document_title: The Big Bang Theory

question_text: when does the big bang theory season end

text: The Big Bang Theory

text: Production

text: The show's pilot episode premiered on September 24, 2007. This was the second pilot produced for the show. A different pilot was produced for the 2006–07 television season but never aired. The structure of the original unaired pilot was substantially different from the series' current form. The only characters retained in both pilots were Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons), who are named after Sheldon Leonard, a longtime figure in episodic television as producer, director and actor. Althea (Vernee Watson) was a character featured in both pilots and the first series episode.[7] Two female leads were Canadian actress Amanda Walsh as Katie, "a street-hardened, tough-as-nails woman with a vulnerable interior,"[8][9] and Iris Bahr as Gilda, a scientist colleague and friend of the male characters. Sheldon and Leonard meet Katie after she breaks up with a boyfriend and they invite her to share their apartment. Gilda is threatened by Katie's presence. Test audiences reacted negatively to Katie, but they liked Sheldon and Leonard. The original pilot used Thomas Dolby's hit "She Blinded Me with Science" as its theme song.

text: Although the original pilot was not picked up, its creators were given an opportunity to retool it and produce a second pilot. They brought in the remaining cast and retooled the show to its final format. Katie was replaced by Penny (Kaley Cuoco). The original unaired pilot never has officially been released, but it has circulated on the Internet.[citation needed] On the evolution of the show, Chuck Lorre said, "We did the 'Big Bang Pilot' about two and a half years ago, and it sucked ... but there were two remarkable things that worked perfectly, and that was Johnny and Jim. We rewrote the thing entirely and then we were blessed with Kaley and Simon and Kunal." As to whether the world will ever see the original pilot on a future DVD release, Lorre said, "Wow, that would be something. We will see. Show your failures..."[10]

text: The first and second pilots of The Big Bang Theory were directed by James Burrows, who did not continue with the show. The reworked second pilot led to a 13-episode order by CBS on May 14, 2007.[11] Prior to its airing on CBS, the pilot episode was distributed on iTunes free of charge. The show premiered on September 24, 2007, and was picked up for a full 22-episode season on October 19, 2007.[12] The show is filmed in front of a live audience,[13] and is produced by Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre Productions.[14] Production was halted on November 6, 2007, due to the Writers Guild of America strike. Nearly three months later, on February 4, 2008, the series was temporarily replaced by a short-lived sitcom, Welcome to the Captain. The series returned on March 17, 2008, in an earlier time slot[15] and ultimately only 17 episodes were produced for the first season.[16][17]

text: After the strike ended, the show was picked up for a second season, airing in the 2008–2009 season, premiering in the same time slot on September 22, 2008.[18] With increasing ratings, the show received a two-year renewal through the 2010–11 season in 2009.[19][20] In 2011, the show was picked up for three more seasons.[21] In March 2014, the show was renewed again for three more years through the 2016–17 season. This marks the second time the series has gained a three-year renewal.[22] In March 2017, the series was renewed for two additional seasons, bringing its total to 12, and running through the 2018–19 television season.[23]

text: David Saltzberg, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles, checks scripts and provides dialogue, mathematics equations, and diagrams used as props.[5] According to executive producer/co-creator Bill Prady, "We're working on giving Sheldon an actual problem that he's going to be working on throughout the [first] season so there's actual progress to the boards ... . We worked hard to get all the science right."[6]

text: Several of the actors in The Big Bang Theory previously worked together on the sitcom Roseanne, including Johnny Galecki, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf (who plays Sheldon's mother, Mary Cooper), and Meagen Fay (who plays Bernadette's mother). Additionally, Lorre was a writer on the series for several seasons.

text: Theme song

text: The Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies wrote and recorded the show's theme song, which describes the history and formation of the universe and the Earth. Co-lead singer Ed Robertson was asked by Lorre and Prady to write a theme song for the show after the producers attended one of the band's concerts in Los Angeles. By coincidence, Robertson had recently read Simon Singh's book Big Bang,[24][25] and at the concert improvised a freestyle rap about the origins of the universe.[citation needed] Lorre and Prady phoned him shortly thereafter and asked him to write the theme song. Having been asked to write songs for other films and shows, but ending up being rejected because producers favored songs by other artists, Robertson agreed to write the theme only after learning that Lorre and Prady had not asked anyone else.[citation needed]

text: On October 9, 2007, a full-length (1 minute and 45 seconds) version of the song was released commercially.[26] Although some sources identify the song title as "History of Everything,"[27] the cover art for the single identifies the title as "Big Bang Theory Theme." A music video also was released via special features on The Complete Fourth Season DVD and Blu-ray set.[28][29] The theme was included on the band's greatest hits album, Hits from Yesterday & the Day Before, released on September 27, 2011.[30] In September 2015, TMZ uncovered court documents showing that Steven Page sued former bandmate Robertson over the song, alleging that he was promised 20% of the proceeds, but that Robertson has kept that money entirely for himself.[31]

text: Actors' salaries

text: For the first three seasons, Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco, the three main stars of the show, received at most $60,000 per episode. The salary for the three went up to $200,000 per episode for the fourth season. Their per-episode pay went up an additional $50,000 in each of the following three seasons, culminating in $350,000 per episode in the seventh season.[32][33] In September 2013, Bialik and Rauch renegotiated the contracts they held since they were introduced to the series in 2010. On their old contracts, each was making $20,000–$30,000 per episode, while the new contracts doubled that, beginning at $60,000 per episode, increasing steadily to $100,000 per episode by the end of the contract, as well as adding another year for both.[34]

text: By season seven, Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco were also receiving 0.25% of the series' back-end money. Before production began on the eighth season, the three plus Helberg and Nayyar, looked to renegotiate new contracts, with Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco seeking around $1 million per episode, as well as more back-end money.[35] Contracts were signed in the beginning of August 2014, giving the three principal actors an estimated $1 million per episode for three years, with the possibility to extend for a fourth year. The deals also include larger pieces of the show, signing bonuses, production deals, and advances towards the back-end.[36] Helberg and Nayyar were also able to renegotiate their contracts, giving them a per-episode pay in the "mid-six-figure range", up from around $100,000 per episode they each received in years prior. The duo, who were looking to have salary parity with Parsons, Galecki, and Cuoco, signed their contracts after the studio and producers threatened to write the characters out of the series if a deal could not be reached before the start of production on season eight.[37] By season 10, Helberg and Nayyar reached the $1 million per episode parity with Parsons, Galecki, and Cuoco, due to a clause in their deals signed in 2014.[38]

text: In March 2017, the main cast members (Galecki, Parsons, Cuoco, Helberg, and Nayyar) took a 10% pay cut to allow Bialik and Rauch an increase in their earnings.[39] This put Galecki, Parsons, Cuoco, Helberg and Nayyar at $900,000 per episode, with Parsons, Galecki, and Helberg also receiving overall deals with Warner Bros. Television.[23] By the end of April, Bialik and Rauch had signed deals to earn $500,000 per episode, each, with the deals also including a separate development component for both actors. The deal was an increase from the $175,000 – $200,000 the duo had been making per episode.[40]

text: Cast and characters

text: This section describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: These actors are credited in all episodes of the series:

text:
Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter:[41] An experimental physicist with an IQ of 173, who received his PhD when he was 24 years old. Leonard is a nerd who loves video games, comic books, and Dungeons & Dragons. Leonard is the straight man of the series, in which he shares an apartment in Pasadena, CA, with Sheldon. Leonard is smitten with his new neighbor Penny when they first meet, and they eventually marry.
Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper:[42] Originally from Galveston, Texas, Sheldon was a child prodigy with an eidetic memory who began college at the age of eleven, and earned a PhD at age sixteen. He is a theoretical physicist researching quantum mechanics and string theory, and despite his IQ of 187, he finds many routine aspects of social situations difficult to grasp. He is determined to have his own way, continually boasts of his intelligence, and has an extremely ritualized way of living. Despite these quirks, he begins a relationship with Amy Farrah Fowler, they are now engaged to marry.
Kaley Cuoco as Penny:[43] An aspiring actress from Omaha, Nebraska. Penny moves in across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard. She waits and occasionally tends the bar at the Cheesecake Factory. After giving up hope of becoming a successful actress, Penny becomes a pharmaceutical sales representative. Penny becomes friends with Bernadette and Amy, and they often hang out in each other's apartments. Penny and Leonard form a relationship and eventually marry.
Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowitz:[44] An aerospace engineer. Howard is Jewish and lives with his mother, Debbie (Carol Ann Susi). Unlike Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, Bernadette and Amy, Howard does not hold a doctorate. He goes into space, training as an astronaut and serving as a payload specialist. Howard initially fancies himself as a womanizer, but he later starts dating Bernadette, and they get engaged and married. Howard also has a tendency to waste money on toys and argues with Bernadette because of his oddly low income as an engineer and her high income as a pharmaceutical biochemist.
Kunal Nayyar as Rajesh Koothrappali:[45] A particle astrophysicist originally from New Delhi, India. Raj is initially unable to talk to women unless he drinks alcohol. Raj also has very feminine tastes and often takes on a stereotypical female role. Raj later dates Lucy (Kate Micucci), who also suffers from social anxiety, but it eventually ends; he later speaks to Penny without alcohol and thus overcomes his selective mutism. He begins dating Emily and their relationship later becomes exclusive. Raj also has a Yorkshire Terrier named Cinnamon.

