. Capacity of 1.28 Tbit/s.
Fibre-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG-FEA) with a landing site at Mumbai (2000). Initial design capacity 10 Gbit/s, upgraded in 2002 to 80 Gbit/s, upgraded to over 1 Tbit/s (2005).
TIISCS (Tata Indicom India-Singapore Cable System), also known as TIC (Tata Indicom Cable), Chennai to Singapore. Capacity of 5.12 Tbit/s.
i2i – Chennai to Singapore. Capacity of 8.4 Tbit/s.
SEACOM From Mumbai to the Mediterranean, via South Africa. It joins with SEA-ME-WE 4 off the west coast of Spain to carry traffic onward to London (2009). Capacity of 1.28 Tbit/s.
I-ME-WE (India-Middle East-Western Europe) with two landing sites at Mumbai (2009). Capacity of 3.84 Tbit/s.
EIG (Europe-India Gateway), landing at Mumbai (due Q2 2010).
MENA (Middle East North Africa).
TGN-Eurasia (Announced) Landing at Mumbai (due 2010?), Capacity of 1.28 Tbit/s
TGN-Gulf (Announced) Landing at Mumbai (due 2011?), Capacity Unknown.


document_title: I Can Hear the Grass Grow

question_text: who sang i can hear the grass grow

question_tokens: who sang i can hear the grass grow

root

text: I Can Hear the Grass Grow

text: This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text:
"I Can Hear the Grass Grow"

Single by The Move

B-side
"Wave the Flag & Stop the Train"

Released
March 1967

Format
7" single

Recorded
1967

Genre
Psychedelic pop

Length
3:05

Label
UK & US Deram

Songwriter(s)
Roy Wood

Producer(s)
Denny Cordell

The Move singles chronology

"Night of Fear"
(1966)
"I Can Hear the Grass Grow"
(1967)
"Flowers in the Rain"
(1967)

"Night of Fear"
(1966)
"I Can Hear the Grass Grow"
(1967)
"Flowers in the Rain"
(1967)

text: "I Can Hear the Grass Grow " is the second single by The Move. It is a psychedelic pop song referring to the synesthetic effects of hallucinogenics.[citation needed] It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart.[1][2]

tag: p


document_title: The Vampire Diaries (season 4)

question_text: what dance do they do in vampire diaries

text: The Vampire Diaries (season 4)

text: Cast[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert / Katherine Pierce
Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore
Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore / Silas
Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert
Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett
Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan
Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes
Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood (possessed by Klaus; himself)
Joseph Morgan as Klaus Mikaelson/ Silas

tag: ul

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Claire Holt as Rebekah Mikaelson / Silas
David Alpay as Professor Atticus Shane / Silas
Grace Phipps as April Young
Phoebe Tonkin as Hayley Marshall
Marguerite MacIntyre as Sheriff Elizabeth "Liz" Forbes / Silas
Todd Williams as Connor Jordan
Rick Worthy as Rudy Hopkins
Nathaniel Buzolic as Kol Mikaelson
Charlie Bewley as Galen Vaughn
Susan Walters as Carol Lockwood
Arielle Kebbel as Alexia "Lexi" Branson
Daniel Gillies as Elijah Mikaelson

text: Special guest[edit]

text: Jasmine Guy as Sheila Bennett / Silas

text: Guest[edit]

text:
Alyssa Diaz as Kimberly "Kim"
Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman / Silas
Torrey DeVitto as Meredith Fell
Paul Telfer as Alexander
Scott Parks as Silas
Michael Reilly Burke as Pastor Young
Camille Guaty as Caitlin Shane / Silas
Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Aja
Blake Hood as Dean
Ser'Darius Blain as Chris
Madeline Zima as Charlotte
Adina Porter as Nandi LaMarche
Persia White as Abby Bennett Wilson
Charles Michael Davis as Marcellus "Marcel" Gerard
Daniella Pineda as Sophie Deveraux
Leah Pipes as Camille O'Connell
Callard Harris as Thierry Vanchure
Eka Darville as Diego
Malaya Rivera Drew as Jane-Anne Deveraux

text: Episodes[edit]

text: This section's plot summaries may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve them by removing unnecessary details and making them more concise. (November 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)

67
1
"Growing Pains"
Chris Grismer
Caroline Dries
October 11, 2012 (2012-10-11)
2J6651
3.18[3]

Picking up where the third season left off, Elena awakens and finds herself in transition to becoming a vampire. Damon insists she feeds on human blood as soon as possible while Stefan insists they try to find another way to keep Elena alive. Unbeknownst to the vampires, Pastor Young takes over the Founders Council, excommunicating Sheriff Forbes. He, along with a team of police officers, arrives at Caroline's house and kidnaps her and then Rebekah, but Klaus, still possessing Tyler's body, rescues Caroline, and purposely leaves Rebekah behind. It's revealed that she is taken to Pastor Young's farm. Thinking Tyler was dead, Caroline kisses "Tyler" but soon discovers Tyler is possessed by Klaus. Later Klaus, upon finding his body wasn't completely destroyed, forces Bonnie to tap into dark magic to make the body switch by threatening to kill Tyler. This results in the spirits punishing the ghost of Grams in front of Bonnie. By now, Stefan and Elena have been taken to Pastor Young's farm. Captured within the cages, Stefan realizes Elena is dying because she hasn't fed so, with Rebekah's help, he kills one of the guards and Elena is barely able to reach the blood in time. Meanwhile, Damon and Matt are outside of Pastor Young's farm to rescue them. After Matt lets them out, Damon ties to kill Matt (because Elena told Stefan to save Matt from the sunken car first, leading to Elena her new predicament). Elena stops him and they argue. During this argument she mentions to him that the memories he compelled her to forget are coming back. Meanwhile Klaus, now in his own body, is confronted by a hurt Rebekah, who destroys the bags of Elena's blood, making it impossible for Klaus to make more hybrids. Back at the Salvatore's house, Stefan gives Elena a daylight ring created by Bonnie. Pastor Young calls a meeting of the secret council on his farm and intentionally starts a gas leak in his kitchen and says "we are the beginning" before striking his lighter in the air and blowing everyone up.

68
2
"Memorial"
Rob Hardy
Jose Molina & Julie Plec
October 18, 2012 (2012-10-18)
2J6652
2.91[4]

The Pastor's daughter, and old friend of the Gilberts, April Young, returns to town following her father's death. Meanwhile, a vampire hunter, Connor Jordon, is investigating the supernatural population of Mystic Falls under the ruse of investigating the explosion that killed the Council. Using gloves made of vervain, Connor discovers Tyler has vampire blood in him and immediately shoots him, but Tyler escapes while Connor is reloading. Jeremy meets Connor at the Mystic Grill and notices a tattoo only he can see. Despite Stefan's best efforts, Elena is having trouble keeping animal blood down, and turns to Damon for help. Insisting she needs blood from the vein, he allows Elena to drink from him; however, she is unable to keep down Damon's blood as well. At the memorial held for the victims of the explosion, Connor kidnaps, stabs, and brings April to the second floor of the church, trying to use her blood to draw out any vampires in the church. Matt allows Elena, who is losing control because of the blood, to feed on him inconspicuously. Since Tyler is a hybrid, he reveals himself and allows Connor to shoot him to protect his vampire friends, who escape during the panic started by the public shooting. When Elena and Caroline go to rescue April, Elena begins to lose control and tries to attack April. However, Caroline stops her, and Elena pulls it together enough to heal and compel April. Damon tries to fight Connor in the parking lot, but is overpowered. Stefan comes to his aid and Connor makes a run for it. However, Stefan is upset that Damon blood-shared with Elena and punches him. The episode ends with Connor finding a note written by the Pastor about a "greater evil," and Elena and her friends having a private memorial for everyone they have lost.

