title: WeChat

text: On August 24, 2022, WeChat iOS platform has received the official update 8.0.27. Now WeChat users can send a maximum of 99 pictures, whereas in the past, users could only send a maximum of 9 pictures to your friends in WeChat at once.


title: WeChat

text: WeChat Business () is one of the latest mobile social network business model after e-commerce, which utilizes business relationships and friendships to maintain a customer relationship. Comparing with the traditional E-business like JD.com and Alibaba, WeChat Business has a large range of influence and profits with less input and lower threshold, which attracts lots of people to join in WeChat business.


title: WeChat

text: This is the main profit mode of WeChat Business. The first one is to launch advertisements and provide services through the WeChat Official Account, which is a B2C mode. This mode has been used by many hospitals, banks, fashion brands, internet companies and personal blogs because the Official Account can access online payment, location sharing, voice messages, and mini-games. It is like a 'mini app', so the company has to hire specific staff to manage the account. By 2015, there were more than 100 million WeChat Official Accounts on this platform.


title: WeChat

text: WeChat salesperson in this mode is for promoting products by individuals, which belongs to C2C mode. In this mode, individual sellers post relevant photos and messages of their agent products on the WeChat Moments or WeChat groups and sell products to their WeChat friends. Besides, they develop friendships with their customers by sending messages in festivals or write comments under their updates on WeChat moments to increase their trust. Also, continuing to communicate with the regular customers raises the 'WOF' (word-of-mouth) communications, which influences decision-making. Some WeChat businessmen already have an online shop in Taobao, but use WeChat to maintain existing customers.


title: WeChat

text: As more and more people have joined WeChat Business, it has brought many problems. For example, some sellers have begun to sell counterfeit luxury goods such as bags, clothes and watches. Some sellers have disguised themselves as international flight attendants or overseas students to post fake stylish photos on WeChat Moments. They then claim that they can provide overseas purchasing services but sell counterfeit luxury goods at the same price as the authentic ones. Other popular products selling on WeChat are facial masks. The marketing mode is like that of Amway but most goods are unbranded products which come from illegal factories making excess hormones which could have serious effects on customers' health. However, it is difficult for customers to defend their rights because a large number of sellers' identities are uncertified. Additionally, the lack of any supervision mechanism in WeChat business also provides opportunities for criminals to continue this illegal behavior. In early 2022, WeChat suspended more than a dozen NFT (non-fungible token) public accounts to clean up crypto speculation and scalping. The crackdown on NFT-related content comes from domestic digital collectibles, which cannot be resold for profit.


title: WeChat

text: In a 2016 campaign, users could upload a paid photo on "Moments" and other users could pay to see the photo and comment on it. The photos were taken down each night.


title: WeChat

text: In 2014, Burberry partnered with WeChat to create its own WeChat apps around its fall 2014 runway show, giving users live streams from the shows. Another brand, Michael Kors used WeChat to give live updates from their runway show, and later to run a photo contest "Chic Together WeChat campaign".


title: WeChat

text: In 2016, L'Oréal China cooperated with Papi Jiang to promote their products. Over one million people watched her first video promoting L'Oreal's beauty brand MG.


title: WeChat

text: In 2016, WeChat partnered with 60 Italian companies (WeChat had an office in Milan) who were able to sell their products and services on the Chinese market without having to get a license to operate a business in China. In 2017, Andrea Ghizzoni, European director of Tencent, said that 95 percent of global luxury brands used WeChat.


title: WeChat

text: WeChat's mobile phone app is available only to Android and iOS. BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and Symbian phones were supported before. However, as of 22 September 2017, WeChat was no longer working on Windows Phones. The company ceased the development of the app for Windows Phones before the end of 2017. Although Web-based OS X and Windows clients exist, this requires the user to have the app installed on a supported mobile phone for authentication, and neither message roaming nor 'Moments' are provided. Thus, without the app on a supported phone, it is not possible to use the web-based WeChat clients on the computer.


title: WeChat

text: The company also provides WeChat for Web, a web-based client with messaging and file transfer capabilities. Other functions cannot be used on it, such as the detection of nearby people, or interacting with Moments or Official Accounts. To use the Web-based client, it is necessary to first scan a QR code using the phone app. This means it is not possible to access the WeChat network if a user does not possess a suitable smartphone with the app installed.


title: WeChat

text: WeChat could be accessed on Windows using BlueStacks until December 2014. After that, WeChat blocked Android emulators and accounts that have signed in from emulators may be frozen.


title: WeChat

text: There have been some reported issues with the Web client. Specifically when using English, some users have experienced autocorrect, autocomplete, auto-capitalization, and auto-delete behavior as they type messages and even after the message was sent. For example, "gonna" was autocorrected to "go", the E's were auto-deleted in "need", "wechat" was auto-capitalized to "Wechat" but not "WeChat", and after the message was sent, "don't" got auto-corrected to "do not". However, the auto-corrected word(s) after the message was sent appeared on the phone app as the user had originally typed it ("don't" was seen on the phone app whereas "do not" was seen on the Web client). Users could translate a foreign language during a conversation and the words were posted on Moments.


title: WeChat

text: WeChat operates from China under Chinese law, which includes strong censorship provisions and interception protocols. Its parent company is obliged to share data with the Chinese government under the China Internet Security Law and National Intelligence Law. WeChat can access and expose the text messages, contact books, and location histories of its users. Due to WeChat's popularity, the Chinese government uses WeChat as a data source to conduct mass surveillance in China.


title: WeChat

text: Some states and regions such as India, Australia the United States, and Taiwan fear that the app poses a threat to national or regional security for various reasons. In June 2013, the Indian Intelligence Bureau flagged WeChat for security concerns. India has debated whether or not they should ban WeChat for the possibility that too much personal information and data could be collected from its users. In Taiwan, legislators were concerned that the potential exposure of private communications was a threat to regional security.


title: WeChat

text: In 2016, Tencent was awarded a score of zero out of 100 in an Amnesty International report ranking technology companies on the way they implement encryption to protect the human rights of their users. The report placed Tencent last out of a total of 11 companies, including Facebook, Apple, and Google, for the lack of privacy protections built into WeChat and QQ. The report found that Tencent did not make use of end-to-end encryption, which is a system that allows only the communicating users to read the messages. It also found that Tencent did not recognize online threats to human rights, did not disclose government requests for data, and did not publish specific data about its use of encryption.


title: WeChat

text: A September 2017 update to the platform's privacy policy detailed that log data collected by WeChat included search terms, profiles visited, and content that had been viewed within the app. Additionally, metadata related to the communications between WeChat users—including call times, duration, and location information—was also collected. This information, which was used by Tencent for targeted advertising and marketing purposes, might be disclosed to representatives of the Chinese government:


title: WeChat

text: In May 2020, Citizen Lab published a study which claimed that WeChat monitors foreign chats to hone its censorship algorithms.


title: WeChat

text: On August 14, 2020, Radio Free Asia reported that in 2019, Gao Zhigang, a citizen of Taiyuan city, Shanxi Province, China, used WeChat to forward a video to his friend Geng Guanjun in USA. Gao was later convicted on the charge of the crime “picking quarrels and provoking troubles”, and sentenced to ten-months imprisonment. The Court documents show that China's network management and propaganda departments directly monitor WeChat users, and the Chinese police used big data facial technology to identify Geng Guanjun as an overseas democracy activist.


title: WeChat

text: In September 2020, Chevron Corporation mandated that its employees delete WeChat from company-issued phones.


title: WeChat

text: Users inside and outside of China also have expressed concern for the privacy issues of the app. Human rights activist Hu Jia was jailed for three years for sedition. He speculated that the officials of the Internal Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security listened to his voicemail messages that were directed to his friends, repeating the words displayed within the voice mail messages to Hu Jia. Chinese authorities have further accused the WeChat app of threatening individual safety. China Central Television (CCTV), a state-run broadcaster, featured a piece in which WeChat was described as an app that helped criminals due to its location-reporting features. CCTV gave an example of such accusations through reporting the murder of a single woman who, after he attempted to rob her, was murdered by a man she met on WeChat. The location-reporting feature, according to reports, was the reason for the man knowing the victim's whereabouts. Authorities within China have linked WeChat to numerous crimes. The city of Hangzhou, for example, reported over twenty crimes related to WeChat in the span of three months.


title: WeChat

text: In 2015, Apple published a list of the top 25 most popular apps infected with the XcodeGhost malware, confirming earlier reports that version 6.2.5 of WeChat for iOS was infected with it. The malware originated in a counterfeit version of Xcode (dubbed "XcodeGhost"), Apple's software development tools, and made its way into the compiled app through a modified framework. Despite Apple's review process, WeChat and other infected apps were approved and distributed through the App Store. Even though some sources claimed that the malware was capable of prompting the user for their account credentials, opening URLs and reading the device's clipboard, Apple responded that the malware was not capable of doing "anything malicious" or transmitting any personally identifiable information beyond "apps and general system information" and that it had no information that suggested that this had happened. Some commentators considered this to be the largest security breach in the App Store's history.