text: These actors were first credited as guest stars and later promoted to main cast:

text:
Sara Gilbert as Leslie Winkle (recurring season 1, starring season 2, guest seasons 3, 9):[46][47][48] A physicist who works in the same lab as Leonard. In appearance, she is essentially Leonard's female counterpart and has conflicting scientific theories with Sheldon. Leslie has casual sex with Leonard and later Howard. Gilbert was promoted to a main cast member during the second season but resumed guest star status because producers could not come up with enough material for the character.[46] Gilbert returned to The Big Bang Theory for its 200th episode.[49]
Melissa Rauch as Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz (recurring season 3, starring seasons 4–):[50] A young woman who initially is a co-worker at The Cheesecake Factory with Penny to pay her way through graduate school, where she is studying microbiology. Bernadette is introduced to Howard by Penny; at first, they do not get along, apparently having nothing in common. They date and later get engaged and married. Although generally a sweet and good-natured person, Bernadette has a short fuse and can be vindictive and lash out when provoked.
Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler (guest star season 3, starring seasons 4–):[51] A woman selected by an online dating site as Sheldon's perfect mate.[52] Amy is from Glendale, CA. While she and Sheldon initially share social cluelessness, after befriending Penny and Bernadette she eventually becomes more interested in social and romantic interaction. Her relationship with Sheldon slowly progresses to the point at which Sheldon considers her his girlfriend. Amy believes she and Penny are best friends, a sentiment that Penny does not initially share. Amy has a Ph.D. in neurobiology.
Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom (recurring seasons 2–5, 7, starring seasons 6, 8–):[53] A mild-mannered, under-confident owner of a comic book store. A competent artist, Stuart is a graduate of the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, and though he is socially awkward he possesses slightly better social skills. Stuart implies he is in financial trouble and that the comic book store now also is his home. He is later invited to join the guys' group while Howard is in space. Stuart gets a new job caring for Howard's mother later. After Mrs. Wolowitz's death, Stuart continues to live in her home, along with Howard and Bernadette, until he finds a place of his own.
Laura Spencer as Emily Sweeney (recurring seasons 7–8, starring season 9):[54] A dermatologist at Huntington Hospital. Emily went to Harvard and delights in the macabre and states that she likes her job because she can cut things with knives. Prior to meeting Raj, Emily was set up on a blind date with Howard. After finding Emily's online dating profile, Raj has Amy contact her as his wingman instead. Their relationship becomes exclusive, but Raj later breaks up with Emily when he becomes infatuated with the bartender Claire (Alessandra Torresani).

text: Scientist cameos

text: As the theme of the show revolves around science, many distinguished and high-profile scientists have appeared as guest stars on the show. Famous astrophysicist and Nobel laureate George Smoot had a cameo appearance in the second season.[55] Theoretical physicist Brian Greene appeared in the fourth season, as well as astrophysicist, science populizer, and physics outreach specialist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

text: Cosmologist Stephen Hawking made a short guest appearance in the fifth-season episode;[56] in the eighth season, Hawking video conferences with Sheldon and Leonard, and makes another appearance in the 200th episode. In the fifth and sixth seasons, NASA astronaut Michael J. Massimino played himself multiple times in the role of Howard's fellow astronaut. Bill Nye appeared in the seventh season, and Elon Musk made an appearance in the ninth season.

text: Episodes

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally aired
Nielsen ratings

First aired
Last aired
Viewers
(millions)
Viewers
rank
18–49
rating/share
18–49
rank

1
17
September 24, 2007 (2007-09-24)
May 19, 2008 (2008-05-19)
8.31
68[57]
3.3/8
46[58]

2
23
September 22, 2008 (2008-09-22)
May 11, 2009 (2009-05-11)
10.03
40[59]
N/A
N/A

3
23
September 21, 2009 (2009-09-21)
May 24, 2010 (2010-05-24)
14.22
12
5.3/13
5[60]

4
24
September 23, 2010 (2010-09-23)
May 19, 2011 (2011-05-19)
13.21
13
4.4/13
7[61]

5
24
September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)
May 10, 2012 (2012-05-10)
15.82
8
5.5/17
6[62]

6
24
September 27, 2012 (2012-09-27)
May 16, 2013 (2013-05-16)
18.68
3
6.2/19
2[63]

7
24
September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)
May 15, 2014 (2014-05-15)
19.96
2
6.2/20
2[64]

8
24
September 22, 2014 (2014-09-22)
May 7, 2015 (2015-05-07)
19.05
2
5.6/17
4[65]

9
24
September 21, 2015 (2015-09-21)
May 12, 2016 (2016-05-12)
20.36
2
5.8/19
3[66]

10
24
September 19, 2016 (2016-09-19)
May 11, 2017 (2017-05-11)
18.99
2
4.9/19
3[67]

11
24[68]
September 25, 2017 (2017-09-25)
May 10, 2018 (2018-05-10)[68]
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA

text: Recurring themes and elements

text: Science

text: Much of the series focuses on science, particularly physics. The four main male characters are employed at Caltech and have science-related occupations, as do Bernadette and Amy. The characters frequently banter about scientific theories or news (notably around the start of the show), and make science-related jokes.

text: Science has also interfered with the characters' romantic lives. Leslie breaks up with Leonard when he sides with Sheldon in his support for string theory rather than loop quantum gravity.[69] When Leonard joins Sheldon, Raj, and Howard on a three-month Arctic research trip, it separates Leonard and Penny at a time when their relationship is budding. When Bernadette takes an interest in Leonard's work, it makes both Penny and Howard envious and results in Howard confronting Leonard, and Penny asking Sheldon to teach her physics.[70] Sheldon and Amy also briefly end their relationship after an argument over which of their fields is superior.[71]

text: David Saltzberg, who has a Ph.D. in physics, has served as the science consultant for the show for six seasons and attends every taping.[72] While Saltzberg knows physics, he sometimes needs assistance from Mayim Bialik, who has a Ph.D. in neuroscience.[73] Saltzberg sees early versions of scripts which need scientific information added to them, and he also points out where the writers, despite their knowledge of science, have made a mistake. He is usually not needed during a taping unless a lot of science, and especially the whiteboard, is involved.[73]

text: Science fiction media

text: The four main male characters are all avid science fiction, fantasy, and comic book fans and memorabilia collectors.

text: Star Trek in particular is frequently referenced and Sheldon identifies strongly with the character of Spock, so much so that when he is given a used napkin signed by Leonard Nimoy as a Christmas gift from Penny he is overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude ("I possess the DNA of Leonard Nimoy?!").[74] Star Trek: The Original Series cast member George Takei has made a cameo, and Leonard Nimoy made a cameo as the voice of Sheldon's vintage Mr. Spock action figure (both cameos were in dream sequences). Star Trek: The Next Generation cast members Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton have had cameos as themselves,[75][76] while Wil Wheaton has a recurring role as a fictionalized version of himself.

text: They are also fans of Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Doctor Who. In the episode "The Ornithophobia Diffusion", when there is a delay in watching Star Wars on Blu-ray, Howard complains, "If we don't start soon, George Lucas is going to change it again" (referring to Lucas' controversial alterations to the films) and in "The Hot Troll Deviation", Katee Sackhoff of Battlestar Galactica appeared as Howard's fantasy dream girl. The characters have different tastes in franchises with Sheldon praising Firefly but disapproving of Leonard's enjoyment of Babylon 5.[77][n 1] With regard to fantasy, the four make frequent references to The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter novels and movies. Additionally, Howard can speak Sindarin, one of the two Elvish languages from The Lord of the Rings.

text: Wednesday night is the group's designated "comic book night"[78] because that is the day of the week when new comic books are released. The comic book store is run by fellow geek and recurring character Stuart. On a number of occasions, the group members have dressed up as pop culture characters, including The Flash, Aquaman, Frodo Baggins, Superman, Batman, Spock, The Doctor, Green Lantern, and Thor.[79] As a consequence of losing a bet to Stuart and Wil Wheaton, the group members are forced to visit the comic book store dressed as Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Supergirl.[80] DC Comics announced that, to promote its comics, the company will sponsor Sheldon wearing Green Lantern T-shirts.[81]

text: Various games have been featured, as well as referenced, on the series (e.g. World of Warcraft, Halo, Mario, etc.), including fictional games like Mystic Warlords of Ka'a (which became a reality in 2011)[82] and Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.

text: Leonard and Penny's relationship

text: One of the recurring plot lines is the relationship between Leonard and Penny. Leonard becomes attracted to Penny in the pilot episode and his need to do favors for her is a frequent point of humor in the first season. Meanwhile, Penny dates a series of muscular, attractive, unintelligent, and insensitive jocks. Their first long-term relationship begins when Leonard returns from a three-month expedition to the North Pole in the season 3 premiere. However, when Leonard tells Penny that he loves her, she realizes she cannot say it back. Both Leonard and Penny go on to date other people; most notably with Leonard dating Raj's sister Priya for much of season 4. This relationship is jeopardized when Leonard comes to falsely believe that Raj has slept with Penny, and ultimately ends when Priya sleeps with a former boyfriend in "The Good Guy Fluctuation".

text: Penny, who admits to missing Leonard in "The Roommate Transmogrification", accepts his request to renew their relationship in "The Beta Test Initiation". After Penny suggests having sex in "The Launch Acceleration", Leonard breaks the mood by proposing to her. Penny says "no" but does not break up with him. She stops a proposal a second time in "The Tangible Affection Proof". In the sixth-season episode, "The 43 Peculiarity", Penny finally tells Leonard that she loves him. Although they both feel jealousy when the other receives significant attention from the opposite sex, Penny is secure enough in their relationship to send him off on an exciting four-month expedition without worrying in "The Bon Voyage Reaction". After Leonard returns, their relationship blossoms over the seventh season. In the penultimate episode "The Gorilla Dissolution", Penny admits that they should marry and when Leonard realizes that she is serious, he proposes with a ring that he had been saving for years. Leonard and Penny decide to elope to Las Vegas in the season 8 finale, but beforehand, wanting no secrets, Leonard admits to kissing another woman, Mandy Chow (Melissa Tang) while on an expedition on the North Sea. Despite this, Leonard and Penny finally elope in the season 9 premiere.

text: Sheldon and Amy's relationship

text: In the third-season finale, Raj and Howard search for a woman compatible with Sheldon and discover neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler. Like him, she has a history of social ineptitude and participates in online dating only to fulfill an agreement with her mother. This spawns a storyline in which Sheldon and Amy communicate daily while insisting to Leonard and Penny that they are not romantically involved. In "The Agreement Dissection", Sheldon and Amy talk in her apartment after a night of dancing and she kisses him on the lips. Instead of getting annoyed, Sheldon says "fascinating" and later asks Amy to be his girlfriend in "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition". The same night he draws up "The Relationship Agreement" to verify the ground rules of him as her boyfriend and vice versa (similar to his "Roommate Agreement" with Leonard). Amy agrees but later regrets not having had a lawyer read through it.