69
3
"The Rager"
Lance Anderson
Brian Young
October 25, 2012 (2012-10-25)
2J6653
2.87[5]

In the hospital, Connor breaks in and steals Tyler's werewolf venom. The gang returns to school, and Matt allows Elena to feed on him in their old make-out spot. On their way inside, they discover that a curfew has been put into effect due to the shooting at the church. Stefan tries to show Elena that being a vampire can be fun, but Rebekah also returns to school and begins to torment Elena by bringing up Alaric and tempting her with blood. Connor comes to the school and tells Jeremy that the reason he can see Connor's tattoo is because he is a potential hunter. Connor uses force to get Matt to confess who is feeding off him, but he lies and says it's Rebekah. Klaus returns to protect his hybrids from Connor, and takes residence in the Lockwood house. Hayley, a female werewolf who helped Tyler break Klaus' sire-bond, arrives, and Klaus suspects they had a less-than-platonic relationship in the Appalachia's. Meanwhile, Rebekah decides to throw an anti-curfew party at her house, and Elena and Stefan decide to attend. At the party, Rebekah steals Elena's ring and nearly destroys it. Elena, who had previously convinced Damon to give her the White Oak Stake, plans to stake Rebekah, but Stefan intervenes and convinces her to come with him to blow off steam (not before Elena makes a grand exit from the party by doing an unassisted keg stand). When Stefan and Elena return, she becomes sick due to the keg being spiked with werewolf venom. Meanwhile, Damon and Klaus, who have temporarily teamed up, trap Connor in the hospital storage room via rigged explosives. Connor attempts to stake Klaus, but Klaus disarms him. Upon seeing a familiar symbol on the stake, Klaus realizes Connor is one of The Five. When Connor triggers the explosives, Klaus saves him and holds him captive to pump him for information. Klaus, acting out of character, gives Elena his blood and heals her, saying he may have a use for her after all. At the end of the episode, April stays behind at Rebekah's, who is also recovering from the werewolf venom, to help clean up and befriends her.

70
4
"The Five"
Joshua Butler
Brett Matthews & Rebecca Sonnenshine
November 1, 2012 (2012-11-01)
2J6654
3.27[6]

Klaus and Rebekah realize Connor is one of "The Five," a clan of legendary vampire hunters that existed 900 years before. Rebekah, who had fallen in love with their leader, Alexander, discovered they possessed an "Ultimate Weapon" against vampires, and that the key to finding it was using their swords to decode their tattoos (hunter's mark). However, Alexander discovered Rebekah was a vampire, and used a dagger on her and her brothers. Klaus, unaffected by the dagger, killed Alexander and his fellow hunters, and un-daggered his family. Meanwhile, Bonnie, Elena, and Damon head to Whitmore College, where they meet Professor Shane, who appears to be a believer in the supernatural, and takes a liking to Bonnie. At a party being thrown on campus, Damon teaches Elena how to feed properly. At the party, Elena becomes intoxicated by the blood and dances with Damon. However, she is snapped out of her trance by a scared Bonnie. Elena becomes scared she might become like Damon, much to his offense. Stefan learns the "Ultimate Weapon" of The Five is a possible cure for vampirism, and tricks Rebekah into revealing she buried Alexander with his sword. Klaus has Jeremy draw a picture of the tattoo, but finds it's incomplete, and that it only continues to form as long as Connor kills vampires. Meanwhile, Connor escapes Klaus by killing one of his hybrids, and leaves to find the one who sent him to Mystic Falls in the first place - Professor Shane. Klaus once again daggers Rebekah.

71
5
"The Killer"
Chris Grismer
Michael Narducci
November 8, 2012 (2012-11-08)
2J6655
3.02[7]

After being told by Shane that the truth about his tattoo will be revealed, Connor returns to Mystic Falls, agreeing to kill humans if necessary. Stefan and Klaus team up once again to stop Connor, but Klaus leaves to find Alexander's sword. Connor takes Jeremy, Matt and April hostage. April who doesn't know of vampires yet, and so thinks Connor is delusional and is naturally scared of him. Stefan and Damon argue on the best course of action. Damon is knocked unconscious and the situation turns violent when one of Klaus's minions is sent to stand up to Connor. Meanwhile, Shane is trying to get Bonnie to get over her guilt via hypnosis, which at first appears not to work when he tries to get her to light a single candle, but when Bonnie opens her eyes she sees she lit every candle in the room. Jeremy tries to talk to Connor, who explains a friend of his was once turned into a vampire but he had to put that friend down, and then the tattoo began to appear. Elena breaks in and attacks Connor, but he is taken away by Stefan. Damon catches up to them and confronts Stefan on why he doesn't kill Connor and he explains Connor is the key to a cure. When Connor makes a run for it, the brothers witness him being killed by Elena, much to her guilt.

72
6
"We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes"
Wendey Stanzler
Evan Bleiweiss & Julie Plec
November 15, 2012 (2012-11-15)
2J6656
2.84[8]

Elena is hallucinating about the death of Connor, which is slowly driving her mad. Klaus informs the Salvatore brothers that Elena needs to be locked away, because eventually she will try to kill herself. After stealing her away from the brothers, he explains that due to killing the original five hunters, he experienced the same thing and there is no cure. Meanwhile, Shane is hosting an exhibition at the school with Bonnie's help. Damon and Bonnie turn to him for answers. He tells them that Elena's hallucinations are due to a witch's curse and the only cure is for a potential hunter to make a first kill and pass along the last hunter's powers. Jeremy has discovered the beginnings of the mark on him. Stefan goes to break Elena out only to have her attack him and escape. She goes to the bridge where she died and the hunter, Katherine, and her mother convince her to take her own life. She drops her daylight ring into the water. Stefan sends Damon to bring her back. Klaus provides Jeremy with one of his hybrids to kill to complete his transition to a hunter and break the curse in return for a single date with Caroline. This causes tension between Caroline and Tyler, not just because of her having a date with Klaus but also because in Tyler's eyes "[Caroline] sacrificed one friend for another." He feels as if he's the only one in the group that considers the hybrids' safety. The curse is broken just as dawn comes, and Damon saves Elena by throwing them both in the river. He tells Elena that Stefan had been lying to them, but it was all for her. Stefan and Elena sit on the front steps and talk. Elena admits that as a vampire, her feelings for Damon have been magnified, and Stefan tells her he can't do this any more so they mutually decide to split up.