title: WeChat

text: In June 2020, the Government of India banned WeChat along with 58 other Chinese apps citing data and privacy issues, in response to a border clash between India and China earlier in the year. The banned Chinese apps were "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India," and was "hostile to national security and defense of India", claimed India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.


title: WeChat

text: On 6 May 2017, Russia blocked access to WeChat for failing to give its contact details to the Russian communications watchdog. The ban was swiftly lifted on 11 May 2017 after Tencent provided "relevant information" for registration to the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor).


title: WeChat

text: On August 6, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order, invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, seeking to ban WeChat in the U.S. in 45 days, due to its connections with the Chinese-owned Tencent. This was signed alongside a similar executive order targeting TikTok and its Chinese-owned ByteDance.


title: WeChat

text: The Department of Commerce issued orders on September 18, 2020, to enact the ban on WeChat and TikTok by the end of September 20, 2020, citing national security and data privacy concerns. The measures ban the transferring of funds or processing through WeChat in the U.S. and bar any company from offering hosting, content delivery networks or internet transit to WeChat.


title: WeChat

text: Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Commerce order on both TikTok and WeChat on September 20, 2020, based on respective lawsuits filed by TikTok and US WeChat Users Alliance, citing the merits of the plaintiffs' First Amendment claims. The Justice Department had previously asked Beeler to not block the order to ban the apps saying it would undermine the presidents ability to deal with threats to national security. In her ruling, Beeler said that while the government had established that Chinese government activities raised significant national security concerns, it showed little evidence that the WeChat ban would address those concerns.


title: WeChat

text: On June 9, 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order revoking the ban on WeChat and TikTok. Instead, he directed the commerce secretary to investigate foreign influence enacted through the apps.


title: WeChat

text: In 2022, the Office of the United States Trade Representative added WeChat's ecommerce ecosystem to its list of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy.


title: WeChat

text: Starting in 2013, reports arose that Chinese-language searches even outside China were being keyword filtered and then blocked. This occurred on incoming traffic to China from foreign countries but also exclusively between foreign parties (the service had already censored its communications within China). In the international example of blocking, a message was displayed on users' screens: "The message "" your message contains restricted words. Please check it again." These are the Chinese characters for a Guangzhou-based paper called "Southern Weekly" (or, alternatively, "Southern Weekend"). The next day Tencent released a statement addressing the issue saying "A small number of WeChat international users were not able to send certain messages due to a technical glitch this Thursday. Immediate actions have been taken to rectify it. We apologize for any inconvenience it has caused to our users. We will continue to improve the product features and technological support to provide a better user experience." WeChat planned to build two different platforms to avoid this problem in the future; one for the Chinese mainland and one for the rest of the world. The problem existed because WeChat's servers were all located in China and thus subjected to its censorship rules.


title: WeChat

text: Following the overwhelming victory of pro-democracy candidates in the 2019 Hong Kong local elections WeChat censored messages related to the election and disabled the accounts of posters in other countries such as U.S. and Canada. Many of those targeted were of Chinese ancestry.


title: WeChat

text: In December 2020 WeChat blocked a post by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a diplomatic spat between Australia and China. In his WeChat post Morrison had criticized a doctored image posted by a Chinese diplomat and praised the Chinese-Australian community. According to Reuters the company claimed to have blocked the post for "violated regulations, including distorting historical events and confusing the public."


title: WeChat

text: In 2016, the Citizen Lab published a report saying that WeChat was using different censorship policies in mainland China and other areas. They found that:


title: WeChat

text: In 2014, WeChat announced that according to "related regulations", domains of the web pages that want to get shared in WeChat Moments need to get an Internet Content Provider (ICP) license by 31 December 2014 to avoid being restricted by WeChat.


title: WeChat

text: In September 2013, WeChat was blocked in Iran. The Iranian authorities cited WeChat Nearby (Friend Radar) and the spread of pornographic content as the reason of censorship.


title: WeChat

text: The Committee for Determining Instances of Criminal Content (a working group under the supervision of the attorney general) website FAQ says:


title: WeChat

text: Because WeChat collects phone data and monitors member activity and because app developers are outside of the country and not cooperating, this software has been blocked, so you can use domestic applications for cheap voice calls, video calls and messaging.


title: WeChat

text: On July 6, 2021, several WeChat accounts associated with China's university campuses LGBTQ movement were blocked and then deleted without warning, the official media said they had no knowledge of this. Some of the accounts, which consisted of a mix of registered student clubs and unofficial grassroots groups had operated for years as safe spaces for China's LGBTQ youth, with tens of thousands of followers. Many of the closed WeChat accounts display messages saying that they had "violated" Internet regulations, without giving further details, with account names being deleted and replaced with "unnamed", with a notice claiming that all content was blocked and accounts were suspended after receiving relevant complaints. The U.S. State Department expressed concern that the accounts were deleted when they were merely expressing their views, exercising their right to freedom of expression and freedom of speech. Several groups that had their accounts deleted spoke out against the ban with one stating "[W]e hope to use this opportunity to start again with a continued focus on gender and society, and to embrace courage and love".


title: Stephen Strange (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Stephen Strange is a fictional character portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise—based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name—commonly known by his academic title and alias—Doctor Strange. Initially depicted as a brilliant but arrogant neurosurgeon, Strange experiences a career-ending car accident and in his search to repair his damaged hands, he discovers magic from Kamar-Taj. He becomes a Master of the Mystic Arts, using his newfound powers to protect the Earth from various threats. In the process, he allies with the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy to combat Thanos, before allowing Thanos to initiate the Blip, himself among its victims, to ensure their ultimate victory five years later upon being restored to life. On his return, Strange remains the appointed Guardian of the New York Sanctum, but finds that Wong has become Sorcerer Supreme, a position Strange himself was in the process of inheriting from the Ancient One prior to being Blipped. Strange later faces several problems from the newly-established multiverse, including a rift between realities created by an interrupted attempt to erase everyone's knowledge of Peter Parker's secret identity as Spider-Man; and a "Darkhold"-corrupted Wanda Maximoff, whom he must stop from acquiring America Chavez's ability to traverse the multiverse for her own goals.


text: As of 2022, the character is one of the central figures of the MCU, having appeared in six films. Cumberbatch has received acclaim for his performance as Strange and was nominated for several awards.


text: Alternate versions of Strange from the multiverse appear in the animated series "What If...?" (2021) and the film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (2022). A notable version in "What If...?" is Doctor Strange Supreme, who accidentally destroys his universe in his efforts to resurrect his version of Christine Palmer, and later co-founds the Guardians of the Multiverse with the Watcher to defeat an alternate version of Ultron.


text: The character of Doctor Strange was originally created in the 1960s. Artist Steve Ditko and writer Stan Lee have described the character as having been originally the idea of Ditko, who wrote in 2008, "On my own, I brought in to Lee a five-page, penciled story with a page/panel script of my idea of a new, different kind of character for variety in Marvel Comics. My character wound up being named Dr. Strange because he would appear in "Strange Tales"." In a 1963 letter to Jerry Bails, Lee wrote:


text: Following a 1978 film adaptation also titled "Dr. Strange", various incarnations of a Doctor Strange film adaptation had been in development since the mid-1980s, until Paramount Pictures acquired the film rights in April 2005 on behalf of Marvel Studios. In the mid-2000s, Kevin Feige had realized that Marvel still owned the rights to the core characters of the "Avengers", which included Strange. Feige, a self-professed "fanboy", envisioned creating a shared universe just as creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had done with their comic books in the early 1960s. In 2004, David Maisel was hired as chief operating officer of Marvel Studios as he had a plan for the studio to self-finance movies. Marvel entered into a non-recourse debt structure with Merrill Lynch, under which Marvel got $525 million to make a maximum of 10 movies based on the company's properties over eight years, collateralized by certain movie rights to a total of 10 characters, including Doctor Strange. Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer were brought on board in June 2010 to write a screenplay. In June 2014, Derrickson was hired to direct and re-write the film with Spaihts. Cumberbatch was chosen for the eponymous role in December 2014, necessitating a schedule change to work around his other commitments. This gave Derrickson time to work on the script himself, for which he brought Cargill on to help. The film began principal photography in November 2015 in Nepal, before moving to the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, and concluding in New York City in April 2016.