text: In the episode "The Launch Acceleration", Amy tries to use her "neurobiology bag of tricks" to increase the attraction between herself and Sheldon. In the final fifth-season episode "The Countdown Reflection", Sheldon takes Amy's hand as Howard is launched into space. In the sixth season first episode "The Date Night Variable", after a dinner in which Sheldon fails to live up to this expectation, Amy gives Sheldon an ultimatum that their relationship is over unless he tells her something from his heart. Amy accepts Sheldon's romantic speech even after learning that it is a line from the first Spider-Man movie. In "The Cooper/Kripke Inversion" Sheldon states that he has been working on his discomfort about physical contact and admits that "it's a possibility" that he could one day have sex with Amy. Amy is revealed to have similar feelings in "The Love Spell Potential". Sheldon explains that he never thought about intimacy with anyone before Amy.[83]

text: "The Locomotive Manipulation" is the first episode in which Sheldon initiates a kiss with Amy. Although initially done in a fit of sarcasm, he discovers that he enjoys the feeling. Consequently, Sheldon slowly starts to open up over the rest of the season, and starts a more intimate relationship with Amy. However, in the season finale, Sheldon leaves temporarily to cope with several changes and Amy becomes distraught. However, in "The Prom Equivalency", he hides in his room to avoid going to a mock prom reenactment with her. In the resulting stand-off, Amy is about to confess that she loves Sheldon, but he surprises her by saying that he loves her too. This prompts Amy to have a panic attack.

text: In the season eight finale, Sheldon and Amy get into a fight about commitment on their fifth anniversary. Amy tells Sheldon that she needs to think about the future of their relationship, unaware that Sheldon was about to propose to her. Season nine sees Sheldon harassing Amy about making up her mind until she breaks up with him. Both struggle with singlehood and trying to be friends for the next few weeks until they reunite in episode ten and have sex for the first time on Amy's birthday.

text: In the season eleven premiere, Sheldon proposes to Amy and she accepts.

text: Soft Kitty

text: In the show, the song Soft Kitty was described by Sheldon as a song sung by his mother when he was ill. Its repeated use in the series popularized the song.[84] A scene depicting the origin of the song in Sheldon's childhood is depicted in an episode of Young Sheldon, which aired on February 1, 2018. It shows Sheldon's mother Mary singing the song to her son, who is suffering with the flu.[85]

text: Howard's mother

text: In scenes set at Howard's home, he interacts with his rarely-seen mother (voiced by Carol Ann Susi until her death) by shouting from room to room in the house. She similarly interacts with other characters in this manner.[86] She reflects the Jewish mother stereotype in some ways, such as being overly controlling of Howard's adult life and sometimes trying to make him feel guilty about causing her trouble. She is dependent on Howard, as she requires him to help her with her wig and makeup in the morning. Howard, in turn, is attached to his mother to the point where she still cuts his meat for him, takes him to the dentist, does his laundry and "grounds" him when he returns home after briefly moving out.[87] Until Howard's marriage to Bernadette in the fifth-season finale, Howard's former living situation led Leonard's psychiatrist mother to speculate that he may suffer from some type of pathology,[88] and Sheldon to refer to their relationship as Oedipal.[89] In season 8, Howard's mother dies in her sleep while in Florida, which devastates Howard and Stuart, who briefly lived with Mrs. Wolowitz.

text: Vanity cards

text: Like most shows created by Chuck Lorre, The Big Bang Theory ends by showing a vanity card written by Lorre after the credits, followed by the Warner Bros. Television closing logo. These cards are archived on Lorre's website.[90]

text: Reception

text: Critical reception

text: Initial reception for the series was mixed. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 55% approval rating for the first season based on reviews from 22 critics, with an average rating of 5.18/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Big Bang Theory brings a new class of character to mainstream television, but much of the comedy feels formulaic and stiff."[91] On Metacritic, the season holds a score of 57 out of 100, based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[92] Later seasons received more acclaim and in 2013, TV Guide ranked the series #52 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time.[93]

text: U.S. standard ratings

text: The Big Bang Theory started off slowly in the ratings, failing to make the top 50 in its first season (ranking 68th), and ranking 40th in its second season. When the third season premiered on September 21, 2009, however, The Big Bang Theory ranked as CBS's highest-rated show of that evening in the adults 18–49 demographic (4.6/10) along with a then-series-high 12.83 million viewers.[94] After the first three seasons aired at different times on Monday nights, CBS moved the show to Thursdays at 8:00 ET for the 2010–2011 schedule, to be in direct competition with NBC's Comedy Block and Fox's American Idol (then the longest reigning leading primetime show on U.S. television from 2004 to 2011).[95] During its fourth season, it became television's highest rated comedy, just barely beating out eight-year champ Two and a Half Men. However, in the age 18–49 demographic (the show's target age range), it was the second highest rated comedy, behind ABC's Modern Family. The fifth season opened with viewing figures of over 14 million.[96]

text: The sixth season boasts some of the highest-rated episodes for the show so far, with a then-new series high set with "The Bakersfield Expedition", with 20 million viewers,[97] a first for the series, which along with NCIS, made CBS the first network to have two scripted series reach that large an audience in the same week since 2007. In the sixth season, the show became the highest rated and viewed scripted show in the 18–49 demographic, trailing only the live regular NBC Sunday Night Football coverage,[98][99] and was third in total viewers, trailing NCIS and Sunday Night Football.[100] Season seven of the series opened strong, continuing the success gained in season six, with the second episode of the premiere, "The Deception Verification", setting the new series high in viewers with 20.44 million.[101][102]

text: Showrunner Steve Molaro, who took over from Bill Prady with the sixth season, credits some of the show's success to the sitcom's exposure in off-network syndication, particularly on TBS, while Michael Schneider of TV Guide attributes it to the timeslot move two seasons earlier. Chuck Lorre and CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler also credit the success to the influence of Molaro, in particular the deepening exploration of the firmly established regular characters and their interpersonal relationships, such as the on-again, off-again relationship between Leonard and Penny.[103] Throughout much of the 2012–13 season, The Big Bang Theory placed first in all of syndication ratings, receiving formidable competition from only Judge Judy and Wheel of Fortune (first-run syndication programs). By the end of the 2012–13 television season, The Big Bang Theory had dethroned Judge Judy as the ratings leader in all of syndicated programming with 7.1, Judy descending to second place for that season with a 7.0.[104] The Big Bang Theory did not place first in syndication ratings for the 2013–14 television season, beaten out by Judge Judy.[105]

text:
Season
Timeslot (ET)
Episodes
First aired
Last aired
TV season
Rank
Avg. viewers
(millions)
18–49 rating
(average)

Date
Viewers
(millions)
Date
Viewers
(millions)

1
Monday 8:30pm (1–8)
Monday 8:00pm (9–17)
17
September 24, 2007 (2007-09-24)
9.52[106]
May 19, 2008 (2008-05-19)
7.34[107]
2007–08
68
8.31
3.3/8 (46)[108]

2
Monday 8:00pm (1–14, 16–23)
Monday 9:30pm (15)[68]
23
September 22, 2008 (2008-09-22)
9.36[109]
May 11, 2009 (2009-05-11)
9.81[110]
2008–09
40
10.03
N/A

3
Monday 9:30pm (1–19, 21–23)
Monday 9:00pm (20)[68]
23
September 21, 2009 (2009-09-21)
12.96[111]
May 24, 2010 (2010-05-24)
14.78[112]
2009–10
12
14.22
5.3/13 (5)[113]

4
Thursday 8:00pm
24
September 23, 2010 (2010-09-23)
14.04[114]
May 19, 2011 (2011-05-19)
11.30[115]
2010–11
13
13.21
4.4/13 (7)[116]

5
24
September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)
14.30[117]
May 10, 2012 (2012-05-10)
13.72[118]
2011–12
8
15.82
5.5/17 (6)[119]

6
24
September 27, 2012 (2012-09-27)
15.66[120]
May 16, 2013 (2013-05-16)
15.48[121]
2012–13
3
18.68
6.2/19 (2)[122]

7
24
September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)
18.99[123]
May 15, 2014 (2014-05-15)
16.73[124]
2013–14
2
19.96[125]
6.2/20 (2)[126]

8
Monday 8:00pm (1–6)
Thursday 8:00pm (7–24)
24
September 22, 2014 (2014-09-22)
18.08[127]
May 7, 2015 (2015-05-07)
14.64[128]
2014–15
2
19.05
5.6/17 (4)[129]

9
24
September 21, 2015 (2015-09-21)
18.20[130]
May 12, 2016 (2016-05-12)
14.73[131]
2015–16
2
20.36
5.8/19 (3)[66]

10
Monday 8:00pm (1–5)
Thursday 8:00pm (6–24)
24
September 19, 2016 (2016-09-19)
15.82[132]
May 11, 2017 (2017-05-11)
12.99[133]
2016–17
2
18.99
4.9/19 (3)[134]

11
TBA
September 25, 2017 (2017-09-25)
17.65[135]
TBA
TBD
2017–18
TBD
TBD
TBD

text: UK distribution and ratings

text: The show made its United Kingdom debut on Channel 4 on February 14, 2008. The show was also shown as a 'first-look' on Channel 4's digital offshoot E4 prior to the main channel's airing. While the show's ratings were not deemed strong enough for the main channel, they were considered the opposite for E4. For each following season, all episodes were shown first-run on E4, with episodes only aired on the main channel in a repeat capacity, usually on a weekend morning. From the third season, the show aired in two parts, being split so that it could air new episodes for longer throughout the year. This was due to rising ratings. The first part began airing on December 17, 2009, at 9:00 p.m. while the second part, containing the remaining eleven episodes, began airing in the same time period from May 6, 2010. The first half of the fourth season began airing on November 4, 2010, at 9:00 p.m., drawing 877,000 viewers, with a further 256,000 watching on the E4+1 hour service. This gave the show an overall total of 1.13 million viewers, making it E4's most-watched programme for that week. The increased ratings continued over subsequent weeks.[136]

text: The fourth season's second half began on June 30, 2011. Season 5 began airing on November 3, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. as part of E4's Comedy Thursdays, acting as a lead-in to the channel's newest comedy, Perfect Couples. Episode 19, the highest-viewed episode of the season, attracted 1.4 million viewers.[137] Season 6 premiered on November 15, 2012, with 1.89 million viewers and a further 469,000 on the time shift channel, bringing the total to 2.31 million, E4's highest viewing ratings of 2012, and the highest the channel had received since June 2011. The sixth season returned in mid-2013 to finish airing the remaining episodes.[138] Season 7 premiered on E4 on October 31, 2013 at 8:30pm and hit multiple ratings records this season. The second half of season seven aired in mid 2014.[139] The eighth season premiered on E4 on October 23, 2014 at 8:30 p.m.[140] During its eighth season, The Big Bang Theory shared its 8:30 p.m. time period with fellow CBS comedy, 2 Broke Girls. Following the airing of the first eight episodes of that show's fourth season, The Big Bang Theory returned to finish airing its eighth season on March 19, 2015.[141]

text: Netflix UK & Ireland announced on February 13, 2016 that seasons 1–8 would be available to stream from February 15, 2016.[142]

text: Canadian ratings

text: The Big Bang Theory started off quietly in Canada, but managed to garner major success in later seasons. The Big Bang Theory is telecast throughout Canada via the CTV Television Network in simultaneous substitution with cross-border CBS affiliates. Now immensely popular in Canada, The Big Bang Theory is also rerun daily on the Canadian cable channel The Comedy Network.

