document_title: Thomas & Friends

question_text: when did thomas the tank engine became cgi

text: Thomas & Friends

text: History[edit]

text: Precursors[edit]

text: Before the airing of the first episode of Thomas & Friends in 1984, previous attempts had been made to adapt Awdry's stories for television, but not all attempts were successful.[2] The first was in 1953, when the editor of the Railway Series books, Eric Marriott, was approached by the BBC, who wished to use live-action model trains to re-create two stories from Awdry's first book, The Three Railway Engines.[2]

text: The engines were portrayed by 00 gauge Hornby Dublo models and driven on authentic sets in the style of the original illustrations. The first episode, based on "The Sad Story of Henry", was broadcast live on the evening of Sunday 14 June 1953 from Lime Grove Studios.[2][3][4] The live broadcast did not fare well. Reportedly, a failure to switch the points caused the model of Henry to derail and viewers of the live broadcast witnessed a human hand, said to be the one of a crew member, picking him up and placing him back on the rails. Models moved jerkily, and all effects and music had to be superimposed.[2][3][4]

text: By 23 June, news of the broadcast hit the front pages of the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail. Awdry himself branded the episode as "unprofessional", and the point-switching debacle as an "elementary mistake".[2][3][4] As a result, the second episode scheduled for 28 June 1953 was put on hold, and then later cancelled.[2][3][4] After the "Sad Story of Henry" fiasco, the BBC did attempt to rescue the project by offering to give Awdry and the Railway Series publishers greater creative control over the production of the episodes, but the publishers declined the offer, preferring to focus on publishing new books for the series.[2]

text: Nearly twenty years later, the BBC incorporated Awdry's stories once again. Fourteen years before Thomas and Friends was aired, Ted Ray, sitting in a stationmaster's office, read out five Railway Series books between 20 September to 2 October 1970 on the popular television story-telling show Jackanory.[2][5]

text: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and its success[edit]

text: In 1979, British television producer Britt Allcroft was producing a documentary on the Bluebell Railway,[2][3] a heritage railway in Sussex which actually featured in the Railway Series book Stepney the Bluebell Engine.[6] As part of her research before filming, Allcroft read some books in The Railway Series and was highly entertained and impressed with the stories which Awdry had written, later remarking that "there was something in the stories that I felt I could develop that would connect with children. I saw a strong emotional content that would carry with little children's experiences with life."[3]

text: Allcroft worked to convince Awdry that she could, with funding, convert the stories into a successful television show. Her efforts were successful, and she purchased the television rights from the publishers of The Railway Series at a cost of what was then £50,000 ($74,000 in U.S. dollars at the time).[2][3] Allcroft still had to work to raise the money to finance production and, despite showing a keen interest, wanted a level of creative control which she did not want to forego. In the end, after several years of searching and having to place a second mortgage on her home, Allcroft raised sufficient funding from her local bank manager.[2][3][7][8]

text: By 1981, Allcroft had secured the finances to produce the show, she started to assemble the crew, including producer and director David Mitton, also the founder of Clearwater Features Ltd.; crew member Steve Asquith; American-born producer Robert D. Cardona; and the selected team of composers and songwriters Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.

text: The series started production in 1984 by Allcroft's production company, The Britt Allcroft Company; Clearwater Features Ltd. (Mitton and Cardona's company); and the ITV company Central Independent Television.[9] The series was originally shot and produced with live action models at the Clearwater in house studio in Battersea, a suburb of London, for Series 1. It later relocated to Shepperton Studios, Middlesex, southwest of London for subsequent series. The use of moving models was seen at the time of the series' conception as an effective method of animating the stories. Locomotives and other vehicles were operated by radio control, while humans and animals were static figures. Stop-motion was occasionally employed for instances in which a human or animal character would move. Hand-drawn animation was used in Series 3 to create bees (as seen on James Goes Buzz Buzz).

text: The first series (1984) used stories from the first eight books, along with one specially written by the Rev. W. Awdry, Thomas's Christmas Party. The second series (1986) used stories from Book No.9 (Edward the Blue Engine) to Book No.30 (More About Thomas the Tank Engine). This book was unusual, as it was written specifically by Christopher Awdry to be adapted by the show. At that time, it was a contractual obligation that the series could only adapt stories that appeared in print. The series also used a story from a Thomas Annual, "Thomas and Trevor", and a specially written stand-alone story, Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree. The second series was actually a 27-episode series, as a single (unaired) episode ("The Missing Coach") was in the process of being filmed, but despite being filmed it was never shown because Allcroft decided it was too confusing for young viewers. The production team went on to use "Thomas, Percy and the Coal" instead.[10]

text: In between production of the second and third series, the production team were focused in producing two other television series: Tugs, which ran for one series in 1989 for Television South (TVS);[11] and the American television series Shining Time Station, which repackaged Thomas & Friends for the American television market from 1989 to 1996.

text: Just before production of series three, Clearwater closed on 31 December 1990, with The Britt Allcroft Company becoming the sole producer. Series three was broadcast in 1992 for Thames Television. It was made at a cost of £1.3 million (approximately $9.3.million in U.S. dollars at the time).[12][verification needed] The series was a combination of episodes derived from The Railway Series, stories in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends magazine (written by the series' current head writer, Andrew Brenner), and a couple of original stories by Allcroft and Mitton.[12]

text: One of the primary reasons for diverging from the original books was that many of the stories not yet used featured large numbers of new characters, which would be expensive to produce. Another reason was that the producers wanted more stories about Thomas, the nominal main character. Awdry worried that the new stories would be unrealistic (see Henry the Green Engine for more details).[12] Robert D. Cardona left as producer, while Britt Allcroft joined David Mitton as co-producer. Angus Wright took over as executive producer.

text: Series four was first released directly to video between 1994-1995 before it's broadcast debut on Cartoon Network. The producers planned to introduce some new female characters, including motor car Caroline, Nancy, and The Refreshment Lady.[13] Some commentators took this as a response to accusations of sexism levelled against the series two years earlier.[14] In reality, these were not "new" characters, but creations of Awdry from the original Railway Series books. Series four was almost entirely based on The Railway Series. The narrow gauge engines were introduced, and were the focus of a number of episodes. Only one original story ("Rusty to the Rescue", written by Allcroft and Mitton) was used, but this took certain elements of plot and dialogue from Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine.

text: The fifth series (1998) was also first released directly to video before its TV airings on Cartoon Network, was a radical shift, as all episodes were written by Allcroft and Mitton with no further stories being adapted from the "Railway Series". This series saw the introduction of new characters, such as Cranky, The Horrid Lorries and Old Slow Coach. It also focused on more dramatic and edgy plot-lines, with more severe accidents, than in the earlier seasons.[citation needed] After series 5, Angus Wright stepped down as executive producer. It was also the final season broadcast on Cartoon Network, as Nickelodeon UK would eventually acquire the broadcast rights to the show for it to air on their newly created Nick Jr. channel in 1999. CN continued to air older seasons until their broadcast rights fully expired in 2001.

text: Thomas and the Magic Railroad was released in July 2000 in the UK, Canada and the US. It featured new characters created by Allcroft, along with characters from the show that introduced Thomas to the U.S., Shining Time Station. Despite high production values and the popularity of the show, the film was criticised by British reviewers who were unfamiliar with Shining Time Station. The movie was well received by young children on both sides of the Atlantic, but made only $19.7 million at the box office,[15] against a cost of $19 million to produce.[citation needed] The film was broadcast on BBC1 on 1 January 2004 and again on 29 December 2008.

text: Thomas & Friends and its recent developments[edit]

text: The Britt Allcroft Company (which changed its name to Gullane Entertainment in 2001) was purchased by HiT Entertainment in September 2003,[16][17] a company specialising in children's entertainment.

text: The sixth and seventh series continued to introduce action-packed storylines and new characters, and saw the introduction of a writing staff. The sixth series in 2002 was notable for its attempt to create a spin-off based on the successful "Bob the Builder" series. Two episodes introduced a group of construction machine characters known as "The Pack". The spin-off didn't materialise for some time. Eventually, in 2006, thirteen episodes were released straight to DVD as a collection called On Site with Thomas. It was the first season broadcast on ITV since Season 3.

text: The fact that older sets were used and the episodes were shot on 35mm camera (as opposed to the digital camera used at the time of the episodes' release) suggest it was filmed some time before Series 8. In Series 7 (2003) the programme title was officially shortened to Thomas & Friends, this name having been used on merchandise and video covers for three years previously. Phil Fehrle replaced Allcroft and Mitton as producer, though Mitton remained as the director. Executive producer Angus Wright was replaced by Peter Urie and Allcroft as executive producers for Series 6.

text: In 2003, Allcroft stepped down as executive producer, making Urie the sole executive producer for Gullane Entertainment, and Jocelyn Stevenson was the executive producer for HiT Entertainment.

text: The eighth series (2004) was the first released directly to VHS and DVD as four episodes in the US and six in the UK were released before airing on television on Nick Jr. in the UK and PBS in the US. It introduced a number of significant changes to the show. Many of the original founding team involved in the original show since 1984 left the production, notably Britt Allcroft, director and writer David Mitton, and original composers Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell. The latter two had been embroiled in a protracted legal dispute with HiT before their departure.[18][19] Steve Asquith, who was part of the original production team since 1984, took over as director, while Simon Spencer replaced Phil Fehrle as producer.