text: In his first feature-length appearance in the MCU, Dr. Strange is a neurosurgeon who, after a car crash that led to a journey of healing, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions. Cumberbatch described Strange as arrogant, with the film "about him going from a place where he thinks he knows it all to realizing he knows nothing." He compared the character to the version of Sherlock Holmes that he portrays in "Sherlock", calling both characters "intelligent" and having "smatterings of the same colors". The film's mysticism resonated with Cumberbatch, for whom spirituality has been important since he spent his gap year teaching English at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Darjeeling, India. Strange's abilities in the film include casting spells with "tongue-twisty fun names", creating mandalas of light for shields and weapons, and creating portals for quick travel around the world. Strange is also aided by a Cloak of Levitation for flight, and the Eye of Agamotto, a relic containing an Infinity Stone that can manipulate time. Cumberbatch took great care in defining the physical movements and gestures for the spells, knowing that they would be noted and studied by fans. He described these gestures as "balletic" and "very dynamic", and received help with finger-tutting movements from dancer JayFunk.


text: Later, Strange has become a Master of the Mystic Arts. Markus and McFeely described Strange in "Infinity War" as "[ending] up being the reasonable adult in the room" with the "widest perspective available". Aaron Lazar served as Cumberbatch's stand-in until the latter completed filming on "The Current War" (2017). At that point, Cumberbatch re-shot scenes where his face needed to be seen. Julian "JayFunk" Daniels once again assisted Cumberbatch with his finger-tutting movements.


text: In "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness", writer Michael Waldron compared Strange to Indiana Jones as a hero who can "take a punch", but with the intellect of chef Anthony Bourdain, and added that he is a "great adventure hero you just like to watch kick ass". Waldron hoped to explore what effect the events Strange has gone through in his previous MCU appearances would have on him. Cumberbatch also portrays three alternate versions of the character: a seemingly heroic incarnation based on the version of the character from the 2011 "Defenders" comic book series; the former Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-838 who founded the Illuminati; and a version who has been corrupted by the "Darkhold".


text: Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Stephen Strange in the films "Doctor Strange" (2016), "" (2017), "" (2018), "" (2019), "" (2021), and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (2022), where he also plays three alternate versions of the character.


text: Cumberbatch voices an alternate version of Strange called Doctor Strange Supreme in three episodes of the Disney+ series "What If...?" (2021): "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?", "What If... Ultron Won?", and "What If... the Watcher Broke His Oath?", as well as a zombie Strange in "What If... Zombies?!". An alternate version of the character will appear in the Disney+ series "" (2024).


text: As a child, Stephen Strange plays on a frozen pond with his sister, Donna, who falls through the ice and drowns, causing Strange to lament his inability to save her. He becomes a doctor, and through years of study and practice, hones his skills to a high level.


text: In 2016, Strange is a wealthy, acclaimed but arrogant neurosurgeon, who severely injures his hands in a car crash while en route to a dinner, leaving him unable to operate. Fellow surgeon and former lover Christine Palmer tries to help him move on, but Strange ignores her attempts and vainly pursues experimental surgeries to heal his hands, at the cost of his wealth. Strange learns about Jonathan Pangborn, a paraplegic, who he had refused to treat earlier due to perceiving him having little chance of recovery but had mysteriously regained use of his legs. Pangborn directs Strange to Kamar-Taj, where he is rescued from a band of thieves attempting to steal an expensive watch of his and taken in by Mordo, a sorcerer under the Ancient One.


text: The Ancient One demonstrates her power to Strange, revealing the astral plane and other dimensions such as the Mirror Dimension. She reluctantly agrees to train Strange, whose arrogance and ambition remind her of renegade sorcerer Kaecilius, who had recently stolen pages out of a vital book from the Kamar-Taj library. Strange studies under the Ancient One and Mordo, and from ancient books in the library that is now guarded by Master Wong. Strange learns that Earth is protected from threats from other dimensions by a shield generated from three buildings called Sanctums, in New York City, London, and Hong Kong, which are all connected and accessible from Kamar-Taj. Strange uses his impressive memory and progresses quickly, secretly reading the text from which Kaecilius stole pages, learning to bend time with the mystical Eye of Agamotto. Mordo and Wong catch Strange in the act and warn him against breaking the laws of nature, drawing a comparison to Kaecilius' desire for eternal life. After Kaecilius uses the stolen pages to contact Dormammu of the Dark Dimension and leads an attack on the New York Sanctum, killing its guardian, Strange holds off the attackers with the help of the Cloak of Levitation until Mordo and the Ancient One arrive. Mordo becomes disillusioned with the Ancient One after Strange reveals that the Ancient One has been drawing power from the Dark Dimension to sustain her long life. Kaecilius later mortally wounds the Ancient One and escapes to Hong Kong. Before dying, she tells Strange that he too will have to bend the rules to complement Mordo's steadfast nature to defeat Kaecilius, in addition to making him choose between healing like Pangborn or serving protecting the Earth. Strange and Mordo arrive in Hong Kong to find Wong dead, the Sanctum destroyed, and the Dark Dimension engulfing Earth. Strange uses the Eye to reverse time and save Wong, then enters the Dark Dimension and creates a time loop around himself and Dormammu. After repeatedly killing Strange to no avail, Dormammu finally gives in to Strange's demand that he leave Earth and take Kaecilius and his zealots with him in return for Strange breaking the loop. Strange returns the Eye to Kamar-Taj, and takes up residence in the New York Sanctum to continue his studies and keeps a watchlist of various threats to Earth.


text: In 2017, when Thor and Loki arrive in New York, Strange traps Loki in a portal and invites Thor to the New York Sanctum, where he questions his motives for bringing Loki to Earth. Thor explains they are searching for their father, so Strange locates Odin, releases Loki, and sends the two into a portal to Norway.


text: In 2018, Strange and Wong are talking in the New York Sanctum when Bruce Banner crash-lands through the roof. He informs Strange and Wong of the imminent threat of Thanos. In response, Strange recruits Tony Stark to help. Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian, members of the Children of Thanos, arrive to retrieve the Time Stone kept by Strange in the Eye of Agamotto, and end up drawing the attention of Peter Parker, who arrives to help. Maw captures Strange, but fails to take the Time Stone due to an enchantment, so he takes him to his spaceship to be tortured until he breaks the spell. However, Stark and Parker infiltrate the ship, kill Maw, and rescue Strange. Landing on the planet Titan, where Maw is supposed to meet with Thanos, the trio meet Peter Quill, Drax the Destroyer, and Mantis and together form a plan to combat Thanos once he arrives. While waiting for him, Strange uses the Time Stone to view millions of possible futures, seeing only one in which Thanos loses. The group, along with Nebula, fight Thanos and are nearly successful in removing his Infinity Gauntlet with the Infinity Stones, until an enraged Quill unintentionally breaks their hold on him. After a brief duel with Thanos, Strange is defeated while Stark is severely wounded, but is spared when Strange surrenders the Time Stone. Once the Blip occurs, Strange tells Stark there was no other way and disintegrates.


text: In 2023, Strange is restored to life and he along with Wong and the other Masters of the Mystic Arts transport Parker, the restored Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Wakandans, the Asgardians, and the Ravagers via portals to the destroyed Avengers Compound to join the final battle against an alternate Thanos and his army. During the battle, Strange keeps the battlefield from being flooded by the lake and hints to Stark that this is the one future in which they win. After Stark sacrifices himself to defeat alternate Thanos, Strange attends his funeral.


text: In 2024, Wong has assumed the title of Sorcerer Supreme, much to Strange's disappointment, as he believes that he was set to obtain the position before the Blip. After Parker's identity as Spider-Man is exposed to the world by Quentin Beck, Parker visits and enlists the help of Strange in casting the spell called the Runes of Kof-Kol to make the world forget he is Spider-Man, to which he agrees despite Wong's warnings of the spell's danger. The spell backfires when Parker inadvertently distracts Strange by talking while he is performing it and changing the parameters multiple times, tampering with and breaking open the multiverse, causing people from other realities who know that Parker is Spider-Man to enter Strange's universe, including two alternate versions of Parker (one from "The Amazing Spider-Man" film series, and the other from the Sam Raimi film series), as well as their adversaries Otto Octavius, Norman Osborn, Flint Marko, Curt Connors and Max Dillon and unbeknownst to both Strange and Parker Eddie Brock and his symbiote companion Venom. After tasking Parker and his friends to retrieve the visitors, an annoyed and weary Strange attempts to send the villains back to their home universes using a relic: The Macchina de Kadavus, but after learning that some of them will die once they return and intending to cure them before sending them back, Parker steals Strange's spell-containing relic and Strange pursues him into the Mirror Dimension where they briefly duel. Strange becomes trapped in the Mirror Dimension for twelve hours when he is caught off guard and Parker steals his sling ring. He is later inadvertently released by Parker's friend Ned Leeds (who had Strange's sling ring with him) and witnesses Parker and his alternate versions curing the villains. Strange's relic is destroyed by Osborn, resulting in the multiverse continuing to break open. Parker tells Strange to reattempt the spell, this time having the world forget about his existence altogether instead. Strange, although initially reluctant and warning Parker of the cost, agrees and casts the spell, resulting in the alternate Parkers, their villains, Brock and Venom returning to their home universes while everyone from Strange's universe forgets Parker including himself (but still remember Spider-Man as a hero).


