document_title: Only Fools and Horses

question_text: who sings the theme song from only fools and horses

text: Only Fools and Horses

text: Plot[edit]

text: Derek "Del Boy" Trotter (played by David Jason), a fast-talking, archetypal South London 'fly' trader, lives in a council flat in a high-rise tower block, Nelson Mandela House, in Peckham, South London, with his much younger brother, Rodney Trotter (Nicholas Lyndhurst), and their elderly Grandad (Lennard Pearce).[1] Their mother, Joan, died when Rodney was young, and their father Reg absconded soon afterwards, so Del became Rodney's surrogate father and the family patriarch. Despite the difference in age, personality, and outlook, the brothers share a constant bond throughout.[2]

text: The situation focuses primarily on their attempts to become millionaires through questionable get rich quick schemes and by buying and selling poor-quality and illegal goods. They have a three-wheeled Reliant Regal van and trade under the name of Trotters Independent Traders, mainly on the black market.[2]

text: Initially, Del Boy, Rodney and Grandad were the only regulars, along with the occasional appearances of roadsweeper Trigger (Roger Lloyd-Pack) and pretentious used car salesman Boycie (John Challis). Over time, the cast expanded, mostly in the form of regulars at the local pub The Nag's Head. These included pub landlord Mike Fisher (Kenneth MacDonald), lorry driver Denzil (Paul Barber), youthful spiv Mickey Pearce (Patrick Murray) and Boycie's flirtatious wife Marlene (Sue Holderness).[2]

text: As the series progressed, the scope of the plots expanded. Many early episodes were largely self-contained, with few plot-lines mentioned again, but the show developed a story arc and an ongoing episodic dimension. After Grandad died following the death of actor Lennard Pearce, his younger brother Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield) emerged and moved in with Del and Rodney.[1] After years of searching, both Del and Rodney find long-term love, in the form of Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones) and Cassandra (Gwyneth Strong) respectively; Del also has a son with Raquel, Damien (played by five actors, most recently Ben Smith). Rodney and Cassandra marry, separate and then get back together again. Cassandra miscarries, but then she and Rodney eventually have a baby. Rodney finds out who his real father was. The Trotters finally become millionaires, lose their fortune, and then regain some of it.[3]

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main cast and characters[edit]

text: Derek Edward "Del Boy" Trotter (David Jason) — Del was an archetypal South London market trader, willing to sell anything to anyone to make money. Del was devoted to his family, taking care of Rodney and Grandad on his own from the age of 16. Del was also known for his penchant for his cultural faux pas, in particular his misuse of French phrases. Del never settled down with a woman until he met Raquel, with whom he had a son, Damien.[4][5]

text:
Rodney Charlton Trotter (Nicholas Lyndhurst) — Rodney is Del's younger brother, and is more academically gifted, although only to the extent of two GCEs.[8] Orphaned when young, Rodney was raised by Del. His principal role throughout the show was as Del's lackey and sidekick. Much of the conflict between the two came from Rodney's dislike of his reliance on Del, and his unsuccessful attempts to gain greater independence through girlfriends or by setting up his own businesses; he was only partially successful after marrying Cassandra and briefly going to work for her father.[9] In contrast to Del Boy, the part of Rodney was cast early, with Lyndhurst settled on quickly. Sullivan partly based Rodney on his own experiences; he, too, had a much older sibling and, like Rodney, claims to have been a dreamer and an idealist in his youth.[10]
Grandad (Lennard Pearce) — Del and Rodney's elderly grandad was added to the cast to balance the three distinct generations, adding the voice of experience to the situation.[10] In casting the role of Grandad, Sullivan had in mind an actor similar to Wilfrid Brambell, who had played Albert Steptoe in Steptoe and Son, but chose not to use Brambell himself, thinking him too closely associated with Steptoe.[6] After seeing Pearce's audition, Sullivan settled on casting him immediately.[11] Scruffy and daft, although sometimes displaying a razor sharp wit, Grandad rarely left the flat or even moved from his armchair in front of two television sets. Despite his age he was invariably treated as a dogsbody by Del and Rodney, often being assigned mundane jobs around the flat such as cooking meals.[12] Pearce died in 1984 whilst filming the series four episode "Hole in One" (several scenes were subsequently re-shot with Buster Merryfield)[13] and Sullivan wrote a new episode, "Strained Relations", which featured Grandad's funeral.[14]
Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield) — Shortly after the death of Lennard Pearce, it was decided that a new older family member should be brought in, which eventually led to "Uncle Albert", Grandad's long-lost younger brother. Merryfield was an inexperienced amateur actor at the time, but was selected because he appeared to fit the description of an old sailor, especially with his distinctive white "Captain Birdseye" beard.[15] Albert first appeared at Grandad's funeral, and soon moved in with Del and Rodney.[16] His wartime experiences with the Royal Navy became one of the show's running gags,[16] usually begun with the words "During the war...".[17] Merryfield died in 1999 and Albert's death was written into the next episode.[18][19]

text: Supporting cast and characters[edit]

text:
Trigger (Roger Lloyd-Pack) — Trigger, apparently so called because he looks like a horse, was the principal supporting character earlier in the show's run, although his importance lessened as the series progressed.[20] Lloyd Pack was cast by pure chance: Ray Butt, who hired him to portray Trigger after seeing him in a stage play, had only attended that play to observe potential Del Boy actor Billy Murray.[21] A daft road sweeper most frequently seen in the Nag's Head, Trigger was initially portrayed as a small-time thief, supplying Del with dubious goods.[20] In later episodes he came to adopt the 'village idiot' role, and believes that Rodney's real name is Dave.[22]
Boycie (John Challis) — A shady used car salesman and a frightful snob. Boycie, a freemason, was very self-centred and prone to boasting about his high social status.[23][24] Challis had played a similar character in an episode of Citizen Smith. Sullivan liked him, and promised to cast him in a future series, which led to Boycie.[23] Boycie later featured in a spin-off series, The Green Green Grass, starting in 2005, in which he and his wife Marlene fled from a criminal gang.[25]
Raquel Turner (Tessa Peake-Jones) — Raquel was introduced because Sullivan wanted more female characters and for Del to start meeting more mature women. Her first appearance, in "Dates", was intended to be a one-off, but she was written in again a year later and thereafter became a permanent cast member.[26] An ambitious trained singer and actress whose career never took off, she met Del through a dating agency, but they fell out over her part-time job as a stripper, before getting together again. This time she moved in with Del, helping to mellow him, and they had a son together, named Damien. As the character unfolded, it was revealed that she was previously married to Del's nemesis, DCI Roy Slater.[27][28]
Cassandra Trotter (Gwyneth Strong) — Cassandra first met Rodney in "Yuppy Love". Their relationship blossomed, and by the end of series six the two had married. But her high career ambitions caused conflict with Rodney, and their troubled marriage was one of the main storylines later in the show's run.[29]
Marlene Boyce (Sue Holderness)  — Marlene was initially just an unseen character, occasionally mentioned by her husband, Boycie. She was a cheerful woman who desired a child. Details were occasionally revealed about Marlene's prior reputation as being popular with the local men.[30] She did finally have a son, Tyler.[31]
Denzil Tulser (Paul Barber) — An easy-going Liverpudlian lorry driver,[32] Denzil was often on the receiving end of Del's scams. His inability to say no to Del's business deals frequently led to conflict with his domineering wife, Corrine (Eva Mottley), who was only sighted once, in "Who's a Pretty Boy?".[33] Sullivan had planned to bring Corrine back for more episodes, but after Mottley's death in 1985, he opted to make her an unseen character rather than use another actress.[34]
Mickey Pearce (Patrick Murray) — Mickey was a young, obnoxious spiv and friend of Rodney's, known for his exaggerated boasts about his success in business or with women. Despite their friendship, Mickey often took advantage of Rodney's gullibility by stealing his girlfriends or making off with all the money from their business partnership.[35]
Mike Fisher (Kenneth MacDonald) — The landlord of the Nag's Head, although not from the very beginning; his predecessor was never seen, with just a succession of barmaids providing service. Good natured and somewhat gullible, he was often targeted by Del as a potential customer for any goods he was selling. When Kenneth MacDonald died in 2001, a storyline involving Mike's imprisonment for attempting to embezzle the brewery was written, and cafe owner Sid took over as interim pub landlord.[36]
Damien Trotter (various) — Damien was Del and Raquel's son. It was Rodney's mocking suggestion that he be named Damien. Six actors played Damien: Patrick McManus (1991), Grant Stevens (1991), Robert Liddement (1992), Jamie Smith (1993–96), Douglas Hodge (1996, as adult), and Ben Smith (2001–03).[29]
Sid (Roy Heather) — Sid made sporadic appearances throughout the show's run, mainly as the proprietor of the run-down and unhygienic local cafe. Sid fought in the war and it is revealed in the episode "The Jolly Boys' Outing" that he was captured and imprisoned. After Nag's Head landlord Mike was imprisoned, Sid took over and kept that role for the remainder of the series.[37]