73
7
"My Brother's Keeper"
Jeffrey Hunt
Caroline Dries & Elisabeth R. Finch
November 29, 2012 (2012-11-29)
2J6657
2.86[9]

The Miss Mystic Falls pageant is back, and Elena and Caroline help April find something to wear. Meanwhile, Caroline calls Stefan and Stefan tells Caroline about Elena's feelings for Damon, which Caroline objects to. Klaus shows up shortly afterwards, questioning Stefan's trust in him. Damon and Stefan's relationship is even more strained, but they continue their search for the cure to vampirism for Elena's sake. Caroline and Elena are suspicious of Shane, who Damon decides to confront. Ever since awakening as a hunter, Jeremy has been having nightmares in which he kills Elena. Stefan uses criminals to create vampires for Jeremy to use to complete his tattoo. Hayley and Tyler work to break the sire bond of Klaus's hybrids. Caroline is stressed by a favor she owes Klaus- a date, which Klaus convinces Caroline to let him escort her to the Miss Mystic Pageant. Klaus manipulates her into feeling jealous of Hayley and Tyler's friendship, while also charming her. She asks if he ever wanted to be human again, and Klaus shares with her that he considered being human momentarily while looking at a hummingbird and contemplated the fragility of mortality and how struggling to stay alive would make every day you're living that much more meaningful. Caroline bonds with Klaus as Tyler jealously looks on with Hayley. Jeremy's hunter instinct- a hatred of vampires- develops to the point that he attacks Stefan. Damon asks why Shane showed up in Mystic Falls in the first place causing Shane to reveal that he is a vampire. Jeremy arrives at the pageant and attacks Elena, nearly killing her. She is rescued by Stefan and Matt. Stefan reveals to Elena he provided vampires for Jeremy to kill, to which she replies that she doesn't want her humanity back if it costs her brother his. Matt moves into her house and Elena decides to stay in the Salvatore House. Stefan then decides to leave, unable to stay in the same house as Elena. It is eventually revealed that Shane and Hayley are working together to break the sire bond with Klaus's hybrids. Later, Elena has a talk with Damon, which leads to a dance between the two and Passionate sex afterwards, all while Caroline and Stefan figure out that Elena is sired to Damon.

74
8
"We'll Always Have Bourbon Street"
Jesse Warn
Charlie Charbonneau & Jose Molina
December 6, 2012 (2012-12-06)
2J6658
2.42[10]

After Elena and Damon wake up and continue where they left off the night before, Stefan arrives to the Salvatore house and approaches Damon with the suspicion that Elena is sired to him. Stefan advises Damon to ask Elena to try and drink from a blood bag again and see if she can keep it down, since he believes the only reason she can only drink straight from the vein is because Damon told her to. He does and sees that she can now keep the blood down. Damon decides to help Stefan investigate the sire bond in New Orleans, Louisiana hoping to find a former flame of Damon's who was also sired to him. While the Salvatore brothers are out of town, Elena, Caroline and Bonnie share a girls night, but an argument quickly ensues when Caroline starts criticizing Damon. When Caroline gets angry at Elena's stubbornness and her obvious devotion to Damon, Elena reveals that she and Damon slept together, which leads to Caroline telling Elena that she is sired to Damon. Meanwhile, at Hayley's urging, Tyler confronts one of Klaus's hybrids, Kimberly, and the situation quickly escalates into violence when the hybrids start fighting over who takes the pack-leader role. Kimberly then captures Caroline to try and prove that she is the leader. Tyler and Elena save Caroline, causing the other hybrids (including Kimberly) to accept Tyler as their leader. While in New Orleans, a witch tells Damon that the only way to break a sire bond is by telling the sired vampire to forget they ever existed and move on with their life. The witch also reveals that a vampire only becomes sired to their maker when they have human feelings for their maker before they are turned. Damon knows he has to do the right thing with Elena and decides to tell her to move on. When he approaches Elena with this final instruction, Elena realizes that he wants to break things off and tries to convince him that her feelings are as real as she believes they are, and that the sire bond only affects the way she acts. Also in the episode, we find out that Professor Shane is teaching Bonnie a type of magic called "expression," which the witch in New Orleans called more evil than dark magic; that other witches don't even call it magic at all.

75
9
"O Come, All Ye Faithful"
Pascal Verschooris
Michael J. Cinquemani & Julie Plec
December 13, 2012 (2012-12-13)
2J6659
2.81[11]

A winter-themed party takes place in Mystic Falls, but amongst the celebration Caroline and Stefan argue with Tyler over what to do with Klaus and his hybrids. Stefan breaks into Klaus's house and attempts to steal Alexander the hunter's sword while Caroline once again plays "the distraction" to Klaus at the winter party. She comments on the piece of art Klaus donated for display, telling him honestly that it feels "lonely" to her. Meanwhile, Elena and Damon go to the Gilbert Lake House to help Jeremy face some dangerous inner demons with the help of Bonnie and Professor Shane, who shares that he knows where to find the cure to vampirism. When Hayley snaps Caroline's neck, to save her and Professor Shane's plan, April finds Caroline "Dead." April finds out about the supernatural things happening in Mystic Falls and that Rebekah is daggered in the Lockwood cellar. Finally, Klaus discovers Tyler's plan which leads to all 12 of the hybrids being killed and Klaus drowning Tyler's mother.

76
10
"After School Special"
David Von Ancken
Brett Matthews
January 17, 2013 (2013-01-17)
2J6660
2.95[12]

Following Carol's death, Bonnie's father steps in as the new mayor and shows concern about Bonnie. Meanwhile, Rebekah and April work together to get Elena to speak to Rebekah, trapping Elena in the library. Stefan is called to rescue Elena, and he calls Caroline for back up. Both are tricked and locked into the library with Elena, although Rebekah allows April to leave. Meanwhile Matt and Damon continue training Jeremy to expand the hunters mark. Klaus gets impatient and Damon shoots him several times for killing Carol. Regardless, Klaus offers to provide vampires for Jeremy to kill starting with a pizza delivery woman; who attacks them, forcing Jeremy to kill her. Bonnie talks to Shane, who gives her an amulet made from human bone. Kol soon shows up and abducts Shane, taking him to the school's library. Rebekah talks to them about the cure and, more personally, to Elena about her break up with Stefan and her feelings for Damon, in an effort to torment Stefan. Tyler gets a call from Rebekah to rescue his friends. Kol brings in Shane and torture him about the location of the cure, who tells him and Rebekah about Silas, and how he intends to release him, and how Silas will resurrect those who died on his behalf. Rebekah refuses to listen and Kol attempts to drown Shane, then impales him, but Bonnie manages to put a protection spell on Shane. April suffers from the spell due to a link between her and Shane. Tyler arrives and Rebekah orders him to turn. As Tyler begins to transform, he tells his friends to run for it. As they do, Stefan finds an unconscious April with Bonnie and manages to revive her, telling Bonnie to get her out. Rebekah walks up to Elena and Stefan and offers to erase Stefan's memories of Elena, but when he accepts, Rebekah goes back on her word; saying that Stefan's pain is her own revenge. At the end of the episode, April talks to the sheriff and the mayor, revealing that she knows about the supernatural and everyone's lies. Damon and Elena talk on the phone and Elena says that sire bond or not, she loves him . Damon being happy tells Elena to come to him. Rebekah comes to Stefan after he calls her and admits that she still wants the cure so she can use it on Klaus, they agree to work together. Klaus calls Jeremy, Matt, and Damon to a bar, full of people transforming into vampires.