text: Sometime later, as Strange attends Christine Palmer's wedding, where he apologizes to her for his past conduct, an invisible creature suddenly attacks the city and is confronted by Strange, who reveals the creature as an interdimensional octopus-like being, Gargantos. When Strange is overpowered, Wong joins the fight and the two eventually kill it while saving a girl, who introduces herself as America Chavez. Chavez explains she can travel through the multiverse and that other creatures are after her power including a Stephen Strange from another universe. Chavez takes Strange and Wong to Strange's body and Strange deduces that he was attacked with witchcraft.


text: Strange meets with Wanda Maximoff, not realizing that she has already been taken over by the " Darkhold" and converted into the Scarlet Witch. After Strange tells Maximoff about Chavez, she intends on using Chavez to take her power to be with alternate real versions of her children Billy and Tommy that she created during her time in Westview. Strange attempts to reason with her that they are not real but refuses to give her to Maximoff, who attacks Kamar-Taj, killing many sorcerers. During the attack, Chavez's powers are triggered and she and Strange escape in a portal, while Wong is imprisoned by Maximoff. Maximoff begins to conduct a "Darkhold" spell known as "dream walking", to find a version of herself with Billy and Tommy across the multiverse and take over her body, but after a sorceress sacrifice to destroy the "Darkhold" and break the dream-walk, she forces Wong to lead her to Mount Wundagore, the source of the "Darkhold"'s power and the location of a shrine to the Scarlet Witch, allowing her to reestablish the dream-walk with her Earth-838 self.


text: Strange and Chavez end up in an alternate universe, designated as "Earth-838", where they are arrested by this universe's Mordo. Strange meets this universe's Palmer who designates his Earth as "Earth-616". Mordo takes Strange to the Illuminati, consisting of Mordo himself, Captain Peggy Carter, King Blackagar Boltagon, Captain Maria Rambeau, Dr. Reed Richards, and Professor Charles Xavier. They explain how their Strange's reckless use of their universe's "Darkhold" to defeat their Thanos trigged an "incursion", destroying another universe, which led the Illuminati to kill him, making Mordo the new Sorcerer Supreme and taking Strange's vacant spot on the Illuminati. The Illuminati then claim that Strange-616 is also dangerous and refuse to believe his warnings about Scarlet Witch. Wanda-616 dream walks into Wanda-838 to capture Chavez and attacks the Illuminati headquarters, killing all of them except for Mordo, who is defeated by Strange. Strange, Chavez, and Palmer escape to the space between universes where they go after the Book of Vishanti, which they intend to use to defeat the Scarlet Witch. Maximoff appears and takes over Chavez's mind, using her powers to send Strange and Palmer to another universe. On Earth-616, Maximoff begins the spell to take Chavez's powers.


text: Strange and Palmer enter an incursion-destroyed universe where Strange meets yet another Strange, who was corrupted by the "Darkhold". Strange kills this universe's Strange and takes his "Darkhold" to dream walk into Defender Strange's deceased body and go after Maximoff. With help from Wong and Chavez, who managed to gain control over her powers, they transport Maximoff back to "Earth-838" and that universe's Maximoff household, where she is freed from the "Darkhold"'s control by frightening that universe's Billy and Tommy in front of their mother. Realizing what she has done, Maximoff destroys the "Darkhold" in all the universes, apparently sacrificing herself to do so by using her powers to bring down Mount Wundagore. Strange, Chavez, and Wong return to Earth-616 as Palmer-838 returns to her home. Chavez begins training at Kamar-Taj. In the aftermath, Strange develops a third eye and is approached by a sorceress who invites him to avert an incursion in the Dark Dimension.


text: Several alternate versions of Strange appear in the animated series "What If...?" and the film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness", all played by Cumberbatch.


text: In an alternate 2016, Strange seeks out Kamar-Taj and becomes a Master of the Mystic Arts after Palmer dies in a car crash while he was left uninjured. After being appointed the title of Sorcerer Supreme, the newly-dubbed Doctor Strange Supreme then makes countless attempts to reverse Palmer's death using the Eye of Agamotto, but fails no matter what he tries and is informed by the Ancient One that the event was an irreversible "absolute point" in time, as the resulting paradox would damage the fabric of reality. Strange refuses to listen and flees to the Library of Cagliostro, where he spends centuries absorbing magical beings and becoming a monstrous version of his former self. Learning that the Ancient One used a spell from the Dark Dimension to splinter him into two beings to divide his power, with the other half having come to terms with Palmer's death, Strange Supreme confronts his other half and eventually absorbs him before resurrecting Palmer, who is repulsed by his appearance while their universe unravels. Strange Supreme begs aid from the Watcher, an omniscient observer of the Multiverse, only to be refused as the Watcher condemns him for not heeding the Ancient One's warning and that he vowed not to interfere in the Multiverse's events. As his universe collapses, Strange Supreme helplessly watches as Palmer fades away from existence and he grieves alone in a pocket dimension.


text: Sometime later, Strange Supreme is visited by the Watcher, who seeks his help in defeating another universe's Ultron. Strange materializes a bar and meets Captain Carter, Star-Lord T'Challa, Thor, Gamora, and Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, who had been chosen by the Watcher as the Guardians of the Multiverse to combat Ultron. While in another universe, Thor prematurely alerts Ultron to their location, prompting Strange to transport a horde of zombies from another universe to distract Ultron as they escaped. In Ultron's home universe, they meet Natasha Romanoff, and the team battle Ultron. After Romanoff and Carter successfully upload Arnim Zola's analog consciousness into Ultron's body, Killmonger betrays them and is trapped by Strange in a pocket dimension with Zola. Strange Supreme is then tasked by the Watcher to watch them for eternity, in which he gladly accepts while quoting to the Watcher "What are friends for?".


text: In an alternate 2018, Strange becomes infected with a quantum virus and is transformed into a zombie. After attacking Bruce Banner outside of the New York Sanctum, he is killed by Hope van Dyne. The Cloak of Levitation rejected him when he became a zombie, attaching itself to Peter Parker and later to the jar holding Scott Lang's head.


text: In an alternate reality known as Earth-617, Strange protects America Chavez from an interdimensional demon who is attempting to steal her ability to enter the multiverse. Unable to escape, and believing himself better equipped to control her powers, Strange tries to steal them. He is mortally wounded by the demon, and Chavez sends both of them to Earth-616 (the main reality in the MCU), where he dies of his wounds. Earth-616 Strange and Wong find and hide the body. His body is later possessed by 616-Strange using the "dream-walking" spell from the "Darkhold" to fight Wanda Maximoff.


text: In an alternate reality known as Earth-838, Strange is a member of the Illuminati. However, his reckless misuse of the "Darkhold" in his effort to defeat Thanos creates an "incursion" which destroyed another universe. He was executed by Black Bolt, making Karl Mordo the new Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-838. Upon his demise, the Illuminati lied to the world by telling them that Strange sacrificed himself to kill Thanos, and a statue was erected in his honor at the New York Sanctum, bestowing him the title of "Earth's Mightiest Hero".


text: In an alternate reality, Strange used the "Darkhold" to dreamwalk and find other versions of himself who might be happily living with their Christine Palmer. When he could not find such a version, he set out to kill other versions of himself, nearly decimating his own universe in the process. When 616-Strange and 838-Palmer enter this universe, 616-Strange fights and ultimately kills the corrupted Strange.


text: "The Hollywood Reporter"s Todd McCarthy called "Doctor Strange" "smartly cast", while Alonso Duralde, reviewing for TheWrap said that the film was "smart enough to bring in great British actors to make the predictable paces and life lessons feel fresh and fascinating". Mara Reinstein of "US Weekly" criticized the film but praised Cumberbatch's "alluring powers" in the role, while Adam Graham of "The Detroit News" said, "Cumberbatch is wildly charismatic in the lead role... But that's the thing: He's a better party guest than he is a host. "Doctor Strange" is a fine introduction, but by the end, you're not sad to be headed for the door".