text: Minor cast and characters[edit]

text: The most frequent roles for guest actors in Only Fools and Horses were as Del or Rodney's once-seen girlfriends, barmaids at the Nag's Head, or individuals the Trotters were doing business with. Del and Rodney's deceased mother, Joan, though never seen, cropped up in Del's embellished accounts of her, or in his attempts to emotionally blackmail Rodney. Her grave – a flamboyant monument – was seen occasionally.[38] Their absent father, Reg, appeared once in "Thicker Than Water" (played by Peter Woodthorpe), before leaving under a cloud, never to be seen again.[39] Other members of the Trotter family were rarely sighted, the exceptions being the woman they believe to be Auntie Rose (Beryl Cooke) in "The Second Time Around",[40] and cousins Stan and Jean (Mike Kemp and Maureen Sweeney), who attended Grandad's funeral.[41] When Rodney met Cassandra, her father Alan Parry (Denis Lill) became a recurring character.[42] Raquel's parents, James and Audrey (Michael Jayston and Ann Lynn), appeared in "Time On Our Hands", and it was James who discovered the antique watch which made the Trotters millionaires.[43]

text: In some episodes, a guest character was essential to the plot. Del's ex-fiancée Pauline (Jill Baker) dominated Del's libido in "The Second Time Around",[44] prompting Rodney and Grandad to leave. In "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", Del's old business partner Jumbo Mills (Nick Stringer) wanted Del to return to Australia with him and restore their partnership, forcing Del to make a decision.[45] An attempt by Lennox (Vas Blackwood) to rob a local supermarket set-up the "hostage" situation in "The Longest Night".[46] Del and Rodney spent the whole of "Tea for Three" battling each other for the affections of Trigger's niece Lisa (Gerry Cowper).[47] Abdul (Tony Anholt) in "To Hull and Back" and Arnie (Philip McGough) in "Chain Gang" were responsible for setting up dubious enterprises involving the Trotters in their respective episodes.[48] Tony Angelino (Philip Pope), the singing dustman with a speech impediment, was the key to the humour and the storyline of "Stage Fright" and EastEnders actor Derek Martin guest starred in Fatal Extraction.[49]

text: Del's nemesis from his school days, corrupt policeman DCI Roy Slater (played by Jim Broadbent), made three appearances, in "May The Force Be With You", "To Hull and Back" and "Class of '62".[50] Feared local villains, the Driscoll Brothers (Roy Marsden and Christopher Ryan) featured once, in "Little Problems", but were mentioned in two previous episodes ("Video Nasty" and "The Frog's Legacy"),[51] and are important in the story of The Green Green Grass.[52] A grown-up Damien (Douglas Hodge) appeared in "Heroes and Villains".[53] Rodney and Mickey's friends, the smooth-talking Jevon (Steven Woodcock) and then, briefly, Chris (Tony Marshall), a ladies' hairdresser, featured sporadically during the sixth and seventh series and the intervening Christmas specials.[54] The two-part 1991 Christmas special, "Miami Twice", saw Richard Branson and Barry Gibb make cameo appearances.[55] Mike Read appeared as himself, hosting an episode of "Top Of The Pops", in "It's Only Rock and Roll" and Jonathan Ross appeared as himself in "If They Could See Us Now".[56][3]

text: While their characters were less significant, well-known actors who played cameos in the programme included Joan Sims, best known for her numerous roles in the Carry On films,[38] who guest-starred in the feature-length episode "The Frog's Legacy" as an aunt of Trigger and old friend of Del's late mother;[38] Hollywood star David Thewlis, who played a young wannabe musician in "It's Only Rock and Roll";[57] John Bardon, who played the role of Jim Branning in the soap opera "EastEnders", as the supermarket security officer in "The Longest Night".[58] Walter Sparrow, who appeared as Dirty Barry in "Danger UXD", went on to appear in several Hollywood films.[59]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: In 1980, John Sullivan, a scriptwriter under contract at the BBC, was already well known as the writer of the successful sitcom Citizen Smith. It came to an end that year and Sullivan was searching for a new project. An initial idea for a comedy set in the world of football was rejected by the BBC, as was his alternative idea, a sitcom centring on a cockney market trader in working class, modern-day London. The latter idea persisted.[60] Through Ray Butt, a BBC producer and director whom Sullivan had met and become friends with when they were working on Citizen Smith, a draft script was shown to the Corporation's Head of Comedy, John Howard Davies. Davies commissioned Sullivan to write a full series. Sullivan believed the key factor in its being accepted was the success of ITV's new drama, Minder, a series with a similar premise and also set in modern-day London.[11]

text: Sullivan had initially given the show the working title Readies. For the actual title he intended to use, as a reference to the protagonist's tax and work-evading lifestyle, Only Fools and Horses. That name was based on a genuine, though very obscure, saying, "only fools and horses work for a living", which had its origins in 19th-century American vaudeville.[61] Only Fools and Horses had also been the title of an episode of Citizen Smith, and Sullivan liked the expression and thought it was suited to the new sitcom.[62] He also thought longer titles would attract attention.[61] He was first overruled on the grounds that the audience would not understand the title, but he eventually got his way.[63]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Filming of the first series began in May 1981, and the first episode, "Big Brother", was transmitted on BBC1 at 8.30 pm on 8 September that year. It attracted 9.2 million viewers[64] and generally received a lukewarm response from critics.[65] The viewing figures for the whole first series, which averaged at around 7 million, were considered mediocre.[1] The costumes for the first series were designed by Phoebe De Gaye. Del's attire was inspired by her going to car boot sales. The budget was limited, and she took David Jason shopping in Oxford Street, and had him try a variety of suits. De Gaye purchased some gaily coloured Gabicci shirts, which were fashionable at the time and she thought "horrible".[66] Del's rings and bracelet were made of fake gold and came from Chapel Market. Rodney's combat jacket came from the BBC's Costume Department, and De Gaye added a Yasser Arafat scarf purchased from Shepherd's Bush Market. De Gaye used Vaseline, make-up, and food to make Grandad's costume look dirty. The idea was that he never had his hat off, never dressed properly, usually had pyjamas underneath his clothes, which would be dirty.[66]

text: A second series was commissioned for 1982. The second series fared a little better. However, both the first and second series had a repeat run in June 1983 in a more low-key time slot, but attracted a high enough viewing figure for Davies to commission a third series.[67] From there, the show began to top the television ratings. Viewing figures for the fourth series were double those of the first.[68] In early December 1984,[69] during the filming of Series 4, Lennard Pearce suffered a heart attack and was taken to hospital.[70] He died on 16 December, the day he was due to resume.[70] Sullivan got to work with the episode "Strained Relations" which featured their goodbye to Grandad.[71] According to Sullivan, recasting Grandad was considered disrespectful to Pearce by the team, so it was decided that another older family member was to be cast. Buster Merryfield was then cast as Grandad's brother Albert.[72] The scenes of "Hole in One" that featured Pearce were re-filmed with Merryfield.[73]

text: Midway through the filming of the fifth series, Jason told Sullivan that he wished to leave the show in order to further his career elsewhere. Sullivan thus wrote "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", which was intended to be the final episode and would see Del accepting a friend's offer to set up business in Australia, leaving Rodney and Albert behind. Plans were made for a spin-off entitled Hot-Rod, which would have followed Rodney's attempts to survive on his own with help from Mickey Pearce, but leaving open the prospect of Del's return. Jason then changed his mind, and the ending of the episode was changed to show Del rejecting the offer.[74]

text: Sullivan had a tendency to write scripts that were too long, meaning a lot of good material had to be cut. Shortly before filming of the sixth series began, he and Jason requested that the show's time slot be extended and it was agreed to extend its running time to 50 minutes.[75] This required a 40 per cent increase in the show's budget,[76] and coincided with the show becoming one of the BBC's most popular programmes, according to producer Gareth Gwenlan.[77] Robin Stubbs became the costume designer for the sixth series, and was responsible for getting Del's attire to match his new yuppy image. His new suits cost around £200 each and were purchased from Austin Reed in Regent Street. The rest came from stores such as Tie-Rack and Dickins and Jones. His jewellery was replaced each series because it was very cheap (the rings with "D" cost 50p each).[66]

text: The seventh series aired in early 1991.[3] Jason and Sullivan were involved with other projects, and it was confirmed that there were no plans for a new series.[78] Despite this, the show continued in Christmas specials until 1993.[78] Sullivan nonetheless wanted a final episode to tie up the show.[78] In late 1996, three more one-hour episodes were filmed,[78] to be broadcast over Christmas 1996.[3] All three were well received and, due to the ending, were assumed to be the last.[79] The show made a return in Christmas 2001 with the first of three new episodes which were shot together but ultimately broadcast over three consecutive Christmases from 2001 to 2003.[80][3] Despite rumours of further episodes,[81] in a 2008 interview, Sullivan was quoted as saying: "There will not be another series of Only Fools And Horses. I can say that. We had our day, it was wonderful but it is best to leave it now".[82] Though Sullivan died in 2011, it returned for a special Sport Relief episode in 2014.[83]