text: The season 4 premiere garnered an estimated 3.1 million viewers across Canada. This is the largest audience for a sitcom since the series finale of Friends (12.4 million viewers). The Big Bang Theory has pulled ahead and has now become the most-watched entertainment television show in Canada.[143]

text: Broadcast

text: The Big Bang Theory premiered in the United States on September 24, 2007 on CBS. The series debuted in Canada on CTV in September 2007.[144] On February 14, 2008, the series debuted in the United Kingdom on channels E4 and Channel 4.[145] In Australia the first seven seasons of the series began airing on the Seven Network and 7mate from October 2015 and also gained the rights to season 8 in 2016, though the Nine Network has rights to air seasons nine & ten.[146][147] On January 22, 2018, it was announced that Nine had acquired the rights to Season 1–8.[148]

text: Syndication

text: In May 2010, it was reported that the show had been picked up for syndication, mainly among Fox's owned and operated stations and other local stations, with Warner Bros. Television's sister cable network TBS holding the show's cable syndication rights. Broadcast of old shows began airing in September 2011. TBS now airs the series in primetime on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, with evening broadcasts on Saturdays (TBS's local sister station in Atlanta also holds local weeknight rights to the series).[149] Although details of the syndication deal have not been revealed, it was reported the deal "set a record price for a cable off-network sitcom purchase".[150] CTV holds national broadcast syndication rights in Canada, while sister cable network The Comedy Network holds cable rights.

text: Online media

text: Warner Bros. Television controls the online rights for the show.[151][152] Full episodes are available at tv.com, while short clips and recently aired full episodes are available on cbs.com.[153] In Canada, recent episode(s) and pictures are available on CTV.ca.[154] Additionally in Canada, the first six seasons are available for streaming on Bell Media's CraveTV.[155] After the show has aired in New Zealand the shows are available in full online at TVNZ's on demand web service.

text: Home media

text:
Name
Release dates
No. of
episodes
Additional Information

Region 1
Region 2
Region 4

The Complete First Season
September 2, 2008[156]
January 12, 2009[157]
April 3, 2009[158]
17

3-disc box set
"Quantum Mechanics of The Big Bang Theory: Series Cast and Creators on Why It's Cool to Be a Geek".
Gag reel (Blu-ray exclusive)

The Complete Second Season
September 15, 2009[159]
October 19, 2009[160]
March 3, 2010[161]
23

4-disc box set
Gag reel
"Physicist to the Stars: Real-Life Physicist/UCLA professor David Saltzberg's consulting relationship to the Show"
"Testing the Infinite Hilarity Hypothesis in relation to the Big Bang Theory: Season 2's Unique Characters and Characteristics"

The Complete Third Season
September 14, 2010[162]
September 27, 2010[163]
October 13, 2010[164]
23

3-disc box set
Set tour with Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar
Inside look on the third season
Gag reel

The Complete Fourth Season
September 13, 2011[165]
September 26, 2011[166]
October 5, 2011[167]
24

3-disc box set
Story of show's theme song with Barenaked Ladies
Music video for the theme song
Cast interviews
Gag reel

The Complete Fifth Season
September 11, 2012[168]
September 3, 2012[169]
October 3, 2012[170]
24

3-disc box set
"The Big Bang Theory at 100"
"The Big Bang Theory's Laws of Reflection"
"Professors of Production"
Gag reel

The Complete Sixth Season
September 10, 2013[171]
September 2, 2013[172]
October 11, 2013[173]
24

3-disc box set
"The Big Bang Theory: The Final Comedy Frontier"
"Houston, We Have a Sitcom"
"Electromagnetism: The Best Relationship Moments"
"The Big Bang Theory at Paleyfest 2013"
Gag reel

The Complete Seventh Season
September 16, 2014[174]
September 8, 2014[175]
September 17, 2014[176]
24

String Theory Serenade
James Earl Jones: The Un-Conventional Guest Star
BBTea Time
The Big Bang Theory's May 4
The Convention Conundrum
The Big Cendrowski
2013 Comic-Con Panel
Gag Reel

The Complete Eighth Season
September 15, 2015[177]
September 14, 2015[178]
September 16, 2015[179]
24

Shooting Stars: BBT on BBT
2014 The Big Bang Theory Comic-Con Panel
Constellation Prize
Here's To You, Carol Ann Susi
It's A Quark...It's An Atom...It's the #BBTSuperfans!
Gag Reel

The Complete Ninth Season
September 13, 2016[180]
August 29, 2016[181]
August 31, 2016[182]
24

The Big Bang Theory Gives Back
BBT: The Big 200!
Love IS Rocket Science
Just Ask BBT: If I Had To Go To Mars...
Just Ask BBT: Who Will Get The Couch?
2015 Comic-Con Panel
Gag Reel

text: The first and second seasons were only available on DVD at their time of release in 2008[183] and 2009.[184] Starting with the release of the third season in 2010[185] and continuing every year with every new season, a Blu-ray disc set has also been released in conjunction with the DVD. In 2012, Warner Bros. released the first two seasons on Blu-ray,[186] marking the first time that all episodes were available on the Blu-ray disc format.

text: Awards and nominations

text: In August 2009, the sitcom won the best comedy series TCA award and Jim Parsons (Sheldon) won the award for individual achievement in comedy.[187] In 2010, the show won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy, while Parsons won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.[188] On January 16, 2011, Parsons was awarded a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical, an award that was presented by co-star Kaley Cuoco. On September 18, 2011, Parsons was again awarded an Emmy for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. On January 9, 2013, the show won People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy for the second time. August 25, 2014, Jim Parsons was awarded an Emmy for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.[189] The Big Bang Theory also won the 2016 People's Choice Awards for under Favorite TV Show and Favorite Network TV Comedy with Jim Parsons winning Favorite Comedic TV Actor.[190] On January 20, 2016, The Big Bang Theory also won the International category at the UK's National Television Awards.[191]

text: Merchandise

text: On March 16, 2014, a Lego Ideas project[192] portraying the living room scene in Lego style with the main cast as mini-figures reached 10,000 supporters on the platform, which qualified it to be considered as an official set by the Lego Ideas review board. On November 7, 2014, Lego Ideas approved the design and began refining it. The set was released in August 2015, with an exclusive pre-sale taking place at the San Diego Comic-Con International.[citation needed]

text: Offshoots

text: Plagiarized series

text: Through the use of his vanity cards at the end of episodes, Lorre alleged that the program had been plagiarized by a show produced and aired in Belarus. Officially titled Теоретики (The Theorists), the show features "clones" of the main characters, a similar opening sequence, and what appears to be a very close Russian translation of the scripts.[193] Lorre expressed annoyance and described his inquiry with the Warner Bros. legal department about options. The television production company and station's close relationship with the Belarus government was cited as the reason that any attempt to claim copyright infringement would be in vain because the company copying the episodes is operated by the government.[194]

text: However, no legal action was required to end production of the other show: as soon as it became known that the show was unlicensed, the actors quit and the producers canceled it.[195] Dmitriy Tankovich (who plays Leonard's counterpart, "Seva") said in an interview, "I'm upset. At first, the actors were told all legal issues were resolved. We didn't know it wasn't the case, so when the creators of The Big Bang Theory started talking about the show, I was embarrassed. I can't understand why our people first do, and then think. I consider this to be the rock bottom of my career. And I don't want to take part in a stolen show".[196]

text: Spin-off series

text: In November 2016, it was reported that CBS was in negotiations to create a spin-off of The Big Bang Theory centered on Sheldon as a young boy. The prequel series, described as "a Malcolm in the Middle-esque single-camera family comedy" would be executive-produced by Lorre and Molaro, with Prady expected to be involved in some capacity, and intended to air in the 2017–18 season alongside The Big Bang Theory.[197][198] The initial idea for the series came from Parsons, who passed it along to The Big Bang Theory producers.[199] In early March 2017, Iain Armitage was cast as the younger Sheldon, as well as Zoe Perry as his mother, Mary Cooper. Perry is the real-life daughter of Laurie Metcalf, who portrays Mary Cooper on The Big Bang Theory.[199]

text: On March 13, 2017, CBS ordered the spin-off Young Sheldon series. Jon Favreau directed and executive produced the pilot. Created by Lorre and Molaro, the series follows 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper as he attends high school in East Texas. Alongside Armitage as 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper and Perry as Mary Cooper, Lance Barber stars as George Cooper, Sheldon's father; Raegan Revord stars as Missy Cooper, Sheldon's twin sister; and Montana Jordan as George Cooper Jr., Sheldon's older brother. Jim Parsons reprises his role as adult Sheldon Cooper, as narrator for the series. Parsons, Lorre, Molaro and Todd Spiewak will also serve as executive producers on the series, for Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television.[200] The show's pilot episode premiered on September 25, 2017. Subsequent weekly episodes began airing on November 2, 2017 following the broadcast of the 237th episode of The Big Bang Theory.[201]

text: Notes

text: Jump up ^ During season 5, episode 21 ("The Hawking Excitation"), Raj states that Sheldon had begged three times before: he begged the Fox network not to cancel Firefly, he begged TNT to cancel Babylon 5, and when he got food poisoning, he begged a deity he does not believe in to end his life quickly.