text: For his performance, Cumberbatch was nominated in 2016 for a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor in an Action Movie, and in 2017 for a Saturn Award for Best Actor in a Film, and a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor in a Fantasy Film.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Serenity is a 2005 American space Western film written and directed by Joss Whedon in his feature directorial debut. The film is a continuation of Whedon's short-lived 2002 Fox television series "Firefly" and stars the same cast, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2517, "Serenity" is the story of the crew of "Serenity", a ""Firefly"-class" spaceship. The captain and first mate are veterans of the Unification War, having fought on the losing Independent side against the Alliance. Their lives of smuggling and cargo-running are interrupted by a psychic passenger who harbors a dangerous secret.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The film stars Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau and Chiwetel Ejiofor. "Serenity" was released in North America on September 30, 2005, by Universal Pictures to generally positive reviews and several accolades, including the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, the Prometheus Special Award and the Nebula Award for Best Script, but underperformed at the box office.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: In the 26th century, humanity has colonized a new solar system. The central planets formed the Alliance and won a war against the outer planet Independents who resisted joining the Alliance. River Tam is conditioned by Alliance scientists into becoming a psychic and an assassin but is soon rescued by her brother Dr. Simon Tam. During her training, River inadvertently read the minds of several top government officials and learned their secrets. Consequently, an Alliance agent known only as the Operative is tasked with recapturing her.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The siblings have found refuge aboard the transport spaceship "Serenity" with Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, first mate Zoe Washburne, pilot Hoban "Wash" Washburne, mercenary Jayne Cobb, and mechanic Kaylee Frye. Despite Simon's objections, Mal brings River on a bank robbery. River warns them that savage and cannibalistic Reavers are coming. They escape, but Simon decides he and River will leave "Serenity" at the next port. Once there, however, a subliminal message in a television commercial causes River to attack numerous bar patrons, and Mal takes the siblings back aboard the ship. The crew contacts reclusive hacker Mr. Universe, who discovers the message designed to trigger River's mental conditioning. He notes River whispered "Miranda" before attacking and warns that someone else has viewed the footage.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Mal receives an invitation from Inara Serra. Realising it is a trap, Mal goes to confront the Operative who promises to let him go free if he hands over River. Mal barely escapes. Miranda is discovered to be a planet located beyond a region of space swarming with Reavers. The crew flies to the planet Haven but find it devastated and their friend Shepherd Book mortally wounded. The Operative promises to kill anyone who assists them until he gets River.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Mal has the crew disguise "Serenity" as a Reaver ship and they travel to Miranda undetected. They find its 30 million colonists dead, and a recording that explains an experimental chemical to suppress aggression had been added into Miranda's atmosphere. The population became so docile they stopped performing all activities of daily living and placidly died. A small proportion of them had the opposite reaction and became insanely aggressive and violent. The Alliance had created the Reavers and this was the secret in River's subconscious.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Mr. Universe agrees to broadcast the recording. However, the Operative kills him and prepares an ambush. Knowing this, the crew provoke the Reaver fleet into chasing them toward the Alliance armada. The Reavers and Alliance battle while Wash pilots "Serenity" through the crossfire. He crash lands near the broadcast tower before being fatally impaled by a Reaver spear.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The crew make a last stand against the Reavers to buy Mal time to broadcast the recording. The crew retreats behind a set of blast doors that fail to properly close. Simon is shot, and River dives through the doors to throw back Simon's medical kit and close the doors before the Reavers drag her away. At the transmitter, Mal fights the Operative, finally subduing him and forcing him to watch as the recording is broadcast. Mal returns to the crew. The blast doors open to reveal that River has killed all the Reavers. The Operative orders the Alliance troops to stand down.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The Operative provides medical aid and resources to repair "Serenity." He tells Mal the broadcast has weakened the Alliance government, but while he will try to convince the Parliament that River and Simon are no longer threats, he warns that they may continue their pursuit in retribution for getting the word out. "Serenity" takes off, with River as Mal's new pilot.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The film is based on "Firefly", a television series canceled by the Fox Broadcasting Company in December 2002, after 11 of its 14 produced episodes had aired. Attempts to have other networks acquire the series failed, and creator Joss Whedon started to sell it as a film. He had been working on a film script since the show's cancellation. Shortly after the cancellation, he contacted Barry Mendel, who was working with Universal Studios, and "flat-out asked him" for a way to continue the series as a film, including as a low-budget television film. Mendel introduced Whedon to then Universal executive Mary Parent. She had seen "Firefly" and immediately signed on to the project, even though Whedon had yet to create a story. Whedon remarked:


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: In July 2003, Whedon said that though there was interest in the project, "I won't know really until I finish a draft whether or not it's genuine." He felt that any film deal was contingent on keeping the show's original cast, though he later stated that retaining the cast was "never an issue" as Universal executives believed the cast suitable after watching every episode of the series.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: In early September 2004, a film deal with Universal was publicly confirmed. Universal acquired the rights to "Firefly" shortly before the confirmation. Whedon felt that the strong sales of the "Firefly" DVD, which sold out in less than 24 hours after the pre-order announcement, "definitely helped light a fire and make them [Universal] go, 'Okay, we've really got something here.' It definitely helped them just be comfortable with the decisions they were making, but they really had been supporting us for quite some time already." Whedon felt it was "important people understand that the movie isn't the series", and so the project was titled "Serenity".


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: After Universal acquired the film rights from Fox, Whedon began writing the screenplay. His task was to explain the premise of a television series that few had seen without boring new viewers or longtime fans. He based his story on original story ideas for "Firefly"s un-filmed second season. Whedon's original script was 190 pages, and attempted to address all major plot points introduced in the series. After presenting the script to Barry Mendel under the title "The Kitchen Sink", Whedon and Mendel collaborated on cutting down the script to a size film-able under his budget constraints. All nine principal cast members from the television series were scheduled to return for the movie, but Glass and Tudyk could not commit to sequels, leading to the death of their characters in the second draft of the script. The tightened script and a budget Mendel and Whedon prepared were submitted to Universal on a Friday and on the following Monday morning, Stacey Snider, then head of Universal, called Mendel to officially greenlight the movie.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Universal planned to begin shooting in October 2003, but delays in finishing the script postponed the start of shooting to June 2004.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Principal photography for "Serenity" was originally estimated to require 80 days, lasting a typical 12 to 14 hours each, with a budget of over $100 million. Unwilling to approve of such a large budget, Universal Studios wished to shoot abroad to minimize production costs. However, Whedon, reluctant to uproot his family, insisted that filming take place locally and maintained that it was possible for a local production to cost fewer days and less than half the expected budget. On March 2, 2004, the film was greenlit for production with a budget of under $40 million. At the project's completion, the film spent $39 million, considered low for a science fiction action film featuring heavy special effects.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: "Serenity" was filmed over a period of 50 ten-hour days, beginning June 3, 2004, and ending September 17, 2004. The film was primarily shot on Universal Studio sound stages with locations throughout Los Angeles. The sequence where the crew is pursued by Reavers after a bank robbery was filmed along the Templin Highway north of Santa Clarita. The shoot typically would have lasted 30 days, but the production completed filming the sequence in five days. Pyrotechnics were shot at Mystery Mesa, near Santa Clarita, over a period of three days rather than a typical two weeks. The scenes on the planet Miranda were filmed at Diamond Ranch High School in Pomona.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The production expected to save money by reusing the "Serenity" ship interior set from the "Firefly" television series, but the set was not available. Instead the ship was rebuilt, using DVD images of the television series as a guide. Construction was completed over 14 weeks on Universal Studios' Stage 12 by 23 supervised crews working independently but in coordination with one another. Universal was concerned about the extra cost but were satisfied when it was completed in just 14 weeks, according to executive producer David Lester.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: As the budget for the film was considerably smaller than for the TV series, practical special effects were used as much as possible: if a computer-generated imagery (CGI) composite was required, as many tangible sets and props as possible were constructed to minimize the use of computer effects. The most technically challenging scene was the mule skiff chase. For budgetary reasons, a gimbal and CGI, much like those used in the pod race in "", were quickly ruled out. Instead, the crew fashioned a trailer with a cantilevered arm attached to the "hovercraft" and shot the scene while riding up Templin Highway north of Santa Clarita. Zoic Studios, the company that produced the graphics for the series, had to perform a complete overhaul of their computer model of "Serenity", as the television model would not stand up to the high-definition scrutiny of cinema screens.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: In pre-production memos, Whedon described his vision for the score as "spare, intimate, mournful and indefatigable". Just as the landscape and speech drew from elements of the Western, he wished the same of the musical style and instrumentation. However, he did not want to step too far into Western clichés to "cause justified derision" and hoped the score would also draw from Chinese and other Asian musical elements. He wanted the musical elements "mixed up, hidden, or it's as much a cliché as the western feel. We don't want to be too specific about culture or time. We want to be comfortable enough with the sounds not to let them take us out of the story, but not so comfortable that we begin to be told where the story is." Music was to draw heavily on what could be carried, and he highlighted four instruments: voice, percussion, woodwind, strings particularly guitar. He cautioned against vocal orchestration, believing there to be only two voices in Hollywood and wishing to avoid both, and advised moderation in woodwind, feeling wind instruments to be "either too airy or too sophisticated".


