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The Big Breakfast

The Big Breakfast is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 1992 to 2002, and as a revival from 2021 to 2022. The show had various presenters, starting with Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin at launch with the revival episodes presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu.

The programme was distinctive for broadcasting live from a real house (which had been lock-keepers' cottages), commonly referred to as "The Big Breakfast House", or more simply, "The House", located on Fish Island, in Bow in east London. The original house on Fish Island in Bow has since been sold.

The show was a mix of news, weather, interviews, audience phone-ins and general features, with a light tone which was in competition with the maturer GMTV and BBC Breakfast programmes.

History
The Big Breakfast was launched on 28 September 1992 to replace The Channel Four Daily, which was Channel 4's unsuccessful first foray into the breakfast television market. The Daily, launched at huge expense, had focussed on current affairs and news bulletins alongside bitesized magazine shows, a quiz show segment and a daily cartoon slot. This format had failed to attract enough viewers, so Channel 4 opted to change direction and work towards a lighter style concentrating mainly on entertainment and humour with news bulletins restricted to brief summaries every 20 minutes.

The first two presenters were Chris Evans (from 1992 to 1994) and Gaby Roslin (1992 to 1996). At its height in 1993, viewing figures reached around two million per edition, and it was the highest rated UK breakfast television programme. Along with Evans and Roslin, Bob Geldof presented a short-lived political interview slot. His wife Paula Yates interviewed people whilst lying on a bed, and the puppet characters Zig and Zag created morning mayhem in the bathroom with Evans in a slot called 'The Crunch'.

As part of his contract with The Big Breakfast, Evans was committed to developing a new show for Channel 4. Don't Forget Your Toothbrush began in early 1994, and Evans cut his involvement with The Big Breakfast to three days a week, Tuesday to Thursday. Neighbours actor Mark Little replaced Evans on Mondays and Fridays. When Evans left the show later that year, Little continued Thursdays, and Fridays while Paul Ross took over Mondays to Wednesdays. Richard Orford replaced Ross around Easter 1995 but was quickly dropped and exchanged with Down Your Doorstep presenter Keith Chegwin. In July 1995, the show reverted to using just one male presenter (Mark Little) throughout the week. Chegwin would cover for Little when he was on tour as a comedian or on holiday.

Roslin continued full-time until she made way for Zoe Ball in 1996. Audience figures dropped a little after Evans left, and a little further after Roslin departed. Mark Little left the programme in July 1996, following press reports that he and Ball had fallen out. Little was replaced by Keith Chegwin, who himself exited the programme in August 1996, just ahead of a relaunch. To stem the sliding viewing figures, the Big Breakfast house was refurbished at a cost of £2 million. New presenters Rick Adams and Sharron Davies were brought in but viewing figures fell dramatically. Davies left the programme in early 1997, to be replaced by Denise van Outen. Van Outen had initially been brought in as part of the September 1996 relaunch as a weather presenter, before being given a role based at the house as the phone room presenter and holiday relief for Davies. In June 1997, Johnny Vaughan covered for Adams for a fortnight alongside Van Outen, the pair forging a successful on-screen partnership. Adams left the programme shortly afterwards and, in September 1997, the Vaughan and Van Outen partnership was made permanent. Audience figures stabilised and the duo fronted the programme together until Van Outen's departure on 1 January 1999 (a New Year's Day pre-record). Kelly Brook was installed as Vaughan's new co-presenter despite an internet campaign for the role to be awarded to Liza Tarbuck, who had successfully covered for Van Outen in the summer of 1998. However, Brook struggled in the role and left the programme in early summer 1999. Liza Tarbuck, having again covered the co-presenter role alongside Vaughan prior to Brook's departure, was made permanent at the end of August 1999. She left the following summer and, following Vaughan's annual one-month summer break, Denise van Outen returned to co-host in September 2000 for Vaughan's final four months on the programme. Vaughan and Van Outen's final Big Breakfast was on 12 January 2001.

Demise
The programme relaunched with a new logo and updated theme on Monday 22 January 2001. The house had also been redecorated in more muted colours, echoing the ill-fated 1996 revamp. The programme moved to a line up of three main presenters, Paul Tonkinson, Amanda Byram and Donna Air. However, Tonkinson was dropped from the programme at the end of March 2001 and Air left not long after. The programme reverted to two main presenters once more, with Byram and Richard Bacon. The living room, which had been repainted a dark red as part of the revamp, was changed to a bright yellow and pink design, while the main presenter chairs were also reinstalled in front of the living room's French windows. They replaced the bright green sofa which had also been brought in as part of the revamp. The new logo was replaced with one more closely resembling the traditional Big Breakfast logo, albeit utilising a slightly different font. Mike McClean was given a role on the programme, as Down Your Doorstep presenter and cover for Bacon, most regularly on Fridays when Bacon would reprise his former Down Your Doorstep role alongside Johnny Vegas.

During this time a pilot episode was filmed on a Saturday with Chris Moyles and Dominic Byrne (reading the news) with Andy Goldstein doing links from LA. This pilot episode was shown to big bosses at Channel 4 and subsequently Chris was offered the show. However he was told the future of the program was in his hands in the end Chris chose not to do it as he couldn't make his mind up however he did go on to do a pilot for RI:SE

In December 2001, it was announced that The Big Breakfast was to be axed the following March. In the programme's final months, former cover presenter Lisa Rogers was given a role as an extra presenter while Zig and Zag returned for the final six weeks in their former slot, The Crunch, for which a new bathroom set was installed in the house. The final Big Breakfast aired on 29 March 2002 and included a retrospective that included contributions from Evans, Roslin, Vaughan and Van Outen. Both Evans and Vaughan declared the cancelling of the show a bad idea, but the show ended with a tribute from the Prince of Wales before the last ever Friday song. When the show finished, the house reverted to a private residence, now known as The Cottage. After renovation following a fire, it has also been used for a few television shows, including the one-off special edition of The Big Breakfast which aired in 2021.

In total, 2,481 episodes were broadcast during the original run. Episodes were broadcast every weekday morning from 28 September 1992 to 29 March 2002, with exception of 12-14 September 2001, when it was replaced with news coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States of America, for a total of 2,477. In addition to this, four extra episodes were broadcast on Christmas Day 1994 and Christmas Eve 1995 (both of which fell on the weekend), and the evenings of New Year's Eve 1992 and 1999.

Innovations
Mark Lamarr, Keith Chegwin, Paul Ross, Richard Orford, Richard Bacon and Mike McClean were "down your doorstep" outside broadcasters, often turning up live and unannounced at an unsuspecting viewer's house, while rooms within the lock keepers' houses featured the puppets Zig and Zag and video games guru Ben the Boffin.

The show's style, with hand-held cameras moving around all of the set, meant that many of the crew members could be seen on screen. This led to them getting nicknames, such as 'Sturdy Girl', who was regularly asked to shake her head so that her hair would be hurled around whilst music played and the camera zoomed in and out. 'The Carpet Monster' was revealed in the Doctor Who Special to have been an extra, playing a deadly clown, in the Seventh Doctor story The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.

The Big Breakfast and The Bigger Breakfast
Between 1992 and 2000, during most nationally recognised UK school holiday periods, The Big Breakfast would run beyond its typical 9am finish to provide continuity into and out of unrelated shows aimed primarily towards children. This would last throughout the morning, usually until around midday. Although typically presented to the viewer as simply a programme on Channel 4, most of The Bigger Breakfast is perhaps better classified as an informal style of in-vision continuity.

The strand also acted as an umbrella brand for the programming which it linked to, by use of Big Breakfast style break-bumpers and Digital On-Screen Graphics. The expanded format always featured the regular content of The Big Breakfast from 7am to 9am. The first run of The Bigger Breakfast during the summer of 1997 was titled as such all the way from its 7am start, presented throughout by Richard Orford and Denise van Outen. Future editions would see slight separations made from the 7am to 9am content, by way of this portion of the show being branded and scheduled as The Big Breakfast, with all content after 9am taking on the expanded Bigger Breakfast name. After a while, a further distinction was made by using a different set of presenters from that of The Big Breakfast. Presenters of The Bigger Breakfast included Josie D'Arby, Ben Shephard, Melanie Sykes and Dermot O'Leary.

Programming was primarily composed of reruns of Channel 4 shows and US imports. The line-up changed frequently. The list below is of some of series featured on The Big Breakfast and the Bigger Breakfast over the years:

 * Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Babylon 5
 * Batman
 * Bewitched
 * Biker Mice from Mars (1995)
 * Boy Meets World
 * Bug Juice
 * California Dreams
 * CatDog
 * City Guys
 * The Crystal Maze
 * Dennis
 * Earthworm Jim
 * Eerie Indiana
 * Fantastic Four
 * Inspector Gadget
 * Hang Time
 * Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
 * Johnny Bravo
 * Madison
 * Moesha
 * The Monkees
 * Mr. Bogus
 * Planet Pop
 * Pugwall's Summer
 * Renford Rejects
 * Rocko's Modern Life
 * Sam & Max
 * Saved by the Bell
 * Sister Sister
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * The Secret World of Alex Mack

The Bigger Breakfast was discontinued after Christmas holidays in 2000. The block of programming provided within The Bigger Breakfast was retained, with Channel 4's youth strand T4 taking over the continuity role.

Snap
Snap Cackle Pop, a regular and recurring feature throughout the history of The Big Breakfast, was briefly retitled as simply Snap, in 1997. As well as continuing as a short, daily entertainment news feature within The Big Breakfast, Snap also became a show in its own right. Airing once weekly at 6.00pm on Channel 4, the half hour show was a light hearted round-up of recent news stories concerning popular entertainment in the UK.

Presented by Denise van Outen, the show was intentionally recognisable as being closely related to The Big Breakfast, from which it originated and continued to be part of. Snap contained a number of elements synonymous with The Big Breakfast, such as using the very same boudoir set and on-the-bed interviewing of guests. However, care was generally taken not to alienate viewers who were not so familiar with The Big Breakfast.

The Big Breakfast End of the Year Show 1992
Three months after first appearing, Chris Evans, Gaby Roslin and Paula Yates hosted a live edition of the show, seeing in the new year of 1993. Zsa Zsa Gabor featured as a special guest.