document_title: Politics of Texas

question_text: when was the last time texas voted democrat in a presidential election

root

text: Politics of Texas

text: Cultural background[edit]

text: The 19th-century culture of the state was heavily influenced by the plantation culture of the Old South, dependent on African-American slave labor, as well as the patron system once prevalent (and still somewhat present) in northern Mexico and South Texas. In these societies the government's primary role was seen as being the preservation of social order. Solving of individual problems in society was seen as a local problem with the expectation that the individual with wealth should resolve his or her own issues.[1] These influences continue to affect Texas today. In their book, Texas Politics Today 2009-2010, authors Maxwell, Crain, and Santos attribute Texas' traditionally low voter turnout among whites to these influences.[1] But beginning in the early 20th century, voter turnout was dramatically reduced by the state legislature's disenfranchisement of most blacks, and many poor whites and Latinos.[2]

tag: p

text: Democratic dominance[edit]

text: From 1848 until Richard M. Nixon's victory in 1972, Texas voted for the Democratic candidate for president in every election except 1928, when it did not support Catholic Al Smith. The state had a white majority and Democrats re-established their dominance after the Civil War. In the mid-20th century 1952 and 1956 elections, the state voters joined the landslide for Dwight D. Eisenhower. (Texas did not vote in 1864 and 1868 due to the Civil War and Reconstruction).[3]

text: In the post-Civil War era, two of the most important Republican figures in Texas were African Americans George T. Ruby and Norris Wright Cuney. Ruby was a black community organizer, director in the federal Freedmen's Bureau, and leader of the Galveston Union League. His protégé Cuney was a mulatto whose wealthy, white planter father freed him and his siblings before the Civil War and arranged for his education in Pennsylvania. Cuney returned and settled in Galveston, where he became active in the Union League and the Republican party; he rose to the leadership of the party. He became influential in Galveston and Texas politics, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential black leaders in the South during the 19th century.

text: From 1902 through 1965, Texas had virtually disenfranchised most blacks and many Latinos and poor whites through imposition of the poll tax and white primaries. Across the South, Democrats controlled congressional apportionment based on total population, although they had disenfranchised the black population. The Solid South exercised tremendous power in Congress, and Democrats gained important committee chairmanships by seniority. They gained federal funding for infrastructure projects in their states and the region, as well as support for numerous military bases, as two examples of how they brought federal investment to the state and region.

text: In the post-Reconstruction era, by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Republican Party became non-competitive in the South, due to Democratic-dominated legislatures' disenfranchisement of blacks and many poor whites and Latinos. In Texas, the legislature excluded them through passage of a poll tax and white primary. As can be seen on the graph at the following link, voter turnout in Texas declined dramatically following these disenfranchisement measures, and Southern voting turnout was far below the national average.[2]

text: Although blacks made up 20 percent of the state population at the turn of the century, they were essentially excluded from formal politics.[4] Republican support in Texas had been based almost exclusively in the free black communities, particularly in Galveston, and in the so-called "German counties" – the rural Texas Hill Country inhabited by German immigrants and their descendants, who had opposed slavery in the antebellum period. The German counties continued to run Republican candidates. Harry M. Wurzbach was elected from the 14th district from 1920 to 1926, contesting and finally winning the election of 1928, and being re-elected in 1930.

text: Some of the most important American political figures of the 20th century, such as President Lyndon B. Johnson, Vice-President John Nance Garner, Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn, and Senator Ralph Yarborough were Texas Democrats. But, the Texas Democrats were rarely united, being divided into conservative, moderate and liberal factions that vied with one another for power.

text: Increasing Republican strength: 1960 to 1990[edit]

text: Some analysts suggest that the rebirth of the Republican Party in Texas among white conservatives can be traced to 1952, when Democratic Governor Allan Shivers clashed with the Truman Administration over the federal claim on the Tidelands. He worked to help Texas native General Dwight D. Eisenhower to carry the state. Eisenhower had great respect due to his role as Commander of the Allies in World War II and was popular nationally, winning the election. Beginning in the late 1960s, Republican strength increased in Texas, particularly among residents of the expanding "country club suburbs" around Dallas and Houston. The election of Republicans such as John Tower (who had shifted from the Democratic Party) and George H. W. Bush to Congress in 1961 and 1966, respectively, reflected this trend. Nationally, Democrats supported the civil rights movement and achieved important passage of federal legislation in the mid-1960s. In the South, however, Democratic leaders had opposed changes to bring about black voting or desegregated schools and public facilities and in many places exercised resistance. Following passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, southern white conservative Democrats began to leave the party and join the Republicans, a movement accelerated after the next year, when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, providing for federal enforcement of minorities' constitutional right to vote. Voter registration and turnout increased among blacks and Latinos in Texas and other states.

text: Unlike the rest of the South, however, Texas voters were never especially supportive of the various third-party candidacies of Southern Democrats. It was the only state in the former Confederacy to back Democrat Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 presidential election. During the 1980s, a number of conservative Democrats defected to the GOP, including Senator Phil Gramm, Congressman Kent Hance, and GOP Governor Rick Perry, who was a Democrat during his time as a state lawmaker.

text: John Tower's 1961 election to the U.S. Senate made him the first statewide GOP officeholder since Reconstruction and the disenfranchisement of black Republicans. Republican Governor Bill Clements and Senator Phil Gramm (also a former Democrat) were elected after him. Republicans became increasingly dominant in national elections in white-majority Texas. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Previously, a Democrat had to win Texas to win the White House, but in the 1992 election, Bill Clinton won the Oval Office while losing Texas electoral votes. This result significantly reduced the power of Texas Democrats at the national level, as party leaders believed the state had become unwinnable.

text: Redistricting disputes and the 1990s[edit]

text: Despite increasing Republican strength in national elections, after the 1990 census, Texas Democrats still controlled both houses of the State Legislature and most statewide offices. As a result, they directed the redistricting process after the decennial census. Although Congressional Texas Democrats received an average of 40 percent of the votes, Democrats consistently had a majority in the state delegation, as they had in every election since at least the end of Reconstruction.

text: In 1994, Democratic Governor Ann Richards lost her bid for re-election against Republican George W. Bush, ending an era in which Democrats controlled the governorship for all but eight of the past 120 years. Republicans have won the governorship ever since. In 1998, Bush won re-election in a landslide victory, with Republicans sweeping to victory in all the statewide races.

text: After the 2000 census, the Republican-controlled state Senate sought to draw a congressional district map that would guarantee a Republican majority in the state's delegation. The Democratic-controlled state House desired to retain a plan similar to the existing lines. There was an impasse. With the Legislature unable to reach a compromise, the matter was settled by a panel of federal court judges, who ruled in favor of a district map that largely retained the status quo.

text: But, Republicans dominated the Legislative Redistricting Board, which defines the state legislative districts, by a majority of four to one. The Republicans on this board used their voting strength to adopt a map for the state Senate that was more favorable to the Republicans and a map for the state House that also strongly favored them, as Democrats had before in their turn.

text: In 2002, Texas Republicans gained control of the Texas House of Representatives for the first time since Reconstruction. The newly elected Republican legislature engaged in an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting plan. Democrats said that the redistricting was a blatant partisan gerrymander, while Republicans argued that it was a much-needed correction of the partisan lines drawn after the 1990 census. But, the Republicans ignored the effects of nearly one million new citizens in the state, basing redistricting on 2000 census data. The result was a gain of six seats by the Republicans in the 2004 elections, giving them a majority of the state's delegation for the first time since Reconstruction.

text: In December 2005, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal that challenged the legality of this redistricting plan. While largely upholding the map, it ruled the El Paso-to-San Antonio 23rd District, which had been a protected majority-Latino district until the 2003 redistricting, was unconstitutionally drawn. The ruling forced nearly every district in the El Paso-San Antonio corridor to be reconfigured. Partly due to this, Democrats picked up two seats in the state in the 2006 elections. The 23rd's Republican incumbent was defeated in this election. It was the first time a Democratic House challenger unseated a Texas Republican incumbent in 10 years.

text: Current situation[edit]

text:
Texas Presidential elections results

Year
Republican
Democratic

2016
52.23% 4,681,590
43.24% 3,867,816

2012
57.19% 4,555,799
41.35% 3,294,440

2008
55.48% 4,467,748
43.72% 3,521,164

2004
61.09% 4,526,917
38.30% 2,832,704

2000
59.30% 3,799,639
38.11% 2,433,746

1996
48.80% 2,736,166
43.81% 2,459,683

1992
40.61% 2,496,071
37.11% 2,281,815

1988
56.01% 3,036,829
43.41% 2,352,748

1984
63.58% 3,433,428
36.18% 1,949,276

1980
55.30% 2,510,705
41.51% 1,881,148

1976
47.97% 1,953,300
51.14% 2,082,319

1972
66.20% 2,298,896
33.24% 1,154,291

1968
39.87% 1,227,844
41.14% 1,266,804

1964
36.49% 958,566
63.32% 1,666,185

1960
48.52% 1,121,130
50.52% 1,167,567

tag: table

text: Republicans control all statewide Texas offices, both houses of the state legislature and have a majority in the Texas congressional delegation. This makes Texas one of the most Republican states in the U.S.[citation needed]

text: Despite overall Republican dominance, Austin, the state capital, is primarily Democratic, as are El Paso, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley. However, the suburbs of these cities remain heavily Republican.[citation needed]

text: In 2017, Texas has more transgender candidates for office than any other state. Some trans candidates cited proposed bathroom bills and other legislation targeting trans people as their motivation to run.[5]

text: Future[edit]

text: Texas, like California, is now a minority-majority state. This means that Hispanics, African Americans and other minorities constitute the majority of the state (Hispanics can be of any race and were traditionally classified as white following the United States acquisition of Mexico's territory.) The Hispanic population had continued to increase, based on both natural increase and continued immigration from Mexico. It accounted for 38.1% of the state's population as of 2011[update] (compared to 44.8% for non-Hispanic whites).[6]

text: The state's changing demographics may result in a change in its overall political alignment, as most Hispanic and Latino voters support the Democratic Party.[7] Mark Yzaguirre questioned forecasts of Democratic dominance by highlighting Governor Rick Perry's courting of 39% of Hispanics in his victory in the 2010 Texas Gubernatorial.[8] Analysts with Gallup suggest that low turnout among Texas Hispanics is all that enables continued Republican dominance.[9] The African American population in Texas also is increasing due to the New Great Migration, many of them support the Democratic party.[10]

text: Capital punishment[edit]

text: Texas has a reputation for strict "law and order" sentencing. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, of the 21 counties in the United States where more than a fifth of residents are prison inmates, 10 are in Texas. Texas leads the nation in executions, with 464 executions from 1974 to 2011.[11] The second-highest ranking state is Virginia, with 108. A 2002 Houston Chronicle poll of Texans found that when asked "Do you support the death penalty?" 69.1% responded that they did, 21.9% did not support and 9.1% were not sure or gave no answer.

text: Secessionist sentiment[edit]

text: Texas has a long history with secession. It was originally a Spanish province, which in 1821 seceded from Spain and helped form the First Mexican Empire. In 1824 Texas became a state in the new Mexican republic. In 1835 Antonio López de Santa Anna assumed dictatorial control over the state and several states openly rebelled against the changes: Coahuila y Tejas (the northern part of which would become the Republic of Texas), San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Durango, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Yucatán, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas. Several of these states formed their own governments: the Republic of the Rio Grande, the Republic of Yucatan, and the Republic of Texas. Only the Texans defeated Santa Anna and retained their independence.