text: A new theme song and incidental music were composed by Ed Welch and Robert Hartshorne, respectively. Episode runtime was increased to seven minutes. The series was produced using digital video camera, creating a somewhat different look for the show. Other changes included the additions of CGI educational sequences and transitions between stories. Executive producer Peter Urie also left, while Jocelyn Stevenson remained in her role as executive producer. Sam Barlow became the story executive, while Abi Grant and Paul Larson served as script editors. This series saw the adoption of a centralised cast, including Thomas the Tank Engine, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby and Emily.

text: HiT Entertainment was itself then acquired by Apax Partners, a private equity company, in March 2005.[20]

text: A straight-to-video film, Calling All Engines!, was released shortly before Series 9 in 2005. While featuring characters from Thomas and the Magic Railroad, it was not a direct sequel. It proved successful, which resulted in more direct-to-video specials being produced.[21]

text: Series 9 (2005) and 10 (2006) saw the expansion of the supporting cast with new and old characters. From Series 9 the narrator would call out the episodes' names and from Series 11 the theme song was sung starting with the sound of a train whistle. Series 10 aired with twenty-eight episodes rather than the twenty-six of previous years. The eleventh series (2007) was filmed in high definition format. Twenty episodes aired in the original broadcast, while six were released directed to DVD as Engines and Escapades. Jocelyn Stevenson had stepped down as executive producer after Series 10, with Christopher Skala taking her place as executive producer for Series 11. Sharon Miller became the script editor from Series 9 to 11.

text: Series 12 (2008) saw the introduction of CGI effects (provided by HiT Entertainment's subsidiary Hot Animation), with the intent of producing the show entirely in CGI the following year.[22] The traditional models and sets were still used, but with computer animated faces superimposed on the models to allow for changing facial expressions. Humans and animals were fully computer animated to allow for walking movement. Only twenty episodes were broadcast (the U.S. broadcast featured six additional episodes from Engines and Escapades). Sharon Miller became the head writer, starting with Series 12.

text: HiT announced multiple changes to the show beginning in 2009. One new aspect was the introduction of live-action host segments to Thomas' home video releases. The host took the form of a character who worked on The Fat Controller's (Sir Topham Hatt's) railway, who would instruct viewers in craft projects. For the final 2 DVDs released for Season 12 in 2009, the host was named Mr. Arkwright, played by Robert Slate. In 2010, beginning with the DVD Splish splash splosh, the host was named Mr. Perkins, played by Ben Forster, and has remained host until Forster died in 2017 after a battle with cancer.

text: For budgetary reasons, the other major changes were a move to production in CGI, rather than using physical models, and the addition of a voice cast to support the established narrator. The DVD feature, Hero of the Rails, was the first Thomas & Friends production to show these changes, and Series 13 was the first television series in the new format. The CGI animation for the series was provided by Nitrogen Studios of Vancouver.

text: In September 2010, Apax was preparing to sell off HiT Entertainment and its franchises, including Thomas – regarded as the single most valuable asset – in order to help clear HiT's debts,[23][24][25] and in February 2012, sold the company, along with the Thomas properties, to "US toy giant", Mattel.[26]

text: During production of Series 16 (2012), Sharon Miller stepped down as head writer, and Andrew Brenner, who had written some Thomas stories in the third series, assumed the role after serving as script editor for "Blue Mountain Mystery". Additionally, Sam Barlow stepped down as story executive after the sixteenth series, and the production of the CGI animation was moved from Nitrogen Studios (of Vancouver) to Arc Productions (of Toronto).[27] King of the Railway and Series 17, both released during 2013, serve as the first special and series developed by the new animation and production team respectively.

text: 2014 saw Tale of the Brave and Series 18, the second special and series animated by Arc, respectively. 2015 saw The Adventure Begins, a special coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the franchise, and Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure; Series 19 began airing that same year. 2016 saw some changes; longtime composers Robert and Peter Hartshorne, father and son team, left the series and Chris Renshaw and Oliver Davis took over. 2016 also saw Thomas & Friends: The Great Race and Series 20 began airing the same year. Series 20 was the last series of the show to air on PBS Kids; when Series 21 began airing in 2017, the American broadcast of the show was moved to Nick Jr., ending a period of almost 30 years of Thomas & Friends on American public television, 2017 also saw Journey Beyond Sodor.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Originally, narrating was used as the only voice in the series until 2008. Britt Allcroft thought it essential to convey the episode as a story that would be read from a book at home. Individual voice-over actors were given to both the UK and US dubs of the Series, following the switch to full CGI animation in 2009.

text: List of productions[edit]

text: Television series[edit]

text:
Series
Year
Episodes
DVD release date (R2)
DVD release date (R4)

1
1984
26
31 January 2005[28]
2 May 2006[29]

2
1986
18 April 2005[30]
13 April 2006[31]

3
1991–92
23 January 2006[32]
6 July 2006[33]

4
1994–95
24 July 2006[34]
8 September 2006[35]

5
1998
5 February 2007[36]
8 September 2006[37]

6
2002
2 July 2007[38]
5 January 2009[39]

7
2003
14 January 2008[40]
4 June 2009[41]

8
2004
28 July 2008[42]
4 June 2009[43]

9
2005
19 January 2009[44]
2 March 2010[45]

10
2006
28
17 May 2010[46]
2 June 2010[47]

11
2007
26
26 July 2010[48]
2 June 2011[49]

12
2008
20
21 February 2011[50]
1 March 2012[51]

13
2009
13 February 2012[52]

14
2010
22 July 2013[53]

15
2011
7 July 2014

16
2012
25 May 2015[54]

17
2013–14
26
18 July 2016[55]

18
2014–15
19 June 2017[56]

19
2015–17
2 July 2018

20
2016–17
28

21
2017
18

22
2018
TBA

tag: table

text: Films, specials, and miniseries[edit]

text: Home video history[edit]

text: Over the history of the programme, the TV episodes and specials have been released for home viewing in a variety of compilations, formats and languages, by a variety of publishing houses.

text: Production[edit]

text: Characters[edit]

text: Storytelling[edit]

text: Up until series 13, narration and dialogue were performed by a single storyteller.

text: Models[edit]

text: The original live action models were filmed on an extensive model railway layout built at the studios. The models were built to the 1:32 scale, known in model railway circles as "Gauge 1". The locomotives used chassis made by Märklin with specially made bodies. Along with the moving-eye and eyelid mechanisms and clay faces, these bodies also included smoke generators. Coaches and trucks were made using Tenmille kits. Later models were constructed entirely from scratch. Some of the models from the sister television series Tugs were reused in later episodes of the series.

text: From Series 5 to 12, some larger-scale models were used for the narrow gauge characters, to more easily fit the complex mechanisms into them while retaining a sufficient level of detail. In Series 6, the characters known as "the Pack" (construction machines) were also constructed on a large scale, and larger models of Thomas and Percy were made to interact with them. In the ninth series, another larger Thomas model was built to the same scale as the narrow gauge engines to provide greater possibilities for interaction. It was joined by a large version of James in the tenth series. In 2009, some of these models were put on display in a special exhibit at Drayton Manor Theme Park's Thomas Land.[57] Nitrogen Studios, who provided the animation for the series from series 12 to 16, also has some of the original models on display. Sadly, the original model of the charactor 'Duck' was broken while on display.

text: Face movements[edit]

text: At the show's conception in 1984, live action model animation would not deliver lip sync, but show co-creator Britt Allcroft and model director David Mitton did not see this as an inhibition. About 20 years later however, with advancement in technology, the show saw the introduction of CGI by HIT Entertainment's subsidiary HOT Animation.[58] At first this was used to generate smoke and other effects, but later, HIT (the current owners of Thomas) announced its intent to introduce a fully CGI series in 2009.[59] With Series 12, CGI by Nitrogen Studios was used to animate characters' faces and to make people and animals mobile within the stories. The following series (the show's 13th) saw a transition to full CGI animation.

text: Music[edit]

text: Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell composed the show's original main title theme, incidental music and songs, which were used for series 1–7 comprising 182 episodes between 1984 and 2003. The instruments for Seasons 1-2 was the Roland Jupiter 6 and instrumentals for seasons 3-7 was the E-mu Proteus sound module.

text: In 2004, Robert Hartshorne took O'Donnell and Campbell's place as composer, while Ed Welch became the show's songwriter from Series 8 to The Great Discovery, and Welch left after The Great Discovery. Hartshorne took his place as songwriter from Series 12 and onwards. From Day of the Diesels/2011-2016, Robert's son Peter Hartshorne helped him with the music.

text: In 2016 the Hartshornes left the series and Chris Renshaw and Oliver Davis took their places.

text: Head writer[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Since series 12, there has been a head writer for the series. Prior to the introduction of a head writer, the script editor performed similar duties. Sharon Miller served as head writer from series 12–16 and stepped down after series 16 and was replaced by Andrew Brenner, who had written many "Thomas" stories for various magazines as well as his own original stories, several of which were later adapted for television episodes for Series 3 and Series 5, for which he had remained uncredited. Brenner had been a writer of several other children's animated series, such as Angelina Ballerina, Tractor Tom, Fireman Sam, The Amazing Adrenalini Brothers, Spot, Poppy Cat, and Binka, as well as being the creator of Caribou Kitchen, and Humf and writer for several magazines featuring children's characters such as The Real Ghostbusters, Fireman Sam, Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry, and Thomas's sister series Tugs and has written scripts and took over as head writer for Thomas for King of the Railway and onwards. Sharon Miller has also been the voice director since the second CGI animated film Misty Island Rescue, and continues to work on the series in this capacity.

text:
Abi Grant (series 6)
Jan Page (series 7)
Abi Grant and Paul Larson (series 8)
Sharon Miller (series 9-11)
Becky Evans (series 16, last few episodes)

text:
Sharon Miller (series 12–16)
Andrew Brenner (series 17–present)