77
11
"Catch Me If You Can"
John Dahl
Brian Young & Michael Narducci
January 24, 2013 (2013-01-24)
2J6661
2.71[13]

The episode begins at the bar, where Jeremy refuses to kill the new vampires. Klaus threatens to compel them to attack Matt in order to force Jeremy to kill them. Matt is injured and he and Jeremy run for it. They are attacked by the vampires before Elena's intervention. They make it back to the lake house. The next day Elena scolds Damon for using innocent people. They realize the vampires will return and Damon says Jeremy finishing the job will be necessary. Rebekah visits Stefan, telling him she has a plan; to steal Silas' headstone, forcing Shane to join forces with them. Sheriff Forbes arrives and arrests Shane. Damon and Jeremy head back to the bar and find the vampires have already been killed by Kol. Kol tells them that long ago he killed a cult that worshipped Silas, and how he can't allow Silas to awaken. Kol attempts to rip Jeremy's arm off but gets into a fight with Damon. Bonnie and her father talk to each other, and he tells her that Shane is the type of person who manipulates the weak minded. Shane talks to Bonnie in the interrogation room and he confesses to the mass murder that occurred over the season's course. Elena goes to Klaus, asking him to call off Kol's attack. She reminds him that they both want the cure, and Klaus calmly calls Kol off, warning him to stay away from Jeremy. Regardless, Kol tortures Damon and compels him into hunting Jeremy. In Shane's study, Rebekah and Stefan look for the headstone, and talk about their old relationship. Rebekah says they had fun, but they didn't care; so Rebekah tells him to stop caring. A man walks into Shane's study room but is cornered by Rebekah. Meanwhile, Bonnie calls Shane out for the mass murder, but Shane tells her that Silas will resurrect the murder victims. Bonnie refuses to listen before Shane reminds her of her grandmother, and that she can see her again. Afterwards, Shane tells Bonnie's father that she could be the most powerful witch on earth, or a time bomb. Soon, Damon goes to the bar where Matt works and Jeremy is there. Jeremy runs into an isolated room and Damon tells Elena Kol ordered him to kill Jeremy. Jeremy finds a hidden cave, Damon follows him, warning that he is out to get him and tells him to run away. In Shane's study, Rebekah tortures the man, only for him to spit out his tongue and kill himself. Elena calls Stefan, asking for his help, but he doesn't seem to listen. Damon corners Jeremy, who shoots him in the head, giving Jeremy a head start. Kol heads back into town and meets with Rebekah, who tries to dagger him, but Kol has the white ash dagger and is stopped by Klaus. Back at the chase, which is now in a forest, Elena tries to use her feelings to get Damon to ignore the compulsion. It doesn't work, but he stops when Stefan subdues him. He takes Damon back to the Salvatore house, where he locks Damon up. He says once Elena is cured and Damon is un-compelled, then they can do what they want. Elena shows up and Stefan says she can't see Damon. He tells Elena he doesn't love her, but she says he's just hurt. Bonnie has dinner with her father, who says he's getting her help. Stefan goes to see Rebekah asking about the headstone but she changes the subject; asking if he's over Elena. He says yes and engages Rebekah in sex. Klaus shows up at the Gilbert house, saying he intends to take Jeremy with him, insisting only he can protect Jeremy from Kol. They refuse, and Elena works on a plan to kill Kol.

78
12
"A View to a Kill"
Brad Turner
Rebecca Sonnenshine
January 31, 2013 (2013-01-31)
2J6662
2.56[14]

Stefan wakes up not really sure of where he is until he glances around. It becomes obvious to him that he spent the night with Rebekah. He quietly dresses and plans to leave without her knowing it, but when he opens the door to leave, Klaus is there. Klaus makes an offer to Rebekah to help him stop Kol and protect Jeremy and when she refuses he turns to Stefan for help. Mayor Hopkins' unconventional way of ending the violence sends his daughter further away from him, then she has an angry meeting with Kol followed by an unexpected visitor, Bonnie's mother. Klaus complicates matters between Damon and Stefan by revealing a bit of Stefan's personal life and then surprises Damon by asking for advice. Elena tells Stefan about her dangerous plan for Jeremy which leaves him in a difficult spot. When the 1980s decade dance is cancelled Stefan finds a charming way to make it up to Rebekah. Kol is finally staked by Jeremy at the end of the episode. Later, knowing about Elena's plan to kill his brother, Klaus wants to hurt her and Jeremy. Bonnie arrives and puts a spell on Klaus that will lock him in the Gilbert's living room until the next full moon. Stefan informs the others that he has not stabbed Rebekah and that she is on their side and can be trusted which leaves Elena furious. Finally after Jeremy killed Kol, his tattoo is now completed and everyone is ready to go search for the cure.

79
13
"Into the Wild"
Michael Allowitz
Caroline Dries
February 7, 2013 (2013-02-07)
2J6663
2.50[15]

Shane leads an expedition to a desolate island off the coast of Nova Scotia, where he believes the secret of the cure lies hidden. On the trek to the island's interior, Rebekah and Elena continue their bitter rivalry, Stefan does his best to keep the peace, and Damon accuses Shane of leading them into a trap. Bonnie and Jeremy try to figure out the message of the Hunter's mark, while Shane reveals more of the legend of Silas and the witch Qetsiyah, along with his own personal history. Back in Mystic Falls, Tyler confronts Klaus, and Caroline is caught up in the violence that follows.

80
14
"Down the Rabbit Hole"
Chris Grismer
Jose Molina
February 14, 2013 (2013-02-14)
2J6664
2.31[16]

Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline and Tyler find that their attempt to translate the code on the Hunter's Sword is futile without help from Klaus, who has his own reasons for solving the puzzle. On the island, Damon has an ugly run-in with a Hunter named Vaughn (guest star Charlie Bewley), and realizes he is one of The Five. Stefan confesses his true feelings about the possibility of becoming human again to Elena. When a stunning new piece of information about the cure is suddenly revealed (there's only enough for one person), it changes the stakes for everyone. Jeremy helps Bonnie recognize what is real and what is an illusion, and Shane is comforted by his deceased wife. Katherine makes an appearance and forces Jeremy to feed Silas in order get the cure that is fossilized with his body. Silas ends up draining Jeremy's body and breaks his neck, killing him.