text: Theme music and titles[edit]

text: Only Fools and Horses has separate theme songs for the opening and closing credits, "Only Fools and Horses" and "Hooky Street", respectively.[84] The original theme tune was produced by Ronnie Hazlehurst and recorded on 6 August 1981 at Lime Grove Studios. Alf Bigden, Paul Westwood, Don Hunt, John Dean, Judd Proctor, Eddie Mordue, and Rex Morris were hired to play the music. The tune was changed after the first series, and the new one was written by John Sullivan (he disliked the tune for the first series, and his new one explained the show's title[85]), and Hazlehurst conducted it. It was recorded at Lime Grove on 11 May 1982, with musicians John Horler, Dave Richmond, Bigden, and Proctor. Sullivan wanted the band Chas & Dave singing, but this was not possible due to their single Ain't No Pleasing You being successful in the charts.[86] Sullivan had intended for Chas & Dave to sing it because they had enjoyed success with the "Rockney" style, a mixture of rock n' roll and traditional Cockney music.[87] Sullivan was persuaded to do it himself by Ray Butt.[86] Despite the creation of a new theme tune, the original one remained in occasional use.[85] Chas & Dave did later contribute to the show, performing the closing credits song for the 1989 episode "The Jolly Boys' Outing".[88] Both songs are performed by Sullivan himself, and not – as is sometimes thought – by Nicholas Lyndhurst.[89]

text: The opening credits see images of the three principal actors peel on and off the screen sequentially. These appear over a background of still photographs of everyday life in South London. The sequence was conceived by graphic designer, Peter Clayton, as a "metaphor for the vagaries of the Trotters' lifestyle", whereby money was earned and quickly lost again. Clayton had also considered using five-pound notes having Del's face. The action was shot manually frame by frame, and took around six weeks to complete. Clayton knew that it was important to have the characters established in the titles, and prepared a storyboard depicting his ideas using drawings. He photographed various locations with a photographer, and the titles were shot using a rostrum camera and not edited. Brian Stephens, a professional animator, was hired to create the labels' movement.[90]

text: Clayton returned to the show when the titles were changed: for "Christmas Crackers," he re-cut the entire sequence, and added Christmas items. Another change was made necessary by Lennard Pearce's death and Buster Merryfield joining the cast, so the pictures of David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst were updated too. The sequence was shot on motor drive.[90]

text: The closing credits for the programme varied series by series. The first series used peeling labels featuring the names of the cast and crew, mirroring the opening sequence, but these had to be updated with every new episode, making the process very time-consuming; from the second series the credits switched to a standard rolling format. The third series featured additional symbols. For the fourth series, these designs were replaced with white lettering on a black background. The fifth series had a black and white background, but the sixth series reverted to the black one. For the seventh series, the credits scrolled against a freeze frame of the final scene.[90]

text: Filming locations[edit]

text: The original "Nelson Mandela House" in the titles was Harlech Tower, Park Road East, Acton, London, and since 1988, was filmed at Whitemead House, Duckmoor Road, Ashton, Bristol.[91]

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Sixty-three episodes of Only Fools and Horses, all written by John Sullivan, were broadcast on BBC1 between 8 September 1981 and 25 December 2003.[92][93] The show was aired in seven series (1981–83, 1985–86, 1989 and 1990–91), and thereafter in sporadic Christmas special editions (1991–93, 1996, 2001–03).[3] All earlier episodes had a running time of 30 minutes, but this was extended after Series Six (1989), and all subsequent episodes had a running time ranging from 50 to 95 minutes.[3]

text: Several mini-episodes were produced.[94] An eight-minute episode aired on 27 December 1982 as part of a show hosted by Frank Muir, The Funny Side of Christmas, and attracted 7.2 million viewers.[94] A 5-minute spoof BBC documentary was shown on Breakfast Time on 24 December 1985, with Del being investigated by a BBC consumer expert.[94] An educational episode named "Licensed to Drill", in which Del, Rodney and Grandad discuss oil drilling, was recorded in 1984 but only shown in schools.[95] A 5-minute 1990–91 Persian Gulf War special (dated 1 December 1990) has Del, Rodney, and Albert convey a message to British troops serving in the conflict.[94] It has never been broadcast commercially, but a copy exists at the Imperial War Museum, London.[96] A Comic Relief special showing Del, Rodney and Albert making an appeal for donations was shown on 14 March 1997, with 10.6 million viewers.[97] A Sport Relief special was aired on 21 March 2014.[98]

text: Only Fools and Horses had two producers: Ray Butt from 1981 to 1987,[99] and Gareth Gwenlan thereafter.[100] Seven directors were used: Martin Shardlow directed all episodes in series one,[101] Bernard Thompson directed the 1981 Christmas special,[102] Susan Belbin series four,[103] and Mandie Fletcher series five.[104] Butt directed series three and five, as well as the 1985, 1986 and 1987 Christmas specials.[99] Tony Dow became the established director after 1988, directing all subsequent episodes, bar the first part of Miami Twice, which was directed by Gareth Gwenlan.[105] John Sullivan was executive producer on seven of the final eight episodes.[106]

text: Documentaries[edit]

text: A six-part documentary series titled "The Story of Only Fools and Horses", began on 29 August 2017 on Gold and finished on 3 October 2017. The series features rare and unseen footage from the Trotter archives and specially re-created moments from Del Boy's family and friends.[107]

text: Spin-offs[edit]

text: The Green Green Grass[edit]

text: A spin-off of Only Fools and Horses entitled The Green Green Grass, also written by John Sullivan and directed by Tony Dow, was first aired in the UK in September 2005.[108] Sullivan had considered writing a sitcom around the popular characters of Boycie and Marlene (John Challis and Sue Holderness) since the mid-1980s, but it was not until the series finally ended that the idea came to fruition. The Green Green Grass sees Boycie and Marlene forced to leave Peckham by one-time Only Fools and Horses villains, the Driscoll Brothers, and has included guest appearances by Denzil (Paul Barber) and Sid (Roy Heather). A second series of The Green Green Grass was broadcast in the UK in October 2006,[109] a third in November 2007[110] and a fourth in January 2009.[111]

text: Rock & Chips[edit]

text: In 2003, it was reported that Sullivan was developing a prequel to the original series, Once Upon a Time in Peckham, which would feature Del as a youngster in the 1960s, and have a prominent role for his parents.[112] In 2009, it was again reported that the BBC were considering commissioning the show, although nothing was confirmed.[113] On 5 April 2009, Sullivan told The Mail on Sunday that he was planning a prequel to Only Fools and Horses which would star Nicholas Lyndhurst as Freddie "The Frog" Robdal, a local criminal and Rodney's biological father; Robdal was the focus of the episode "The Frog's Legacy".[114]

text: On 3 July 2009, the BBC revealed that the title of the spin-off would be Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Chips, and would be a 90-minute comedy drama.[115] The title was subsequently changed to Rock & Chips.[116] Filming began in August 2009, and it was shown on BBC One at 9pm on 24 January 2010.[117] In October 2009 it was confirmed that Lyndhurst would star as Robdal.[118] The Inbetweeners and Off The Hook actor James Buckley played the role of the young Del Boy.[118]

text: Home media[edit]

text: It has been released on VHS, DVD and audio CD in several guises. A DVD collection containing every episode was issued, along with various other special edition box-sets, such as a tin based on their Reliant Regal. Videos and DVDs of Only Fools and Horses continue to be among the BBC's biggest-selling items, having sold over 6 million VHS copies and 1 million DVDs in the UK.[119][120]

text: In other media[edit]

text: Audio[edit]

text: Four episodes ("The Long Legs of the Law", "A Losing Streak", "No Greater Love" and "The Yellow Peril") were re-edited for audio purposes and released on audio cassette on 12 October 1998. The cassette was re-released in October 2000.[121]

text: Theatre[edit]

text: A 4-minute show named "Royal Variety Performance" was shown on 27 November 1988 (viewed by 18.14 million people) and had Del, Rodney, and Albert appear on the Royal Variety Show.[94] It was staged on 24 November 1986, and the plot saw David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Buster Merryfield appear on stage in character, thinking that they are delivering boxes of alcohol to an associate of Del's, only later realising where they actually are.[122] They also mistake the Duchess of York for Del's associate.[123]

text: An idea of an Only Fools and Horses stage show was mooted by Ray Butt, following the success of other sit-com crossovers such as Dad's Army and Are You Being Served?. Sullivan wasn't keen, owing to his work on Just Good Friends as well as Only Fools and Horses, and inexperience with the theatre, so nothing came of it.[67]

text: Books[edit]

text: Only Fools and Horses spawned many merchandising spin-offs. Several books have been published, such as "The Only Fools and Horses Story" by Steve Clark[124] and "The Complete A-Z of Only Fools and Horses" by Richard Webber,[125] both of which detail the history of the series. The scripts have been published in a three-volume compendium, "The Bible of Peckham".[126]