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Universal Studios wanted a composer with experience scoring films, ruling out "Firefly" composer Greg Edmonson. Whedon first thought of Carter Burwell, of whom Whedon was a huge fan. However, Whedon later felt that Burwell was not the right choice because as the film changed, the needs of the score changed as well. Burwell found working on the project difficult as it required he work "opposite" to his usual approach. The production would have continued with Burwell, but his other obligations left him little time to compose an entirely new score for "Serenity". Burwell was dropped from the project a few weeks before the scheduled February 2005 recording.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: David Newman was recommended by Universal's music executives when Whedon requested a composer capable of "everything" and "quickly". Whedon's instructions to Newman for the ship "Serenity" theme was something homemade and mournful, evoking the idea of pioneers who had only what they could carry. Whedon wished the theme to let viewers know they were now home. River Tam's theme was played on a uniquely shaped, square, antique piano that was slightly out of tune. The piano reminded Newman of River and composed a "haunting, haunted, vaguely eastern and achingly unresolved" theme that Whedon felt proved Newman's understanding of the film's musical needs.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The score was performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony under Newman's direction. The official soundtrack was released September 27, 2005.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: "Serenity" had its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on August 22, 2005. The premiere sold out, and the festival arranged for two more screenings on August 24, which sold out in twenty-four hours, and in the "Best of the Fest" line-up on August 28. The film was theatrically released September 30, 2005.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: "Serenity" was originally released on traditional film prints. Because the original 2K digital intermediate scans were readily available, the film was chosen by Universal Pictures to test conversion to a Digital Cinema Distribution Master of the film and to "test the workflow required to create a ." "Serenity" became the first film to fully conform to Digital Cinema Initiatives specifications, marking "a major milestone in the move toward all-digital projection".


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: In April 2005, Universal launched a three-stage grassroots marketing campaign. A rough cut of the film was previewed in a total of thirty-five North American cities where the "Firefly" television series received the highest Nielsen ratings. The screenings did not bear the name of the film and relied on word-of-mouth within the fanbase for promotion. All screenings sold out in less than twenty-four hours, sometimes in as quickly as five minutes. The first screening was held May 5, 2005, in ten cities. The second screening on May 26 increased the number of cities to twenty. In the twenty-four hours following the announcement of the second screening, the "Firefly" fanbase launched trial and error efforts to uncover the theaters holding the screenings, leading the event to be sold out before the official listing was released. The third screening on June 23 was held in thirty-five cities. A final screening was held at Comic-Con International, followed by a panel with Whedon and the cast.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Session 416, also known as the R. Tam Sessions, are a series of five short videos anonymously released by Whedon through various websites and message boards as viral marketing. The first video, bearing the title card "R. Tam, Session 416, Second Excerpt", was released on the iFilm website on August 16, 2005. By September 7, 2005, all five videos had been released.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The series grew out of Universal executives' request that Whedon supply content for an online viral marketing campaign (though a representative from Universal Studios denied knowledge of the videos' origin). He decided to explore events before the film and the television series. The clips were filmed with a "tiny" crew in a single day and are shot in grainy, low quality, black-and-white. They were later included on the Collector's Edition DVD.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The videos, sequenced out of chronological order, depict excerpts of counseling sessions between River Tam, played by Summer Glau, and her unnamed therapist, played by Whedon, while she is held at the Alliance Academy. They follow her change from shy and sweet child prodigy to the mentally unstable girl of the television series.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: "Serenity" was released on Region 1 DVD, VHS and UMD on December 20, 2005. The DVD ranked #3 in sales for the week ending December 25, 2005. Bonus features on the DVD version include audio commentary from Whedon; deleted scenes and outtakes; a short introduction by Whedon for advance screenings; a hidden featurette on the creation of the Fruity Oaty Bar commercial; and three featurettes on the "Firefly" and "Serenity" universe, special effects, and the revival of the television series to film. Region 2 releases included an additional making-of featurette, and Region 4 releases included additional extended scenes, a tour of the set, a feature on cinematographer Jack Green, and a question-and-answer session with Whedon filmed after an advance screening in Australia.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: "Serenity" was released on HD DVD on April 18, 2006, the first Universal Studios film released on the format. In January 2007, it became the first full-resolution rip of an HD DVD release uploaded to the BitTorrent network after its title key was ripped from a software player and released online.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: A 2-disc Collector's Edition DVD was released for Region 1 on August 21, 2007. It included the special features on the Region 4 disc, except the question-and-answer session; Session 416, a documentary on the film; and a second commentary with Whedon and actors Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, and Ron Glass. The film was released on Blu-ray on December 30, 2008, adding to the special features a video version of the cast commentary, picture-in-picture visual commentary, two databases of in-universe material, and a digital tour of "Serenity". Serenity was released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on May 22, 2018.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Despite high anticipation, "Serenity" performed poorly at the box office. Although several pundits predicted a #1 opening, the film opened at #2 in the United States, taking in $10.1 million on its first weekend, spending two weeks in the top ten, and closed on November 17, 2005 with a domestic box office gross of $25.5 million. Movie industry analyst Brandon Gray described "Serenity"s box office performance as "like a below average genre picture".


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: "Serenity"s international box office results were mixed, with strong openings in the UK, Portugal and Russia, but poor results in Spain, Australia, France and Italy. United International Pictures canceled the film's theatrical release in at least seven countries, planning to release it directly to DVD instead. The box office income outside the United States was $14.9 million, with a worldwide total of $40.4 million.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 82% based on 187 reviews, with an average rating of 7.15/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Snappy dialogue and goofy characters make this Wild Wild West soap opera in space fun and adventurous." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on reviews from 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Ebert and Roeper gave the film a "Two Thumbs Up" rating. Roger Ebert, in his review for the "Chicago Sun-Times", gave the film three out of four stars, commenting that it is "made of dubious but energetic special effects, breathless velocity, much imagination, some sly verbal wit and a little political satire". "The movie plays like a critique of contemporary society", he observed, also stating that in this way it was like "Brave New World" and "Nineteen Eighty-Four". Peter Hartlaub in the "San Francisco Chronicle" called it "a triumph", comparing its writing to the best "Star Trek" episodes. Manohla Dargis of "The New York Times" described it as a modest but superior science fiction film. Science fiction author Orson Scott Card called "Serenity" "the best science fiction film ever", further stating "If "Ender's Game" can't be this kind of movie, and this good a movie, then I want it never to be made. I'd rather just watch "Serenity" again."


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: "USA Today" film critic Claudia Puig wrote that "the characters are generally uninteresting and one-dimensional, and the futuristic Western-style plot grows tedious". Derek Elley of "Variety" declared that the film "bounces around to sometimes memorable effect but rarely soars".


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: "Serenity" won several awards after its release. It won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation—Long Form, the Nebula Award for Best Script, and the Prometheus Special Award. The film was also named film of the year by "Film 2005" and FilmFocus, and it was determined by "SFX" magazine to be the best science fiction movie of all time in 2007. IGN Film awarded "Serenity" Best Sci-Fi, Best Story, and Best Trailer for the year, and it won second for Overall Best Movie after "Batman Begins". The SyFy Genre Awards awarded it runner-up in the categories for Best Movie, Best Actor in a film (Nathan Fillion), and Best Actress in a film (Summer Glau), losing in all categories to "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". "Serenity" later ranked 383 on "Empire" magazine's 500 Greatest Films of All Time and 90 of the 301 Greatest Movies of All Time as voted by the magazine's readers.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: NASA astronaut Steven Swanson, an ardent fan of the series, took the Region 1 "Firefly" and "Serenity" DVDs with him on Space Shuttle Atlantis' STS-117 mission, which lifted off on Friday June 8, 2007. The DVDs currently reside on the International Space Station (ISS) as entertainment for the station's crews.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: On February 20, 2009, NASA announced an online poll to name Node 3 of the ISS; NASA-suggested options included Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity, and Venture. At the March 20, 2009 poll close, 'Serenity' led those four choices with 70% of the vote. In the end, the poll was discarded and the node was named 'Tranquility'.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Beginning in January 2006, fans (with Universal's blessing) began organizing charity screenings of "Serenity" to benefit Equality Now, a human rights organization supported by Joss Whedon. By mid-June, 41 such screenings had been confirmed for cities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States, and as of June 19, 2006, there were 47 scheduled screenings. The project was referred to as "Serenity Now/Equality Now" on the official website, but was often referred to in shortened form as "Serenity Now", and was coordinated through "Can't Stop The Serenity". The name officially changed in 2007 to Can't Stop The Serenity (CSTS)


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: This has become a multi-venue event held each calendar year in various countries and cities and on various dates throughout the year. Funds raised by the events go to Equality Now (and other charities).