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: In the United Kingdom, Thomas & Friends was originally broadcast back and forth between ITV and Cartoon Network until 2006.

text: In the United States, the series had first appeared only as sequences on Shining Time Station during the program's run from 1989 to 1995 on PBS. The sequences of the series later aired in 1996 on Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales. The series aired as Storytime with Thomas on Fox Family (now Freeform) from 1999 to 2001. When Thomas & Friends premiered as a stand-alone program on PBS Kids, it was first distributed from 2004 to 2007 by Connecticut Public Television, and then by WNET from 2008 to 2017. The rights to broadcast the series through PBS expired in December 2017,[60] thus ending a period of almost 30 years of programming related to Thomas & Friends on American public television. Now it airs on Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon.

text: The program airs in Australia on ABC Kids and on FOUR in New Zealand. In Canada, it plays on TVO, Family Jr., Knowledge Kids, and MBC 3 and Spacetoon in the Middle East.

text: Other Dubs[edit]

text:
Language
Title
Broadcast Channel
Notes
Country
Flag

Brazilian
Portuguese

Thomas e Seus Amigos
Discovery Kids (Brazil)
The series in Brazil is known as Thomas e Seus Amigos, and is dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese, with the roll call and the theme song, and show's title dubbed, too.[citation needed] It even has an official YouTube channel known as Thomas e Seus Amigos.[61] The 2010 film "Day of the Diesels" is dubbed, as well, and known in Brazil as "O Dia dos Trens a Diesel", literally translating to "The Day of Diesel Trains". The roll call lyrics were also dubbed, according to the pre-recorded YouTube version of the roll call, which was posted by Thomas e Seus Amigos' official YouTube channel.
Brazil

Azerbaijani
Thomas və Dostlari
ANS TV
The series in Azerbaijan is known as Thomas və Dostlari, and is dubbed with audio in Azerbaijani, but the screen words (like the logo) isn't dubbed/written in Azerbaijani. However, the roll call and theme song was dubbed in Azerbaijani, just without the lyrics.
Azerbaijan

European
Portuguese

Thomas e os Seus Amigos
Canal Panda
RTP2 ZigZag

The series in Portugal is known as Thomas e os Seus Amigos, and is dubbed with audio and roll call lyrics, also the logo being dubbed/written in European Portuguese. It airs daily on Canal Panda in Portugal, and is watched in Portuguese (PT) among many viewers.
Portugal

Castilian Spanish
Thomas y Sus Amigos
RTVES/Clan
The series in Spain, (similar to Latin America), is known as Thomas y Sus Amigos, and is dubbed with audio and roll call lyrics, also the logo being written in Castilian Spanish as "Thomas y Sus Amigos". It airs daily on RTVES Clan in Spain, and is watched in Spanish (ES) among many viewers, mostly a younger audience (like all forms of the series).
Spain

Catalan
En Thomas i els Seus Amics

The series in Catalonia, Spain is known as En Thomas i els Seus Amics, and is dubbed with audio in Catalan, but is not known to have a written logo/and/or roll call lyrics. It is also watched among lots of young viewers (preschoolers).
Catalonia

Romanian
Thomas şi Prietenii Săi
Minimax TV
The series in Romania is known as Thomas şi Prietenii Săi, or Locomotiva Thomas şi Prietenii Săi, and is dubbed with audio in Romanian, but like most versions, is not known to have written roll call lyrics/and/or logotype. It's watched daily on MInimax TV in Romania by young audiences.
Romania

Hebrew
תומס הקטר
תומס הקטר וחברים
Hop! Channel
Israeli Educational Television
The series in Israel is known as תומס הקטר and תומס הקטר וחברים, and is dubbed with audio in Hebrew. YouTube now has 2 episodes from the Hebrew dub of the fifteenth season of the series. It also had all the episodes from the Hebrew dub of the seventeenth season of the series.
Israel

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Common Sense Media rated the show a 4 out of 5 stars stating "Parents can be assured that this series has educational aspects as well as behavioral modeling. The Thomas the Tank Engine stories were conceived by a young British boy early in the 20th century, who would listen to the trains as they chuffed through the countryside. The stories he told his son -- who has consequently passed them on to his own son -- have been documented in books and toy train models. Since the series was introduced to television viewers in the 1980s, Thomas & Friends has seen a healthy fan base sprout worldwide."[62]

text: Internet popularity[edit]

text: In the 2010s, Thomas & Friends became the subject of several internet memes,[63] and was even the centerpiece of an article for The New Yorker,[64] which explored supposedly totalitarian subtexts present in the show.


document_title: Mobile phone radiation and health

question_text: where does radiation come from in a cell phone

root

text: Mobile phone radiation and health

text: Effects studied[edit]

text: Blood–brain barrier[edit]

text: A 2010 review stated that "The balance of experimental evidence does not support an effect of 'non-thermal' radiofrequency fields" on the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, but noted that research on low frequency effects and effects in humans was sparse.[3] A 2012 study of low-frequency radiation on humans found "no evidence for acute effects of short-term mobile phone radiation on cerebral blood flow".[4][5]

tag: p

text: Cancer[edit]

text: There is no strong or consistent evidence that mobile phone use increases the risk of getting brain cancer or other head tumors. The United States National Cancer Institute points out that "Radiofrequency energy, unlike ionizing radiation, does not cause DNA damage that can lead to cancer. Its only consistently observed biological effect in humans is tissue heating. In animal studies, it has not been found to cause cancer or to enhance the cancer-causing effects of known chemical carcinogens." The majority of human studies have failed to find a link between cell phone use and cancer. In 2011 a World Health Organization working group classified cell phone use as "possibly carcinogenic to humans". The CDC states that no scientific evidence definitively answers whether cell phone use causes cancer.[4][6][7]

text: In a 2018 statement, the FDA said that "the current safety limits are set to include a 50-fold safety margin from observed effects of radiofrequency energy exposure".[8][9]

text: Male fertility[edit]

text: A decline in male sperm quality has been observed over several decades.[10][11][12] Studies on the impact of mobile radiation on male fertility are conflicting, and the effects of the radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) emitted by these devices on the reproductive systems are currently under active debate.[13][14][15][16] A 2012 review concluded that "together, the results of these studies have shown that RF-EMR decreases sperm count and motility and increases oxidative stress".[17][18] A 2017 study of 153 men that attended an academic fertility clinic in Boston, Massachusetts found that self-reported mobile phone use was not related to semen quality, and that carrying a mobile phone in the pants pocket was not related to semen quality.[19]

text: Electromagnetic hypersensitivity[edit]

text: Some users of mobile phones and similar devices have reported feeling various non-specific symptoms during and after use. Studies have failed to link any of these symptoms to electromagnetic exposure. In addition, EHS is not a recognised medical diagnosis.[20]

text: Glucose metabolism[edit]

text: According to the National Cancer Institute, two small studies exploring whether and how cell phone radiation affects brain glucose metabolism showed inconsistent results.[4]

text: Base stations[edit]

text: Experts consulted by France considered it was mandatory that the main antenna axis should not to be directly in front of a living place at a distance shorter than 100 metres.[21] This recommendation was modified in 2003[22] to say that antennas located within a 100-metre radius of primary schools or childcare facilities should be better integrated into the cityscape and was not included in a 2005 expert report.[23] The Agence française de sécurité sanitaire environnementale (fr) as of 2009[update], says that there is no demonstrated short-term effect of electromagnetic fields on health, but that there are open questions for long-term effects, and that it is easy to reduce exposure via technological improvements.[24]

text: Safety standards and licensing[edit]

text: In order to protect the population living around base stations and users of mobile handsets, governments and regulatory bodies adopt safety standards, which translate to limits on exposure levels below a certain value. There are many proposed national and international standards, but that of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) is the most respected one, and has been adopted so far by more than 80 countries. For radio stations, ICNIRP proposes two safety levels: one for occupational exposure, another one for the general population. Currently there are efforts underway to harmonise the different standards in existence.[25]

text: Radio base licensing procedures have been established in the majority of urban spaces regulated either at municipal/county, provincial/state or national level. Mobile telephone service providers are, in many regions, required to obtain construction licenses, provide certification of antenna emission levels and assure compliance to ICNIRP standards and/or to other environmental legislation.

text: Many governmental bodies also require that competing telecommunication companies try to achieve sharing of towers so as to decrease environmental and cosmetic impact. This issue is an influential factor of rejection of installation of new antennas and towers in communities.

text: The safety standards in the US are set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC has based its standards primarily on those standards established by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), specifically Subcommittee 4 of the "International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety".

text: Switzerland has set safety limits lower than the ICNIRP limits for certain "sensitive areas" (classrooms, for example).[26]

text: Lawsuits[edit]

text: In the US, a small number of personal injury lawsuits have been filed by individuals against cellphone manufacturers (including Motorola,[27] NEC, Siemens, and Nokia) on the basis of allegations of causation of brain cancer and death. In US federal courts, expert testimony relating to science must be first evaluated by a judge, in a Daubert hearing, to be relevant and valid before it is admissible as evidence. In a 2002 case against Motorola, the plaintiffs alleged that the use of wireless handheld telephones could cause brain cancer and that the use of Motorola phones caused one plaintiff's cancer. The judge ruled that no sufficiently reliable and relevant scientific evidence in support of either general or specific causation was proffered by the plaintiffs, accepted a motion to exclude the testimony of the plaintiffs' experts, and denied a motion to exclude the testimony of the defendants' experts.[28]

text: Two separate cases in Italy, in 2009[29][30] and 2017,[31][32] resulted in pensions being awarded to plaintiffs who had claimed their benign brain tumors were the result of prolonged mobile phone use in professional tasks, for 5–6 hours a day, which they ruled different from non-professional use.