text: In October 2015, He Who Dares..., a fictional autobiography, was released by Ebury Press. The book was written with the backing of John Sullivan's estate.[127][128][129]

text: Board games[edit]

text: Two board games based on the show were released: a Monopoly-style game, the "Trotters Trading Game", in which participants attempt to emulate the Trotters and become millionaires,[130] and another game set in their local pub, entitled the "Nag's Head Board Game".[131]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Only Fools and Horses is one of the UK's most popular sitcoms. It was among the ten most-watched television shows of the year in the UK in 1986,[132] 1989,[133] 1990,[134] 1991,[135] 1992,[136] 1993,[137] 1996,[138] 2001,[139] 2002[140] and 2003.[141] The 1996 Christmas trilogy of "Heroes and Villains", "Modern Men" and "Time On Our Hands" saw the show's peak. The first two attracted 21.3 million viewers,[142][143] while the third episode – at the time believed to be the final one – got 24.3 million,[144] a record audience for a British sitcom.[145] Repeat episodes also attract millions of viewers,[146] and the BBC has received criticism for repeating the show too often.[147][148]

text: Only Fools and Horses won the BAFTA award for best comedy series in 1985,[149] 1988[150] and 1996,[151] was nominated in 1983,[152] 1986,[153] 1989,[154] 1990[155] and 1991,[156] and won the audience award in 2004. David Jason received individual BAFTAs for his portrayal of Del Boy in 1990[157] and 1996.[158] The series won a National Television Award in 1997 for most popular comedy series;[159] Jason won two individual awards, in 1997 and 2002.[159] At the British Comedy Awards, the show was named best BBC sitcom for 1990,[160] and received the People's Choice award in 1997.[161] It also won the Royal Television Society best comedy award in 1997 and two Television and Radio Industries Club Awards for comedy programme of the year, in 1984 and 1997.[162] John Sullivan received the Writers' Guild of Great Britain comedy award in 1997.[163]

text: The show regularly features in polls to find the most popular comedy series, moments and characters. It was voted Britain's Best Sitcom in a 2004 BBC poll,[164] and came 45th in the British Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes.[165] It was 3rd on a subsequent viewers' poll on the BFI website.[166] Empire magazine ranked Only Fools and Horses #42 on their list of the 50 greatest television shows of all time.[167] It was also named the funniest British sitcom of all time through a scientific formula, in a study by Gold.[168] Scenes such as Del Boy's fall through a bar flap in "Yuppy Love" and the Trotters accidentally smashing a priceless chandelier in "A Touch of Glass" have become recognisable British comedy moments, invariably topping polls of comedy viewers.[169][170][171][172] Del Boy was voted the most popular British television character of all time in a survey by Open....[173] and came fourth in a Channel 4 list of Britain's best-loved television characters.[174] A Onepoll survey found that Only Fools and Horses was the television series Britons would most like to see return.[175]

text: Cultural impact[edit]

text: In addition to its mainstream popularity, Only Fools and Horses has also developed a cult following. The Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society, established in 1993, has a membership of around 7,000,[176] publishes a quarterly newsletter, Hookie Street, and organises annual conventions of fans, usually attended by cast members. The Society has also organised an Only Fools and Horses museum, containing props from the series, including Del's camel-hair coat and the Trotters' Ford Capri.[177] It was named one of the top 20 cult television programmes of all-time by TV critic Jeff Evans. Evans spoke of:

text:
“
"[shows] such as Only Fools and Horses, which gets tremendous viewing figures but does inspire conventions of fans who meet in pubs called the Nag's Head and wander round dressed as their favourite characters"[178]
”

text: Only Fools and Horses – and consequently John Sullivan – is credited with the popularisation in Britain of several words and phrases used by Del Boy regularly, particularly "Plonker",[179] meaning a fool or an idiot, and two expressions of delight or approval: "Cushty"[179] and "Lovely jubbly". The latter was borrowed from an advertising slogan for a popular 1960s orange juice drink, called Jubbly, which was packaged in a pyramid shaped, waxed paper carton. Sullivan remembered it and thought it was an expression Del Boy would use; in 2003, the phrase was incorporated into the new Oxford English Dictionary.[180]

text: Owing to its exposure on Only Fools and Horses, the Reliant Regal van is now often linked with the show in the British media.[181][182][183] The one used by the Trotters has attained cult status and is currently on display at the Cars of the Stars exhibition at the National Motor Museum, alongside many other vehicles from British and American television and movies, such as the Batmobile and the DeLorean from Back to the Future.[184] Boxer Ricky Hatton, a fan of the show, purchased one of the original vans in 2004.[185] Another of the vans used in the series was sold at auction in the UK for £44,000 in February 2007.[186]

text: During the media frenzy surrounding The Independent's revelations that the new bottled water Dasani, marketed by Coca-Cola, was in fact just purified tap water from Sidcup, mocking parallels were made with the Only Fools and Horses episode, "Mother Nature's Son", in which Del sells tap water as "Peckham Spring".[187] In the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, the Trotters' yellow Reliant van appeared on stage, along with two characters dressed as Batman and Robin, a reference to the Only Fools and Horses episode "Heroes and Villains".[188]

text: Rose Tyler's Father Pete Tyler is referred to as "a bit of a Del Boy" in the Doctor Who episode "Father's Day".[189]

text: International remakes[edit]

text: Only Fools and Horses was sold to countries throughout the world. Australia, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Yugoslavia are among those who purchased it.[190] In all former Yugoslav countries in which Serbo-Croatian is spoken the title was Mućke (or Мућке in Cyrillic script), which can roughly be translated as "shady deals." In Macedonia, it's Spletki (Сплетки in Cyrillic). In Slovenia, however, the show was coined Samo bedaki in konji, which is a literal Slovenian translation of the original English title. The show has enjoyed particular popularity in the former Yugoslavia, and is regarded as a cult series in Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia.[191]

text: A number of overseas re-makes have also been produced. A Dutch version aired for one series in 1995, entitled Wat schuift't? (What's it worth?). The Trotters were renamed the Aarsmans and it starred Johnny Kraaykamp jnr. as Stef (Del), Sacco Van der Made as Grandad and Kasper van Kooten as Robbie (Rodney), and was shown on RTL 4.[192] A Portuguese re-make, O Fura-Vidas, a local expression for someone who lives outside the law, ran for three series from 1999 to 2001. It was a literal translation of the British version, with all episodes based on the originals. It centred on the Fintas family, who live in Sapadores, a neighbourhood in Lisbon, and starred Miguel Guilherme as Quim (Del), Canto e Castro as Grandad, and Ivo Canelas as Joca (Rodney). In this Portuguese version the Reliant's equivalent was a 1988 Suzuki Super Carry.[193] A Slovenian re-make, called Brat bratu (Brother to Brother), was broadcast from 2008 to 2009. All episodes were based on the original British storylines, and it was made in co-operation with John Sullivan. It featured brothers Brane (Brane Šturbej) and Bine (Jure Drevenšek), who moved from Maribor to Ljubljana. The series also stars Peter Ternovšek as Grandad. It was directed by Branko Đurić. The series was cancelled after thirteen episodes due to poor ratings.[194]

text: There have been several plans to produce an American version. One was to be a star vehicle for former M*A*S*H actor Harry Morgan, with Grandad rather than Del becoming the lead character.[195] The other, entitled This Time Next Year..., would have seen the Trotters renamed the Flannagans. A draft script was written for the latter,[196] but neither show materialised. In 2010 Steve Carell, star of the US version of The Office, expressed an interest in making an American version of the series, with him to star as Del Boy.[197] In January 2012 US network ABC commissioned a pilot of an Only Fools and Horses remake titled "King of Van Nuys", written by Scrubs writers Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley.[198] It was developed, rejected and then redeveloped – only to be rejected again later in the year. The pilot starred John Leguizamo as Del, Dustin Ybarra as his brother Rodney and Christopher Lloyd as Grandad.[199]

text: A parody called Only Jerks and Horses was written by David Walliams and Matt Lucas and directed by Edgar Wright in 1997.[200]

text: Notes[edit]