81
15
"Stand by Me"
Lance Anderson
Julie Plec
February 21, 2013 (2013-02-21)
2J6665
2.91[17]

After much denial, Elena realizes that Jeremy is truly dead. Bonnie agrees to help Shane by killing twelve more people to get the proper magic needed to break the veil between this realm and where all supernatural beings go when they die. If this veil is broken successfully, every supernatural being that has died will come back to life. Also, with the veil broken, Silas will no longer be trapped on the otherside when he dies, thus finally being able to be reunited with his true love. When Bonnie tells everyone about her plans, they all tell her it's a terrible idea. Caroline tries to reach Tyler but is unsuccessful. Matt has a hard time with Jeremy's death. Rebekah leaves Vaughn to die in a cave after he warns her that no one is safe from Silas. Damon makes Elena shut off her humanity because the pain of losing Jeremy is too much for her. After she flips the switch, Elena burns down the Gilbert house as a cover story for Jeremy's death. Disguised as Shane, Silas returns back to Mystic Falls with the group.

82
16
"Bring It On"
Jesse Warn
Elisabeth R. Finch & Michael Narducci
March 14, 2013 (2013-03-14)
2J6666
2.41[18]

Elena's new outlook has everyone concerned, leading Stefan and Damon to agree that going back to the normal routine of high school would be the best thing for her. Caroline is pleasantly surprised when Elena decides to rejoin the cheerleading squad, but her pleasure turns to shock when Elena's behavior proves dangerous. Not giving up on their search for the cure, Damon and Rebekah work together until his unwanted advice catches her off-guard. Klaus tries to use Hayley to get the information he's after and makes an intriguing discovery in the process. Meanwhile, a bored Elena throws a wild party and gets into a big fight.

83
17
"Because the Night"
Garreth Stover
Brian Young & Charlie Charbonneau
March 21, 2013 (2013-03-21)
2J6667
2.65[19]

Realizing that Elena needs some time away from Mystic Falls, Damon takes her to New York City, where he lived and partied in the 1970s. Damon is also looking for Katherine to get the cure. Damon thinks that Elena is oblivious to that fact, but she is actually trying to get to the cure as well. When Rebekah also shows up in New York, she's impressed with Elena's secret agenda of getting the cure. Flashbacks reveal Damon's hedonistic life in the underground club scene and a complicated encounter with Lexi, where Lexi tried to get Damon to flip the switch like she did with Stefan before. Damon also briefs Elena with his experience with Lexi in New York and tries to convince her to flip the switch as well. Meanwhile Caroline and Stefan try to convince Klaus that it would be in his own best interest to help them track down Silas. They team up and try to figure out Silas's next move. They find out that the last massacre has to be involved with witches. Silas is still trying to convince Bonnie to do the last massacre. Bonnie is hesitant, but Silas reminds her that when the third massacre is performed, all supernatural creatures that died come back to life. So Bonnie decides to perform the massacre. Stefan, Klaus and Caroline look for the location and find it. The twelve witches try to save Bonnie from the use of dark magic, but they find out Silas has control of her. So they try to kill her with a knife, but Caroline takes the knife and stabs the witch who is connected with eleven other witches. All twelve witches die, completing the massacre and Bonnie faints. While in New York, Elena attempts to take away a paper Damon found to track down Katherine. She tries to grab it while seducing him, but Damon catches her by revealing he used the same trick. He confides that it took a while but he finally got Lexi to let her guard down and re-enforced the door and locked her outside in daylight. Lexi has no choice, but to hide in the shade. So Damon runs away and confesses that he felt guilty after and still does. But while talking, Rebekah breaks his neck and they take the paper and go. Bonnie wakes up and her memory after the cave is gone. Silas bribes Klaus to help him, threatening to kill him with a white-oak stake he stole from Rebekah. Elena and Rebekah steal Damon's car and search for Katherine.

84
18
"American Gothic"
Kellie Cyrus
Evan Bleiweiss & Jose Molina
March 28, 2013 (2013-03-28)
2J6668
2.46[20]

Rebekah and Elena find Katherine in Willoughby, PA, where Katherine has compelled the entire town. While Elena pretends to be Katherine with Elijah, Rebekah keeps an eye on Katherine. Soon, Stefan and Damon arrive. Rebekah and Damon go with Katherine to her house to get the cure. While Rebekah searches the house, Damon finds that the cure is contained in a fish tank filled with vervain water. Katherine dunks Damon's head in the water and temporarily incapacitates him. Katherine distracts Rebekah by tossing the cure into the air and making a run for it. Damon, still weak from the vervain, tries to convince Rebekah not to take the cure, but Rebekah tells him to give her one good reason why he wants Elena to take it. Damon does not answer. Rebekah drinks from the vial, just as Stefan arrives too late, and loses consciousness. When she awakens, even though she states that she feels human, she quickly learns that she is still a vampire and that Katherine tricked them. Later, Rebekah meets with Elijah and asks him to give her the cure stating that she wants to be human. Klaus then calls her and asks about her progress. She gives the phone to Elijah, who tells Klaus that he has the cure and is on his way back to Mystic Falls. Rebekah and Elijah leave together.

85
19
"Pictures of You"
J. Miller Tobin
Neil Reynolds & Caroline Dries
April 18, 2013 (2013-04-18)
2J6669
2.14[21]

Prom will be held in this episode and Tyler will return (which would be his final appearance this season.) Rebekah insists on taking the cure to which Elijah asks her to pass one day without any vampire powers but she has to feed her blood to April because she chooses to be good over standing to Elijah's condition. Silas impersonates Rebekah and takes the cure from Elijah. Damon and Stefan try to flip Elena's switch by walking her through her memories but they end up locking her.

86
20
"The Originals"
Chris Grismer
Julie Plec
April 25, 2013 (2013-04-25)
2J6670
2.24[22]

In this pilot for the spin-off series, Klaus, at Katherine's suggestion, returns to his former home of New Orleans to find a witch with ties to him. He instead finds a former protegé, named Marcel, who is ruling the city with an iron fist. As Klaus continues his search, he finds that the witches who live there are trying to overthrow Marcel and that they plan to use Hayley who is carrying a Klaus' child. After Elijah arrives to help out and persuades him to stay, Klaus decides to stay in New Orleans and return the city to his command with his brother by his side. Rebekah is offered a spot in Klaus' new domain, but she turns them down. Back in Mystic Falls, Damon and Stefan begin extreme measures to return Elena's humanity by imprisoning her in the basement of the Salvatore house.

87
21
"She's Come Undone"
Darnell Martin
Michael Narducci & Rebecca Sonnenshine
May 2, 2013 (2013-05-02)
2J6671
2.17[23]

Damon and Stefan try a brutal new approach to provoke Elena into turning her humanity back on, and Caroline is frustrated when her attempt to intervene backfires and Elena attempts to kill her. When Elena figures out a way to call the Salvatore brothers' bluff, they call on Katherine to create real fear. Katherine has a go, pushing her hand into Elena and grabbing her heart. Then she deliberately leaves the door unlocked so that Elena can escape. Matt gives Rebekah some unsolicited advice on her life choices, and she tries to help him in return. Caroline has a confusing and dangerous encounter with Klaus, who turns out to be Silas looking for Bonnie. Silas is persistent, and mortally injures Caroline's mother to take her place. Bonnie reaffirms her promise to help Silas open the veil to purgatory, and Caroline has to inject some of her blood into her mother to bring her back to life. Katherine is suspicious when Bonnie makes her the offer of Silas's immortality and invulnerability in exchange for the tombstone that Katherine took from the island, which Bonnie needs to lift the veil between our world and purgatory. Katherine appears to accept the deal. Meanwhile, the Salvatore brothers use Matt to switch on Elena's humanity, with Damon snapping Matt's neck in front of Elena. He is, of course, wearing the ring that protects him from being killed by supernatural beings, and recovers in the presence of Rebekah. Elena decides that she is going to kill Katherine.