The Biggest Breakfast Ever
On 1 January 2000, The Big Breakfast aired an extended New Year's Day edition entitled The Biggest Breakfast Ever, celebrating the arrival of the year 2000. Written by John Mann and Ged Parsons and broadcasting from 12:30 a.m. to just past 9:00 a.m., the special featured various retrospective features and the competition "Owe? No You Don't!"—where contestants competed in classic Big Breakfast games (concluding with the new game "Wonga") for a chance to have their debts paid off.

Talking Bowlocks
In January 2021, members of The Big Breakfast production team launched a podcast in which they discussed their experiences working on the series.

2021 "Black to Front Day" special
In September 2021, it was announced that the show would return for a one-off event known as "Black to Front Day", which would feature and celebrate the talents of those with black heritage. The show was presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu and had many guests from African American and Black heritages in celebration. The show was broadcast once again from the show's original home at Lock Keepers' Cottages.

2022 relaunch
On 26 May 2022 it was confirmed that the series would return part time for four Saturdays in a two and a half hour slot from 13 August 2022, with Gilligan and Odudu again returning to host from a new house, revealed to be in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. Denise van Outen returned as a guest to "hand over the reins" of the show to the two new presenters. In June 2023, a Channel 4 spokesman announced that there were no plans to commission any further episodes, but did not rule out the possibility of it returning at some point in the future.

Question About the Clip
Before most advertisement breaks a clip from an upcoming TV show or movie would be shown, a question being asked by one of the hosts about it; the answer would be revealed after the advert break, along with details of the show or film. This feature would result in the production team chorusing "Don't phone, it's just for fun!" which was a Chris Evans creation, initially used on his radio shows before he shot to fame on The Big Breakfast.

Question of the Day
A phone-in feature encouraging viewers to provide humorous answers throughout the morning to a pertinent (or occasionally inane) question. At one point it was accompanied by a fanfare, apparently played on the trumpet by "little Ted" beneath the camera (in fact a member of the team waving a toy trumpet in shot). One morning's question was "What should the BBC do to improve EastEnders?", and one viewer suggested adding Barbara Windsor to the cast; this actually occurred shortly afterwards.

Super Hints
"Your indispensable guide to a better life!", this feature appeared during the early years of the show; in it celebrities would give various simple but useful hints for such issues as cleaning or keeping food fresh.

Streaky Bacon
"Streaky Bacon" became a regular feature, in which Richard Bacon would get a member of the public out of their house to 'streak' along their street wearing nothing but bacon-covered underwear in order to win their weight in bacon from their local butcher.

Vital Statistics
"Vital Statistics" was another common feature, particularly in the Johnny Vaughan era. These would often relate to a news story, a guest or a topic they had discussed, such as Doctor Who on their Doctor Who Special.

On the Bed
A key feature for the first five years was the "On the Bed" interview. Paula Yates (the then wife of Bob Geldof, whose company produced the show), and later Paul O'Grady (as Lily Savage) and Vanessa Feltz assumed the role of interviewer. One of the most infamous on-air moments was Paula Yates' open flirting during an interview with Michael Hutchence as a prelude to their affair.

More Tea, Vicar
A repeating feature in the Vaughan and Van Outen era, in which an erratically filmed, sped up video clip of a line of tea cups was shown to a call-in viewer. Vaughan, dressed as an Anglican vicar, and Van Outen, dressed as a nun replete with false teeth and an inferiority complex, then explained the rules. The caller guessed the number of tea cups shown in the video lead in, with Vaughan responding "More tea, vicar" if the number is too low; "Less tea, vicar" if too high. If the contestant guessed the correct number within the time limit, a prize was awarded.

From Me Shed, Son
The inventor of the wind-up radio, Trevor Baylis, would join Johnny Vaughan in the shed to discuss innovative new products. Vaughan tended to make fun of Baylis for being older.

Wonga
A Jenga-style game, followed by various shouting and anarchy, with fans and the Wonga Lawyer. The show famously went over 27 minutes for a game once, with the Millennium Big Breakfast actually being commissioned with extra time for Wonga.

Wonga money
The Big Breakfast used to give out "wonga money" to people when they won money because they didn't want to give it to them on the show. They would give the real thing to them later.

The Friday Song
Each Friday the two main presenters and the whole crew would gather in the hallway for The Friday Song. The song would look back at events that happened on the show each week

The lyrics to the chorus went as follows:

Singing, wakey, wakey, wakey rise and shine,

The big breakfast is the only way to dine,

It's your number one big breakie

So get it down your neckie,

And stick with us from seven until nine!

Others

 * Guess The Mess
 * One Lump or Two?
 * Sunny Side Up
 * Pots Stop
 * Telly Rellies
 * Get Your Kit On
 * Show Us Your Behind
 * Court With Your Pants Down
 * You Pet
 * Spot the Sausage
 * What's in My Pants
 * What's Your Job, Bob?
 * Yanks for the Memories
 * Bring Home The Bacon
 * Bowl The Vole
 * Get Your Nobbly Nuts Out
 * Egg On Your Face
 * Young Fogey
 * The Brian Moore The Merrier
 * Pushy Mum
 * Why
 * Bun in the Oven (Bunny in the Oven was an Easter special)
 * The Vincent Price Is Right

 * Housey Housey
 * Wheel Of Fish
 * Stop The Mop
 * Chicken In A Basket
 * Moving The Goalposts
 * My Lenny, Um, Gnome
 * An Ostrich In Time
 * Whose Washing Line Is It Anyway?
 * Ice One Cyril
 * Licence To Lurk
 * Arrest The Vest
 * Beat The Banger
 * Game for a Bath
 * Thatch of the Day
 * Gaggin' for it
 * Count-Down-Under
 * Young Fogies
 * Lost in Telly
 * Vidal Balloon
 * Who Wants to Win a Mini on-air
 * More Tea Vicar?
 * Whose shoes?
 * Ohh what a lovely pair

Lock Keepers' Cottages
Unusually for a live British TV show at the time of its creation, The Big Breakfast was broadcast entirely from a real house. Located alongside the River Lea, in east London, the property became informally known as 'The Big Breakfast House'. Filming would frequently take place within the large grounds of the property and the closely surrounding area. The cottages are in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Built in 1947, the property originally comprised three cottages which housed the lock keepers, toll takers, and navigation operators of the Old Ford Locks in Bow. By the time of purchase by the programme-makers, Planet 24, in 1992, the property had become Grade II listed and had remained unused for around 20 years. Extensive renovation work saw the transformation of the three cottages into one large three-bedroom property, specifically fitted for use as a TV studio. The exterior character of the property was largely unchanged. During the first four years of the show, the given address for the house was number 2, Lock Keepers' Cottages, Old Ford Lock, London E3 2NN. The '2' was later dropped.

In 1996, due to the declining popularity of The Big Breakfast, the house was transformed in an art deco-style makeover. The original brickwork was virtually entirely covered over with a smooth rendered finish, painted white. Two large balconies now adorned the front and rear. The only untouched exterior features recognisable from the show's original styling were the four brick chimneys and the roof. The legality of this extensive makeover could be questioned as having broken the rules of its Grade II listed status. The work carried out is purported to have cost around £2million, largely funded by its sale to the show's broadcaster, Channel Four Television.

Structurally, the house largely remained in this style for the remainder of the series. The only notable structural alterations were the removal of the front balcony, the partial removal of the balcony to the rear and minor alterations to the styling of the doors and windows.

However, the character of the house was altered through several artistic makeovers to both the interior and exterior. The exterior was painted bright yellow, later a light brown similar in shade to the original brickwork, followed by a faux red brickwork effect which was painted onto the render. The latter style became the final look of the house, during the original show's final three-and-a-half years.

Cottages since The Big Breakfast
In November 2002, seven-and-a-half months after The Big Breakfast was axed, a fire destroyed a significant proportion of the first floor of the cottages. A large part of the roof was also destroyed in the blaze. The fire was deemed suspicious as there was no gas or electrical supply to the building.

The house was slashed in value because of the fire of November 2002, and was bought for little more than half the original asking price of £1 million at £550,000. Since the fire, extensive work has taken place to restore the house and it is now used as a family home.

The house has now been fully renovated, but some of the well-recognised aspects of the house from its use during the run of The Big Breakfast remain.

The newly renovated house features in the BBC Two show Neneh and Andi Dish It Up, BBC Three's Singing With the Enemy, Too Fat To Toddle on ITV1, and the one-off revival of The Big Breakfast on Channel 4.

The cottages are located about 200 metres from the site of the main stadium used in the 2012 Olympic Games. In 2005, the cottages became part of a compulsory purchase order for the Games, giving rise to speculation that the building may be demolished. However, the cottages and gardens remain unchanged.

The house made a cameo appearance in a Channel 4 ident shown in the lead-up to the channel's coverage of the Paralympics in August 2012.

Life after Lock Keepers' Cottages
The Big Breakfast 's return on 13 August 2022 has been confirmed to be from a new house, leaving the original Lock Keepers' Cottages behind for the first time in the show’s history. The new house is located in Potters Bar. Filming takes place on The Villa mansion, a seven-bedroom cottage set in ten acres of countryside.

title: The Big Breakfast


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Wizadora

Wizadora is a children's television programme created by Don Arioli and Carolyne Cullum. It was originally broadcast on SWR in 1991 and it was used as an English-language learning tool for non-English speakers. In 1993, the series was picked up by ITV in the United Kingdom.

Development
A pilot show starred Fawlty Towers writer and actress Connie Booth, who had been alerted to the character by John Cleese who had taken an interest in the production. The pilot was never broadcast.

The concept was then developed into a language teaching tool for children to learn the English language, published by Oxford University Press in 1991. Books, audio, and media were produced alongside the series. The title role of Wizadora was played by Connie Booth in an unaired pilot, before Maria Gough took on the title role for Oxford University Press. Cathy Lawday was the writer and editor of the books and media produced for Oxford.

In 1992, Meridian Broadcasting took up the series. Considerable changes were made for this series. Some major changes included the introduction of Wendy van der Plank as Wizadora, who remained as the character from 1993 to 1996. Lizzie McPhee took over the role in 1997 until the series end. Tatty, who was originally played by a woman (Debbie Cumming), was now played by a man (Joe Greco 1993–94, Steven Ryde 1994–98) and Phoebe, who was originally played by actor Emma Amos, was re-introduced as a "life-sized" model. Many characters were introduced and the original characters were given a makeover. Connie Booth was brought back in to write episodes for the series among others.