text:
^ Jump up to: a b c d Lewisohn, Mark. "Only Fools and Horses". BBC. Archived from the original on 23 September 2006. Retrieved 13 September 2006.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lee, Darren. "Only Fools and Horses (1981-96)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Clark (2011). The Official Inside Story. pp. 290–316.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 211, 212.
Jump up ^ "Del's Lingo". BBC. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c Webber (2003). "History of the sitcom". A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 96–102.
Jump up ^ Brooks, Xan (26 November 2014). "Jim Broadbent – the actor who rejected an OBE. And Only Fools and Horses". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
Jump up ^ "Rodney". BBC. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 215.
^ Jump up to: a b Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 14.
^ Jump up to: a b Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 15.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 212, 213.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. pp. 52, 104–106.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 185.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. pp. 102–103.
^ Jump up to: a b Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 209, 210.
Jump up ^ "Uncle Albert". BBC. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 136.
Jump up ^ Clark (2011). The Official Inside Story. p. 254.
^ Jump up to: a b Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 207, 208.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 60.
Jump up ^ "Trigger". BBC. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 39, 40.
Jump up ^ "Boycie". BBC. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
Jump up ^ Clark (2011). The Official Inside Story. pp. 271, 273.
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Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 217, 218.
Jump up ^ "Raquel". BBC. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 210.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 38.
Jump up ^ "Marlene". BBC. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
Jump up ^ "Denzil". BBC. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 55, 56, 63, 64.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 98.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 155, 156.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 73,74,129–131.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 176.
^ Jump up to: a b c Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 214.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 214, 215.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 169.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 110, 184.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 150.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 217.
Jump up ^ BBC Comedy Greats (12 March 2010), There's No Calories in Weed Killer – Only Fools and Horses – BBC, retrieved 13 May 2016
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 235, 236.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 126, 127.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 192, 193.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 47,202,204.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 71,182,183.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 178.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. pp. 66, 67.
Jump up ^ "Sue Holderness Interview". Gold. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
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Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 137.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 108.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 194.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 30.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 182.
Jump up ^ Clark, Steve (1998). The Only Fools and Horses Story. pp. 10–11.
^ Jump up to: a b Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 12.
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Jump up ^ McCann (2012). The Story of Britain's Favourite Comedy. pp. 52–55.
Jump up ^ "Big Brother". BBC. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
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^ Jump up to: a b c Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 84.
^ Jump up to: a b Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. pp. 92–93.
Jump up ^ Webber, Richard; Dr John Sullivan (2003). The Complete A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. Orion. p. 28.
Jump up ^ Clark (2011). The Official Inside Story. p. 159.
^ Jump up to: a b Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 100.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 102.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. pp. 102–104.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 104.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. pp. 116–118.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. pp. 120, 121.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 121.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 101.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. pp. 136–139.
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^ Jump up to: a b "BBC ONE celebrates 21st birthday of Only Fools and Horses". BBC. 3 September 2002. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
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^ Jump up to: a b c Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 202.
Jump up ^ Clark, Steve (1998). The Only Fools and Horses Story. p. 52.
Jump up ^ Clark (1998). Only Fools and Horses Story. pp. 146–158.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 5.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e McCann (2012). The Story of Britain's Favourite Comedy. p. 312.
Jump up ^ "Specials". The Nag's Head. Retrieved 13 September 2006.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 95.
Jump up ^ McCann (2012). The Story of Britain's Favourite Comedy. pp. 312, 313.
Jump up ^ "Sport Relief TV revealed". Sport Relief. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
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Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 175.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 195.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 32.
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 74.
Jump up ^ For the full production team, see Webber (2003), p. 161
Jump up ^ Webber (2003). A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. p. 187.
Jump up ^ "Gold commissions two Sir David Jason Specials". UKTV. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
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Jump up ^ "The Green Green Grass Series 2". The British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
Jump up ^ "The Green Green Grass Series 3". The British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
Jump up ^ "The Green Green Grass Series 4". The British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
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Jump up ^ Rollo, Sarah (6 April 2009). "Television – News – 'Only Fools and Horses' prequel planned". Digital Spy. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
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Jump up ^ "Press Office – Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 4 Sunday 24 January 2010". BBC. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
Jump up ^ Parker, Robin (3 July 2009). "Trotters to return in Only Fools and Horses prequel". Broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2009. (subscription required)
^ Jump up to: a b "Lyndhurst returns as Rodney's dad". BBC News. 5 October 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
Jump up ^ "Only Fools and Horses – Strangers on the Shore". 7 October 2003. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
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tag: ol


document_title: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

question_text: who plays anna in gi joe rise of cobra

question_tokens: who plays anna in gi joe rise of cobra

root

text: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

text: Plot[edit]

text: In the near future, weapons master James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston) has created a nanotech-based weapon – nanomites designed to devour metal and other materials, capable of destroying anything from tanks to cities. The nanobots can only be stopped by activating the kill switch. His company M.A.R.S. sells four warheads to NATO, and NATO troops led by American soldiers Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) are asked to deliver the warheads. Their convoy is ambushed by the Baroness (Sienna Miller), whom Duke recognizes to be his ex-fiancee Ana Lewis. Duke and Ripcord are rescued by Scarlett (Rachel Nichols), Snake Eyes (Ray Park), Breaker (Saïd Taghmaoui), and Heavy Duty (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). They take the warheads to The Pit, G.I. Joe's command center in Egypt, and upon arriving, rendezvous with the head of the G.I. Joe Team, General Hawk (Dennis Quaid). Hawk takes command of the warheads and excuses Duke and Ripcord, only to be convinced to let them join his group, after Duke reveals that he knows the Baroness.

tag: p

text: McCullen is revealed to be using the same nanotechnology to build an army of soldiers with the aid of the Doctor (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), planning on using the warheads to cause worldwide panic and bring about a new world order. Using a tracking device, McCullen locates the G.I. Joe base and sends Storm Shadow (Byung-Hun Lee) and the Baroness to retrieve the warheads, with assistance from Zartan (Arnold Vosloo).

text: After a fight, Storm Shadow and the Baroness retrieve the warheads and take them to Baron DeCobray, the Baroness's husband, for him to weaponize. Making their way to Paris, the Joes pursue the Baroness and Storm Shadow, but are unsuccessful in stopping them from launching one of the missiles. The missile hits the Eiffel Tower and releases the nanomites in it, destroying the tower and some of the surrounding area before Duke manages to hit the kill switch. However, in so doing, he is captured and taken to McCullen's base under the Arctic.

text: The Joes locate the secret base and fly there, as McCullen loads three missiles with nanowarheads, which are aimed for Beijing, Moscow, and Washington, DC, the world's three most important cities. He intends to do this to strike fear into the hearts of every man, woman, and child on the planet, after which they will turn to the person with the most power in the world, the President of the United States. After Snake Eyes takes out one missile, Ripcord destroys the remaining two by using a stolen M.A.R.S. prototype Night Raven jet, while Scarlett, Breaker, and Snake Eyes infiltrate the base. Snake Eyes duels and prevails over Storm Shadow. Duke learns that the Doctor is Rex Lewis, Ana's brother, believed to have been killed by a mistimed airstrike during a mission led by Duke (also the origin of the alienation between Duke and Ana). Rex had encountered Doctor Mindbender (Kevin J. O'Connor) in the bunker and was seduced by the nanomite technology, taking too long to retrieve the data and getting caught in the bombing, which disfigured him. After freeing Duke, the Baroness is subdued, as the Doctor reveals he has implanted her with nanomites, which has put her under his control for the past four years. Attempting to kill Duke, McCullen ends up being burned, so the Doctor and he flee to an escape vessel. Duke and the Baroness pursue him while the Joes fall back; when the Doctor activates the base's self-destruct sequence, which involves 'blowing the ice cap' to create blocks of ice which then nearly crush the Joes.

text: The Doctor assumes the identity of the Commander, having healed McCullen's burned face with nanomites, encasing it in silver and naming him "Destro", which places McCullen under the Commander's control. They are captured by G.I. Joe soon after. On the supercarrier USS Flagg, the Baroness is placed in protective custody until they can remove the nanomites from her body. Meanwhile, Zartan, having had his physical appearance altered by nanomites, infiltrates the White House during the missile crisis and assumes the identity of the President of the United States of America (Jonathan Pryce), thus completing a part of McCullen's plan to rule the world.

text: Cast[edit]

text: G.I. Joe[edit]

text:
Channing Tatum as Conrad S. Hauser / Duke
The lead soldier. Lorenzo di Bonaventura was originally interested in casting Mark Wahlberg,[4] and when the script was rewritten into a G.I. Joe origin story, the studio offered the role to Tatum.[5] Tatum had played a soldier in Stop-Loss, an anti-war film, and originally wanted no part in G.I. Joe, which he felt glorified war.[6] The actor later detailed that he wound up in the film due to a contractual obligation with Paramount, given Tatum signed a three-picture deal following Coach Carter. Tatum was a fan of the G.I. Joe franchise while growing up, and expressed interest in playing Snake Eyes although Paramount wanted him for Duke.[7]
Marlon Wayans as Wallace A. Weems / Ripcord
A pilot with a romantic interest in Scarlett.[8] A fan of the franchise, Wayans was cast on the strength of his performance in Requiem for a Dream.[9] Di Bonaventura said that the film showed Wayans could be serious as well as funny.[8]
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Hershel Dalton / Heavy Duty
An ordnance expert and field commander of the team. Common was offered the role of Heavy Duty's cousin Roadblock,[10] although di Bonaventura previously indicated Heavy Duty was being used in that character's stead.[4] Stuart Beattie ultimately chose to have Heavy Duty instead of Roadblock.[8]
Dennis Quaid as General Clayton M. Abernathy / Hawk
The Joes' commanding officer. Quaid described Hawk as "a cross between Chuck Yeager and Sgt. Rock and maybe a naïve Hugh Hefner".[11] Quaid's son convinced him to take on the part, and the filmmakers enjoyed working with him so much, Stuart Beattie wrote "10 to 15 more scenes" for the character.[8] He filmed all his scenes within the first two months of production.[12][13]
Rachel Nichols as Shana M. O'Hara / Scarlett
Scarlett graduated from college at age 12 and became the team's intelligence expert. Having left school so early, she does not understand men's attraction to her. Nichols was the first choice for the role.[8] Nichols had dyed her blonde hair red – Scarlett's hair color – for her role in Star Trek, which she filmed before G.I. Joe.[14] She burned herself filming an action sequence with Sienna Miller.[15]
Ray Park as Snake Eyes
A mysterious ninja commando who took a vow of silence, a departure from the character's traditional difficulty in speaking due to grievous vocal wounds, a close member of the Arashikage ninja clan, and Storm Shadow's rival. Park specifically practiced wushu for the role, as well as studying the character's comic book poses.[16] Park was already familiar with the character, but knew very little of the surrounding saga of G.I. Joe versus Cobra, so he read the comics to further understand the character. He was nervous about wearing the mask, which covered his entire head quite tightly, so he requested to practice wearing it at home. He found the full costume, including the visor, very heavy to wear and akin to a rubber band; he had to put effort into moving in it.[17]