88
22
"The Walking Dead"
Rob Hardy
Brian Young & Caroline Dries
May 9, 2013 (2013-05-09)
2J6672
2.28[24]

As graduation approaches, Caroline tries to distract Elena by focusing on simple tasks like sending out announcements about graduation, but Elena won't be swayed from her new obsession. Sheriff Forbes calls Damon and Stefan to the hospital, where someone has been attacking patients. Still trying to force Katherine to help her, Bonnie refuses to give up on her plan to defeat Silas. As a violent wind storm causes a power outage in Mystic Falls, ghosts suddenly appear some with good intentions and some bent on revenge. Bonnie turns Silas into stone and dies trying to bring Jeremy back to life.

89
23
"Graduation"
Chris Grismer
Caroline Dries & Julie Plec
May 16, 2013 (2013-05-16)
2J6673
2.24[25]

On Graduation Day, Mystic Falls is overrun with ghosts intent on settling old scores and fulfilling their supernatural destinies. Damon's life is in danger after a ghostly encounter with one of the hunters, while Matt and Rebekah join forces to battle a ghost determined to find the cure. When Matt's life falls in the line of danger Rebekah kisses him and says that it was the bravest thing she wanted to do. As Elena, Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie and Matt gather for the graduation ceremony and the ghosts converge, help comes from the now-hero Klaus, after Caroline repeatedly calls him to help. Caroline receives a touching and unexpected graduation present from him: He gives Tyler his freedom back, allowing him to return to Mystic Falls to be with Caroline. He tells her that though Tyler is her first love, he wants to be the last one she ever loves. Then Bonnie bravely gives her own life to bring Jeremy back but ensures she'll be fine with her Grams, and the Spirits of Witches. Elena then tells Damon that she loves him and in death he is the only one who makes her feel alive. They kiss passionately as Stefan overhears the conversation with tears in his eyes. Elena faces Katherine which eventually leads to Elena shoving the cure down Katherine's throat, turning her back into a human. Finally, Stefan discovers a horrifying clue to the mystery surrounding Silas: Stefan is Silas' doppelganger. Then a vengeful Silas traps Stefan in a safe and drops him into the lake.

text: Production[edit]

text: On May 3, 2012 The CW renewed The Vampire Diaries for a fourth season.[26][27] Unlike previous seasons, it started on October 11.[28] Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, Leslie Morgenstein and Bob Levy are executive producers for the series. The season was concluded on May 16, 2013.

text: Casting[edit]

text: The series stars Nina Dobrev who plays Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce, Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore, Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore, Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert, Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett, Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes, Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan, Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood, Joseph Morgan as Klaus Mikaelson and Claire Holt as Rebekah Mikaelson.

text: On August 7, 2012 it was announced that Phoebe Tonkin and Todd Williams will join the show as recurring characters in the fourth season. Phoebe Tonkin will portray Hayley, a friend of Tyler's. Todd Williams will portray Connor, a vampire hunter.

text: The Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas made an appearance in "My Brother's Keeper" as a volunteer decorator for the Miss Mystic Falls Beauty Pageant. On the CW website, an interview with Douglas shares her experience on set and with the cast.

text: Starting with episode 13, Charlie Bewley will join the show as Vaughn, like Connor a vampire hunter, and Camille Guaty as Professor Shane's dead wife Caitlin, who is going to reveal information about him.[29]

text: On February 2013, it was announced that Daniella Pineda was cast as the witch Sophie for episode 20 "The Originals". This episode serves as a backdoor-pilot for a possible spin-off series, revolving around the Originals and taking place in the French Quarter of New Orleans. If the series gets picked up for the 2013-2014 season, she'd be a regular cast member.

text: Ratings[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Air date
18–49 rating (Live + SD)
Viewers
(millions) increase
Total 18-49 increase
Total viewers
(millions)
Ref

1
"Growing Pains"
October 12, 2012 (2012-10-12)
1.6
0.95
2.1
4.43
[30]

2
"Memorial"
October 19, 2012 (2012-10-19)
1.3
1.33
1.9
4.24
[31]

3
"The Rager"
October 26, 2012 (2012-10-26)
1.3
1.54
2.0
4.41
[32]

4
"The Five"
November 1, 2012 (2012-11-01)
1.5
1.20
2.1
4.47
[33]

5
"The Killer"
November 8, 2012 (2012-11-08)
1.5
1.05
1.9
4.07
[34]

6
"We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes"
November 15, 2012 (2012-11-15)
1.3
1.19
1.7
4.03
[35]

7
"My Brother's Keeper"
November 29, 2012 (2012-11-29)
1.4
1.43
2.1
4.29
[36]

8
"We'll Always Have Bourbon Street"
December 6, 2012 (2012-12-06)
1.2
1.21
1.8
3.63
[37]

9
"O Come, All Ye Faithful"
December 13, 2012 (2012-12-13)
1.3
1.51
2.0
4.32
[38]

10
"After School Special"
January 17, 2013 (2013-01-17)
1.4
1.26
2.0
4.21
[39]

11
"Catch Me If You Can"
January 24, 2013 (2013-01-24)
1.3
1.46
2.0
4.17
[40]

12
"A View To Kill"
January 31, 2013 (2013-01-31)
1.3
1.17
1.9
3.73
[41]

13
"Into The Wild"
February 7, 2013 (2013-02-07)
1.1
1.60
1.8
4.10
[42]

14
"Down the Rabbit Hole"
February 14, 2013 (2013-02-14)
1.0
1.84
1.8
4.15
[43]

15
"Stand by Me"
February 21, 2013 (2013-02-21)
1.3
1.57
2.0
4.48
[44]

16
"Bring It On"
March 14, 2013 (2013-03-14)
1.1
1.16
1.8
3.60
[45]

17
"Because the Night"
March 21, 2013 (2013-03-21)
1.3
1.21
1.9
3.86
[46]

18
"American Gothic"
March 28, 2013 (2013-03-28)
1.2
1.23
1.8
3.69
[47]

19
"Pictures of You"
April 18, 2013 (2013-04-18)
1.0
1.14
1.6
3.28
[48]

20
"The Originals"
April 25, 2013 (2013-04-25)
1.0
1.34
1.6
3.58
[49]

21
"She's Come Undone"
May 2, 2013 (2013-05-02)
1.0
1.30
1.6
3.47
[50]

22
"The Walking Dead"
May 9, 2013 (2013-05-09)
1.0
1.36
1.6
3.64
[51]