Characters

 * Wizadora – the title character, a trainee and later apprentice wizard who receives her magic wand in the pilot episode, who initially has problems getting her spells right. Some of the things in Wizadora's kitchen are able to talk due to stray spells. Wizadora often breaks the fourth wall and talks to the viewers and usually asks for their help when casting her spells. Wizadora's catchphrases include "Oh, botheration!" and "Time for a bit of Wizzification!".

Wizadora's companions included –
 * Tatty Bogle – a dim-witted scarecrow who lives in Wizadora's back garden and continually gets words muddled up. The character was played by a woman before being reintroduced as a man for ITV. Played in the ITV series by Joe Greco (1993) and Steven Ryde (1994–1997). Ryde was the voice-over announcer between programmes for the CITV service during the same period.
 * Stan the Shopkeeper. He regularly takes delivery of new magical catalogue items and is very cautious of Wizadora's spells. Played by Brian Murphy
 * Pippa the Postwoman. She rides a bike on her rounds and ofter becomes tired. Played by Tessa Hatts
 * Top/Sticky/Bottom – three talking drawer people, who resemble socks. Once described as "a real nuisance" by Wizadora, they are very naughty, usually teasing Hangle and/or Filbert, and are always attempting to steal food or getting up to some kind of mischief whenever Wizadora's back is turned. Their antics usually end up causing much trouble; one time Top invented a Grub Grabber to try and steal some food, but the device frightened Filbert who accidentally knocked over some potions, some of which got into Very Old Fish's tank and turned him into a purple blob. Wizadora usually punishes them by zapping them back into their drawers with her wand.
 * Phoebe – a talking telephone. Early in the series, actor Emma Amos was dressed in a pink costume to play the role. In the ITV series Phoebe was re-introduced as a 'life-sized' model telephone, pink with a yellow headset, but later on, she's orange while her headset turns red. From series 6, her headset is red with coloured stars. Phoebe answers calls, takes messages, and speaks various languages. Phoebe was voiced by 4 different voice actors during the ITV series run.
 * Filbert (ITV Series 1–5 only) – a squeaking vegetable (a Vegimal) and a fellow trainee wizard. He is also regularly seen gardening. He was born from a seed in the first ITV series and at first Wizadora had no idea as to who he was. He loves to water the plants and is best friends with Tatty. In the first season, Filbert talked in gibberish as he was still learning how to speak,  and in later series, English as the character develops. Filbert often got himself into trouble, although meaning well. He is very kind-hearted and is always offering to help out Wizadora or Tatty. In Season 5, he leaves Wizadora's place to start a new life independently as shown in the episode "Filbert's New House".
 * Dog Doormat – a barking doormat (Only seen in the first ITV series)
 * Hangle – a purple coat hanger (but who insists on calling himself a cloak hanger) with a yellow rain coat, glasses and a purple moustache. Has quite an obsession with cleaning. For instance, in the episode 'Hangle's big day' he locks everyone out in the garden because he thinks they are too untidy. As a result, he ends up hurting his back due to being too stubborn. He has a crude sense of humour and is also quite bossy. In the first episode of Series 1, Hangle introduces himself as "Cliff Hangle, cloak hanger extraordinaire".
 * Very Old Fish – a cryptic talking male fish who told stories about his life.
 * Poot (ITV Series 2 onwards)– Wizadora's computer. Poot was often used to help with Wizadora's questions. For series 2 and 3 Poot was male, green and flat shaped. In series 4 he changed to female and to a more computer like machine with a pale orange face (Rebecca Nagan's).
 * Nigel the Snail- (ITV series Two onwards) A blue snail who lives with Very Old Fish.
 * The Crows (series 3 onwards) – Boris and his brother Horace cause mayhem for Tatty Bogle in the garden.
 * Roxy – a quite friendly talking spider who lives in Tatty's tree house. (Introduced in 1996)
 * Dusty – A creature who lives under the fridge, he has a very loud operatic voice and is usually sleeping (seen in the first series for ITV and again in series 6)
 * Tom and Katie- (Oxford series only) Two children who lived near Wizadora. Not seen in the ITV series. Played by Harriet Carmichael and Adam Johnstone.

Other cast and credits
Puppeteers Phil Eason, Francis Wright, Michael Bayliss, Sue Dacre, Jeremy Stockwell, Don Austen, Brian Herring, Neil Sterenberg, Rebecca Nagan, Debbie Cumming, and Sheila Clark worked on the series.

The ITV series was made for Meridian Broadcasting by production companies Workhouse and North Pole Productions at The Fountain Studios in New Malden and directed by David Crozier. Fifteen episodes of Series 3 were directed by Wendy J. Dyer. The theme music was composed by Dave Hutton who was also the Senior Cameraman on the first four series of the show. The theme tune for the ITV series was recorded at Gordon Thrussell's studios at Ashford in Kent and the credits show music by 'Hutt and Thrust'. This was because the director, David Crozier, did not want the same name for two different credits on the programme (i.e.: Snr Cameraman and Music). The other cameramen were Roger Backhouse, and Angus Macmillan and sometimes Steve Leach. The vision mixer was Julie Miller.

Oxford Series (1991)

 * 1) Phoebe Calling - 15 September 1991
 * 2) A Red Banana - 22 September 1991
 * 3) Happy Birthday - 29 September 1991
 * 4) The Magic Cloak - 6 October 1991
 * 5) Can You Fly? - 13 October 1991
 * 6) Where Is Katie? - 20 October 1991
 * 7) The Picnic - 27 October 1991
 * 8) Hangle Is Lost - 3 November 1991

Series 1 (1993)

 * 1) The Magic Parcel - 5 January 1993
 * 2) Time For Tidying - 12 January 1993
 * 3) Hello Filbert - 19 January 1993
 * 4) A Colourful Day - 26 January 1993
 * 5) Lovely Weather - 2 February 1993
 * 6) Picnic Problems - 9 February 1993
 * 7) Mops & Bicycles - 16 February 1993
 * 8) Hangle In Charge - 23 February 1993
 * 9) A Very Special Day - 2 March 1993
 * 10) Wellingtons & Snails - 9 March 1993
 * 11) The Purple Powder - 16 March 1993
 * 12) Tea Time Troubles - 23 March 1993
 * 13) The Octocleaner - 30 March 1993
 * 14) Wand & Superwand - 6 April 1993
 * 15) Eggs & Bicycles - 13 April 1993
 * 16) Tricky Things Umbrellas - 20 April 1993
 * 17) Autumn Laughter - 27 April 1993
 * 18) Firework Party - 4 May 1993

Series 2 (1993-1994)

 * 1) Poot Saves The Day - 6 September 1993
 * 2) A Change For Filbert - 13 September 1993
 * 3) A Good Day For Sun - 20 September 1993
 * 4) Just Your Imagination - 22 September 1993
 * 5) The Thingummy Jig - 27 September 1993
 * 6) Where Was I? - 29 September 1993
 * 7) I Smell A Smell - 4 October 1993
 * 8) The Squeaking Door - 6 October 1993
 * 9) Magical Music - 11 October 1993
 * 10) To Have And To Have More - 13 October 1993
 * 11) Rhyme Time - 18 October 1993
 * 12) I Spy - 20 October 1993
 * 13) Cheers And Tears - 25 October 1993
 * 14) Round And Round The Garden - 27 October 1993
 * 15) Eat Well, Stay Well - 1 November 1993
 * 16) Look Before You Leap - 3 November 1993
 * 17) Easy As One Two Three - 8 November 1993
 * 18) Strangers Among Us - 10 November 1993
 * 19) Five Carrot Pie - 15 November 1993
 * 20) Something Old, Something New - 17 November 1993
 * 21) Be Careful, Wizadora! - 22 November 1993
 * 22) Soft, Strong, Brittle And Weak - 24 November 1993
 * 23) Coughs And Sneezes - 29 November 1993
 * 24) No More Please - 1 December 1993
 * 25) Who Needs Elbows - 6 December 1993
 * 26) Mine All Mine - 8 December 1993
 * 27) A Use For Everything - 13 December 1993
 * 28) Peace And Quiet - 29 June 1994
 * 29) A Matter Of Size - 30 June 1994
 * 30) Good Friends - 6 July 1994

Series 3 (1994)

 * 1) A Message from Max - 7 September 1994
 * 2) Pips And Plants - 8 September 1994
 * 3) Sneezeberries - 14 September 1994
 * 4) Too Big, Too Small - 15 September 1994
 * 5) Bubble Trouble - 21 September 1994
 * 6) A Sing-Song For Stan - 22 September 1994
 * 7) Sixes and Nines - 28 September 1994
 * 8) All Together Now! - 29 September 1994
 * 9) I Smell a Lie - 5 October 1994
 * 10) Pippa's Surprise - 6 October 1994
 * 11) Cheer Up, Filbert! - 12 October 1994
 * 12) Let's Dance! - 13 October 1994
 * 13) The Shopping List - 19 October 1994
 * 14) Tatty's Tablecloth - 20 October 1994
 * 15) The Tantrum Spell - 26 October 1994
 * 16) The Great Flood - 27 October 1994
 * 17) Buttons and Holes - 2 November 1994
 * 18) The Litter Spell - 3 November 1994
 * 19) Fun with Books - 9 November 1994
 * 20) No Time for Tea Time - 10 November 1994
 * 21) Hard, Soft, Smooth and Rough - 16 November 1994
 * 22) The Grabber - 17 November 1994
 * 23) Pedal Power - 23 November 1994
 * 24) The Mud Monster - 24 November 1994
 * 25) Wool Trouble - 30 November 1994
 * 26) Pots And Spells - 1 December 1994
 * 27) That's What Friends Are For - 7 December 1994
 * 28) A Stuck Sticky - 8 December 1994
 * 29) Use Your Imagination - 14 December 1994
 * 30) Beginnings and Endings - 15 December 1994

Series 4 (1995)