text: Precautions[edit]

text: Precautionary principle[edit]

text: In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that the precautionary principle could be voluntarily adopted in this case.[33] It follows the recommendations of the European Community for environmental risks.

text: According to the WHO, the "precautionary principle" is "a risk management policy applied in circumstances with a high degree of scientific uncertainty, reflecting the need to take action for a potentially serious risk without awaiting the results of scientific research." Other less stringent recommended approaches are prudent avoidance principle and as low as reasonably practicable. Although all of these are problematic in application, due to the widespread use and economic importance of wireless telecommunication systems in modern civilization, there is an increased popularity of such measures in the general public, though also evidence that such approaches may increase concern.[34] They involve recommendations such as the minimization of cellphone usage, the limitation of use by at-risk population (such as children), the adoption of cellphones and microcells with as low as reasonably practicable levels of radiation, the wider use of hands-free and earphone technologies such as Bluetooth headsets, the adoption of maximal standards of exposure, RF field intensity and distance of base stations antennas from human habitations, and so forth.[citation needed] Overall, public information remains a challenge as various health consequences are evoked in the literature and by the media, putting populations under chronic exposure to potentially worrying information.[35]

text: Precautionary measures and health advisories[edit]

text: In May 2011, the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer announced it was classifying electromagnetic fields from mobile phones and other sources as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" and advised the public to adopt safety measures to reduce exposure, like use of hands-free devices or texting.

text: Some national radiation advisory authorities, including those of Austria,[36] France,[37] Germany,[38] and Sweden,[39] have recommended measures to minimize exposure to their citizens. Examples of the recommendations are:

text:
Use hands-free to decrease the radiation to the head.
Keep the mobile phone away from the body.
Do not use telephone in a car without an external antenna.

tag: ul

text: The use of "hands-free" was not recommended by the British Consumers' Association in a statement in November 2000, as they believed that exposure was increased.[40] However, measurements for the (then) UK Department of Trade and Industry[41] and others for the French Agence française de sécurité sanitaire environnementale (fr)[42] showed substantial reductions. In 2005, Professor Lawrie Challis and others said clipping a ferrite bead onto hands-free kits stops the radio waves travelling up the wire and into the head.[43]

text: Several nations have advised moderate use of mobile phones for children.[44] A journal by Gandhi et al. in 2006 states that children receive higher levels of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). When 5- and 10-year olds are compared to adults, they receive about 153% higher SAR levels. Also, with the permittivity of the brain decreasing as one gets older and the higher relative volume of the exposed growing brain in children, radiation penetrates far beyond the mid-brain.[45]

text: Bogus products[edit]

text: Products have been advertised that claim to shield people from EM radiation from cell phones; in the US the Federal Trade Commission published a warning that "Scam artists follow the headlines to promote products that play off the news – and prey on concerned people.

text: According to the FTC, there is no scientific proof that so-called shields significantly reduce exposure from electromagnetic emissions. Products that block only the earpiece – or another small portion of the phone – are totally ineffective because the entire phone emits electromagnetic waves. Such shields "may interfere with the phone's signal, cause it to draw even more power to communicate with the base station, and possibly emit more radiation."[46] The FTC has enforced false advertising claims against companies that sell such products.[47]


document_title: EJ DiMera

question_text: who shot ej dimera on days of our lives

question_tokens: who shot ej dimera on days of our lives

text: EJ DiMera

text: Creation[edit]

text: Background[edit]

text: According to former Days writer, Kola Boof, she also helped to create the role of EJ Wells and was actually the person who decided to cast Scott in the role. Boof, titled her initial character bible for EJ Wells as "The Devil Finds Work." Boof revealed to Nelson Branco of TV Guide that EJ initially comes to town to avenge his mother, Susan (Eileen Davidson), who by that time had been in a mental institution. Eileen Davidson was set to reprise the role for a few episodes slated to air in the fall. However, the planned story was abandoned when Boof was fired from the writing team. The character was always meant to be a race car driver, but following Boof's firing, his career as a racer was also forgotten about, and he was instead written as a lawyer.[1]

text: Majority of EJ's childhood is spent with a nanny whom he refers to as his governess, whom he compares to Mary Poppins. EJ begins attending boarding schools at a very young age.[2] EJ is a fan of Jazz music.[3] EJ attends Eton College along with Duke of Cambridge, Prince William (revising his birth year to 1982) and even serviced his car at one point.[4] EJ later attends Oxford University. During this time, EJ is in a long term romance with another woman, and they graduate Oxford together. However, she wants to pursue a career while EJ is given the chance to compete in the European racing circuit. He asks her to come with him, but she refuses and they go their separate ways. EJ then dedicates himself to racing, and becomes known worldwide for his skill.[5] After college, EJ works in Cairo doing import and export work and also lives in India for a while. EJ also has experience as a bartender. He spends a lot of time in Monte Carlo as a race car driver.[6]

text: Casting[edit]

text: In May 2006, it was announced that Scott, previously known for his controversial role as Ethan Cambias on All My Children was slated to join the cast of Days in the role of E.J. The character's surname remained secret to keep his connections to other characters on canvas a secret. Scott filmed his first scenes on May 3, and made his debut on May 30, 2006.[7] Kola Boof revealed that Justin Hartley, formerly of Passions was also considered for the role.[1] After Scott's character was killed off of All My Children, Scott stayed in New York City until the end of pilot season when he was contacted by the casting department from Days. They told Scott that he would definitely fit in the role of EJ. However, at the time, Scott was still under contract with ABC. Scott asked to be released from his contract, and the network agreed.[8] In February 2009, Scott revealed that he re-signed with the series for another two years.[9] In December 2010, Scott revealed that he was considering branching out into other mediums and hinted at the possibility of retiring from acting.[10] In late September 2011, Soap Opera Digest revealed that James would depart the series when his contract expired. However, negotiations continued shortly after the news broke about Scott's potential departure.[11] James issued the following statement: "It has always been my wish to continue working with Days of our Lives, and in light of recent reassurances given, I am optimistic of my future here at Days."[12] Deanna Barnert speculated that the recent reboot of the series, which included bring back several popular veteran characters was in preparation of Scott's potential departure.[10] On October 5, it was confirmed that Scott had re-signed with the series for another year with his contract set to expire in April 2013.[13] Scott later extended his stay for another year. On May 2, 2014, Soap Opera Digest confirmed that Scott had wrapped filming and would exit the series screen sometime in the fall.[14]

text: Characterization[edit]

text: Prior to his debut, Scott revealed that there were some similarities between his new character, and his former alter ego Ethan Cambias.[7] The only thing Scott was told about his character was that he was a race-car driver. Though it does not completely define the character, it does affect who EJ is. EJ is not easily affected by everyday life because he is used to operating in high pressure situations, like racing. Whenever his life is in danger and he is forced to make a decision, it puts EJ at "ease". Scott was allowed to use his natural British accent in his portrayal of EJ.[8] In 2008, BuddyTV referred to the character as a "dashing" anti-hero, because he is a "good guy" and a "bad guy" all in one. EJ, like any other person, has a dark side to him.[15] In 2011, Deanna Barnert described the character as "nefarious."[10]

text: Storylines[edit]

text: Elvis Aaron Banks was born to Stefano DiMera and Susan Banks on February 21, 1997. At the time, Susan, a Kristen Blake look alike, is paid to give birth to a baby that would then be adopted by Kristen. Unbeknownst to John Black, Kristen, John's fiancée, has a baby. Susan realizes that Kristen is deceptive and cruel, while John is loving and noble. As the real mother of the child that Kristen and John claim as theirs, Susan plans to take Kristen's place at John's side and in his bed. Marlena Evans, however, manages to foil the plans of both Kristen and Susan; Marlena and John reunite, and Susan is content to then find love with Edmund Crumb. Salemites believe that EJ is then raised by Susan and Edmund, who move to England. Stefano, however, manages to snatch EJ from Susan, raising him at Maison Blanche in New Orleans and sending him to English boarding schools.

text: EJ Wells first appears as Sami Brady’s handsome new neighbor living across the hall.[16] The growing chemistry between him and Samantha stopped abruptly as EJ is soon revealed to be the mysterious figure attacking Sami’s family and his connection to Stefano is also discovered. In December 2006, EJ holds Sami at gunpoint and forces her to help him through the Police Road Blocks set up by Salem PD to keep him from leaving the Country after he shoots John Black. After Sami gets him through the road blocks EJ then tells her to get out of the car. Sami refuses and tells him that since she helped him he must help her save Lucas Horton's life. EJ agrees to help her only if she has sex with him in exchange for saving Lucas; reluctantly, Sami agrees. Afterward, he helps Sami get a beam off of, but then leaves them to die in the snow with no way out. EJ brainwashes Steve Johnson and forces him to kidnap a comatose John Black, and transplants one of his kidneys into a dying Stefano. When Sami learns she is pregnant, Celeste Perrault reveals that EJ is the child's father but warns him that Stefano wouldn't approve. His brother, Tony DiMera convinces him to kidnap Sami and harvest the stem cells from the unborn child to save Stefano's life. EJ changes his mind and helps Sami escape at the last minute.[16] Sami later learns she is carrying twins and Stefano orders them to marry so they can end the feud between the Brady and DiMera families once and for all. Sami welcomes her twins in October 2007 and it turns out that Lucas fathered the little girl, Allie and EJ fathered the little boy, Johnny. After John is killed in a hit and run accident, Sami marries EJ in November 2007, blackmailed by Stefano and EJ and against her will, but he is shot at the altar by Lucas (it is later that we find that Will, Lucas' son is the one that actually shot EJ.) EJ promises to change and set a good example for the twins while Lucas is arrested for EJ's shooting.[16] Later, Sami's mother Marlena Evans gives him a chance to redeem himself by bringing down his father. EJ knew that a brainwashed John Black was in the basement of the DiMera mansion and decides to reunite him with his family in January 2008. To stay safe from Stefano, EJ and Sami move into a safe house where they bond over raising the twins. They plan to have the marriage annulled but the death of Sami's grandpa, Shawn forces them to put it off. When they finally get another chance, EJ puts it off by pretending that his visa has expired and Sami agrees to prolong the marriage until he can deal with immigration.[16] EJ begins representing Nicole Walker during her divorce from Victor Kiriakis. Meanwhile, EJ and Sami make love for the first time in May 2008, just in time for Lucas to be released from prison and catch them in bed. Sami discovers EJ's ploy to stay married to her by bribing the immigration agent, and their annulment is finalized soon after.[16]