tag: ul

text: Leo Howard as young Snake Eyes

text:
Saïd Taghmaoui as Abel Shaz / Breaker
The team's communications specialist and hacker. He is seen chewing gum during the Battle of Paris in an homage to the original character.[8][18]
Karolína Kurková as Courtney A. Krieger / Cover Girl
Hawk's aide-de-camp. Kurková described going from her modeling career to making such a film as "an amazing experience", but said she was upset about not taking part in any action sequences.[19]
Brendan Fraser (uncredited) as Sgt. Geoffrey Stone IV / Stone
Fraser was reportedly going to play Gung-Ho, but was instead later revealed to be playing Sergeant Stone.[20][21] According to the director's commentary on the DVD, Fraser begged director Stephen Sommers to be in the movie, making it his fourth collaboration with Sommers after The Mummy franchise.[22]

text: Cobra[edit]

text:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Rexford G. "Rex" Lewis / The Doctor / Cobra Commander[23]
The Baroness's brother, a former soldier who was thought to have been killed during a mission led by Duke – instead, he became the disfigured head scientist of Military Armament Research Syndicate (MARS). USA Today reported that Gordon-Levitt would play multiple roles. He wore prosthetic makeup under a mask that was redesigned from the comics because the crew found it too reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan.[24][25] Upon seeing concept art of the character, Gordon-Levitt signed on because; "I was like, 'I get to be that? You're going to make that [makeup] in real life and stick it on me? Cool. Let me do it.' That's a once-in-lifetime opportunity."[26] Gordon-Levitt is a friend of Tatum and they co-starred in Stop-Loss and Havoc. His casting provided extra incentive for Tatum to join the film.[6] Gordon-Levitt described his vocal performance as being "half reminiscent" of Chris Latta's voice for the 1980s cartoon, but also half his own ideas, because he felt rendering it fully would sound ridiculous.[24]
Christopher Eccleston as Laird James McCullen XXIV / Destro
A weapons designer and the founder of MARS who is the main villain in the early part of the film.[8] Irish actor David Murray was originally cast as Destro, but was forced to drop out due to visa issues.[27] Murray was later cast as an ancestor of James McCullen in a flashback scene.[28]
Sienna Miller as Anastasia DeCobray / Ana Lewis / The Baroness
The sister of Cobra Commander and a spy.[29] Years earlier, The Baroness was going to marry Duke, but he left her at the altar,[8] due to his guilt over her brother's apparent death.[30] Miller auditioned for the part because it did not involve "having a breakdown or addicted to heroin or dying at the end, something that was just maybe really great fun and that people went to see and actually just had a great time seeing."[31] Miller prepared with four months of weight training, boxing sessions and learned to fire live ammunition, gaining five pounds of muscle.[32] She sprained her wrist after slipping on a rubber bullet while filming a fight scene with Rachel Nichols.[15]
Lee Byung-hun as Thomas Arashikage / Storm Shadow
Snake Eyes' rival; both were close members of the Arashikage ninja clan. Lee was unfamiliar with G.I. Joe because the franchise is unknown in South Korea, but Sommers and di Bonaventura told him that it was not necessary to watch the cartoons to prepare for the role. Lee was attracted to Storm Shadow's "dual personality," which he stated has "huge pride and honor."[33]

text: Brandon Soo Hoo as young Storm Shadow

text:
Arnold Vosloo as Zartan
A disguise expert who serves Destro.[34]
Kevin J. O'Connor as Doctor Mindbender
A scientist in McCullen's employ who developed the nanomite technology.[35] After playing Igor in Van Helsing, this is O'Connor's fourth collaboration with Stephen Sommers.

text: Other characters[edit]

text:
Jonathan Pryce as The President of the United States of America.
Gerald Okamura as The Hard Master: Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's ninja master.[36]
Grégory Fitoussi as Daniel DeCobray / The Baron: husband of the Baroness.

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: In 1994, Larry Kasanoff and his production company, Threshold Entertainment, held the rights to do a live-action G.I. Joe film with Warner Bros. as the distributor, but instead chose to concentrate the company's efforts upon its Mortal Kombat films. As late as 1999, there had been rumors that a film from Threshold Entertainment was still a possibility, but that project never panned out. In 2003, Lorenzo di Bonaventura was interested in making a film about advanced military technology; Hasbro's Brian Goldner called him and suggested to base the film on the G.I. Joe toy line.[37] Goldner and di Bonaventura worked together before, creating toy lines for films di Bonaventura had produced as CEO of Warner Bros. Goldner and di Bonaventura spent three months working out a story, and chose Michael B. Gordon as screenwriter, because they liked his script for 300.[38] Di Bonaventura wanted to depict the origin story of certain characters, and introduced the new character of Rex, to allow an exploration of Duke.[39] Rex's name came from Hasbro.[40] Beforehand, Don Murphy was interested in filming the property, but when the Iraq War broke out, he considered the subject matter inappropriate, and chose to develop Transformers (another Hasbro toy line) instead.[41] Di Bonaventura related, "What [the Joes] stand for, and what Duke stands for specifically in the movie, is something that I'd like to think a worldwide audience might connect with."[39]

text: By February 2005, Paul Lovett and David Elliot, who wrote di Bonaventura's Four Brothers, were rewriting Gordon's draft.[42] In their script, the Rex character is corrupted and mutated into the Cobra Commander, whom Destro needs to lead an army of supersoldiers.[43] Skip Woods was rewriting the script by March 2007, and he added the Alex Mann character from the British Action Man toy line. Di Bonaventura explained, "Unfortunately, our president [George W. Bush] has put us in a position internationally where it would be very difficult to release a movie called G.I. Joe. To add one character to the mix is sort of a fun thing to do."[4] The script was leaked online by El Mayimbe of Latino Review, who revealed Woods had dropped the Cobra Organization in favor of the Naja / Ryan, a crooked CIA agent. In this draft, Scarlett is married to Action Man but still has feelings for Duke, and is killed by the Baroness. Snake Eyes speaks, but his vocal cords are slashed during the story, rendering him mute. Mayimbe suggested Stuart Beattie rewrite the script.[44] Fan response to the film following the script review was negative. Di Bonaventura promised with subsequent rewrites, "I'm hoping we're going to get it right this time."[45] He admitted he had problems with Cobra, concurring with an interviewer "they were probably the stupidest evil organization out there [as depicted in the cartoon]".[4] Hasbro promised they would write Cobra back into the script.[46]

text: In August 2007, Paramount Pictures hired Stephen Sommers to direct the film after his presentation to CEO Brad Grey and production prexy Brad Weston was well received.[47] Sommers had been inspired to explore the G.I. Joe universe after visiting Hasbro's headquarters in Rhode Island.[48] The project had found the momentum based on the success of Transformers, which di Bonaventura produced with Murphy.[47] Sommers partly signed on to direct because the concept reminded him of James Bond, and he described an underwater battle in the story as a tribute to Thunderball.[49] Stuart Beattie was hired to write a new script for Sommers's film,[50] and G.I. Joe comic and filecard writer Larry Hama was hired as creative consultant. Hama helped them change story elements that fans would have disliked and made it closer to the comics, ultimately deciding fans would enjoy the script.[51] He persuaded them to drop a comic scene at the film's end, where Snake Eyes speaks.[52] To speed up production before the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, John Lee Hancock, Brian Koppelman and David Levien also assisted in writing various scenes.[53] Goldner said their inspiration was generally Hama's comics and not the cartoon.[54] Sommers said had it not been for the rich backstory in the franchise, the film would have fallen behind schedule because of the strike.[55]