text: Some Texans believe that because it joined the United States as a country, the Texas state constitution includes the right to secede.[12] However, neither the ordinance of The Texas Annexation of 1845[13] nor The Annexation of Texas Joint Resolution of Congress March 1, 1845[14] included provisions giving Texas the right to secede. Texas did originally retain the right to divide into as many as five independent States,[15] and as part of the Compromise of 1850 continues to retain that right while ceding former claims westward and northward along the full length of the Rio Grande in exchange for $10 million from the federal government.[16]

text: The United States Supreme Court's primary ruling on the legality of secession involved a case brought by Texas involving a Civil War era bonds transfer.[17] In deciding the 1869 Texas v. White case, the Supreme Court first addressed the issue of whether Texas had in fact seceded when it joined the Confederacy. In a 5-3 vote the Court "held that as a matter of constitutional law, no state could leave the Union, explicitly repudiating the position of the Confederate States that the United States was a voluntary compact between sovereign states."[18] In writing the majority opinion Chief Justice Salmon Chase opined that:

text: When, therefore, Texas became one of the United States, she entered into an indissoluble relation. All the obligations of perpetual union, and all the guaranties of republican government in the Union, attached at once to the State. The act which consummated her admission into the Union was something more than a compact; it was the incorporation of a new member into the political body. And it was final. The union between Texas and the other States was as complete, as perpetual, and as indissoluble as the union between the original States. There was no place for reconsideration or revocation, except through revolution or through consent of the States.[19]

text: However, as the issue of secession per se was not the one before the court, it has been debated as to whether this reasoning is merely dicta or a binding ruling on the question.[20] It is also worth noting that Salmon Chase was nominated by Abraham Lincoln and was a staunch anti-secessionist. It is unlikely that he or his Republican appointed court would have approved of the Confederacy and Texas' choice to join it.

text: While the state's organized secessionist movement is relatively small, a notable minority of Texans hold secessionist sentiments.[21] A 2009 poll found that 31% of Texans believe that Texas has the legal right to secede and form an independent country and 18% believe it should do so.[22]

text: Budget[edit]

text: Until 2010, Texas had weathered the Great Recession fairly well, buffered by its vast oil and gas industries. It avoided the housing industry meltdown and its unemployment rate continues to be below the national level. It benefited from having a two-year budget cycle, allowing officials create budget plans with more time to focus on issues of importance. However, Texas was impacted by the economic downturn just like many other states, and by 2011 was suffering from tens of billions of dollars in budget deficits. In order to deal with this deficit, a supermajority of Republicans led to a massive cost cutting spree.[23] In order to draw new businesses to the state, Texas has developed a program of tax incentives to corporations willing to move there.[24] These efforts, along with Texas focusing on developing their natural energy resources, has led to a surplus as Texas begins its next two year budget cycle.[25][26]

text: For FY 2011, the top Texas revenue sources by category were approximately:[27] Federal Income: $42,159,665,863.56 Sales Tax: $21,523,984,733.17 Investments: $10,406,151,499.48 Other Revenue: $8,569,805,443.66 Licenses, Fees, Fines and Penalties: $7,741,880,095.57

text: As of 2008, Texas residents paid a total of $88,794 million dollars in income taxes.[28] This does not include Federal taxes paid by Texas businesses.

text: Besides sales tax, other taxes include franchise, insurance, natural gas, alcohol, cigarettee and tobacco taxes. Texas has no personal state income tax.

text: For FY 2011, the top Texas State Agency spending categories were approximately:[29] Public Assistance Payments: $26,501,123,478.54 Intergovernmental Payments: $21,014,819,852.52 Interfund Transfers/Other: $12,319,487,032.40 Salaries and Wages: $8,595,912,992.82 Employee Benefits: $5,743,905,057.61


document_title: General Hospital

question_text: where is the set of general hospital located

text: General Hospital

text: Show history[edit]

text: Origins[edit]

text: General Hospital was created by Frank and Doris Hursley and premiered on April 1, 1963. The first stories were mainly set on the seventh floor of General Hospital, in an unnamed midsize Eastern city (the name of the city, Port Charles, would not be mentioned until the late 1970s). "They had this concept of the show that it was like a big wagon wheel – the spokes would be the characters and the hub would be the hospital," John Beradino (Steve Hardy) later reflected to Entertainment Weekly in 1994.[11]

text: History[edit]

text: Launched in 1963, the first stories were mainly set at General Hospital in an unnamed midsized Eastern city. The name of the city, Port Charles, would not be mentioned until 1976 by headwriters Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock.[12] Storylines revolved around Dr. Steve Hardy (John Beradino) and his friend, Nurse Jessie Brewer (Emily McLaughlin). Jessie's turbulent marriage to the much-younger Dr. Phil Brewer (originally portrayed by Roy Thinnes; lastly by Martin West) was the center of many early storylines. In 1964 Audrey March (Rachel Ames), a flight attendant and sister of Nurse Lucille (Lucille Wall), came to town, and was the woman who won Steve's heart.

text: By the end of the 1970s, General Hospital was facing dire ratings when executive producer Gloria Monty was brought in to turn the show around. Monty is credited with creation of the first supercouple, Luke Spencer and Laura Webber, played by Anthony Geary and Genie Francis. The end of their hour wedding on November 17, 1981, was the most-watched event in daytime serial history.[7] During the 1980s, the series featured several high-profile action, adventure, and some science fiction-based storylines. Location shooting at sites including Mount Rushmore in South Dakota; Niagara Falls; Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Big Bear and Avalon (Catalina Island), California; and San Antonio, Texas are some that propelled the story.

text: After Gloria Monty first left the series in 1987, General Hospital entered into a transitional phase that lasted until Wendy Riche took the position of executive producer in 1992. Under Riche, the show gained critical acclaim for its sensitive handling of social issues. In 1994, Riche started an annual Nurses' Ball, a fundraiser and AIDS awareness event both on the show and in real life. Later that year, a heart transplant storyline involves the death of eight-year-old B. J. Jones (daughter of Dr. Tony Jones and R.N. Bobbie Spencer) in a bus crash and the subsequent donation of her heart to her dying cousin Maxie Jones. Shortly afterwards, Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleson) begins a long battle with breast cancer, which leads to her adopting Emily Quartermaine, the orphaned young daughter of Monica's friend from treatment. General Hospital was also praised for the love story of teenagers Stone Cates (Michael Sutton) and Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough). After a struggle that lasted throughout most of 1995, Stone dies from AIDS at the age of 19 and his death is followed by 17-year-old Robin having to deal with being HIV-positive as a result of their relationship. Sutton received a nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and McCullough won an Outstanding Younger Actress award. ABC featured an Afterschool Special "Positive: A Journey Into AIDS" revolving around the AIDS story as well as The New York Times best selling novel Robin's Diary.

text: On Saturday, December 14, 1996, General Hospital aired its one of three primetime episodes, General Hospital: Twist of Fate, which picked up where that Friday's episode had left off. The special centered on Laura's supposed death at the hands of Stefan Cassadine. In 1997, the show's long-rumored spin-off materialized into the half-hour serial, Port Charles. The series' 11,000th episode aired on February 20, 2006.[13] On April 23, 2009, General Hospital became ABC's first regular daytime drama to be taped and broadcast in high definition, though the 2008 season of its primetime spinoff General Hospital: Night Shift was in high definition. This is the second daytime drama to move to high definition after CBS's The Young and the Restless. On February 23, 2010, the series aired its 12,000th episode.[14] On December 1, 2011, ABC confirmed that former One Life to Live executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati would replace longtime executive producer Jill Farren-Phelps and Garin Wolf respectively, though Wolf would remain on as a regular writer. The change took effect on January 9, 2012.[15] The first episode under the direction of Valentini aired on February 1, 2012, and Carlivati's material started airing on February 21, 2012. Several storylines reminiscent of iconic story arcs of the past were created and popular characters returned to the show in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the series in 2013.[16] The series marked its 51st anniversary on April 1, 2014.[17] Also in January 2014, ABC renewed Carlivati's contract with the soap.[18][19] The series marked its 52nd anniversary on April 1, 2015, with a special episode revolving around the Spencer family.[20][21][22][23]

text: In July 2015, it was revealed that Carlivati was fired as Head Writer, with Shelly Altman and Jean Passanante rehired as replacements.[24] On September 16, 2016, Daytime Confidential reported that Valentini, Passanante and Altman re-signed with the show.[25] On June 6, 2017, Passanante announced her decision to retire from the serial.[26] On July 29, 2017, it was revealed through Passanante that breakdown writer Chris Van Etten will be promoted to co-head writer along with Altman as her replacement.[27]

text: Production summary[edit]

text: General Hospital has aired on ABC Television and has been filmed in Hollywood since its inception. The show was filmed in the Sunset Gower Studios from 1963 to the mid-1980s. It relocated in the 1980s to The Prospect Studios, where it remains.

text: General Hospital has had a number of different distributors throughout the show's history, From its beginning until 1968, it was a co-production of ABC-Paramount and Selmur Productions. ABC would later buy the series outright in 1968 and its owner passed from Selmur to American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., ABC's old separate conglomerate. Ownership of the soap was then passed when the original ABC, Inc. merged with Capital Cities Communications in 1985 and it became Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. The show would change hands again when The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC in 1996 and Disney began to program the network and the soap in September 1997 where it remains to this day.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Original cast[28]

Character
Actor

Cynthia Allison
Carolyn Craig

Jessie Brewer, R.N.
Emily McLaughlin

Dr. Phil Brewer
Roy Thinnes

Angie Costello
Jana Taylor

Mike Costello
Ralph Manza

Fred Fleming
Simon Scott

Janet Fleming
Ruth Phillips

Dr. Steve Hardy
John Beradino

Roy Lansing
Robert Clarke

Priscilla Longworth
Allison Hayes

Dr. Ken Martin
Hunt Powers

Peggy Mercer
K. T. Stevens

Philip Mercer
Neil Hamilton

Mrs. Weeks
Lenore Kingston

Al Weeks
Tom Brown

Eddie Weeks
Craig Curtis

text: Characters[edit]

text: Though the series originally focused on solely the medical staff at Port Charles' General Hospital, and starred John Beradino as Dr. Steve Hardy and Emily McLaughlin as Nurse Jessie Brewer, the series branched out and began to focus more on the people and families of the town of Port Charles rather than those solely in the hospital.[29]

text: Port Charles is full of "dysfunctional family dynamics...and family drama remains the focal point of this town."[30] The current families on the show include the quarreling and wealthy Quartermaine family, the mobster crime Corinthos family, the middle class Scorpio/Jones family, the aristocratic Cassadine family, and the adventurous Spencer family.