 * 1) Beside the Seaside - 5 September 1995
 * 2) Sounds Brilliant - 7 September 1995
 * 3) Bless You! - 12 September 1995
 * 4) You Can Count on Poot - 14 September 1995
 * 5) Follow That Track! - 19 September 1995
 * 6) Here's One We Made Earlier - 21 September 1995
 * 7) Who's Afraid of the Dark? - 26 September 1995
 * 8) Good Winners and Bad Losers - 28 September 1995
 * 9) Communication Break Down - 3 October 1995
 * 10) Snow in July - 5 October 1995
 * 11) Making Pippa Strong - 10 October 1995
 * 12) Glad Rags - 12 October 1995
 * 13) Shape Up - 17 October 1995
 * 14) Hangle Takes A Trip - 19 October 1995
 * 15) Mirror, Mirror - 24 October 1995
 * 16) Tatty's New Boots - 26 October 1995
 * 17) Inside Out - 31 October 1995
 * 18) Stan's the Man - 2 November 1995
 * 19) I Spy With My Little Eye - 7 November 1995
 * 20) Filbert's New House - 9 November 1995
 * 21) Top of the List - 14 November 1995
 * 22) It's a Good Job - 16 November 1995
 * 23) Shadow Monsters - 21 November 1995
 * 24) Boots, Beads and Beards - 23 November 1995
 * 25) Watch Out Below - 28 November 1995
 * 26) Sharing Magic - 30 November 1995
 * 27) Big 'Uns and Little 'Uns - 5 December 1995
 * 28) Sticky Moments - 7 December 1995
 * 29) Too Full - 12 December 1995
 * 30) Making and Breaking - 14 December 1995
 * 31) First Things First - 19 December 1995
 * 32) Fish Alive - 21 December 1995

Series 5 (1996)

 * 1) Tatty Town - 5 September 1996
 * 2) Wizadora Plays Football - 10 September 1996
 * 3) Drawer People Behaving Badly - 12 September 1996
 * 4) Aunt Dora’s Parcel - 17 September 1996
 * 5) Bottom Gets Lost - 19 September 1996
 * 6) There’s No Place Like Home - 24 September 1996
 * 7) The Music Spell - 26 September 1996
 * 8) Something Fishy - 1 October 1996
 * 9) Take Care - 3 October 1996
 * 10) Wizadora's Bad Dream - 8 October 1996
 * 11) Sentimental Journey - 10 October 1996
 * 12) I'm In Charge - 15 October 1996
 * 13) What’s Yours Is Mine - 17 October 1996
 * 14) What About Me - 22 October 1996
 * 15) Hurry Up - 24 October 1996
 * 16) Jungle Fever - 29 October 1996
 * 17) Roxy’s Web - 31 November 1996
 * 18) What Did You Say - 5 November 1996
 * 19) Old Habits Die Hard - 7 November 1996
 * 20) A Moving Story - 12 November 1996
 * 21) Safety Last - 14 November 1996
 * 22) Stan’s Difficult Day - 19 November 1996
 * 23) Bending The Rules - 21 November 1996
 * 24) The Crows - 26 November 1996
 * 25) A Rainy Day - 28 November 1996
 * 26) Hangle’s Big Day - 5 December 1996
 * 27) Knit Twit - 10 December 1996
 * 28) You Are What You Are - 12 December 1996
 * 29) The Jealous Queen - 17 December 1996
 * 30) Christmas Day - 19 December 1996

Series 6 (1997)

 * 1) The Paper Chase - 7 January 1997
 * 2) Crow Overboard - 9 January 1997
 * 3) If We Could Be Giants - 14 January 1997
 * 4) The Strange Parcel - 16 January 1997
 * 5) Anyone For Doubles - 21 January 1997
 * 6) Cheese Tasting Tuesday - 23 January 1997
 * 7) Sticking Together - 28 January 1997
 * 8) The Wish Spell - 30 January 1997
 * 9) A Night Out - 4 February 1997
 * 10) Down Goes Top - 6 February 1997
 * 11) The Upside Down Spell - 11 February 1997
 * 12) The Wrong Cloak - 13 February 1997
 * 13) No Doughnut For Breakfast - 2 September 1997
 * 14) The Useful Spell - 4 September 1997
 * 15) The Mystery Box - 9 September 1997
 * 16) It’s Time For Rhyme Time - 11 September 1997
 * 17) The Helpful Spell - 16 September 1997
 * 18) Dream On - 18 September 1997
 * 19) A Promise Is A Promise - 23 September 1997
 * 20) Collecting Crows - 25 September 1997
 * 21) Welcome Back Tatty - 30 September 1997
 * 22) Friends - 2 October 1997
 * 23) The Old Switcheroo - 7 October 1997
 * 24) The Strange Spell - 9 October 1997
 * 25) The Mischievous Spell - 14 October 1997
 * 26) Tottie Bagel - 16 October 1997
 * 27) Wizadora Shrinks - 21 October 1997
 * 28) Temper Temper - 23 October 1997

Series 7 (1997-1998)

 * 1) Good Manners - 28 October 1997
 * 2) Arty Party - 30 October 1997
 * 3) Tiny Troubles - 4 November 1997
 * 4) We Should Be So Lucky - 6 November 1997
 * 5) The Magic Carpet - 11 November 1997
 * 6) Crow Tamer - 13 November 1997
 * 7) No More Miss Mice Wiz - 18 November 1997
 * 8) Who Is Important - 20 November 1997
 * 9) Plant Power - 25 November 1997
 * 10) The Talent Contest - 27 November 1997
 * 11) A Quick Snack - 2 December 1997
 * 12) GGG-Ghosts - 4 December 1997
 * 13) Sing Sing Sing - 11 December 1997
 * 14) Wizadora's Christmas Carol Part 1 – 16 December 1997
 * 15) Wizadora's Christmas Carol Part 2 – 18 December 1997
 * 16) The Frightful Creatures - 6 January 1998
 * 17) High Fliers - 8 January 1998
 * 18) A Right Pain - 13 January 1998
 * 19) No Place Like Home - 15 January 1998
 * 20) One Is Fun - 20 January 1998
 * 21) Future Shop - 22 January 1998
 * 22) If I Only Had A Heart - 27 January 1998
 * 23) Big Business - 29 January 1998
 * 24) A Barrel Of Trouble - 3 February 1998
 * 25) Good Food Bad Food - 5 February 1998
 * 26) Exciting Times - 10 February 1998
 * 27) Wizadora Disappears - 12 February 1998
 * 28) Tatty’s Birthday Surprise - 17 February 1998
 * 29) Double Trouble - 19 February 1998

Reception
One episode of Wizadora starring Lizzie Mcphee was broadcast on CITV on Saturday, 5 January 2013 (the show's 20th anniversary) as part of a CITV anniversary special. The Channel received its highest viewing figures to date: Wizadora attracted 460,000 followed by Danger Mouse, which attracted 578,000 viewers during the old skool weekend run. This was the first time the show has been broadcast in the UK since it was shown on Living TV in the early 2000s. As of June 2020, episodes from Series One are now showing on BritBox in the UK.

Home video and DVD
The earliest version of the show has been on DVD (Oxford Press). However, this is not the ITV version and is instead an educational package.

Video Collection International
Some VHS cassettes were released in the mid-1990s with episodes from series one and series three are on The Video Collection International, except for series three.
 * 1) Wizadora – The Magic Parcel (14 June 1993) Includes: The Magic Parcel, Time For Tidying, and Hello Filbert.
 * 2) Wizadora – A Colourful Day (26 July 1993) Includes: A Colourful Day, Lovely Weather and Picnic Problems.
 * 3) Wizadora – Mops and Bicycles (16 August 1993) Mops and Bicycles, Hangle In Charge and A Very Special Day.
 * 4) Wizadora – Wellingtons and Snails (1 August 1994) Wellingtons and Snails, The Purple Powder and Tea Time Troubles.
 * 5) My Little Wizadora – The Magic Parcel/Time For Tidying (1 April 1996)
 * 6) My Little Wizadora – Hello Filbert/A Colourful Day (1 July 1996)
 * 7) My Little Wizadora – Lovely Weather / Picnic Problems (7 October 1996)
 * 8) My Little Wizadora – Mops and Bicycles/Hangle In Charge (4 November 1996)

Astrion Video

 * 1) Wizadora – A Message from Max (3 April 1995) A Message From Max and five other stories
 * 2) Wizadora – Sneezeberries (3 April 1995) Sneezeberries and five other stories
 * 3) Wizadora – Too Big, Too Small (18 August 1995) Too Big, Too Small and five other stories
 * 4) ’’Wizadora - Sixes And Nines’’ (18 August 1995) Sixes and Nines and five other stories
 * 5) ’’Wizadora - Bubble Trouble’’ (18 August 1995) Bubble Trouble and five other stories

DVD releases

 * "Wizadora – Oxford DVD"
 * "Wizadora – A message From Max And Other Stories"
 * Wizadora – Series One, Volume One.

Revamp
In 2003, Entertainment Rights produced a 9-minute pilot for a proposed rebooted series for Channel 5's Milkshake! strand with Anne Foy as Wizadora. Although a new version of the original theme tune was used and the overall look of the set generally in keeping with the earlier version, characters were given varying makeovers, with none of the original models being used, and several new minor characters introduced. CGI and Chroma key effects featured heavily. The proposed new series was not picked up, reportedly due to it being considered too costly.

Although there are no plans for the ITV series to return, the Oxford series is still in production with episodes being repeated on SWR Television. The original Oxford series is still used today as a teaching tool for children to learn English as second language. The DVD, book, and audio tapes are still available to buy online, along with a PC-CD ROM. A free app was produced in 2016. A website was set up in 2015, though it is now defunct as of 2018. In 2016, the German SWR Television Educational Programmes set up a website featuring the series to foster use of Wizadora films and educational games in elementary schools in Germany. Free educational games based on the series have been developed since 2016 (apps for Android, iOS, and web-based for desktop computers) and are available on www.wizadora.de.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Wizadora


text:
Cloacal exstrophy

Cloacal exstrophy (CE) is a severe birth defect wherein much of the abdominal organs (the bladder and intestines) are exposed. It often causes the splitting of the bladder, genitalia, and the anus. It is sometimes called OEIS complex.

Diagnostic tests can include ultrasound, voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG), intravenous pyelogram (IVP), nuclear renogram, computerized axial tomography (CT scan), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cloacal exstrophy is a rare birth defect, present in 1/200,000 pregnancies and 1/400,000 live births. It is associated with a defect of the ventral body wall and can be caused by inhibited mesodermal migration. The defect can often be comorbid with spinal bifida and kidney abnormalities. Many individuals who are born with XY cloacal exstrophy are assigned female at birth due to the appearance of the external genitalia. Performing genital surgery on intersex infants for cosmetic purposes is considered a human rights violation by the World Health Organization.

Cloacal exstrophy males reassigned and raised as females
Between 1960 and 2000, doctors believed XY males with cloacal exstrophy would be happier socially as females, and surgically reassigned them. This occurred under the belief that humans were born psychosexually neutral. The practice proved controversial, after follow-ups by William Reiner found that many struggled to adhere to a female gender identity, had masculine interests, were attracted to females, or reverted to the male sex spontaneously or upon learning they were genetic males.