23
"Graduation"
May 16, 2013 (2013-05-16)
1.1
1.23
1.7
3.47
[52]


document_title: List of Back to the Future characters

question_text: who played the daughter in back to the future 2

text: List of Back to the Future characters

text: Main characters[edit]

text: Marty McFly[edit]

text: Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly (portrayed by Michael J. Fox in the films and voiced by David Kaufman in the animated series and AJ LoCascio in Back to the Future: The Game) is the son of George McFly and Lorraine Baines McFly. Marty travels between the past and the future, encountering his ancestors and descendants. Marty and his friend Doc Brown help restore the space-time continuum while encountering Biff Tannen (or members of the Tannen clan) at various points in time.

text: Emmett "Doc" Brown[edit]

text: Doctor Emmett Lathrop "Doc" Brown (portrayed by Christopher Lloyd in the films and Back to the Future: The Game, and voiced by Dan Castellaneta in the animated series) is the inventor of the DeLorean time machine. At various points in time, Doc helps Marty restore the space-time continuum and reverse the changes that were caused by time travel.

text: In 2008, the character was selected by film magazine Empire as one of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time, ranking at #76.[1]

text: Biff Tannen[edit]

text: Biff Howard Tannen (portrayed by Thomas F. Wilson in the films and animated series and voiced by Kid Beyond in Back to the Future: The Game) is the main antagonist of the first 2 films and a local bully who harassed George McFly and has once altered history in the second film. He comes from a long line of bullies in Hill Valley, most of whom harassed members of the McFly family. Biff is also a descendant of Buford Tannen (also portrayed by Wilson), who is one of Hill Valley's outlaws during the 1880s.

text: McFly family[edit]

text: George McFly[edit]

text: George Douglas McFly (portrayed by Crispin Glover in Back to the Future and by Jeffrey Weissman in Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III and voiced by Michael X. Sommers in Back to the Future: The Game) is the father of Marty, Linda and Dave from the union with his wife Lorraine Baines McFly. Although he is one of the main characters in the first movie, George only makes cameos in Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III.

text: In the first film, George is portrayed as weak and the main target of Biff Tannen's bullying. The novelization of the film expounds on George's history of weakness, describing two incidents in which he is unable to stand up for himself. In 1955, in contrast with Marty, George did not have any friends for support and was targeted not only by Biff and his gang but also other kids in school. He has a penchant for science fiction, and writes some of his own but never allows himself to share them with anyone due to his fear of rejection. In 1955, with Marty's help, he gets the courage to stand up to Biff, knocking him unconscious. As a result, he and Lorraine fall in love and George becomes popular in school for defeating Biff in a fight. In the new future, they are both happily married with George working as a college professor and being a successful writer who orders Biff around. In the alternate timeline in Part II, George was murdered by Biff in 1973.

text: George's character was greatly reduced in the sequels, and the role was recast to Jeffrey Weissman.[2] Weissman wore prosthetics to resemble Glover and imitated Glover's rendering of McFly, and his scenes were spliced with shots of Glover from Back to the Future.[3] The result was so convincing that many people were fooled by it.[3] Glover did not appreciate this, and sued. The lawsuit resulted in the adoption of stricter rules by the Screen Actors Guild to prevent this situation from occurring again.[3]

text: Lorraine Baines-McFly[edit]

text: Lorraine Baines-McFly (portrayed by Lea Thompson and voiced by Aimee Miles in Back to the Future: The Game) is the wife of George McFly and the mother of Marty, Linda and Dave. She is the eldest daughter of Sam (George DiCenzo) and Stella (Frances Lee McCain) Baines, and sister of Milton (Jason Hervey), Sally (Maia Brewton), Toby, and Joey.

text: In Back to the Future, Lorraine is initially portrayed in 1985 as middle-aged and unhappy. After Marty changes the timeline, she is shown to be fit and happily married to George in 1985. In Part II, she is still happily married to George in 2015, but in the dystopian alternate 1985 timeline she is widowed and married to Biff.

text: Dave McFly[edit]

text: David "Dave" McFly (portrayed by Marc McClure) is the eldest child of George and Lorraine McFly. In 1985 before Marty went to 1955, Dave works at Burger King, but in the post-time travel 1985 he wears a suit as a nondescript white-collar worker for an accounting firm. In a deleted scene from Part II, the alternate 1985 timeline shows that Dave is an alcoholic and a gambling addict following George's death and Lorraine's second marriage to Biff.

text: Linda McFly[edit]

text: Linda McFly (portrayed by Wendie Jo Sperber) is the middle child and only daughter of George and Lorraine McFly. In 1985 before Marty went to 1955, Linda is having boy trouble and it is unknown if she is in college or has a job. In 1985 after Marty went to 1955, Linda works in a boutique and has gained the attention of many boys.

text: Seamus and Maggie McFly[edit]

text: Seamus and Maggie McFly (portrayed by Michael J. Fox and Lea Thompson) are Irish immigrants and the paternal great-great-grandparents of Marty McFly. In Part III, Marty is befriended by Seamus and Maggie. While Maggie does not trust the "strange young man", Seamus has a familiar feeling about him and believes that helping him is the right thing to do. They have a son named William (Marty's great-grandfather). Much like his descendants, Seamus is harassed by a member of the Tannen family, Buford Tannen.

text: Maggie McFly is played by Lea Thompson, who also plays Marty's mother Lorraine, even though Maggie is not an ancestor of Lorraine; in a DVD commentary track for Part III, Bob Gale states that the creative team considered it important to include Thompson in the film, and he imagines that McFly men are simply "genetically predisposed" to be attracted to women who look like her.

text: Marty (Jr.) and Marlene McFly[edit]

text: Marty (Jr.) and Marlene McFly (both portrayed by Michael J. Fox) are Marty McFly and Jennifer Parker's future fraternal twin son and daughter in Part II.

text: Originally Marty (Jr.) was to be arrested for joining a robbery initiated by Griff and his gang. Marlene attempted to help Marty Jr. break out of jail but failed and was sentenced to 20 years in a woman's prison. Doc and Marty prevented the event from ever happening.

text: Brown family[edit]

text: Clara Clayton[edit]

text: Clara Clayton (portrayed by Mary Steenburgen in both Back to the Future Part III and the animated series) is the wife of Doc Brown and mother of Jules and Verne Brown.

text: Clara moved to Hill Valley and originally died in an accident when her wagon plummeted into Shonash Ravine, which was renamed Clayton Ravine in her memory. The animated series reveals that Clara, along with the rest of the family, moves to the early 1990s and lives in a farmhouse outside of Hill Valley. She then becomes a teacher at Hill Valley Elementary School.

text: Jules and Verne Brown[edit]

text: Jules Eratosthenes Brown and Verne Newton Brown (portrayed by Todd Cameron Brown and Daniel Evans in Back to the Future Part III and voiced by Josh Keaton and Troy Davidson in the animated series) are the two children of Doc Brown and his wife, Clara, who named them after their favorite author Jules Verne.

text: The characters had minor, non-speaking roles in Back to the Future Part III but were further developed in the animated series. Jules, an introvert, mostly imitates his father's interests and mannerisms while Verne appears to be more outgoing and extroverted. Several plot points of the animated series revolve around either Jules or Verne altering history and the steps necessary to correct the damage.