text: Main crew members[edit]

text:
Producers: Frank Valentini (executive producer), Mercer Barrows, Michelle Henry, Mary-Kelly Weir
Directing team: Scott McKinsey, Craig McManus, William Ludel, Phideaux Xavier, Penny Pengra, Larry Carpenter, Gary Tomlin, Christine Magarian, Peter Fillmore, Dave MacLeod
Head writer: Shelly Altman and Chris Van Etten[24]
Associate head writer: Elizabeth Korte
Breakdown writers: Chris Van Etten, Anna Theresa Cascio, Dan O'Connor, Katherine Schock, Christopher Whitesell
Script writers: Scott Sickles, Suzanne Flynn, Andrea Archer Compton, David Rupel, Charlotte Gibson, Janet Iacobuzio Elizabeth Korte
Casting director: Mark Teschner

tag: ul

text: Former notable crew members: Gloria Monty,[31] Jill Farren Phelps, Robert Guza, Jr., Charles Pratt Jr., John William Corrington, Lewis Arlt, Lynda Myles, Alan Pultz, Judith Pinsker, Joseph Behar, Stephanie Braxton, Norma Monty, Frank South, Ralph Ellis, Shelley Curtis, Hope Harmel Smith, Michael Conforti, Michele Val Jean and Ron Carlivati.[24]

text: Executive producers[edit]

text:
Name
Years

Selig J. Seligman
1963

James Young
1963–75

Tom Donovan
1975–77

Gloria Monty
1978–87, 1991–92

H. Wesley Kenney
1987–89

Joseph Hardy
1989–91

Wendy Riche
1992–2001

Jill Farren Phelps
2001–12

Frank Valentini
2012–present

text: Setting[edit]

text: Since the series began in 1963, Port Charles, New York, has been the setting for the show. The town exists in the same fictional universe as other soap opera settings such as Llanview (One Life to Live), Pine Valley (All My Children), New York City (Ryan's Hope), and Corinth (Loving). The same setting was also used for the show's spinoff Port Charles.

text:
General Hospital is founded by Dr. Steve Hardy. It is a major employer in the city, and one of the largest medical facilities on the East Coast. In the 1990s, Sonny Corinthos donates an extra wing dedicated to AIDS research, and in the 2000s, Carly Corinthos donates a pediatric center for head neurology. In 2009, a fire destroys the hospital, which is rebuilt with money from the Quartermaine family.
The Metro Court is a prominent hotel in Port Charles, built by Jasper Jacks on the site of the Port Charles Hotel after it is destroyed in a fire in 2004, and named in honor of Courtney Matthews who Jax was pursuing romantically. Carly Corinthos soon becomes his business partner, and later co-owns with Kate Howard when Jax sells his portion to her. The hotel boasts a skyline restaurant, spa, penthouse suites, and business offices. The current owners are Carly and Olivia Falconeri.
Kelly's Diner is founded by Joe "Paddy" Kelly, and becomes a vintage restaurant in the heart of Port Charles. It features boarding rooms upstairs which become homes to many Port Charles residents and guests over the years. The restaurant is operated by Paddy's wife Rose Kelly after his death, who later sells it to Ruby Anderson when Rose leaves town. When Ruby dies, she leaves the diner to her niece Bobbie Spencer and nephew Luke Spencer.
The Haunted Star is a yacht first owned by Luke Spencer, who receives the vessel as a wedding present in 1981. In 2003, the ship is turned into a casino by Luke and investors Skye Chandler and Tracy Quartermaine. In 2011, Luke's daughter Lulu Spencer purchases the boat, and in 2012 Johnny Zacchara invests to become co-owner. Together they turn the ship into a nightclub.
The Floating Rib is a bar located in downtown Port Charles, just a block away from General Hospital. Originally named Jake's, the bar has been a hotspot for the local nightlife since the early 1990s. Coleman Ratcliffe becomes the owner in 2002, and Mac Scorpio takes over in 2012. There was also a popular fine dining restaurant in Port Charles with the same name in the late 1970s / early 1980s.

text: Accolades and recognition[edit]

text: General Hospital's cast and crew have won many awards since 1974 when the Daytime Emmy Awards were created. In 2012, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards were created. General Hospital has won 13 Daytime Emmy's for Outstanding Drama Series.[4]

text: In June 2009, TV Guide ranked "Luke and Laura's Wedding" #45 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[32]

text: Broadcast history[edit]

text: During the 1960s, General Hospital earned decent ratings against the likes of To Tell the Truth and The Secret Storm on CBS, but there was a decline as the 1970s came, especially when NBC's Another World became highly popular. For two years, it also faced CBS' The Price Is Right, already a major hit. After continued mediocrity in the Nielsen ratings, ABC was prepared to cancel General Hospital, but decided to give it a second chance in 1977 when it expanded the show to a full hour, from an experimental 45 minutes. However, the expansion came with an ultimatum to the producers that they had six months to improve the show's ratings. Gloria Monty was hired as the new executive producer, and on her first day, she spent an extra $100,000 re-taping four episodes. A miracle occurred thanks to Monty and head writer Douglas Marland; the show became the most watched daytime drama by 1979, marking a rare instance of a daytime serial's comeback from near-extinction. During the wedding of Luke and Laura Spencer on November 17, 1981, about 30 million people tuned in to watch them exchange vows and be cursed by Elizabeth Taylor's Helena Cassadine (later played by Constance Towers).

text: From 1979 to 1988, General Hospital remained number one in the ratings, competing against two low-rated soaps on NBC -- Texas and Santa Barbara—and Guiding Light on CBS (although Guiding Light experienced a renaissance for a brief period in the middle of 1984, and became the #1 rated soap, briefly dethroning General Hospital from the top ratings spot). For the most part, however, General Hospital continued to triumph, even after the departure of popular actors Anthony Geary and Genie Francis in the mid-1980s. Although The Young and the Restless took General Hospital's place as the highest-rated serial in 1989, General Hospital continued to maintain excellent ratings.

text: Even at its peak in the 1980s, General Hospital had been pre-empted in at least two markets in the United States. With the show still number one in the Nielsens, WDTN in Dayton, Ohio pre-empted the series upon joining ABC in January 1980 in favor of Woody Woodpecker and Super Friends cartoons. Later, the station would air such shows as Hour Magazine, Geraldo and Maury in the show's time slot until September 2000, when the station's new owners, Sunrise Broadcasting (which purchased the station from Hearst Broadcasting two years prior), pulled Maury from the station's schedule, due to what it called "community standards", and brought General Hospital back to Dayton. In Vermont and Plattsburgh, WVNY dropped General Hospital from the schedule in the 1980s and would only bring it back in 1995. During that hiatus, General Hospital still aired on Montreal's CFCF-TV, whose signal was decently available in Vermont and Plattsburgh.

text: Ever since the 1991-1992 season of General Hospital, the show has had a steady decline in ratings. On and off, it would rank between third and fifth place in the Nielsen Ratings, with CBS's The Young And The Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful coming in first and second place, respectively. General Hospital remained in between third and fifth place in the ratings during that time and from late 1991 to 1996 All My Children held the title of ABC's highest rated soap. During the 1990s General Hospital was put up against competition such as CBS's As the World Turns and NBC's Days of our Lives although neither show aired at the same time as General Hospital.

text: After months of speculation and cancellation rumors, Deadline.com reported on April 11, 2012, that ABC quietly made the decision to keep General Hospital on the air and to cancel instead the lower-rated talk show The Revolution.[33] On June 26, 2012, ABC officially announced that General Hospital would move to the 2 p.m. (ET) timeslot starting on September 10, 2012, once Katie Couric's new syndicated talk show, Katie, would begin to air in the 3 p.m. (ET) timeslot on many of ABC's local stations.[34] This represents the first schedule shifting for a daytime soap opera in the United States since CBS relocated As the World Turns from 1:30 p.m. (ET) to 2 p.m. (ET) in 1987.

text: Encore episodes were shown every weeknight on the former cable station SOAPnet, with a marathon on Saturday and classic episodes at 4 A.M. EST and 5 A.M. (3.AM, 4 A.M. CST).

text: Schedule[edit]

text:
Start date
End date
Time slot
(ET/CT)
Run time
(minutes)

April 1, 1963
December 27, 1963
1:00 pm/12 noon
30

December 30, 1963
July 23, 1976
3:00 pm/2:00 pm

July 26, 1976
January 13, 1978
3:15 pm/2:15 pm
45

January 16, 1978
September 7, 2012
3:00 pm/2:00 pm
60

September 10, 2012
Present
2:00 pm/1:00 pm1

text: ABC stations in the Mountain and Pacific time zones, and in Alaska and Hawaii follow a Central time zone schedule for daytime programming; thus, General Hospital is scheduled by the network to air at 1:00 pm in these areas.

text: ^ In September 2014, General Hospital reclaimed its former time slot of 3:00 pm Eastern/2:00 Central and Pacific on ABC owned-and-operated stations in New York City, Philadelphia, Raleigh–Durham, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles; and affiliate KSAT-TV in San Antonio.[35][36][37]

tag: ol

text: Ratings history[edit]

text: For historical ratings information, see List of U.S. daytime soap opera ratings

text:
Year(s)
Household Rating

1979–1980
9.9

1980–1981
11.4

1981–1982
11.2

1982–1983
9.8

1983–1984
10.0

1984–1985
9.1

1985–1986
9.2

1986–1987
8.3

1987–1988
8.1 (Tied with The Young and the Restless)

text:
Serial
Household rating
(Time slot) Network
Millions of households

1. General Hospital
16.0
(3-4pm) ABC
17.5

2. All My Children
10.2
(1-2pm) ABC
11.7

3. One Life to Live
10.2
(2-3pm) ABC
11.6

4. Guiding Light
7.9
(3-4pm) CBS
8.2

text: Cultural influence[edit]

text: Parodies and references in other media[edit]

text: The popularity of General Hospital has gained it many parodies and references in other mainstream programs. For example:

text:
In the early 1990s, some episodes of General Hospital were featured as "shorts" during the fourth season of the parody show Mystery Science Theater 3000.
The series was also parodied/homaged in the song "General Hospi-Tale" by The Afternoon Delights,[38] and in the film Tootsie, which took place among the cast and crew of a fictional soap opera program.
In the Fox medical drama House, Dr. House enjoys Prescription: Passion, which is an over-the-top parody of General Hospital that he watches constantly. In the season three episode, "Half-Wit", House hides his blood test results under the name, "Luke N. Laura", referring to General Hospital's legendary couple.
MADtv did a sketch on the series with actors Jacklyn Zeman, Rebecca Herbst, and Jacob Young.
The movie Young Doctors in Love featured a large part of General Hospital's cast from 1982.
In a 2010 episode of The Colbert Report, comedian Stephen Colbert poked fun at the show, responding to a clip of Maurice Benard's Sonny shooting Dominic Zamprogna's Dante, satirically screaming, "Sonny shot Dante! No!"[39]
In the hit TV show The Goldbergs, Erica and Adam frequently watch General Hospital together.