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Universal Studios wanted to do an animated prequel to the "Serenity" film, but after Whedon and Brett Matthews wrote a story, Universal scuttled the project. The story was rewritten into a three-issue comic book miniseries intended to bridge the gap between the television series and the film. "" was released from July through September 2005 by Dark Horse Comics.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: A novelization of the film was written by Keith DeCandido and published by Simon & Schuster under their Pocket Star imprint on August 30, 2005. Titan Publishing published "Serenity: The Official Visual Companion" on September 1, 2005, and Titan Magazines released a one-shot souvenir magazine. Margaret Weis Productions released the "Serenity" tabletop role-playing game based on the film on September 19, 2005.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Inkworks issued a 72-card trading card set, including autographed cards and cards with swatches of costumes used in the film, on September 21, 2005. The set won Diamond Comics' 2005 Non-Sports Card Product of the Year Gem Award. Diamond Select Toys released five six-inch action figures initially featuring Malcolm Reynolds, Jayne Cobb, and a Reaver, later adding River Tam, Inara Serra, and Zoe Washburne. The line was deemed to be "disappointing" with the figure of Malcolm Reynolds particularly singled out; both won MWCToys' silver award for Worst Line and Worst Male Figure under twelve inches for 2005.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: While the film depicts the Alliance as an all-powerful, authoritarian-style regime, Whedon notes it is not so simple. "The Alliance isn't some evil empire", he explains, but rather a largely benevolent bureaucratic force. The Alliance's main problem is that it seeks to govern everyone, regardless of whether they desire to belong to the central government or not. What the crew of "Serenity" represent—specifically Mal and his lifestyle—is the idea that people should have the right to make their own decisions, even if those decisions are bad.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The Operative embodies the Alliance and is, as Whedon describes, the "perfect product of what's wrong with the Alliance". He is someone whose motives are to achieve a good end, a "world without sin". The Operative believes so strongly in this idea that he willingly compromises his humanity in furtherance of it—as he himself admits, he would have no place in this world. In contrast, Mal is, at the movie's beginning, a man who has lost all faith. By the movie's ending, Mal has finally come to believe so strongly in something—individual liberty—that he becomes willing to lay down his life to preserve it.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Whedon has said that the most important line spoken in the film is when Mal forces the Operative to watch the Miranda footage at the climax of the film, promising him: "I'm going to show you a world without sin". Whedon makes the point that a world without sin is a world without choice, and that choice is ultimately what defines humanity. According to Whedon, the planet "Miranda" was named for William Shakespeare's Miranda in "The Tempest", who in Act V, scene I says: "O brave new world, / That has such people in't!" A spaceship found on the planet Miranda carries the codename "C57D", a reference to the flying saucer in the 1956 film "Forbidden Planet". The plot to "Forbidden Planet" is based on "The Tempest" and, like "Serenity", features a character struggling with his subconscious. The Alliance had hoped that Miranda would be a new kind of world, filled with peaceful, happy people, and represents the "inane optimism of the Alliance".


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The Fruity Oaty Bar commercial shown in the Maidenhead spaceport bar, which carried the subliminal message that triggered River Tam, is partially inspired by Mr. Sparkle, the mascot of a fictional brand of dish-washing detergent, who was featured in "The Simpsons" episode "In Marge We Trust". Whedon mentions in a DVD feature that when the Fruity Oaty Bar commercial was being designed, he constantly asked the animators to redesign it and make it even "more" bizarre than the previous design, until it arrived at the version presented on screen.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: Fans had hoped that if "Serenity" had been successful, it might lead to either a sequel or a film trilogy.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: The first major sequel rumor began on December 1, 2005, when IGN Filmforce reported that Universal had expressed an interest in making a "Serenity" television movie for broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel. It was expected that commissioning of a television sequel would be contingent on strong DVD sales of "Serenity". In a January 2006 interview, Whedon doubted the chances of a sequel. On October 1, 2006, Whedon posted a comment to the Whedonesque.com website, debunking a rumor that he was working on a sequel.


title: Serenity (2005 film)

text: In an interview at the 2007 Comic-Con, Whedon stated that he believes hope for a sequel rests in the sales of the Collector's Edition DVD. In an August 2007 interview with Amazon.com prior to the Collector's Edition DVD release, Whedon stated, "It's still on my mind, I mean, but I don't know if mine is the only mind that it's on." He later said, "You know, whether or not "anybody" who's involved would be available at that point—everybody's working, I'm happy to say—is a question, but whether I would want to do another one is not a question."


title: Seizure

text: An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with loss of consciousness (tonic-clonic seizure), to shaking movements involving only part of the body with variable levels of consciousness (focal seizure), to a subtle momentary loss of awareness (absence seizure). Most of the time these episodes last less than two minutes and it takes some time to return to normal. Loss of bladder control may occur.


title: Seizure

text: Seizures may be provoked and unprovoked. Provoked seizures are due to a temporary event such as low blood sugar, alcohol withdrawal, abusing alcohol together with prescription medication, low blood sodium, fever, brain infection, or concussion. Unprovoked seizures occur without a known or fixable cause such that ongoing seizures are likely. Unprovoked seizures may be exacerbated by stress or sleep deprivation. Epilepsy describes brain disease in which there has been at least one unprovoked seizure and where there is a high risk of additional seizures in the future. Conditions that look like epileptic seizures but are not include: fainting, nonepileptic psychogenic seizure and tremor.


title: Seizure

text: A seizure that lasts for more than a brief period is a medical emergency. Any seizure lasting longer than five minutes should be treated as status epilepticus. A first seizure generally does not require long-term treatment with anti-seizure medications unless a specific problem is found on electroencephalogram (EEG) or brain imaging. Typically it is safe to complete the work-up following a single seizure as an outpatient. In many, with what appears to be a first seizure, other minor seizures have previously occurred.


title: Seizure

text: Up to 10% of people have at least one epileptic seizure. Provoked seizures occur in about 3.5 per 10,000 people a year while unprovoked seizures occur in about 4.2 per 10,000 people a year. After one seizure, the chance of experiencing a second is about 50%. Epilepsy affects about 1% of the population at any given time with about 4% of the population affected at some point in time. Many places require people to stop driving until they have not had a seizure for a specific period.


title: Seizure

text: The signs and symptoms of seizures vary depending on the type. The most common and stereotypical type of seizure is convulsive (60%), typically called a tonic-clonic seizure. Two-thirds of these begin as focal seizures prior to developing into tonic-clonic seizures. The remaining 40% of seizures are non-convulsive, an example of which is absence seizure. When EEG monitoring shows evidence of a seizure, but no symptoms are present, it is referred to as a subclinical seizure.


title: Seizure

text: Focal seizures often begin with certain experiences, known as an aura. These may include sensory (including visual, auditory, etc.), cognitive, autonomic, olfactory or motor phenomena.


title: Seizure

text: In a complex partial seizure a person may appear confused or dazed and cannot respond to questions or direction.


title: Seizure

text: Jerking activity may start in a specific muscle group and spread to surrounding muscle groups—known as a "Jacksonian march". Unusual activities that are not consciously created may occur. These are known as automatisms and include simple activities like smacking of the lips or more complex activities such as attempts to pick something up.


title: Seizure

text: There are six main types of generalized seizures: tonic-clonic, tonic, clonic, myoclonic, absence, and atonic seizures. They all involve a loss of consciousness and typically happen without warning.


title: Seizure

text: A seizure can last from a few seconds to more than five minutes, at which point it is known as status epilepticus. Most tonic-clonic seizures last less than two or three minutes. Absence seizures are usually around 10 seconds in duration.


title: Seizure

text: After the active portion of a seizure, there is typically a period of confusion called the "postictal period" before a normal level of consciousness returns. This usually lasts 3 to 15 minutes but may last for hours. Other common symptoms include: feeling tired, headache, difficulty speaking, and abnormal behavior. Psychosis after a seizure is relatively common, occurring in between 6 and 10% of people. Often people do not remember what occurred during this time.


title: Seizure

text: Seizures have a number of causes. Of those who have a seizure, about 25% have epilepsy. A number of conditions are associated with seizures but are not epilepsy including: most febrile seizures and those that occur around an acute infection, stroke, or toxicity. These seizures are known as "acute symptomatic" or "provoked" seizures and are part of the seizure-related disorders. In many the cause is unknown.


title: Seizure

text: Dehydration can trigger epileptic seizures if it is severe enough. A number of disorders including: low blood sugar, low blood sodium, hyperosmolar nonketotic hyperglycemia, high blood sodium, low blood calcium and high blood urea levels may cause seizures. As may hepatic encephalopathy and the genetic disorder porphyria.


title: Seizure

text: Both medication and drug overdoses can result in seizures, as may certain medication and drug withdrawal. Common drugs involved include: antidepressants, antipsychotics, cocaine, insulin, and the local anaesthetic lidocaine. Difficulties with withdrawal seizures commonly occurs after prolonged alcohol or sedative use, a condition known as delirium tremens. In people who are at risk of developing epileptic seizures, common herbal medicines such as ephedra, ginkgo biloba and wormwood can provoke seizures.


title: Seizure

text: Stress can induce seizures in people with epilepsy, and is a risk factor for developing epilepsy. Severity, duration, and time at which stress occurs during development all contribute to frequency and susceptibility to developing epilepsy. It is one of the most frequently self-reported triggers in patients with epilepsy.


title: Seizure

text: Stress exposure results in hormone release that mediates its effects in the brain. These hormones act on both excitatory and inhibitory neural synapses, resulting in hyper-excitability of neurons in the brain. The hippocampus is known to be a region that is highly sensitive to stress and prone to seizures. This is where mediators of stress interact with their target receptors to produce effects.