text: In July 2008, EJ and Nicole get trapped in an elevator together and end up having sex. Nicole learns she is pregnant but hides it when she has a miscarriage. Nicole also learns that Sami is pregnant by EJ and plans to keep it from him. Nicole fakes her pregnancy and takes teenage Mia McCormick's child for her and EJ to raise. However, she later switches Mia's baby with Sami's baby. She and EJ name EJ'S and Sami's daughter, Sydney Anne. When Sami returns home from the Witness Protection Program, she claims to have adopted baby Grace. EJ and Nicole marry in April 2009. Tony DIMera, EJ's brother would die after getting into a fight with Philip Kiriakis. EJ blamed Philip for Tony's death and wanted revenge on Philip, this would lead to a war with Philip Kiriakis and his father Victor. Start the feud between DIMeras and Kiriakis, but in the end they call a truce.

text: EJ is devastated after Grace dies in June 2009 and Sami tells him that he was the child's father. EJ became furious and went off on Sami, for keeping EJ from his child. EJ was hurt and felt betrayed by Sami for lying to him. EJ was heartbroken and grieved over the loss of his daughter. For months EJ would be angry with Sami while being in pain over losing Grace and never knowing his own daughter. While EJ was angry at Sami, EJ still was in love with Sami and hurt over the fact, she lie and kept from his daughter, and didn't trust him and try pass Rafe Hernandez off as the father. However EJ later would start suspect Nicole was keep something from him. EJ sends someone to spy on Nicole, to get information.[16] EJ learns from that Nicole had a miscarriage and he kicks her and Sydney out of the mansion. But what EJ didn't know was is Sydney his real daughter, not grace. EJ personally would change over the year, EJ would grow more and more angry, and become more rule less, more aggression, more colder and more calculating, as time went by. EJ save Rafe Hernandez's life after one of Stefano's men try to kill Rafe, but EJ stop it. Rafe later reveals that Nicole switched the babies and Sydney was actually EJ and Sami's child. EJ and Sami reunite with Sydney, EJ and Sami would call a truce. EJ later realize Stefano assisted Nicole in her schemes. EJ took all his anger and rage out on Stefano by choking him, EJ severs ties with Stefano again.

text: In December 2009, Nicole attempts to skip town with Sydney, by kidnapping her. This would bring EJ and Sami closer to together, the two share a moment with one another over Sydney. EJ and Sami along with Rafe would work together to try and bring Sydney back, but Sydney was stolen from Nicole by someone else.[16] EJ and Sami would unite to try an find Sydney, however EJ overhear Sami saying, she wish EJ wasn't in the picture, Sami wish that her and Rafe could raise Sydney, and was Rafe her father, not EJ. After hearing all this EJ was furious at Sami, it would only add to EJ's anger and rage.

text: It was reveals that EJ had kidnapped Sydney and later fake her death, have revenge on Sami for keeping the child a secret and to her and Rafe break up, his sister-in-law, Anna DiMera was his accomplice. EJ was seen as the "hero" when he suddenly brought Sydney back home and he and Sami got close again. EJ realize later that he still in love with Sami and felt guilty over what he had done. EJ and Sami became closer, they would later end up share a passionate kiss. EJ confession his love for Sami and gave her a kiss, EJ would grow closer to Sami, and romance Sami, later the two would go on a date, Sami was falling in love with EJ. EJ ask Sami to marry him, at first Sami hesitated but later said, yes.

text: [16] In August 2010, as they prepared to marry, Rafe revealed EJ's schemes and Sami walks out on him. However, Sami shoots a drunken EJ in the head, leaving him for dead. EJ wakes up from a coma believing he and Sami got married but they eventually tell him the truth, that she was now married to Rafe. Rafe's sister, Arianna finds proof that Sami shot EJ but she is killed in an accident before she can get it to him. However EJ got the proof from Nicole's Arianna had.

text: EJ blackmailed Sami into giving him full custody of Johnny and Sydney, and into staying away from them. EJ got Nicole to agree to marry him, so he can get back at Sami by making Nicole the children step-mother, only to get under Sami's skin by Nicole making their mother. But it turn out Johnny had cancer in his left eye, Johnny would need surgery. Later it was learned Johnny had cancer, so EJ and Sami put their problems behind them. EJ would make a deal with God to let Johnny keep his eyes and would let Sami be part of Johnny's and Sydney's lives while Johnny surgery was successful. Stefano also reveals to EJ and his sister, Lexie Carver that they have another brother, Chad Woods, the biological father of baby Grace.[16]

text: EJ and Nicole marry in February 2011; meanwhile while EJ made the deal with God to let Sami be part of Johnny's and Sydeny's lives, but EJ never said he would allow Rafe to be part of his children, EJ schemed to take Rafe out of the picture. Stefano came up with a plan to replace Rafe with someone else. Stefano hire convict Arnold Feniger, to give him plastic surgery to make him identical to Rafe, and then switch the two. In the meantime, Nicole's sister, Taylor arrives in town and the two are instantly attracted to each other. Shortly after the wedding, EJ and Taylor begin having an affair. After Nicole and Taylor's mother, Fay has a heart attack, EJ comforts them and allows Fay to stay at the mansion. Nicole soon learns about the affair, Nicole blackmailed EJ with what he and his father did to Rafe. However, later EJ turn the table on Nicole. EJ asked Taylor to marry him, she said yes. However the truth about the fake Rafe came out, Taylor dumps EJ, because of Arnold killing her mother by pushing her down the stairs when she confronts Arnold about the truth. Arnold decides to testify against EJ and Stefano but Arnold is killed by other inmates in prison, EJ and Stefano go free.[16]

text: EJ decides to run for mayor, against his brother-in-law and Lexie's husband Abe Carver; feeling lonely he asks Nicole to serve as his campaign manager while he convinces her to hold off their divorce. EJ and Nicole got closer during campaign and even end up having sex. However Nicole decided to go through with the divorce, much to EJ's dismay. Later EJ reveals he framed John Black for corporate embezzlement and uses this to his advantage during campaign season. However Johnny goes missing when the Brady family gathers at the Pub before John's trial and someone tries to kill John. EJ and Sami are devastated when a news report claims that Johnny is dead and to cope with the pain, they end up having sex. Later EJ and Sami find out Johnny is not dead and is with Rafe, afterward Nicole told EJ she wanted to give them another chance, EJ and Nicole reunite. EJ and Sami agreed to keep what happen between them a secret. Sami's son, Will discovers them and tries to blackmail EJ into helping him leave town. EJ turns the tables on Will and reveals that he knows it was Will, not Lucas, who shot him during his wedding to Sami in 2007; he then forces Will to work for him. However EJ gave Will a race car and agreed to pay money for Will to work for him. Will agreed and took enjoyment with his new job with EJ.[16] Will stole Abe's campaign information and handed it over to EJ. EJ wins the election. However, the evening is interrupted when Rafe reveals that he find out about Sami and EJ's one night stand. Nicole leaves EJ while Rafe breaks up with Sami.[16] EJ tries to win back Nicole, but Nicole want a reconciliation only if EJ leaves Salem with her and abandon the children he has with Sami. EJ buys Sami an apartment while learning Nicole is pregnant but Rafe lied and said, he was the father of Nicole's baby. EJ didn't believe Rafe was the father, and wanted a DNA test to prove he was the father. Daniel jones switched test result, however even after, EJ still didn't buy Rafe that was the father of his and Nicole's baby. EJ still believe he was the father of the baby and wasn't about to just give up.

text: In early 2012, Nicole reveals to EJ that it was Stefano who attempted to cost him the election!, EJ find out Stefano stole money that he stole from John. Later learns from Billie Reed that Stefano destroyed his case against John Black by help clear his name. Adding more, the family is devastated when Lexie reveals that she is dying from a brain tumor. It reveals that when Andre held Lexie in the underground tunnels was how she got the brain tumor. EJ blamed Stefano because Andre worked for him, however Stefano claims he had nothing to with it. But this only added to heat between EJ and Stefano. This all would lead to EJ holding Stefano up at gun point planning to kill him. However EJ couldn't do it, so he left however Stefano was shot in cold blood. EJ became the prime suspect in Stefano's murder and was frame by Ian McAllister. Meanwhile, Lexie die from the brain tumor, EJ is devastated and heart broken over half-sister's death. EJ and Sami grew closer and start reconnected, Sami helped Ej to prove his innocence. EJ and Sami had no choice but to go on the run to clear EJ's name however an explosion happened, Sami saved Ej from the Salem cops ready to shoot him, the a big explosion happened in Salem, Sami almost fell to her death but EJ is able to save her with some help from will. EJ and Sami go to a safe house that belong to Stefano, EJ and Sami get closer, Ej revealed to Sami he was still in love with her, they end up kissing, however EJ had to find Ian McAllister in order to confront him, but EJ walk right into a trap set. EJ was Held captive By Ian and Came face to face with Stefano. Ian reveal that Stefano and EJ are in fact, biological father and son.