text: Famous fans[edit]

text: General Hospital has many famous fans, including:

text:
Wayne Gretzky and his wife, Janet Jones,[citation needed]
The Sopranos actor Vincent Pastore, who joined the show in late 2008 for a short guest stint[40]
World-renowned skier Kristi Leskinen is a devout fan of the show
Actor Jason Gray-Stanford
Singer Billy Currington.[citation needed]
Freestyle motocross rider Mike Metzger is also a fan of the program and rarely misses an episode.[citation needed]
Elizabeth Taylor was a part of Luke and Laura's 1981 wedding, and joined the cast temporarily as the originating Helena Cassadine.[41]
Princess Diana was a devout fan of the show, and went as far as to send two bottles of Bollinger champagne to Anthony Geary and Genie Francis in time for Luke and Laura's 1981 wedding. Geary turned his into a lamp.[42]
General Hospital helped launch the singing career of Rick Springfield, who had watched the show for many years before joining the series in 1981.[citation needed]
Comedian Jimmy Pardo frequently refers to his fandom on his podcast Never Not Funny, and has had stars of the show such as Jack Wagner,[43] Carolyn Hennesy,[43] and Jason Thompson[44] on the podcast as guests.

text: Spinoffs and specials[edit]

text: The success of the long-running soap opera has had one sister serial, one spinoff in the United States, and two primetime spinoffs in the United States and the United Kingdom.

text: The Young Marrieds was ABC's first attempt at a sister serial for General Hospital. It ran for only two years, racking up a total of 380 episodes. Despite its moderate popularity, it was aired against CBS's top-rated The Edge of Night, which it could not compete against. The series finale aired on March 25, 1966, with the show's main protagonist contemplating suicide. It ended in a cliffhanger, leaving the audience wondering if the man had killed himself or not. The Young Marrieds was set in the fictional suburb of Queen's Point, which was considered by the writers to be a suburb of Port Charles.

text: The UK series General Hospital did not feature any characters from the American show, but was modeled after its format. It started as a half-hour program broadcast in the afternoons, which was unusual for British serials that normally aired in prime time. In 1975, it was expanded to an hour-long format and moved to Friday evenings.

text: Port Charles was a daytime drama that initially featured interns in a competitive medical school program,[45] and was known for having more action actually in the hospital than General Hospital itself. It also included the characters of Scotty Baldwin. Serena Baldwin, Lucy Coe, Kevin Collins, and Karen Wexler, all of whom originally appeared as characters on General Hospital.[45] As the show evolved, it tended more towards gothic intrigue, including supernatural elements such as vampires and life after death. It also switched formats from an open-ended daytime serial to 13-week story arcs known as "books", similar to Spanish language telenovelas.

text: General Hospital: Night Shift is the second American prime time spinoff of a daytime drama (the first being Our Private World, a spinoff of As the World Turns). Its first season aired from July 12, 2007, to October 4, 2007, on SOAPnet, a cable channel owned by ABC.[46] The series follows the nighttime adventures of familiar and new characters around the hospital. As of March 2008, the first season of the series was "SOAPnet's most-watched series ever", with ABC Daytime and SOAPnet President Brian Frons noting that Night Shift drew more than 1 million new viewers to the channel during its first season.[47]

text: General Hospital: Twist of Fate was a primetime special that aired on Saturday, December 14, 1996. The episode picked up where that Friday's show had left off. The special centered on Laura's supposed death at the hands of Stefan Cassadine.[48]

text: On April 2, 1998, General Hospital aired a primetime special in celebration of the program's 35th anniversary. Hosted by Anthony Geary, the show focused and recapped on many popular storylines including Monica's breast cancer, BJ's death, and Stone's battle with HIV. This was the first anniversary special that was broadcast in primetime and that didn't include any of the current storyline.[49][50]

text: General Hospital: The Real Soap Dish was a special episode of ABC news program 20/20 aired on April 6, 2013, in honor of General Hospital's 50th anniversary. It focused on the entire history of the soap, including interviews of stars and clips from the series.[51]

text: On September 5, 2014, General Hospital Now was announced as a new Variety Show/Soap web series airing exclusively on ABC.com hosted by longtime cast member Nancy Lee Grahn featuring appearances by the rest of the General Hospital Cast as well as Special Guests beginning in January 2015.[52][53]

text: On May 15 and 18, 2015, General Hospital aired two live episodes as part of its 52nd anniversary celebration, using the hashtag #GHLive to promote the broadcast on social media.[54]


document_title: Theatre director

question_text: who would take on the role of the director during the renaissance and through the 19th century

text: Theatre director

text: The director in theatre history[edit]

text: In ancient Greece, the birthplace of European drama, the writer bore principal responsibility for the staging of his plays. Actors were generally semi-professionals, and the director oversaw the mounting of plays from the writing process all the way through to their performance, often acting in them too, as Aeschylus for example did. The author-director would also train the chorus, sometimes compose the music, and supervise every aspect of production. The fact that the director was called didaskalos, the Greek word for "teacher," indicates that the work of these early directors combined instructing their performers with staging their work.[1]

text: In medieval times, the complexity of vernacular religious drama, with its large scale mystery plays that often included crowd scenes, processions and elaborate effects, gave the role of director (or stage manager or pageant master) considerable importance. A miniature by Jean Fouquet from 1460 (pictured) bears one of the earliest depictions of a director at work. Holding a prompt book, the central figure directs, with the aid of a long stick, the proceedings of the staging of a dramatization of the Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia. According to Fouquet, the director's tasks included overseeing the erecting of a stage and scenery (there were no permanent, purpose-built theatre structures at this time, and performances of vernacular drama mostly took place in the open air), casting and directing the actors (which included fining them for those that infringed rules), and addressing the audience at the beginning of each performance and after each intermission.[2]

text: From Renaissance times up until the 19th century, the role of director was often carried by the actor-manager. This would usually be a senior actor in a troupe who took the responsibility for choosing the repertoire of work, staging it and managing the company. This was the case for instance with Commedia dell'Arte companies and English actor-managers like Colley Cibber and David Garrick.

text: The modern theatre director can be said to have originated in the staging of elaborate spectacles of the Meininger Company under George II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. The management of large numbers of extras and complex stagecraft matters necessitated an individual to take on the role of overall coordinator.[3] This gave rise to the role of the director in modern theatre, and Germany would provide a platform for a generation of emerging visionary theatre directors, such as Erwin Piscator and Max Reinhardt. Simultaneously, Constantin Stanislavski, principally an actor-manager, would set up the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia and similarly emancipate the role of the director as artistic visionary.

text: The French regisseur is also sometimes used to mean a stage director, most commonly in ballet. A more common term for theatre director in French is metteur en scène.

text: Post World War II, the actor-manager slowly started to disappear, and directing become a fully fledged artistic activity within the theatre profession. The director originating artistic vision and concept, and realizing the staging of a production, became the norm rather than the exception. Great forces in the emancipation of theatre directing as a profession were notable 20th-century theatre directors like Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Yevgeny Vakhtangov, Michael Chekhov, Yuri Lyubimov (Russia), Orson Welles, Peter Brook, Peter Hall (Britain), Bertolt Brecht (Germany), Giorgio Strehler and Franco Zeffirelli (Italy).

text: A cautionary note was introduced by the famed director Sir Tyrone Guthrie who said "the only way to learn how to direct a play, is ... to get a group of actors simple enough to allow you to let you direct them, and direct".[citation needed]

text: A number of seminal works on directing and directors include Toby Cole and Helen Krich's 1972 Directors on Directing: A Sourcebook of the Modern Theatre, Edward Braun's 1982 book The Director and the Stage: From Naturalism to Growtowski and Will's The Director in a Changing Theatre (1976).[4]

text: Directing education[edit]

text: Because of the relatively late emergence of theatre directing as a performing arts profession when compared with for instance acting or musicianship, a rise of professional vocational training programmes in directing can be seen mostly in the second half of the 20th century. Most European countries nowadays know some form of professional directing training, usually at drama schools or conservatoires, or at universities. In Britain, the tradition that theatre directors emerge from degree courses (usually in English literature) at the Oxbridge universities has meant that for a long time, professional vocational training did not take place at drama schools or performing arts colleges, although an increase in training programmes for theatre directors can be witnessed since the 1970s and 1980s. In American universities, the seminal directing program at the Yale School of Drama produced a number of pioneering directors with D.F.A. (Doctor of Fine Arts) and M.F.A. degrees in Drama (rather than English) who contributed to the expansion of professional resident theaters in the 1960s and 1970s. In the early days such programmes typically led to the staging of one major thesis production in the third (final) year. At the University of California, Irvine, Keith Fowler (a Yale D.F.A. and ex-producer of two LORT companies) led for many years a graduate programme based on the premise that directors are autodidacts who need as many opportunities to direct as possible. Under Fowler, graduate student directors would stage between five and ten productions during their three-year residencies, with each production receiving detailed critiques.

text: As with many other professions in the performing arts, theatre directors would often learn their skills "on the job"; to this purpose, theatres often employ trainee assistant directors or have in-house education schemes to train young theatre directors. Examples are the Royal National Theatre in London, which frequently organizes short directing courses, or the Orange Tree Theatre and the Donmar Warehouse on London's West End, which both employ resident assistant directors on a one-year basis for training purposes.

text: Styles of directing[edit]

text: Directing is an artform that has grown with the development of theatre theory and theatre practice. With the emergence of new trends in theatre, so too have directors adopted new methodologies and engaged in new practices.

text: Once a show has opened (premiered before a regular audience), theatre directors are generally considered to have fulfilled their function. From that point forward the stage manager is left in charge of all essential concerns.