text: After Variety had reported that the film recharacterizes G.I. Joe as being a Brussels-based outfit whose name stands for "Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity",[56] there were reports of fan outrage over Paramount's alleged attempt to change the origin of G.I. Joe Team.[57] Hasbro responded on its G.I. Joe site that it was not changing what the G.I. Joe brand is about, and the name will always be synonymous with bravery and heroism. Instead, it would be a modern telling of the "G.I. Joe vs. Cobra" storyline, based out of the "Pit" as they were throughout the 1980s comic book series.[58]

text: Filming and design[edit]

text: Filming began on February 11, 2008,[59] in Los Angeles, California.[60] The Downey soundstage was chosen as Paramount needed a large stage to get production underway as soon as possible. The first two levels of the Pit were built there, to complement the rest of the building which would be done with special effects.[61] Downey also housed Destro's MARS base in the Arctic, his legitimate weapons factory in an ex-Soviet state, as well as filming various submarines' interiors, including a SHARC (Submersible High-speed Attack and Reconnaissance Craft) manned by two G.I. Joes.[62]

text: Filming in the Czech Republic's Barrandov Studios began in May.[63] The crew took over sections of the Old Town in Prague.[64] While filming in the city on April 26, people were injured when a bus and several cars collided with a four-wheel-drive vehicle that appeared to have braking problems. The emergency services confirmed those taken to hospital had minor injuries.[65] Filming wrapped after a month in Prague.[14] Additional second unit filming took place in Paris, Egypt, Tokyo, the Arctic, and underwater.[55]

text: Sommers felt "almost 100 percent" of the technology in the film would actually become available within 10 to 20 years, citing the various books and magazines about developing weapons that he loved reading. For example, Sommers said he believed invisibility was impossible, but the virtual invisibility provided by camouflage camera that projects the background of a soldier's body upon its front allowed him to include it.[55] The production designers modelled the interior of Destro's private submarine on a Handley Page Jetstream.[66] Sommers said the bulky immobile "accelerator suits" (which Beattie said had enabled them to write "a car chase where one guy's not even in a car")[8] had been tough on the actors and were likely to have their roles reduced in potential sequels.[55] Critics have compared the suits to that of NFL SuperPro, a comic book character jointly licensed by the NFL and Marvel Comics, and resembling an armored football player.[67]

text: Di Bonaventura predicted that the aid offered by the United States armed forces to the film's development would be limited since much of the hardware depicted in the film is fictional.[9] The filmmakers were denied use of MRAP armored vehicles at the start of filming as the Defense Department had just prioritized their deployment on combat operations; however, they were later permitted to film the vehicles at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin Military Reservation.[68] Some commentators reviewing previews and promotional art from the film have noted superficial resemblances between it and the action film parody Team America: World Police.[69][70][71]

text: Effects[edit]

text: Six visual effects companies worked in The Rise of Cobra, the most prominent being Digital Domain, which handled the Paris action sequences and the opening convoy sequence.[72] For the Eiffel Tower destruction, special software was written for depicting how the crumbling metal works.[73] To create the digital Eiffel Tower, the technicians had access to the original building plans, and built a digital model so complex that it could not fit in a single computer file.[72] For the nanomites, designers used two proprietary software applications for their depiction—one made by Digital Domain, and another by Prime Focus VFX, which also created tools to generate 3D cloud and sky environments for the aerial scenes.[73] Many scenarios were almost fully developed by computer-generated imagery, such as the landing platform of the Pit, the Cobra ice caverns,[73] and the final underwater battle.[72] As for the sound effects themselves, only one is considered popular and isn't instantly recognizable. When the pulse cannon fires upon the main submarine during the polar assault, the sound of a program de-resolution from the 1982 cult movie classic TRON can be heard.

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text:
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Score from the Motion Picture

Soundtrack album by Alan Silvestri

Released
August 4, 2009

Recorded
Sony Sound Stage, Fox Sound Stage

Genre
Film score

Length
71:41

Label
Varèse Sarabande

tag: table

text: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Score from the Motion Picture was composed by Alan Silvestri, who reunited with director Stephen Sommers to record his score with a 90-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the scoring stages at Sony and Fox.[74] A soundtrack album of the score was released by Varèse Sarabande Records on August 4, 2009.[75]

text: The score came under scrutiny from various soundtrack forums soon after being released.[76][77] Spectral analysis of the content of the CD revealed certain frequency cutoff patterns around 16 kHz, which are typical for lossy codecs. By analyzing the block size of these cutoffs, individuals at Hydrogenaudio were able to identify the lossy codec that was used before mastering the CD as MP3 with a sample rate of 48 kHz.[78] According to the aforementioned forums, Varèse's German subsidiary Colosseum Schallplatten acknowledged this as a mastering error, while Varèse Sarabande itself denied this. It is so far unclear if a remastered version with full frequency content will be released.

text:
Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating

Allmusic
[79]

Empire
[80]

text: Release[edit]

text: The film was first screened in the US on July 31, 2009 at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.[81] The premiere was at Hollywood's Grauman's Chinese Theater on August 7, 2009,[82] and in the following day, G.I. Joe started playing at 4,007 theaters in the US,[83] along with 35 overseas markets.[84]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The film's actors were scanned for Hasbro's toy line,[19] which began in July 2009 with the release of 3 3/4-inch tall action figures. The Rise of Cobra toy line also includes 12-inch figures, and vehicles, including the first play set based on the Pit in the franchise's history.[85] Electronic Arts developed a video game sequel to the film, also titled G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.[86]

text: IDW Publishing released a four-issue prequel written by Chuck Dixon. Each issue focuses on Duke, Destro, The Baroness and Snake Eyes respectively.[87] It began publication in March 2009.[88] The weekly film adaptation was written by Denton J. Tipton and drawn by Casey Maloney. The film's universe continued in a limited series about Snake Eyes later in 2009: Ray Park enjoyed playing the character and approached writer Kevin VanHook and artist S. L. Gallant with the idea of a comic further exploring his incarnation of the character.[89]

text: As part of the movie launch campaign, more than 300 12-inch, parachute-equipped, G.I. Joe action figures were dropped from a 42-story Kansas City hotel roof and soared across 500 feet to the ground at the 16th Annual International G.I. Joe Convention.[90] For viral marketing, black helicopters with "G.I. Joe" written on them flew over American beaches.[91][92] Tie-ins were made with Symantec,[93] 7-Eleven,[94] and Burger King.[95]

text: Paramount's vice chairman Rob Moore claimed the movie was prioritized for mid-Americans, and thus marketing was more focused on cities such as Kansas City and Columbus. In Europe, the marketing was focused on action sequences set in Paris, Egypt and Tokyo, and emphasizes that G.I. Joe is an international team of elite operatives and not "about beefy guys on steroids who all met each other in the Vietnam War."[81]

text: G.I. Joe: The Invasion of Cobra Island[edit]

text: In 2009, R.M. Productions Ltd. was contracted by Paramount Pictures Corp. to produce a viral marketing campaign for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. This resulted in the creation of G.I. Joe: The Invasion of Cobra Island, a two-part animated web video, which eventually went viral.[96] The plot has G.I. Joe called in to stop Cobra when they develop a secret bio-weapon on their hidden island base. It was done in the style of Team America: World Police and Thunderbirds, using a mix of vintage Hasbro G.I. Joe vehicles of the 1980s, and the newly produced 25th-anniversary G.I. Joe figures. The characters were animated using custom puppetry techniques, while their faces and other special effects were done using 3D animation software packages.[97]

text: Home media[edit]

text: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was released on November 3, 2009 on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in regular and two-disc editions, and later[22][98] as a book[99] and as a video game. Both disc editions include audio commentary by Stephen Sommers and Bob Ducsay, and two making-of featurettes, with the second disk of the special edition holding a digital copy of the film.[100] The film opened at #1 at the DVD sales chart, making $40.9 million from 2,538,000 DVD units in the first week of its release.[101] The film sold more than 3.8 million discs, 500,000 of them on Blu-ray, during its first week.[102]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: During the opening weekend (August 7–9, 2009), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra opened at #1 of the North American box office with an estimated $54.7 million.[83] It earned an additional $44 million internationally during the same weekend.[84] In the following week, the film opened in 14 more territories and continued atop the international box office with $26 million.[103] This made it the third Hasbro film to reach number one at the box office after Transformers, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

text: The film grossed $150,201,498 in the United States and $152,267,519 internationally for a worldwide gross of $302,469,017[3] against a production budget of $175 million. It is the 22nd highest-grossing film of 2009 and the 10th highest film of 2009 to gross $300 million worldwide behind Star Trek, Monsters Vs. Aliens, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Fast & Furious, A Christmas Carol, Inglourious Basterds, The Proposal, and The Blind Side.[104]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Paramount decided to not screen the film for print critics before its release and wanted to focus on internet critics.[105] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 35% approval rating with an average rating of 4.6/10 based on 159 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "While fans of the Hasbro toy franchise may revel in a bit of nostalgia, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is largely a cartoonish, over-the-top action fest propelled by silly writing, inconsistent visual effects, and merely passable performances."[106] Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 32 out of 100, based on 25 reviews.[107]