text: Copernicus[edit]

text: Copernicus is Doc's dog from 1955. Like his other dogs, Copernicus was used in many of Doc's experiments. When Copernicus died, he was replaced by Einstein.

text: Einstein[edit]

text: Einstein (portrayed by Tiger in the first film and Freddie in the other two and voiced by Danny Mann in the animated series) is Doc Brown's pet Catalan sheepdog. He later becomes one of the main characters in the animated series as the Brown family's dog.

text: In the first film, Doc successfully tests his time machine by placing Einstein in it and sending him one minute into the future. In the animated series, Einstein becomes anthropomorphic and smarter, helping Doc with his inventions for traveling to the past and the future.

text: Tannen family[edit]

text: Irving "Kid" Tannen[edit]

text: Kid Tannen is Biff's father who only appears in the Back to the Future game. Kid is a gangster who runs a local speakeasy in the 1930s Hill Valley. He, like the rest of the Tannen family, bullies the McFly family forcing Marty's grandfather Arthur to do his accounting. Kid is brought down with the help of Marty, a young version of Doc, and Arthur McFly. He later marries Edna Strickland and reforms from his criminal ways with her help.

text: Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen[edit]

text: Buford Tannen (portrayed by Thomas F. Wilson in Back to the Future Part III) is the main antagonist of the third film. He is the great-grandfather of Biff Tannen and the local town outlaw in 1885 Hill Valley. He was nicknamed "Mad Dog" by a newspaper reporter, due to his violent temper and propensity for drooling, a nickname Tannen greatly despises. Buford is cruel, homicidal, rude, and emotionally unstable. He displays a need for control and is brought down to childlike tantrums when he is humiliated or makes mistakes, whether it be something that happens to him or something he says or does. He is often accompanied by his gang (played by Christopher Wynne, Sean Sullivan and Mike Watson), and developed a feud with Marshal James Strickland and his deputies.

text: Griff[edit]

text: Griff (portrayed by Thomas F. Wilson in both Back to the Future Part II and in the animated series) is a grandson of Biff. He is part of a gang that also consists of "Data", "Spike", and "Whitey" (portrayed by Ricky Dean Logan, Darlene Vogel, and Jason Scott Lee).

text: In the animated series, Griff makes a brief cameo appearance in the episode "Solar Sailors" where his grandson, Ziff (also voiced by Wilson), is detained after he attempts to sabotage Marta McFly's space cruiser due to his hatred towards her family.

text: Griff's last name is never mentioned in the movies, which means he could either be the son of Biff's son Biff Jr, or the son of Biff's daughter, Tiffaney. However, in the animated series, Ziff refers that both he and Griff are Tannens.

text: Biff Tannen, Jr.[edit]

text: In the animated series, Biff Jr. is the son of Biff Tannen. Like his father and paternal relatives, he likes to bully and steal from children around him including Jules and Verne Brown with whom he developed a feud. In addition, Biff Jr. delights vandalizing other people's properties. Biff Jr. lives with his father with whom he has an abusive relationship. He is voiced by Benji Gregory.

text: Strickland family[edit]

text: Gerald Strickland[edit]

text: Gerald Strickland[4] (portrayed by James Tolkan) is the authoritarian discipline officer of Hill Valley High School. He is the grandson of Chief Marshal James Strickland of Hill Valley 1885.

text: There is a reference from Verne Brown that there is another Strickland who works at Hill Valley Elementary School as its vice principal.[episode needed]

text: James Strickland[edit]

text: James Strickland (portrayed by James Tolkan in Back to the Future Part III) is the chief marshal of Hill Valley in 1885 and the grandfather of Mr. Strickland. He also has an unnamed son (portrayed by Kaleb Henley), who will become Gerald Strickland's father.

text: Edna Strickland[edit]

text: Edna Strickland, in Back to the Future: The Game, is the sister of Gerald Strickland. She is somewhat nicer than her brother, but still set in her ways towards upholding strong morals and abolishing crime and laziness. After Marty alters her original timeline, Edna marries Kid Tannen who becomes the father of Biff Tannen.

text: Other characters[edit]

text: Jennifer Parker[edit]

text: Jennifer Jane Parker is the girlfriend (and, in 2015 in Back to the Future Part II, the wife) of Marty McFly.

text: The character was played by Claudia Wells in Back to the Future. However, Wells was not available to film the sequels for personal reasons, and the role was recast to Elisabeth Shue although Wells reprised her role as Jennifer in Back to the Future: The Game as a punk rock version of her character. Consequently, the opening scene of Back to the Future Part II was re-shot with Shue taking Wells' place, rather than using the ending of Back to the Future. In the spin-off Back to the Future: the Animated Series, Jennifer was voiced by Cathy Cavadini.

text: In 1985, Jennifer attends Hill Valley High School, along with her boyfriend Marty. In the animated series, Jennifer is enrolled to Hill Valley College with Marty after graduating high school and working part-time as a tutor. She lives with her family on a ranch, the deed to the which was owned by Biff Tannen, after one of his ancestors forced Jennifer's great-great-grandfather to sign it over by holding Jennifer's great-great-grandmother hostage. In the episode "A Friend in Deed", Marty travels back in time to 1875 and sabotages the deal with help from Jules and Verne.[5]

text: In the future witnessed in Back to the Future Part II, Jennifer and Marty had two children, Marlene and Marty Jr. (both played by Michael J. Fox)

text: Douglas J. Needles[edit]

text: Douglas J. Needles (portrayed by Flea in Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III) is an acquaintance of Marty McFly and Jennifer Parker from Hill Valley High School. Like his school's alumnus, Biff Tannen, Needles also has his own gang (portrayed by Christopher Wynne, J.J. Cohen, and Ricky Dean Logan) and develops a rivalry with Marty. Needles often goads Marty into doing reckless things such as a street race that leads Marty to crash into a Rolls Royce and an illegal transaction which results in his firing in 2015.

text: Goldie Wilson[edit]

text: Goldie Wilson (played by Donald Fullilove in part 1) is a young man working at Lou's Cafe in 1955 who goes on to become the first black Mayor of Hill Valley in the 1980s. A campaign poster shows the name Goldie in quotation marks, suggesting Goldie is a nickname, presumably in reference to his gold tooth. He would also have a grandson, Goldie Wilson III (also played by Fullilove) in Part II, who works as a car salesman.

text: Match, Skinhead, and 3-D[edit]

text: Match (portrayed by Billy Zane), Skinhead (portrayed by Jeffrey Jay Cohen), and 3-D (portrayed by Casey Siemaszko) are the three high school boys who make up Biff Tannen's gang in 1955. Their nicknames are only given in the films' novels, screenplays, and credits. Only one of their real names is mentioned in the movies – Biff refers to Skinhead as Joey in one of the 1955 scenes in Back to the Future Part II, while outside of the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance.

text: In the alternate 1985, the three work in Biff's casino as his bodyguards. Each gets his nickname from a distinctive character trait. Match often has a match sticking out of his mouth; Skinhead has very short, close-cropped hair; 3-D is always wearing a pair of anaglyphic 3-D glasses (a reference to the 3-D movies that were popular in the 1950s).