text: Later EJ got free and took down Ian, afterward EJ told Stefano off and that he want nothing to do with him. EJ go back to the safe house only to find Sami with Rafe who arrested both EJ and Sami, however later EJ and Sami would get out of jail. < [17] In August 2012,[18] EJ and Sami the two give in to their feelings by kissing, but EJ is discouraged when Sami reveals that she doesn't want to jump into things and want to focus on her work and kids. Sami decides to give EJ a chance, however Rafe came back into the picture and Sami's life as she begins interacting with him. Rafe tells Sami that EJ no good for her and kisses Sami what cause her to end things with EJ. EJ become angry and confront Rafe, EJ head butt Rafe and two ended up get into a fight, however John and Lucas break up it, EJ decide to get back at Rafe, not just to win Sami back but also to prove that EJ was the father of Nicole's baby. EJ find out from Chad, that Rafe's sister, Gabi was behind Melanie's kidnapping, EJ use this to blackmail Rafe an stay away from Sami, Rafe lets EJ be with Sami, but Sami learns the truth from Chad and get mad at EJ and reunites with Rafe. However EJ got proof, he was the father of Nicole's child but came to find out his son is dead. EJ is heart broken and grief over the death of his son. However EJ get Nicole to confession that Rafe wasn't the father and the baby was theirs child. EJ records Nicole's confessing and confront both Rafe and Sami, reveals to Sami that Rafe was lying about being the father of Nicole's baby by play records. Sami break up with Rafe. EJ plan to kill Daniel and Nicole as a revenge for the lies about Nicole's pregnancy, he is shocked by the return of his adopted step-sister, Kristen DiMera, who want to help him but he finally give up this vengeance in order to concentrate on getting back Sami, Kristen reveals that she is working with Sami. Kristen quits her job and gives it to EJ so that he can work with Sami again and be close to Sami. Sami still loves Rafe but Sami still have feelings for EJ. EJ and Sami grow closer while work together, EJ become closer to Sami. EJ had a talk with Caroline Brady, Caroline tells EJ that Sami love both Rafe and EJ, say maybe EJ can change, after talking with Caroline, EJ decides to become a better man for Sami, EJ spending Christmas Day and New Year's Eve with her. EJ kisses Sami three time on New Year's Eve but Rafe kisses Sami. Kate tells EJ that he could lose, once more, to Rafe in the battle for Sami's heart. Sami was going tells EJ she was getting back together with Rafe, but EJ confession his love for Sami, by telling Sami, he love her and that EJ was in love with her, Sami was speechless but however she still was planning on telling EJ.

text: Sami plans the wedding of Gabi to Nick Fallon, which ends when Will reveals that he is the father of Gabi's unborn baby, not Nick. This cause a big fight between Rafe and Sami, this cause her to run into EJ's arms. EJ was there for Sami, during the whole time through Will custody battle with Nick and Gabi. However Rafe told EJ that Sami was going to choice Rafe over EJ, EJ was upset about this and went to Sami and confront her about this. Sami told EJ everything however Sami said she didn't want throw EJ away and she confessed her true love for him and admitted she wanted be with EJ. EJ took all it in at once and forgave her. EJ and Sami reunite and later Sami tells EJ she loves and trusts him. Nick blackmails Will into giving up the rights to his unborn daughter with the information that Will shot EJ in 2007.

text: [19] Sami asks for EJ's help in getting rid of Nick. Desperate, the two of them turn to Stefano for help in getting rid of the evidence against Will. EJ proposes to Sami in April 2013, and she accepts.[20] Meanwhile, it's revealed that EJ still holds a grudge against Stefano for disowning him as his son, and is seeking revenge by taking DiMera Enterprises from his father. To this end, he enlists the help of Justin Kiriakis to take Stefano down.[21]

text: Rafe is viciously attacked, and the police and Sami suspect EJ. However, Sami later realizes EJ wasn't responsible. Will ends up saving Nick and Gabi when they are kidnapped by the real attacker, Jensen. Will is shot trying to save Nick, while Gabi gives birth to Arianna Grace. EJ comes to the hospital to support Sami while Will is in surgery and she meets her granddaughter. While there, she also visits Rafe. During a visit, Sami spots a man with a knife at Rafe's bedside and shoots him. EJ later finds out that the man was a corrupt police officer on Stefano's payroll. Though Sami insists the officer was holding a knife, and EJ believes her, the police are not able to find the weapon, and Sami is arrested for the murder of a police officer.

text: During the trial for officer Bernardi, in order to get Samantha out of jail, Ej has to beg his father and gravels to release Samantha. Stefano was actually the one who set up Sami with Bernardi's murder, the officer was killed by an ex-mistress, Stefano framed Sami in order to control Ej. Just like Stefano his plan was to make EJ give back the business Justin and him took from his father. Also he had to resign everything back to his father and promise not to leave the mansion ever even with Samantha and the children. Ej and Sami are happy living at the Dimera mansion but they have to put up with Stefano living under the same roof with them and their children. They get engaged, however during the engagement party Bernardi's widow try to take revenge on Sami and Ej by shooting Ej, Chad Ej's brother try to protect Ej and get the bullet at his place, he is injured and has to leave Salem with Stefano in order to get nursed.

text: EJ then is also caught in another cover up, the rape of Sami's twin brother Eric by his adopted sister Kristen. He discovers on Kristen's wedding day, that she drugged and raped Eric, at first he is horrified but then he let Kristen convince him to cover it, in the name of the Dimera family's loyalty. After Kristen is discovered at her wedding, she runs away. However thanks to a phone text from Kristen to Ej, Sami finds out Ej covered up for Kristen, Ej pretends to Samantha's face he knows nothing about the rape part, that Kristen said it was consensual, because he felt torn between his loyalty to his family and his love for Sami. He's getting tired of Sami's antics and the fact that she's doesn't appreciate him more by putting her family above him. He told her that he doesn't care about her brother but only her. During this time, Samantha's trust for Ej is shattered because of his behaviour concerning his cover up for his half-sister Kristen's crimes, as a result she refuses to make any plans of marriage or for a future with EJ, despite stating her love for him. He is also banned from Samantha's bedroom. EJ become very frustrating when Sami want put their relationship on hold.

text: EJ help cover the murder that Gabi, Sami and Kate did to Nick. EJ hired a special team to clean the scene and is always in the corner of Samantha, the love of his life. However, there were still problems between EJ and Sami, what lead to fights between the two, what cause more problems and Sami continue to reject any physical intimacy from Ej. EJ go to Smith Island and stop Abigail Deveraux from talking to Hope about Nick after Gabi told him, Abby was going to talk with Hope. EJ speeds off on his private boat, Abby and EJ talk. EJ try get Abby not tells Hope about Nick. Abby believe EJ is having an affair with Gabi, EJ tell that not true, Abby go on and said any woman want sleep with him. EJ realize that Abby attraction to him. Knowing this, EJ use it to stop Abby, just when she about go to Hope by kissing her. EJ stop the kiss and try to leave smith Island. However Abby stop EJ from leaving, she kiss him and then they begin having sex. After that Abigail begin to chase Ej at every opportunity. EJ try several times to reject Abby but she uses what she thinks happened about Nick's disappearance to get close to Ej and to have a sexual relationship with him. Several times EJ confront Abby and try to get her not to tells anyone, however Abby try blackmail EJ by saying, She was going tells Hope everything, if EJ didn't give her what she wanted, EJ and Abby kiss and almost had sex at the hospital where Abby is working and Ej is at the board as one of the backer, but stop when someone almost came in. After that, Abigail chase Ej at his gym locker room of his Dimera company and they have sex in the shower until they heard Sami and Ej stops the act immediately. Ej and Sami began to slowly reconcile and once again Ej try to persuade Abigail to stop pursuing him and to move on, finally once and for all he reject her.

text: Sami and EJ would really reconcile on Valentine's Day, EJ and Sami kiss. Later The two would rekindle their love and passionately make love. EJ move forward with his wedding to Sami. However One day, a picture of them kissing at the Horton cabin arrives at the DiMera mansion. EJ hides it from Sami and immediately tries to locate the photographer. After a small investigation, EJ finds out that the photographer was Nick Fallon's assistant, Percy Ruggles. This cause EJ to go after Nick, first confronted Percy, threatens him into giving him the pictures to destroys and sends him back to England. EJ warn Nick if he try to ruin his family and tell Sami about the affair, Nick would be sorry. EJ hires a hit man to kill Nick, Sami agree to go along with EJ's plan. When Nick was shot, this put EJ and Sami on the list of suspects. It was later revealed that their hit man wasn't the one who killed him. Sami and EJ move forward with their wedding and Sami asks Abigail to be her Maid of honor. While planning her wedding, Sami comes across the photo of Abigail and EJ. She becomes furious but pushes forward with the wedding, after the ceremony, Rafe Hernandez shows up and arrests EJ for tax evasion. While in jail, EJ signs his proxies to Sami, so she can go to a board meeting in place of him. Sami attends the board meeting with Kate Roberts (who got Stefano to sign over his proxies to her) and are voted in as DiMera Enterprise's new Co-CEOs. Sami presents this information to a furious EJ and reveals to him that she was the one who gave the police the evidence for his tax evasion arrest. When EJ asked why she is doing this, she revealed that she knows about his hook up with Abigail and is going to make him pay. EJ try to get through to Sami and beg for her forgiveness, over and over again. However Sami refused to forgive EJ, but EJ wouldn't give up on Sami. In order to get back the money Sami and Kate stole from Stefano, EJ also negotiates with Victor and take his drug business but he is faced with a competitor in newly arrived Clyde Weston, who seems friendly and offers a partnership but really wants to takeover EJ's territory. Kristen return to Salem after kidnapped Daniel, Kristen was lock up and ask EJ for his help, however EJ turn down Kristen and refused to help her. Later the affair between EJ and Abby would become public by Will, this would bring EJ and Sami together. Sami would ask for EJ's help however EJ walk out on Sami, but later EJ would agree to help, if Sami would go out with him to lunch, Sami agreed. An effort to win Sami back, EJ would help Sami what saw two becoming closer again. However Stefano return to Salem shake things up for Sami and Kate.