text: One of the many complaints made by fans was that the film failed to relate to the G.I. Joe franchise. G4tv.com stated that, "[the studio] actually went out of their way to butcher the G.I. Joe mythos in favor of derivative storyline devices." They cited the Baroness, who was changed from an East European noble in the comics to Duke's brainwashed ex-girlfriend in the film.[108]

text: Dan Jolin of Empire magazine commented that it was "Bond without the style and Team America without the bellylaughs".[109] The Daily Telegraph reviewer said, "The taint of cruddiness extends everywhere in this joyless stinker."[110] James Berardinelli said the characters were "as plastic as the toys that inspired them" and considered Tatum "wooden" and that his character was "more animated in sequences when he is rendered by special effects than when being portrayed by Tatum".[111] Roger Ebert described that "there is never any clear sense in the action of where anything is in relation to anything else".[112] Chuck Wilson of The Village Voice criticized the dialogue and described the underwater battle as "absurdly overproduced, momentarily diverting, and then instantly forgettable".[113] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times considered the plot "at once elemental and incomprehensible",[114] and Peter Travers of Rolling Stone thought that, despite the high budget, the special effects "look shockingly crappy; the Eiffel Tower appears to be destroyed by some green slime left over from the Ghostbusters films".[115] Reviewers also criticized the film for the scientific impossibility of sinking ocean ice.[112]

text: Matthew Leyland from Total Film called it "a throwaway blast of solid, stupid fun" and gave it three out of five stars, particularly praising Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance as the treacherous Cobra Commander.[116] Sister publication SFX called the film "dumb and dopey, with plenty of bumpy bits" and that "GI Joe has a genuine cliffhanger charm, especially when the last act becomes a whole string of pulp plot twists. The ending screams 'To Be Continued'; we could do worse.", finally awarding the score of three stars out of five.[117] Christopher Monfette of IGN also gave the film a positive review, saying "This is an adult's interpretation of a childhood phenomenon, and if you're willing to give it a shot, one suspects that you'll find yourself entertained enough to give your best, "Yo, Joe!" He gave the film three and a half out of five stars.[118] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times criticized the excessive flashbacks, but praised the action scenes and design, and considered that Marlon Wayans "steals the show".[119] Dan Kois of The Washington Post describing it as "loudest, flashiest, silliest and longest blockbuster in a summer full of long, silly, flashy, loud blockbusters" thought it was "as polished and entertaining as war-mongering toy commercials get".[120]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: Tatum won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Action for his performance as Duke and the film also received three other Teen Choice Award nominations: Choice Movie: Action, Choice Movie Actress: Action for Sienna Miller, and Choice Movie: Villain for Joseph Gordon-Levitt.[121][122] However, the film was also nominated for six Razzie Awards including Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor for Marlon Wayans, and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off, or Sequel—with Sienna Miller winning the Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards.[123]

text: In other media[edit]

text: Inspired by the movie, The Ballad of G.I. Joe was released in 2009 on the website Funny or Die. Written by Daniel Strange and Kevin Umbricht, and featuring celebrities such as Olivia Wilde, Zack Galifianakis, Alexis Bledel, Henry Rollins, and Vinnie Jones, the video short parodies several characters from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero by showing what they do in their spare time.[124][125]

text: Sequel[edit]

text: A sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, was released on March 28, 2013,[126][127] directed by Jon Chu.[128][129] In the film, the Joes are framed as traitors by Zartan, who is still impersonating the President of the United States, and Cobra Commander now has all the world leaders under Cobra's control, with their advanced warheads aimed at innocent populaces around the world. Outnumbered and out gunned, the Joes form a plan with the original G.I. Joe General Joseph Colton to overthrow the Cobra Commander and his allies Zartan, Storm Shadow, and Firefly.[130]


document_title: List of U.S. state birds

question_text: what states is the cardinal the state bird

text: List of U.S. state birds

text: Below is a list of U.S. state birds as designated by each state's legislature. The selection of state birds began in 1927, when the legislatures for Alabama, Florida, Maine, Missouri, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming selected their state birds. The last state to choose its bird was Arizona in 1973. Alaska, California, and South Dakota permit hunting of their state birds. Pennsylvania has adopted a "state game bird" but not a state bird, while Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee have designated an additional "state game bird" for the purpose of hunting. The northern cardinal is the state bird of seven states, followed by the western meadowlark as the state bird of six states. Several states have extinct official animals, such as state dinosaurs in addition to state insects, state butterflies, state mammals and state reptiles.

text: Table[edit]

text:
State
State bird
Binomial
nomenclature
Photography
Year

Alabama
Yellowhammer
(state bird)
Colaptes auratus

1927[1]

Wild turkey
(state game bird)
Meleagris gallopavo

1980[2]

Alaska
Willow ptarmigan
Lagopus lagopus

1955[3]

Arizona
Cactus wren
Campylorhynchus
brunneicapillus

1973[4]

Arkansas
Northern mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos

1929[5]

California
California quail
Callipepla californica

1931[6]

Colorado
Lark bunting
Calamospiza melanocorys

1931[7]

Connecticut
American robin
Turdus migratorius

1943[8]

Delaware
Delaware Blue Hen
Gallus gallus

1939[9]

Florida
Northern mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos

1927[10]

Georgia
Brown thrasher (state bird)
Toxostoma rufum

1928[11]

Bobwhite quail (state game bird)
Colinus virginianus

1970[12]

Hawaii
Nēnē
or Hawaiian goose
Branta sandvicensis

1957[13]

Idaho
Mountain bluebird
Sialia currucoides

1931[14]

Illinois
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis

1929[15]

Indiana
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis

1933[16]

Iowa
Eastern goldfinch
also known as the American goldfinch
Spinus tristis

1933[17]

Kansas
Western meadowlark
Sturnella neglecta

1933[18]

Kentucky
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis

1942[19]

Louisiana
Brown pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis

1966[20]

Maine
Black-capped chickadee
Poecile atricapilla

1927[21]

Maryland
Baltimore oriole
Icterus galbula

1947[22]

Massachusetts
Black-capped chickadee
(state bird)
Poecile atricapilla

1941[23]

Wild turkey
(state game bird)
Meleagris gallopavo

1991[24]

Michigan
American robin
Turdus migratorius

1931[25]

Minnesota
Common loon
Gavia immer

1961[26]

Mississippi
Northern mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos

1944[27]

Wood duck
(state waterfowl)
Aix sponsa

1974[28]

Missouri
Eastern bluebird
Sialia sialis

1927[29]

Bobwhite quail (state game bird)
Colinus virginianus

2007[30]

Montana
Western meadowlark
Sturnella neglecta

1941[31]

Nebraska
Western meadowlark
Sturnella neglecta

1929[32]

Nevada
Mountain bluebird
Sialia currucoides

1967[33]

New Hampshire
Purple finch
Carpodacus purpureus

1957[34]

New Jersey
Eastern goldfinch
also known as the American Goldfinch

Spinus tristis

1935[35]

New Mexico
Roadrunner
also known as the greater roadrunner
Geococcyx californianus

1949[36]

New York
Eastern bluebird
Sialia sialis

1970[37]

North Carolina
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis

1943[38]

North Dakota
Western meadowlark
Sturnella neglecta

1970[39]

Ohio
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis

1933[40]

Oklahoma
Scissor-tailed flycatcher
Tyrannus forficatus

1951[41]

Wild turkey (state game bird)
Meleagris gallopavo

1990[42]

Oregon
Western meadowlark
Sturnella neglecta

1927[43]

Pennsylvania
Ruffed grouse (state game bird)
Bonasa umbellus

1931[44]

Rhode Island
Rhode Island Red
Gallus gallus

1954[45]

South Carolina
Northern mockingbird
(former state bird)
Mimus polyglottos

1939 -
1948[46]

Carolina wren
Thryothorus ludovicianus

1948[46]

Wild turkey
(state wild game bird)
Meleagris gallopavo

1976[47]

South Dakota
Ring-necked pheasant
Phasianus colchicus

1943[48]

Tennessee
Northern mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos

1933[49]

Bobwhite quail
(state wild game bird)
Colinus virginianus

1987[50]

Texas
Northern mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos

1927[51]

Utah
California gull
Larus californicus

1955[52]

Vermont
Hermit thrush
Catharus guttatus

1941[53]

Virginia
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis

1950[54]

Washington
Willow goldfinch
also known as the American goldfinch
Spinus tristis

1951[55]

West Virginia
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis

1949[56]

Wisconsin
American robin
Turdus migratorius

1949[57]

Wyoming
Western meadowlark
Sturnella neglecta

1927[58]

text:
D.C. & U.S. Territories
State bird
Binomial
nomenclature
Image
Year

American Samoa
None
—
—
—

District of Columbia
Wood thrush
Hylocichla mustelina

1938[59]

Guam
Guam rail
Gallirallus owstoni

?

Northern Mariana Islands
Mariana fruit-dove
Ptilinopus roseicapilla

?

Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican spindalis
Spindalis portoricensis

?

U.S. Virgin Islands
Bananaquit
Coereba flaveola

1970