According to J. Michael Bailey: "Reiner thinks that all the cloacal cases born as boys would be happier as boys rather than girls, because their brains have been biologically prepared for the male role. He thinks that those who remain girls are at best missing out, and at worst are experiencing great inner torment. He thinks their parents should tell them and, essentially, let them choose their sex."In terms of their sexual orientations, a 2016 academic review by J. Michael Bailey found 7 published cases of boys reassigned female at birth and raised as girls, of which 5 were cloacal exstrophy cases. All were strongly attracted to females. According a 2015 article in The Boston Globe, Wiliam Reiner has followed up on the sexual orientations of approximately 70 genetic males who were raised as females. Only one reported having sexual attractions to males, "I’m more convinced than ever that sexual orientation is built in... certainly for males" he said. A 2023 review by Swift-Gallant et al. also cited two additional cases from media reports, both of whom were gynephilic.

Reiner's results have caused some doctors to reconsider the practice of sex reassigning genetic males. A 2011 study found that 79% of paediatric urologists surveyed favoured male assignment for genetic males with cloacal exstrophy.

Cases in the media

 * Joe Holliday. British cloacal exstrophy male who was raised female. Masculine interests and attracted to females. Found out born male at age 25, and reverted to male sex.
 * Sophie Ottaway. British cloacal exstrophy male raised as a female. Found out about birth sex at age 22. Retained female identity, although believes the reassignment was incorrect. Attracted to women.

title: Cloacal exstrophy


text:
Nathan Seiberg

Nathan "Nati" Seiberg (born September 22, 1956) is an Israeli American theoretical physicist who works on quantum field theory and string theory. He is currently a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, United States.

Honors and awards
He was recipient of a 1996 MacArthur Fellowship and the Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics in 1998. In July 2012, he was an inaugural awardee of the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the creation of physicist and internet entrepreneur, Yuri Milner. In 2016, he was awarded the Dirac Medal of the ICTP. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

Research
His contributions include:
 * Ian Affleck, Michael Dine, and Seiberg explored nonperturbative effects in supersymmetric field theories. This work demonstrated, for the first time, that nonperturbative effects in four-dimensional field theories do not respect the supersymmetry nonrenormalization theorems. This understanding led them to find four-dimensional models with dynamical supersymmetry breaking.
 * In a series of papers, Michael Dine and Seiberg explored various aspects of string theory. In particular, Dine, Ryan Rohm, Seiberg, and Edward Witten proposed a supersymmetry breaking mechanism based on gluino condensation, Dine, Seiberg, and Witten showed that terms similar to Fayet–Iliopoulos D-terms arise in string theory, and Dine, Seiberg, X. G. Wen, and Witten studied instantons on the string worldsheet.
 * Gregory Moore and Seiberg studied Rational Conformal Field Theories. In the course of doing it, they invented modular tensor categories and described many of their properties. They also explored the relation between Witten’s Topological Chern–Simons theory and the corresponding Rational Conformal Field Theory. This body of work was later used in mathematics and in the study of topological phases of matter.
 * In the 90’s, Seiberg realized the significance of holomorphy as the underlying reason for the perturbative supersymmetry nonrenormalization theorems and initiated a program to use it to find exact results in complicated field theories including several N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimension. These theories exhibit unexpected rich phenomena like confinement with and without chiral symmetry breaking and a new kind of electric-magnetic duality – Seiberg duality. Kenneth Intriligator and Seiberg studied many more models and summarized the subject in lecture notes. Later, Intriligator, Seiberg and David Shih used this understanding of the dynamics to present four-dimensional models with dynamical supersymmetry breaking in a metastable vacuum.
 * Seiberg and Witten studied the dynamics of four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric theories – Seiberg–Witten theory. They found exact expressions for several quantities of interest.  These shed new light on interesting phenomena like confinement, chiral symmetry breaking, and electric-magnetic duality. This insight was used by Witten to derive the Seiberg–Witten invariants. Later, Seiberg and Witten extended their work to the four-dimensional N=2 theory compactified to three dimensions.
 * Intriligator and Seiberg found a new kind of duality in three-dimensional N=4 supersymmetric theories, which is reminiscent of the well-known 2D mirror symmetry – 3D mirror symmetry.
 * In a series of papers with various collaborators, Seiberg studied many supersymmetric theories in three, four, five, and six dimensions. The three-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric theories and their dualities were shown to be related to the four-dimensional N=1 theories. And surprising five-dimensional theories with N=2 supersymmetries were discovered and analyzed.
 * As part of his work on the BFSS matrix model, Seiberg discovered little string theories. These are limits of string theory without gravity that are not local quantum field theories.
 * Seiberg and Witten identified a particular low-energy limit (Seiberg–Witten limit) of theories containing open strings in which the dynamics becomes that of noncommutative quantum field theory – a field theory on a non-commutative geometry. They also presented a map (Seiberg–Witten map) between standard gauge theories and gauge theories on a noncommutative space.  Shiraz Minwalla, Mark Van Raamsdonk and Seiberg uncovered a surprising mixing between short-distance and long-distance phenomena in these field theories on a noncommutative space.  Such mixing violates the standard picture of the renormalization group.  They referred to this phenomenon as UV/IR mixing.
 * Davide Gaiotto, Anton Kapustin, Seiberg, and Brian Willett introduced the notion of higher-form global symmetries and studied some of their properties and applications.

title: Nathan Seiberg


text:
Robert Irwin (artist)

Robert Walter Irwin (September 12, 1928 – October 25, 2023) was an American installation artist who explored perception and the conditional in art, often through site-specific, architectural interventions that alter the physical, sensory and temporal experience of space.

Irwin began his career as a painter in the 1950s, but in the 1960s shifted to installation work, becoming a pioneer whose work helped to define the aesthetics and conceptual issues of the West Coast Light and Space movement. His early works often employed light and veils of scrim to transform gallery and museum spaces, but from 1975 until his death, he also incorporated landscape projects into his practice. Irwin conceived over fifty-five site-specific projects, at institutions including the Getty Center (1992–98), Dia:Beacon (1999–2003), and the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas (2001–16). The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles mounted the first retrospective of his work in 1993; in 2008, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego presented another, spanning fifty years of his career. Irwin received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1976, a MacArthur Fellowship in March 1984, and was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2007. He lived and worked in San Diego, California.

Beginnings
Robert Walter Irwin was born on September 12, 1928, in Long Beach, California, to Robert Irwin and Goldie Anderberg Irwin. He grew up in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles, and graduated from Dorsey High School. After serving in the United States Army from 1946 to 1947, he attended several art institutes: Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles from 1948 to 1950, Jepson Art Institute in 1951, and Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles from 1952 to 1954. He spent the next two years living in Europe and North Africa. Between the years 1957–1958, he taught at the Chouinard Art Institute.

Work
In 1977, Robert Irwin wrote the following about himself: "I began as a painter in the middle of nowhere with few questions...My first real question concerned the arbitrariness of my paintings… I used my paintings as a step-by-step process, each new series of works acting in direct response to those questions raised by the previous series. I first questioned the mark as meaning and then even as focus; I then questioned the frame as containment, the edge as the beginning and end of what I see...consider the possibility that nothing ever really transcends its immediate environment...I tried to respond directly to the quality of each situation I was in, not to change it wholesale into a new or ideal environment, but to attend directly to the nature of how it already was. How is it that a space could ever come to be considered empty when it is filled with real and tactile events?" (Robert Irwin, 1977) Irwin's notion of art derived from a series of experiential perceptions. As an abstract, open-minded thinker, he presented experience first as perception or sense. He concluded that a sense of knowing, or ability to identify, helped to clarify perception. For example,

"We know the sky's blueness even before we know it as "blue", let alone as "sky."

Irwin explained later that the conception of an abstract thought occurs in the mind, through the concept of self. Following, the physical form is then recognized, communicating the form to the community. Then, the Objective compound occurs, delineating behavioral norms and artistic norms, becoming identifiable. Then the boundaries and axioms introduce logic and reasoning and decisions can be made: either inductive or deductive. Formalism follows, proving and convincing a decision about the object being perceived. The study done by Irwin suggested that: "…all ideas and values have their roots in experience,… they can be held separate at any point and developed directly on the grounds of function and use, both that they in fact remain relative to the condition of both our subjective and objective being." Irwin's philosophy defined his idea of art as a series of aesthetic inquiries, an opportunity for cultural innovation, a communicative interaction with society, and as compounded historical development.

In his book Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees, Lawrence Weschler documents Irwin's process from his early days as a youngster in Southern California to his emergence as a leader in the post-abstraction art world. Weschler describes the mystifying and often enchanting quality of these works in his book's cover notes:

 * "In May 1980, Robert Irwin returned to Market Street in Venice, California to the block where he had kept a studio until 1970, the year he abandoned studio work altogether. Melinda Wyatt was opening a gallery in the building next door to his former work space and invited Irwin to create an installation."

 * "He cleaned out the large rectangular room, adjusted the skylights, painted the walls an even white, and then knocked out the wall facing the street, replacing it with a sheer, semi-transparent white scrim. The room seemed to change its aspect with the passing day: people came and sat on the opposite curb, watching, sometimes for hours at time."

 * "The piece was up for two weeks in one of the more derelict beachfront neighborhoods of Los Angeles: no one so much as laid a hand on it."

Because of the ephemeral or subtle nature of his work, this book became not just an introduction but, for many artists and art students, the primary way that Irwin's work was experienced. He told Jori Finkel of the New York Times in 2007 that people still came up to him at lectures for book autographs. In that article, Michael Govan, the director of LACMA who had previously commissioned Irwin to "design our experience" of Dia:Beacon said he believes the book "has convinced more young people to become artists than the Velvet Underground has created rockers."

Painting
Irwin's early work began with painting. In 1959, he painted a series of hand-held objects and exhibited for the second time, as an individual exhibitor, at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. The following year, 1960, he was asked to exhibit there again as well as at the Pasadena Art Museum. By this time, he began a continuous series of experiments. In 1962, he began teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles and exhibited at the Ferus Gallery again. That year, he began his line paintings. He exhibited at the Ferus Gallery in 1964 and presented a different study, his dot paintings.