text: However EJ gave Rafe documents on Stefano that hinder his return to Salem in order to protect Sami and also to win her back. EJ and Sami eventually reconcile, Sami forgives EJ and they reunite. EJ and Sami enjoy their happiness, however EJ's mother Susan Banks returns to Salem warn EJ his life was in danger. EJ's brother Chad in order to get revenge on Ej, informs Stefano that it was EJ who helped the Salem Police keep him out of Salem. Stefano angrily disowns EJ saying he's dead to him. A furious EJ confronts Chad for revealing to Stefano his betrayal warning Chad that he's unleashed a bitter and vindictive Stefano on EJ, Sami, and their children. Johnny tells EJ the kids at school are teasing him because he's a DiMera, EJ tells Johnny that as he gets older he'll hear many things about the DiMera family but its a name to be proud of. EJ has a confrontation with Clyde over Salem's drug territory and is betrayed, shot, and killed by his disloyal bodyguard, Miguel. Stefano has EJ's sister Kristen inject an unknown substance into EJ's body in the morgue for an unknown reason saying only that "time is of the essence".

text: EJ's death causes Sami and her kids to leave Salem and move to Los Angeles, California. However, in 2015 there were signs that EJ is still alive; Sami got letter from EJ saying, that if he were dead then Stefano was the cause. The letter was over a year old and contained nothing about Clyde Weston. Sami states EJ wrote things only she and EJ knew, and the letter instructed Sami to get the codes which drained all of Stefano's money from his secret accounts.

text: On November 21, 2017, Kristen reveals that EJ is alive.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Scott's performance earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2010 and 2011.[22][23]


document_title: Friday Night Lights (film)

question_text: who wins in the movie friday night lights

text: Friday Night Lights (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: As preseason practice begins for the Permian High School football team in August 1988, the town of Odessa, Texas has high expectations for the players and their coach Gary Gaines to win a state championship with their star running back James "Boobie" Miles. The quarterback, Mike Winchell, runs under the expectation of handing off the ball to Miles on most plays. Fullback Don Billingsley struggles with his ball handling and is abused by his alcoholic father Charles, who won a state championship with Permian. The players frequently party as they deal with the pressures of Odessa's expectations.

text: In the season opener against the Marshall Bulldogs, the Permian Panthers make the game a blowout. Gaines intends to bench Miles in the waning minutes, but keeps him in after third-stringer Chris Comer is unprepared to go in. Miles tears his ACL after being tackled at the knee, and afterwards Gaines is widely criticized by the town for keeping Miles in. In the next game during the start of district play, Permian gets blown out as Winchell struggles with consistency in his increased role and the second-string running back gets hurt. Comer goes in, but avoids contact, and discussion arises about Gaines losing his job. However, the Panthers start winning again as Winchell and Comer improve, and safety Brian Chavez and linebacker Ivory Christian emerge as defensive standouts.

text: Miles holds out hope that he can return to playing soon, and although his MRI scan shows otherwise, he rejects it and lies to Gaines so he can suit up again, with his uncle and guardian L.V. backing him up. Permian plays its final district game against Midland Lee, with first place and a playoff spot on the line. The Panthers fall behind, and Gaines puts Miles in out of desperation, but Miles is soon injured again. Winchell leads a comeback drive, but Permian loses as his final pass flies over the receiver's hands. After the game, Billingsley fights with his drunk father, who throws his state championship ring onto the side of the freeway. The next morning, Don reveals to his father that he recovered the championship ring and gives it back to him. Charles partially apologizes and makes the point that his state championship was the best thing that happened to him, and he now has nothing happy except those memories. The loss puts Permian in a three-way tie for first place with Lee and Abilene Cooper, and a coin toss is held to determine which two teams make the playoffs. Permian and Lee win the toss, and as the Panthers prepare for the playoffs, Miles clears his locker. While in his uncle's car, he cries about his future in football becoming bleak.

text: Permian is successful in the playoffs, but all eyes are on the state powerhouse Dallas Carter High School. Permian and Carter make it to the state championship game, which is held at the Astrodome due to the schools' different demographics. Miles rejoins the team and watches from the sidelines as the Panthers head into the game. They are initially overwhelmed by Carter's superior size and fall behind, but mount a comeback in the second half to pull within one score. The defense improves its tackling, and the offense pushes through despite injuries. After a defensive stop, Winchell, Comer, and Billingsley mount a final drive, but Comer and Billingsley are injured. Billingsley goes back in, and holds onto the ball for a big run, but it is called back for a holding penalty. On fourth down, Winchell is stopped just short of the goal line as the clock runs out, and Carter wins the championship.

text: Afterwards, Gaines removes the outgoing seniors from his depth chart, and it is revealed that Winchell, Billingsley, Miles, and Chavez went on to have successful lives after their football careers ended, with only Christian receiving a Division I scholarship. The movie ends with the statement that Gaines and Comer led Permian to an undefeated state championship season the following year.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Billy Bob Thornton as Coach Gary Gaines
Lucas Black as Mike Winchell
Garrett Hedlund as Don Billingsley
Derek Luke as James "Boobie" Miles
Jay Hernandez as Brian Chavez
Lee Jackson III as Ivory Christian
Lee Thompson Young as Chris Comer
Tim McGraw as Charles Billingsley
Grover Coulson as L.V. Miles
Connie Britton as Sharon Gaines
Julius Tennon as Coach Freddie James
Connie Cooper as Ms. Winchell
Amber Heard as Maria
Kasey Stevens as Flippy
Rutherford Cravens as Kansas Weslyan Recruiter
Stephen Bishop as Loie Harris
Katherine Willis as Booster Wife
Christian Kane as Brian
Brad Leland as John Aubrey
Tim Crowley, Gary Vaught, and Lee Mack Turner as Championship game officials

text: Cameo roles[edit]

text:
Former NFL wide receiver Roy Williams (a Permian alumnus) had a cameo in the movie as an assistant coach for Midland Lee, Permian's arch-rival.
Some sequences during the state playoffs showed highlights from high school football games in Texas. In one of those highlights, NFL Pro Bowl cornerback Aqib Talib can be seen.
Ty Law played a wide receiver for Dallas Carter, the team Permian played in the movie's state championship game. He wore jersey #2, his last name was Graf, and he caught a one-handed touchdown pass.
The real James "Boobie" Miles played a Permian assistant coach in the film. Although he has no lines, he was seen several times. In the locker room scene at halftime of the state championship game, he was seen standing next to the fictional "Boobie" Miles as Coach Gaines gives his speech.

text: Differences between the movie and events[edit]

text: Players[edit]

text:
In the movie, Boobie Miles was depicted as one of the team's three captains, but that honor was held by Ivory Christian, Mike Winchell and Brian Chavez in real life.
In the movie, some of the players' numbers and positions were changed: Boobie Miles was #45 and played tailback in the movie, but in the book he was playing fullback (while Don Billingsley was the tailback) and #35. In the movie, Brian Chavez was the #4 strong safety, while he was the #85 tight end in the book, and Ivory Christian was a defensive end and wore #90, while he was the #62 middle ("Mike") linebacker in the book. At the beginning of the film, as the camera panned over Coach Gaines' depth chart, 'Miles' name was listed under the FB tag. Chris Comer was also the backup fullback in the book, not a third-string tailback. One of the athletic directors in the stadium booth said, "I think he's a sophomore", when Comer was a junior at the time. Comer also wore #45 in the real season, but in the movie he wore #42. Alan Wyles was depicted as a wide receiver when he was the placekicker.
Don Billingsley's father Charlie was depicted in the movie as having won a state championship. In reality, as a junior, the 1968 Permian team lost in the finals.

text: The regular season[edit]

text: In the movie, the team was depicted as practicing in full pads and with full contact on the first day of practice. Under rules of the University Interscholastic League (UIL), the governing body for Texas public school sports, teams cannot use pads or hit until the 4th day of practice (however, in the deleted scenes included in the DVD, a non-pad practice was shown).