Between 1966 and 1967, he began painting aluminum discs. He was invited back as an individual exhibitor to The Pace Gallery in New York City. In 1968, he began teaching at the University of California, Irvine. For the next two years, he started his work with clear acrylic discs, white convex structures fixed to the wall and illuminated by lamps. In 1970, he began his work on "Columns", a series of clear acrylic columns. In 1972, he began his study on "sightlines" and "places" in the Southwest.

Light works
Irwin first used fluorescent light in the 1970s. His site-conditioned installation Excursus: Homage to the Square3, a meditation on the painter Josef Albers and his explorations of color relationships, was presented at Dia:Chelsea between 1998 and 2000. It consists of 18 small rooms, divided by walls of tautly stretched scrim; the light in each room, its value depending on the distance from the windows, is enhanced by four white-and-colored double fluorescent bulbs, each hung vertically at the center of each wall. In 2015, it was reinstalled at Dia:Beacon where it was on view through 2017. For a 2015 exhibition at Pace Gallery in New York City, Irwin installed rows of columnar lights, coating the different tubes with colored gels that alter the transmission of light.

His later exhibitions included: Unlights at Kayne Griffin in Los Angeles, January 9 – February 27, 2021 and Light and Space commissioned by Light Art Space (LAS) and displayed at Kraftwerk Berlin from December 5, 2021 to January 30, 2022. "'Irwin's new works are composed from unlit six-foot fluorescent lights mounted to fixtures and installed in vertical rows directly on the wall. The glass tubes are covered in layers of opulently colored translucent gels and thin strips of electrical tape, allowing the reflective surfaces of unlit glass and anodized aluminum to interact with ambient illumination in the surrounding space and produce shifting patterns of shadow and chromatic tonality. Reflecting his recent turn toward the perceptual possibilities of unlit bulbs, Irwin's new body of work expands the range of possibilities for how we experience sensations of rhythm, pulsation, expansion and intensity, while continuing the artist's long-standing interest in registering the immediacy of our own presence in space.'"

Installations
From 1968 Irwin focused on the site itself by creating installations in rooms, gardens, parks, museums, and various urban locales. Influenced, in particular, by the paintings of John McLaughlin, Irwin and other Light and Space artists became curious about pushing the boundaries of art and perception, in the 1970s Irwin left studio work to pursue installation art that dealt directly with light and space: the basis of visual perception, in both outdoor and modified interior sites. These installations allowed for an open exploration for artist and viewer of an altered experience created by manipulating the context of environment rather than remaining with the confines of an individual work of art. Other artists involved in the Light and Space movement include John McCracken, James Turrell, Peter Alexander, Larry Bell, Craig Kauffman, Doug Wheeler, and Maria Nordman.

In 1970, the Museum of Modern Art invited Irwin to create an installation. Using the entire project space, Irwin suspended a white scrim 10 feet from the ground and attached shimmering stainless steel wires to the wall. In 1971 the Walker Art Center commissioned the artist to create Untitled (Slant/Light/Volume) for the inaugural exhibition of its Edward Larrabee Barnes-designed building. Suspended between the floor and ceiling, his Full Room Skylight - Scrim V (1972/2022) comprises two sheets of translucent fabric stretched in a “V” shape across two connected galleries; from overhead, the fabric is illuminated by abundant natural light beaming through the skylights, both concealing and revealing the surrounding architecture depending on variables such as brightness, time of day, and the viewer's vantage point. For Soft Wall, a 1974 installation at Pace Gallery in New York City, Irwin simply cleaned and painted a rectangular gallery and hung a thin, translucent white theater scrim eighteen inches in front of one of the long walls, creating the effect of an empty room in which one wall seemed permanently out of focus.

A permanent wall installation in the entrance corridor of the Allen Memorial Art Museum, the dimensions of Untitled (1980) exactly repeat those of the deep-set windows just opposite. In the early 1980s, Irwin was invited to participate as a collaborating artist in designs for the rejuvenation and improvement of the Miami International Airport. In 1997 he transformed a room that overlooks the Pacific at the La Jolla branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. To celebrate its 125th anniversary, the Indianapolis Museum of Art commissioned Irwin to create Light and Space III (2008), thereby becoming the first U.S. museum to have a permanent indoor installation of the artist. For the piece, Irwin arranged fluorescent light bulbs in an irregular grid pattern across the walls surrounding the escalators, with a veil of scrim framing each side; as museum visitors go up and down between floors, they move through the piece. Trifecta (Joe's Bar & Grill), a three-story permanent light installation at Swiss Re's corporate headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was inaugurated in 2012.

In late 2013, a 33-foot-tall acrylic column by Irwin was unveiled at the San Diego Federal Courthouse, where the artist worked with his longtime friends and collaborators, architect Martin Poirer and landscape architect Andrew Spurlock, on the courthouse's outdoor plaza. The three-story-tall acrylic column, built decades ago but never given a proper home due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, refracts light and cast colors as the sun moves through the lobby. The fabrication of the columns and the technical issues related to the material, were all executed by Jack Brogan, a central character in the evolution of the techniques in the Light and Space Movement. The challenge and technique of polishing the columns to the required transparency was invented by Brogan and remains a high water mark in the field.

For the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Irwin created an outdoor installation of primal palm trees (Primal Palm Garden, 2008–2010) as well as an indoor 36-foot-long fluorescent light sculpture, Miracle Mile (2013), which glows behind them 24 hours a day.

After having been working and reworking his ideas to create a giant installation for the Chinati Foundation since the early 2000s, Irwin's installation in Marfa, Texas — a U-shape construction about 10,000 square feet — began in early 2015 and be completed and opened to the public in 2016. The installation, situated at the building that had housed the former Army barracks' hospital, will be the first major installation added to the Chinati Foundation since 2004 as well as the first freestanding structure designed by Irwin that is devoted solely to his work.

Other installations by Irwin included; Fractured Light – Partial Scrim – Eye Level at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1970–1971); Black Line Room Division + Extended Forms at the Whitney Museum, New York (1977); 48 Shadow Planes at the Old Post Office Pavilion, Washington, D.C. (1983); Ascending at the Musee d' Art Moderne de Ville, Paris, France (1994); and Double Diamond at the Musée d'Art Contemporain, Lyon, France (1997–1998).

Landscape projects
Irwin moved on to landscape projects after developing a stylistic move towards experiential space, projecting what he learned about line, color, and most of all, light onto the built environment. From 1975 forward, Irwin conceived of fifty-five site projects. 9 Spaces 9 Trees (1980–3) originally was commissioned in 1980 for the rooftop of the Public Safety Building by the Seattle Arts Commission; it was re-imagined in 2007 and situated on campus at the University of Washington. Irwin's Filigreed Line (1979) made for Wellesley College in Massachusetts, consists of a stainless steel line, running along a ridge of grass near a lake, in which a pattern of leaflike forms is cut. His 1983 work Two Running Violet V Forms, two crossing blue-violet, plastic coated wire fences fixed with high poles, is featured as part of the Stuart Collection of public artwork on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. For Sentinel Plaza (1990) in the Pasadena Civic Center District, Irwin chose small desert plants and cacti. He later consulted on the master plan for Dia:Beacon, creating, in particular, the design and landscaping of the outdoor spaces, and the entrance building and the window design.

Irwin later designed and developed the Central Garden at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, built in 1997. In the Central Garden, Irwin's concept of integrating experiential relationships to the built environment is abundantly clear. Those experiential elements fill the space. This project is widely praised for its design and flow. The 134000 sqft design features a natural ravine and tree-lined walkway that leads the visitor through an experience of sights, sounds, and scents. He selected everything in the garden to accentuate the interplay of light, color, and reflection. Planning began in 1992, as a key part of the Getty Center project. Since the Center opened in 1997, the Central Garden has evolved as its plants have grown. Irwin's statement, "Always changing, never twice the same," is carved into the plaza floor, reminding visitors of the ever-changing nature of this living work of art. To the artist's dismay, a 1950s Fernand Léger sculpture was placed on the garden's plaza.

Irwin later completed the second phase of the installation of a primordial Palm Garden at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art which began in 2007. The Palm Garden is arranged in a "T" shape with the east–west axis running between and around, both the Broad Contemporary Art Museum and the Resnick Pavilion. The north–south axis terminates with a grid of date palms serving as a counterpoint to artist Chris Burden's Urban Light installation. Irwin was long intrigued with how palm trees capture and reflect Southern California light; designing the Palm Garden provided Irwin with an opportunity to work with both the phenomenal and cultural perceptions of palms. Individual species of palms are planted in Cor-Ten boxes, modern and formalized versions of common wood nursery boxes. The sculptural containers make reference to the pedestal bases traditionally signifying art objects. Irwin's use of palm trees considers the ubiquitous and iconic connection between the palm tree and images of Los Angeles.

Exhibitions
Irwin first exhibited paintings at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1957. The exhibit was called "Artists of Los Angeles and Vicinity." The same year, he participated in the 57th Annual Exhibition of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. That same year, he had his first individual exhibition at the Felix Landau Gallery in Los Angeles.

In 1965, he participated in an exhibition called The Responsive Eye at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and at another called XIII in Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil. In 1966, he exhibited both as an individual and with Kenneth Price at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and as an individual exhibitor later at The Pace Gallery in New York City. In 1969, Irwin exhibited with Doug Wheeler at the Fort Worth Art Center in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1970, he first exhibited scrim "volumes" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. For the next five years, he exhibited individually at the following locations: the Pace Gallery in New York City, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Minuzo and Ace Galleries in Los Angeles, the Fogg Art Museum on the Harvard University Campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Fort Worth Art Center, and Palomar College in San Marcos, California. He participated in several joint exhibitions: "Transparency, Reflection, Light, Space: Four Artists" at the UCLA Art Gallery in Los Angeles and "Some Recent American Art" at the Museum of Modern Art exhibition for Australia. He also exhibited internationally: "Kompas IV" at Stedelijk Museum in Eindhoven, with other artists (Larry Bell and Doug Wheeler), at the Tate Gallery in London, and Documenta in Kassel in Germany.

In 1993, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles mounted the first comprehensive retrospective of Irwin's career; the exhibition later traveled to the Kölnischer Kunstverein, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. In 2008, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego presented another comprehensive retrospective spanning fifty years of Irwin's career.

Recognition
Irwin was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1984, making him the first artist to receive the five-year fellowship, which lasted until 1989. He was also the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (1976), the Chaloner award, the James D. Phelan award (1954), and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation medal in architecture awarded by the University of Virginia School of Architecture (2009). He held Honorary Doctorates from the San Francisco Art Institute (1978) and the Otis College of Art and Design (1992). Irwin was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2007. That same year he had a residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.

Collections
Irwin's work is held in more than 30 public collections worldwide, including the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; and the Dia Art Foundation, New York.

Personal life and death
Between 1999 and 2003 Irwin lived in Beacon, New York. Irwin died of heart failure in La Jolla, California, on October 25, 2023, at the age of 95.

title: Robert Irwin (artist)


text:
Kingdom Hospital

Kingdom Hospital (sometimes known as Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital) is a thirteen-episode television series based on Lars von Trier's The Kingdom, developed by horror writer Stephen King in 2004 for American television. While initially conceived as a miniseries, it was later changed into a regular television series (albeit one that lasted one season). It was first aired on ABC on March 3 and concluded on July 15, 2004 after being put on hold during NBA playoffs.

Kingdom Hospital has been compared to the paranormal hospital drama series All Souls, another production which had been inspired by Von Trier's The Kingdom.

Plot
The story tells of the fictional Kingdom Hospital located in Lewiston, Maine, built on the site of a mill that manufactured military uniforms during the American Civil War. Previously, a hospital known as the "Old Kingdom" had been built on the site, but it burned down. The current hospital is known as the "New Kingdom". The hospital's "turbulent" nature seems to reflect its ominous logo, a crimson stylized dagger, predicting what will come.

A psychic named Mrs. Druse has checked into the hospital numerous times and is taken by the staff to be a hypochondriac. She asks for the assistance of the cynical yet compassionate Dr. Hook to uncover the truth about the hospital and the mysterious spirits who haunt it – including a sinister teenage boy, a young girl who had died in the fire that burned the original hospital down, and a strange animal that follows and protects the young girl, who calls it Antubis (it is similar to a giant anteater, but whose long snout opens up to a set of jagged teeth).

Elsewhere, Peter Rickman, a painter who is admitted to the hospital following a road accident (with severe injuries to his skull and spine) begins to discover the ghastly goings-on while he lies comatose in room 426.

Other subplots included the initiation of arrogant chief of surgery Dr. Stegman into the secret society known as the 'Keepers', and the challenged-at-every-turn flirtation between young Dr. Elmer Traff and sleep doctor Dr. Lona Massingale.

The hospital staff

 * Andrew McCarthy as Dr. Hook, the handsome surgeon who has made it his life's work to destroy incompetence among doctors.
 * Bruce Davison as Dr. Stegman, the arrogant, egotistical neurosurgeon who is on the verge of being initiated into the secret society of Kingdom Hospital, despite his numerous malpractice suits. He is given to repetitive bragging of his "great career" in Boston, Massachusetts.
 * Meagen Fay as Dr. Brenda Abelson, Steg's only true friend in the hospital, an ambitious woman who would stop at nothing for what she wants.
 * Ed Begley Jr. as Dr. Jesse James, Kingdom Hospital's Chief of Staff and member of the 'Keepers' – the Secret Society, who spends his time initiating "Operation: Morning Air".
 * Jamie Harrold as Dr. Elmer Traff, a young surgeon whose father is an important man in the hospital. He is smitten with Dr. Massingale and pursues her romantically.
 * Sherry Miller as Dr. Lona Massingale, the enigmatic sleep doctor, and love interest of Elmer, despite her determination not to get involved with "a child".
 * Allison Hossack as Dr. Christine Draper, Kingdom Hospital's friendliest doctor, who has a romantic interest in Dr. Hook.
 * William Wise as Dr. Louis Traff, the leader of the Keepers, and also an important doctor at Kingdom Hospital; its longest serving member.
 * Lena Georgas as Nurse Carrie von Trier, Peter's nurse, who is afraid of blood.
 * Brandon Bauer as Abel Lyon, an orderly with Down syndrome, who sneaks around Kingdom Hospital with his friend Christa, being a trickster. Both he and Christa have an uncanny knack of knowing all the hospital's goings-on, including those of the otherworld.
 * Jennifer Cunningham as Christa Mendelson, Abel's partner-in-crime, who also has Down syndrome. Abel and Christa show a strange affinity for the hospital's mechanical workings.
 * Julian Richings as Otto, the all-purpose man of Kingdom, who regularly watches the security feeds. Otto is accompanied by Blondi, an intelligent German Shepherd Dog. Blondi has on several occasions shown self-consciousness and actual thought capabilities; as an in-joke, he thinks in a German accent. Blondi's name is a reference to Adolf Hitler's favorite German Shepherd Dog, also named Blondi.
 * Del Pentecost as Bobby Druse, Mrs. Druse's son, and an orderly at the hospital.

Patients, past and present

 * Diane Ladd as Sally Druse, a professed psychic, who regularly checks into Kingdom Hospital for all sorts of complaints, and who is determined to discover the truth lurking in the hospital's depths.
 * Jack Coleman as Peter Rickman, a comatose painter who is discovering the past and future of Kingdom Hospital. He has latent psychic abilities that are triggered after his near death experience and proceed to develop through the season allowing him to perceive ghosts and travel between the human and spirit world.
 * Suki Kaiser as Natalie Rickman, Peter's wife, determined not to believe in the phenomena plaguing Kingdom Hospital.
 * Jodelle Micah Ferland as Mary Jensen, the ghost of a girl murdered to cover up the arson of the mill in the 1860s; she is a symbol of death in Kingdom Hospital.
 * Kett Turton as Paul Morlock, Dr. Gottreich's young assistant, who haunts the hospital as a figure of evil.

Recurring cast

 * Ron Selmour as the firecracker man
 * Zak Santiago as Dr. Sonny Gupta
 * Beverley Elliott as Nurse Brick Bannerman
 * Christopher Heyerdahl as Reverend Jimmy Criss, a "miracle worker"
 * Antony Holland as Lenny Stillmach, an elderly patient
 * Michael Lerner as Sheldon Fleischer, a scheming attorney
 * Bill Meilen as Dr. Gottreich, a ghostly torture expert
 * Claudette Mink as Celeste Daldry, a reporter for Channel 9
 * Ty Olsson as Danny, an EMT
 * Gerard Plunkett as Dr. Richard Shwartzon, a seismologist
 * Paul Perri as Frank Schweigen, a vagrant who falls victim to Steg's incompetence and Elmer's pranks
 * Benjamin Ratner as Ollie, Danny's fellow EMT
 * Ryan Robbins as Dave Hoonan, Peter's hit and run driver
 * Alan Scarfe as Dr. Henry Havens
 * Jim Shield as Rolf Pedersen, a convict in the hospital
 * Emily Tennant as Mona Klingerman, a young girl with irreparable brain damage due to Steg's incompetence
 * Janet Wright as Nurse Liz Hinton
 * Kett Turton as Antubis, the giant anteater-like companion of the ghost of Mary Jensen. Near the end of the season, he reveals his true name is Anubis, but accepts Mary's mispronunciation of his name without any problems.

Guest stars
Charles Martin Smith, Wayne Newton, Lorena Gale (Battlestar Galactica), Bruce Harwood (The Lone Gunmen), Evangeline Lilly (Lost), Tygh Runyan (The L Word), Peter Wingfield (Highlander: The Series), Callum Keith Rennie (Due South), Christine Willes (Dead Like Me), William B. Davis (The X-Files), and Stephen King ("writer") all have guest appearances.

Production
King and producer Mark Carliner discovered the source material, the five-hour Danish television movie called Riget (Kingdom in English), while searching through a video store during the making of the 1997 TV miniseries adaptation of King's novel The Shining. They tried to buy the rights to the Danish original, only to learn that Columbia Pictures had acquired them and intended to make a theatrical movie. After five years, Columbia concluded the work could not be adapted in two-hour form and sold the rights in exchange for the rights to King's novella "Secret Window, Secret Garden" from the 1990 book Four Past Midnight.

This was the first time he had adapted someone else's work rather than his own from scratch. King kept most of the characters and dark humor in place, but added a new central character named Peter Rickman who was based on his own personal experience after being hit by a minivan. King described the finished product as "the thing I like best out of all the things I've done." The series is known for its tangential plots and characters who recur throughout, as King called it a "novelization for television". King committed to write the story line for the following year, should ABC decide to continue the series.

While written as a miniseries, many fans wanted it to be renewed for a second season, and Stephen King had a storyboard written out for one. After incredibly successful ratings for the first episode, the highest rating drama debut of the year on ABC, ratings plummeted thereafter. Despite being cancelled, the series did receive Emmy Award nominations for Special Visual Effects for a Series and Main Title Design.

Reception
The show received mixed reviews from critics. The New York Times review argued that the "plot unfolds disjointedly and without enough suspense." CNN felt the premiere was promising and the "jittery pacing and oddball sensibility" were reminiscent of Twin Peaks. The USA Today review stated that the show "does have a few frightening moments, but they don't compensate for the lackluster performances, the absence of character development, humor or pacing, or the wild fluctuations in tone."

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the series a 46% approval rating based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 5.90/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Stephen King may bring autobiographical flourishes to this remake of a Danish series, but the self-indulgent Kingdom Hospital lacks the horror maestro's penchant for good scares."

Broadcasters

 * Australia: Seven Network / Prime Television / Sci Fi Channel (Australia)
 * Argentina: SyFy Channel / Space
 * Belgium: VT4
 * Bolivia: Red ATB/Red PAT (2015)
 * Brazil: AXN
 * Canada: ABC
 * Chile: RED TV
 * Denmark: TV3
 * Finland: Nelonen
 * France: M6
 * Germany: Kabel 1
 * Greece: Mega Channel
 * Hong Kong: TVB Pearl
 * Hungary: AXN Sci Fi / RTL Klub
 * Honduras: SyFy Channel/AXN
 * Italy: Italia 1
 * Poland: TVP2 / AXN

Home video
The entire series was released on DVD. The DVD includes four short featurettes that cover the making of the miniseries:
 * Patients and Doctors: The Cast of Kingdom Hospital is a segment running approximately 14 minutes that takes a look at the 'whys' and 'wherefores' of the casting decisions.
 * Inside The Walls: The Making of Kingdom Hospital is a segment running a quarter of an hour that gives us a look at the thought process behind getting the actual miniseries made from its origins as Von Trier's original Danish production through King's 're-imagining' of that work.
 * Designing Kingdom Hospital: A Tour is a seven-minute piece on the set design.
 * The Magic of Antubis is an eight-minute look at the creation of the anteater with thoughts from the director and the chief effects supervisor.