text:
A Permian booster was heard toasting Coach Gaines' second season as Permian's head coach. It was his third.
Boobie Miles, in the book, injured his leg by getting his foot caught on the AstroTurf during a pre-season scrimmage against Amarillo Palo Duro at Jones Stadium in Lubbock. In the movie, he was tackled by two players at the knee during a blowout non-district game at Ratliff Stadium.
In the movie, the top-ranked Permian Panthers defeated the hapless Marshall Bulldogs in a non-district game. In real life, the third-ranked Marshall Mavericks (whose colors are red and white, not purple and gold) defeated fourth-ranked Permian 13-12. In the movie, the game was the season opener and played on a Friday night in Odessa. In real life, it was Permian's second game of the season, and played at Maverick Stadium in Marshall on a Saturday afternoon. Permian's football team chartered a jet for the 500+ mile trip from Odessa to Marshall, spawning controversy on the cost of the trip. Played before a crowd of more than 12,000 fans at Maverick Stadium, the game was on a searing September afternoon where the temperature topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 °C). The footage shown in the movie was from a game against the Midland High Bulldogs, who weren't mentioned in the movie. Permian defeated the Dawgs 42-0 in district play, but the two teams ended up in a three-way tie along with Midland Lee for the district title.
In the movie, district play began in week 2. In the real regular season, district play began in week 4.
In the movie, Permian defeated "North Shore Galena" in a mid-season (presumably district) game. In reality, North Shore High School was within the Galena Park Independent School District located in the Houston suburbs over 500 miles (800 km) southeast of Odessa. Although North Shore and Permian have both been 5A football powerhouses, they have never played. Furthermore, North Shore did not start seeing football success until the mid 1990s.
In reality, the three teams tied for best district record were Permian, Midland Lee, and Midland High, all with 5-1 district records. In the movie, Permian and Lee were joined not by Midland but by Abilene Cooper, and each team had two district losses. The tie breaking coin flip was held at a truck stop outside of Midland, and Midland High lost (Cooper in the movie), so Permian and Lee went on. Midland High's missing the playoffs was poignant as it had not been to the playoffs since 1951 and did not get back to post-season play until 2002.
A Permian player was shown with coach Gaines at the coin toss. In reality, no players from any of the three schools were allowed at the coin toss. All of Permian's players were on the team bus returning from the game that evening at San Angelo Central. Permian assistant coach Mike Belew drove with Gaines from San Angelo to the site of the coin toss.
In a few scenes, players were shown wearing Under Armour apparel and facemask shields, although in 1988, Under Armour and visors hadn't been invented yet. (Under Armour founder Kevin Plank was in high school in 1988.) The book says they wore green visors, which are now outlawed for high school and college teams.
In the movie, the annual duel against Permian's archrival Midland Lee was portrayed as Lee having a handy lead throughout the game with Permian never having a shot at the victory. In real life, Lee had to come from behind with a late-game touchdown to win the game 22-21.

text: The playoffs[edit]

text:
Permian's first opponent in the playoffs was Amarillo Tascosa and not Dallas Jesuit as in the movie. In 1988, Texas Public Schools (such as Permian, Carter, and Tascosa) and private schools (such as Jesuit) competed in separate leagues with separate playoffs. Jesuit was not allowed to join the previously all-public school UIL until 2003, starting football competition in 2004. Dallas Jesuit and Strake Jesuit of Houston were the only private schools who currently play in the UIL, the rest competing in leagues such as TAPPS and the SPC. Also, with the district setup at that time, it would have been impossible for Permian to play a team from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex until the third round for the playoffs. Nowadays, Permian could play Fort Worth-area teams in the first round of the playoffs, but still could not play Jesuit until round 3. Permian played Dallas Jesuit in Odessa during the regular season in 1988, winning 48-2. Jesuit's only points came on a missed-PAT return, which was a rule instituted that year (the defensive conversion was not allowed in high school football under National Federation of State High School Associations rules, but Texas played by NCAA rules). Jesuit's helmet was shown as white and orange with a sort of wildcat's head logo on it, but in real life they are solid gold without a logo.
In the movie, it was said that Carter was the state's top-ranked team, when Carter was never ranked higher than No. 3 in the Associated Press poll.
Carter played "Hays" High School in the playoffs, which was depicted as wearing green and white and nicknamed the Rams. The real Jack C. Hays High School, located 15 minutes south of Austin in Buda, used red, white, and blue as its colors, and their nickname was the Rebels. Hays was a Class 4A school in 1988 and did not become 5A until 2000. Hays was in the movie because the makers filmed crowd shots at Hays High during a Rebels home game against the Austin Westlake Chaparrals, another team depicted as a Permian playoff victim.
Permian was depicted as playing "San Angelo" in the quarterfinal round. There were two high schools in the San Angelo Independent School District; until 1998, San Angelo Central High School, the district's only 5A school had been in the same district as Permian (having since been transferred, for football only, to the district with Lubbock and Amarillo schools), and could only have played Permian in the quarterfinal round (owing to the structure of UIL playoffs) if they had qualified. However, Central finished 5th in the district that year, and as only two teams from each district qualified in 1988, Permian and Central did not play in the 1988 playoffs. Instead, Permian played Arlington Lamar in the quarterfinals.
On the playoff brackets it shows just the word "Baytown". There were two high schools in Baytown in 1988 (there are now three), the team in the playoffs was Baytown Lee.

text: Permian vs. Carter[edit]

text:
Since 1982, the UIL Class 5A (now 6A) football playoffs have had six rounds (though a second, parallel playoff bracket of five rounds was added in 1990, later also expanded to six rounds in 2006), so while Permian played Dallas Carter in the fifth round, it was a semi-final and not a final. In the Texas playoffs, a team from North or Western Texas always plays a team from the Houston area or Southern Texas in the final,[2] so the Carter vs Permian final was not possible. The real-life final featured Carter versus Converse Judson (which defeated Permian in the 1995 state championship). The Carter-Permian game was played in front of 10,000 people in a heavy downpour at The University of Texas at Austin's Memorial Stadium, not in front of 55,000 in the Astrodome in Houston. While the game in the movie was a high-scoring affair (34-28), the real score was 14-9 in favor of Carter. In real life, Permian held a 9-7 lead for most of the game and Carter made the dramatic fourth quarter comeback to win. On the last play of the game, Winchell threw the ball incomplete, rather than running it himself close to the goal line.
The meeting between officials from Permian and Carter at the Midland airport occurred the Sunday prior to the game. Not shown in the movie was the Carter officials changing their minds about a home site from Texas Stadium in Irving to the Cotton Bowl within the Dallas city limits. Under UIL rules, if the schools cannot agree to a neutral site, each side picks a "home" site and a "neutral" site, and two coin tosses are conducted. The first was to determine whether a "home" or "neutral" site will be used, and the second to determine which team's site will be used. After a tense battle between the sides, they agreed to play the game at Austin.
In the movie, Gaines suggested at first suggests San Antonio as a potential neutral site, which would have meant playing the game at Alamo Stadium, since the Alamodome did not open until 1993. The other neutral site suggestion in the movie was College Station, presumably meaning Kyle Field at Texas A&M.
The revocation of Carter's state championship following their use of an academically ineligible player was never mentioned, nor was the prolonged legal battle that Carter went through to enable them to play in the playoffs. Officially, the 1988 state champions were Converse Judson, which lost 31-14 in the final to Carter. Furthermore, Carter was portrayed in the movie as a stereotypical "inner city thug" team (likely due to the shocking series of armed robberies committed by several players after the season ended); Carter at the time was located in a middle-class African-American neighborhood and was not known for dirty play.

text: The school and the city[edit]

text:
Permian was portrayed in the movie as a single large high school in a small, one-horse town in West Texas. In reality, Odessa was a city of nearly 100,000 people at the time of the events portrayed in the movie, and part of a metropolitan area of nearly 250,000 combining the populations of Midland and Ector counties. (The quaint downtown shown in the trailer for the movie was Manhattan, Kansas.) Also, Permian was (and still is) only one of two large Class 5A high schools in Odessa. The other and first high school in the city, Odessa High School (mascot: the Bronchos), was never mentioned in the movie, despite the fact that they have played Permian every year, as the two schools have been in the same UIL district since Permian opened in 1959 and shared Ratliff Stadium with Permian. An entire chapter in the book was devoted to the "Civil War" between the schools.
In the movie, Odessa was portrayed as being a mostly Anglo town with a sizable African-American population and virtually no Hispanics. In 1988, out of the almost 100,000 people that lived in Odessa, one-third were Hispanic while African-Americans made up only 5% of the population.
Ratliff Stadium was depicted as the location for Permian football practices. In reality, the team practiced mostly on campus, and the stadium, used by both Permian and Odessa, was on the outskirts of town in a fairly unpopulated area about three miles (five km) away from the Permian High campus. It was also unlikely that children would be playing touch football near the stadium, as depicted in the movie, as few houses were nearby at that time. The area around the stadium has grown dramatically since then (which caused an anachronism in the movie—the houses seen near the stadium did not yet exist in 1988).
While Ratliff Stadium has had artificial turf since its opening, in 1988 it had the original AstroTurf, not the modern FieldTurf surface seen on the stadium in the film.

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: The soundtrack for the film predominantly featured post-rock band Explosions in the Sky. Music by Daniel Lanois and rock band Bad Company were also included. Other songs in the film were "Just Got Paid" by ZZ Top during the montage of the Panthers' road to the finals; the pump up song featured as the team ran through the tunnel in the game against Dallas Carter was "New Noise" by the seminal Swedish punk band Refused. During the start of the third quarter during the Championship game, the song "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by The Stooges was used. Three songs from Public Enemy's album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back were also used prominently.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Reviews of the film were highly positive. The film received an 81% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 168 reviews, and the consensus stated: "An acute survey of the football-obsessed heartland that succeeds as both a stirring drama and a rousing sports movie."[3] The film also has a score of 70/100 on Metacritic, based on 35 reviews.[4]

text: While the residents of Odessa held a negative reception of the book, they eagerly anticipated the release of the film.[5]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: The film was recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

text:
2004: AFI'S Top 10 Film of the Year
2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:

Nominated Sports Film[6]