In addition to the four featurettes, there is also a commentary track on the first episode with King, director Craig Baxley, producer Mark Carliner and visual effects supervisor James Tichenor.

title: Kingdom Hospital


text:
Dungeness

Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the hamlet of Dungeness, and an ecological site at the same location. It lies within the civil parish of Lydd.

Etymology
Dungeness's name means "the headland at Denge", referring to nearby Denge Marsh. The marsh is first mentioned in 774 as Dengemersc. Its name may mean "marsh of the pasture district", from Old English denn *gē mersc, or else "marsh with manured land", from Old English dyncge mersc.

Ecology
Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in Europe. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and bird life. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a national nature reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.

There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plants: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find invertebrates such as moths, bees, beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.

The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988 but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. After unsuccessful attempts to reintroduce the New Zealand bees at Dungeness in 2009–2010, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Hymettus, Natural England and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds teamed up with the Swedish government in a second attempt and introduced 51 of them in 2012 and 49 in 2013 to the Dungeness Reserve. This will be continued each year to ensure a successful integration.

The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird reserve there, and every year thousands of bird watchers visit the peninsula and its bird observatory.

One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as "the patch" or, by anglers, as "the boil". The waste hot water from the Dungeness nuclear power stations is pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.

Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognised cod fishing venue in the winter.

The Dungeness area will potentially be affected by plans to lengthen the runway of Lydd Airport to accommodate larger passenger jets.

It has previously been reported that Dungeness had such low rainfall as to qualify as the only desert in the UK. However, a spokesperson for the Met Office refuted this in 2015.

Climate
The climate in Dungeness is mild and generally warm and temperate. There is significant rainfall throughout the year. The average annual temperature is 10.8 °C. Precipitation averages 705 mm annually. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).

Lighthouses
There have been seven lighthouses at Dungeness, five high and two low, with the fifth high one still fully operational today. At first, only a beacon was used to warn sailors, but this was replaced by a wooden lighthouse in 1615 which was 35 ft tall. As the sea retreated, this had to be replaced in 1635 by a new lighthouse nearer to the water's edge known as Lamplough's Tower which was around 110 ft high.

As more shingle was thrown up, a new and more up-to-date lighthouse was built near the sea in 1792 by Samuel Wyatt. This lighthouse was 116 ft high and of the same design as the third Eddystone Lighthouse. From the mid-19th century, it was painted black with a white band to make it more visible in daylight; similar colours have featured on the subsequent lighthouses here. This lighthouse was demolished in 1904, but the lighthouse keepers' accommodation, built in a circle around the base of the tower, still exists.

In 1901 building of the fourth lighthouse, the High Light Tower, started. It was first lit on 31 March 1904 and still stands today. It is no longer in use as a lighthouse but is open as a visitor attraction. It is a circular brick structure, 150 ft high and 36 ft in diameter at ground level. It has 169 steps and gives visitors a good view of the shingle beach.

As the sea receded further, and after building the nuclear power station which obscured the light of the 1904 lighthouse, a fifth lighthouse, Dungeness Lighthouse was built.

Power stations

There are two nuclear power stations at Dungeness, identified as "A" and "B", the first built in 1965 and the second in 1983. They are within a wildlife sanctuary designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and birds flourish in the warmer water created by the station's outflow.

The older power station closed on 31 December 2006, while the current owner EDF Energy announced in June 2021 that the newer station would not resume operations, which had halted in September 2018, and would move into the defuelling phase with immediate effect.

There is a public visitors centre, and tours of "B" station are available. Tours were stopped in 2001, and the visitor centre subsequently closed in 2003, in the wake of the September 11 attacks. EDF opened a new visitor centre in 2013 and resumed tours, albeit with new security procedures which have to be cleared some weeks in advance of visits.

The hamlet
In addition to the power station and lighthouse, there is a collection of dwellings. Most are wooden weatherboard beach houses, but there are also around 30 houses converted from old railway coaches in the 1920s. These houses are owned and occupied by fishermen whose boats lie on the beach. Closer to the main road, there is a large building – comprising five conjoined homes – previously tenanted by coastguards. There are more houses around the site of the power stations. There are two public houses: the Britannia and the Pilot, the latter being served by the Pilot Inn railway station from 1928 to 1977. Fresh seafood can be purchased from several outlets across the shingle.

A notable house is Prospect Cottage, formerly owned by the late artist and film director Derek Jarman. The cottage is painted black, with a poem, part of John Donne's "The Sunne Rising", written on one side in black lettering. The garden, reflecting the bleak, windswept landscape of the peninsula, is made of pebbles, driftwood, scrap metal and a few hardy plants.

Transport
Dungeness is accessible by two roads, one along the coast from New Romney to the north, and another from Lydd to the north-west. Both roads converge near the Pilot public house, from where a single road runs a mile (1.6 km) south to the tip of Dungeness.

Dungeness is also served by the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, a gauge light railway that covers the 13.5 mi distance from Hythe. The line, which had opened to New Romney in 1927, was extended to Dungeness station a year later. It still provides a service for tourists.

The peninsula has a second, standard gauge railway, but this is now truncated adjacent to the Dungeness Road and only used to carry waste from the power stations. It formerly linked Dungeness (and, via a separate branch, New Romney) to a junction with the Marshlink Line at Appledore. The Dungeness section was closed to passengers on 4 July 1937 and it was truncated on 6 March 1967.

Lydd Airport, sometimes known as London Ashford Airport, lies just to the north-west of Dungeness. Despite opposition, largely due to its proximity to the unique landscape of Dungeness, the airport received permission in 2014 to extend its runway to allow it to handle fully loaded aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 737 or Airbus A319.

Defence uses
The beach and marshes have been used for military training and include marked "danger areas". In World War I Lydd Camp was here.

Denge, a former Royal Air Force site at the northern edge of the Dungeness headland, is the site of a set of acoustic mirrors, known as the "Listening Ears". Built between 1928 and 1930, the three massive concrete structures formed an experimental early warning system that aimed to detect invading aircraft by focusing sound waves. The site was chosen as being one of the quietest in Britain. Their different forms are evidence of their experimental nature; they were not particularly effective and were abandoned when radar became available. The site is now managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

In 1944, some of the world's first underwater oil pipelines were laid between Dungeness and France in Operation Pluto. The lines from Dungeness were part of a network called "Dumbo" and ran to Ambleteuse in France.

Dungeness Tudor ship
In 2022 the well-preserved remains of a 16th-century ship were found in Denge quarry at Dungeness.

Media appearances
Dungeness appears quite often in music videos, album covers and adverts. It featured on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1981 album A Collection of Great Dance Songs. British band The Soup Dragons shot the videos for their top 5 1990 hit '"I'm Free", and follow-up top 20 1991 hit "Mother Universe" on Dungeness; and there have also been several photo shoots by the band in the area.

The shingle beach and fishermen's shacks feature extensively in the Lighthouse Family promotional video for their 1998 song "High". The acoustic mirror at Dungeness is featured on the cover of the album Ether Song by the British indie band Turin Brakes. Dungeness appears on the covers of albums as diverse as So much for the city by The Thrills and Aled by Aled Jones. The Prodigy's single "Invaders Must Die" video was filmed here and shows both the acoustic mirrors and the lighthouse. In 2011, the music video for the song Walk the River by British band Guillemots was filmed on the headland. In 2012, Nicki Minaj's single Freedom was filmed on the beach and with the acoustic mirrors. The music video for Lithuanian DJ Ten Walls' hit single Walking With Elephants was shot on the headland and in the surrounding sea and featured many of the areas prominent landmarks. In 2016, The Wholls also filmed the music video for their single "X21". In 2020, the music video for Nothing But Thieves's single Impossible was partly filmed on the beach.

Athlete have a song on the album Vehicles and Animals called "Dungeness" which is about the area. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly mentions Dungeness and the lighthouse in his song "Lighthouse Keeper". The Kent-based hardcore punk band November Coming Fire released a 2006 album entitled Dungeness, featuring a track called "Powerstation" which included a recording of waves on the beach, and Scottish folk band Trembling Bells named their album Dungeness too.

In television, the Dungeness landscape, the lighthouse and the power station have been used on digital channel E4 at the beginning and end of advertising breaks. It was used as a backdrop for the ITV drama The Poison Tree. It featured in an episode of the BBC detective serial The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and in March 2007 was the setting for a major part of an EastEnders special. The BBC filmed episodes of Doctor Who in Dungeness during the 1970s. The 1981 fantasy film Time Bandits shot its "Time of Legends" sequence on the beach, and Dungeness was used to film a scene in Danny Boyle's Trance.

Much of the Michael Winterbottom's 1998 film I Want You was set in and around Dungeness: the lead character's home was one of the wooden beach huts. The Derek Jarman avant-garde 1990 film The Garden was set and filmed in Dungeness.

title: Dungeness


text:
Urbano Lugo

Rafael Urbano Lugo Colina (born August 12, 1962) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1985 through 1990. Listed at 6' 0" (1.83 m), 185 lb. (84 k), he batted and threw right handed.

Born in Punto Fijo, Falcón, Lugo was originally signed by the California Angels organization as a free agent in 1982. He entered the majors in 1985 with the Angels, pitching for them four years before joining the Montreal Expos (1989) and the Detroit Tigers (1990).

Lugo posted a 3-4 record and a 3.69 earned run average in 20 pitching appearances In his rookie season, including 10 starts and one complete game, striking out 42 and walking 29, while allowing 86 hits in 83.0 innings of work.

He pitched sparingly after that, bouncing up and down between the majors and minors for the rest of his career, including a four-year stint with the Charros de Jalisco (1991–1994), while managing the team in the 1994 season.

His father, of the same name, was a successful Minor League pitcher, having both pitched for the Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.

Both father and son as well as catcher Bo Díaz were part of an extremely unlikely event spanning thirteen years. On January 6, 1973, Díaz was behind the plate for the elder Lugo’s no-hitter, as the Caracas club defeated the Tiburones de La Guaira, 6–0. Thirteen years later, on January 24, 1986, Díaz caught Lugo Jr. as he threw his own no-hitter, in a 4–0 Caracas victory over La Guaira.

In 2009, Lugo gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as part of their sixth class.

title: Urbano Lugo


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title: File:Xylem Tube cover.jpg