title: Seizure

text: Seizures may occur as a result of high blood pressure, known as hypertensive encephalopathy, or in pregnancy as eclampsia when accompanied by either seizures or a decreased level of consciousness. Very high body temperatures may also be a cause. Typically this requires a temperature greater than .


title: Seizure

text: Normally, brain electrical activity is non-synchronous. In epileptic seizures, due to problems within the brain, a group of neurons begin firing in an abnormal, excessive, and synchronized manner. This results in a wave of depolarization known as a paroxysmal depolarizing shift.


title: Seizure

text: Normally after an excitatory neuron fires it becomes more resistant to firing for a period of time. This is due in part from the effect of inhibitory neurons, electrical changes within the excitatory neuron, and the negative effects of adenosine. In epilepsy the resistance of excitatory neurons to fire during this period is decreased. This may occur due to changes in ion channels or inhibitory neurons not functioning properly. Forty-one ion-channel genes and over 1,600 ion-channel mutations have been implicated in the development of epileptic seizure. These ion channel mutations tend to confer a depolarized resting state to neurons resulting in pathological hyper-excitability. This long-lasting depolarization in individual neurons is due to an influx of Ca from outside of the cell and leads to extended opening of Na channels and repetitive action potentials. The following hyperpolarization is facilitated by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors or potassium (K) channels, depending on the type of cell. Equally important in epileptic neuronal hyper-excitability, is the reduction in the activity of inhibitory GABAergic neurons, an effect known as disinhibition. Disinhibition may result from inhibitory neuron loss, dysregulation of axonal sprouting from the inhibitory neurons in regions of neuronal damage, or abnormal GABAergic signaling within the inhibitory neuron. Neuronal hyper-excitability results in a specific area from which seizures may develop, known as a "seizure focus". Following an injury to the brain, another mechanism of epilepsy may be the up regulation of excitatory circuits or down regulation of inhibitory circuits. These secondary epilepsies occur through processes known as epileptogenesis. Failure of the blood–brain barrier may also be a causal mechanism. While blood-brain barrier disruption alone does appear to cause epileptogenesis, it has been correlated to increased seizure activity. Furthermore, it has been implicated in chronic epileptic conditions through experiments inducing barrier permeability with chemical compounds. Disruption may lead to fluid leaking out of the blood vessels into the area between cells and driving epileptic seizures. Preliminary findings of blood proteins in the brain after a seizure support this theory.


title: Seizure

text: Focal seizures begin in one hemisphere of the brain while generalized seizures begin in both hemispheres. Some types of seizures may change brain structure, while others appear to have little effect. Gliosis, neuronal loss, and atrophy of specific areas of the brain are linked to epilepsy but it is unclear if epilepsy causes these changes or if these changes result in epilepsy.


title: Seizure

text: Seizure activity may be propagated through the brain's endogenous electrical fields. Proposed mechanisms that may cause the spread and recruitment of neurons include an increase in K from outside the cell, and increase of Ca in the presynaptic terminals. These mechanisms blunt hyperpolarization and depolarizes nearby neurons, as well as increasing neurotransmitter release.


title: Seizure

text: Seizures may be divided into provoked and unprovoked. Provoked seizures may also be known as "acute symptomatic seizures" or "reactive seizures". Unprovoked seizures may also be known as "reflex seizures". Depending on the presumed cause blood tests and lumbar puncture may be useful. Hypoglycemia may cause seizures and should be ruled out. An electroencephalogram and brain imaging with CT scan or MRI scan is recommended in the work-up of seizures not associated with a fever.


title: Seizure

text: Seizure types are organized by whether the source of the seizure is localized (focal seizures) or distributed (generalized seizures) within the brain. Generalized seizures are divided according to the effect on the body and include tonic-clonic (grand mal), absence (petit mal), myoclonic, clonic, tonic, and atonic seizures. Some seizures such as epileptic spasms are of an unknown type.


title: Seizure

text: Focal seizures (previously called "partial seizures") are divided into simple partial or complex partial seizure. Current practice no longer recommends this, and instead prefers to describe what occurs during a seizure.


title: Seizure

text: The classification of seizures can also be made according to dynamical criteria, observable in electrophysiological measurements. It is a classification according to their type of onset and offset.


title: Seizure

text: Most people are in a postictal state (drowsy or confused) following a seizure. They may show signs of other injuries. A bite mark on the side of the tongue helps confirm a seizure when present, but only a third of people who have had a seizure have such a bite. When present in people thought to have had a seizure, this physical sign tentatively increases the likelihood that a seizure was the cause.


title: Seizure

text: An electroencephalography is only recommended in those who likely had an epileptic seizure and may help determine the type of seizure or syndrome present. In children it is typically only needed after a second seizure. It cannot be used to rule out the diagnosis and may be falsely positive in those without the disease. In certain situations it may be useful to prefer the EEG while sleeping or sleep deprived.


title: Seizure

text: Diagnostic imaging by CT scan and MRI is recommended after a first non-febrile seizure to detect structural problems inside the brain. MRI is generally a better imaging test except when intracranial bleeding is suspected. Imaging may be done at a later point in time in those who return to their normal selves while in the emergency room. If a person has a previous diagnosis of epilepsy with previous imaging repeat imaging is not usually needed with subsequent seizures.


title: Seizure

text: In adults, testing electrolytes, blood glucose and calcium levels is important to rule these out as causes, as is an electrocardiogram. A lumbar puncture may be useful to diagnose a central nervous system infection but is not routinely needed. Routine antiseizure medical levels in the blood are not required in adults or children. In children additional tests may be required.


title: Seizure

text: A high blood prolactin level within the first 20 minutes following a seizure may be useful to confirm an epileptic seizure as opposed to psychogenic non-epileptic seizure. Serum prolactin level is less useful for detecting partial seizures. If it is normal an epileptic seizure is still possible and a serum prolactin does not separate epileptic seizures from syncope. It is not recommended as a routine part of diagnosis epilepsy.


title: Seizure

text: Differentiating an epileptic seizure from other conditions such as syncope can be difficult. Other possible conditions that can mimic a seizure include: decerebrate posturing, psychogenic seizures, tetanus, dystonia, migraine headaches, and strychnine poisoning. In addition, 5% of people with a positive tilt table test may have seizure-like activity that seems due to cerebral hypoxia. Convulsions may occur due to psychological reasons and this is known as a psychogenic non-epileptic seizure. Non-epileptic seizures may also occur due to a number of other reasons.


title: Seizure

text: A number of measures have been attempted to prevent seizures in those at risk. Following traumatic brain injury anticonvulsants decrease the risk of early seizures but not late seizures.


title: Seizure

text: In those with a history of febrile seizures, some medications (both antipyretics and anticonvulsants) have been found effective for reducing reoccurrence, however due to the frequency of adverse effects and the benign nature of febrile seizures the decision to use medication should be weighted carefully against potential negative effects.


title: Seizure

text: There is no clear evidence that antiepileptic drugs are effective or not effective at preventing seizures following a craniotomy, following subdural hematoma, after a stroke, or after subarachnoid haemorrhage, for both people who have had a previous seizure, and those who have not.


title: Seizure

text: Potentially sharp or dangerous objects should be moved from the area around a person experiencing a seizure so that the individual is not hurt. After the seizure, if the person is not fully conscious and alert, they should be placed in the recovery position. A seizure longer than five minutes, or two or more seizures occurring within the time of five minutes is a medical emergency known as status epilepticus. Contrary to a common misconception, bystanders should not attempt to force objects into the mouth of the person having a seizure, as doing so may cause injury to the teeth and gums.


title: Seizure

text: Treatments of a person that is actively seizing follows a progression from initial response, through first line, second line, and third line treatments. The initial response involves ensuring the person is protected from potential harms (such as nearby objects) and managing their airway, breathing, and circulation. Airway management should include placing the person on their side, known as the recovery position, to prevent them from choking. If they are unable to breathe because something is blocking their airway, they may require treatments to open their airway.


title: Seizure

text: The first line medication for an actively seizing person is a benzodiazepine, with most guidelines recommending lorazepam. Diazepam and midazolam are alternatives. This may be repeated if there is no effect after 10 minutes. If there is no effect after two doses, barbiturates or propofol may be used.


title: Seizure

text: Second-line therapy for adults is phenytoin or fosphenytoin and phenobarbital for children. Third-line medications include phenytoin for children and phenobarbital for adults.


title: Seizure

text: Ongoing anti-epileptic medications are not typically recommended after a first seizure except in those with structural lesions in the brain. They are generally recommended after a second one has occurred. Approximately 70% of people can obtain full control with continuous use of medication. Typically one type of anticonvulsant is preferred. Following a first seizure, while immediate treatment with an anti-seizure drug lowers the probability of seizure recurrence up to five years it does not change the risk of death and there are potential side effects.


title: Seizure

text: In seizures related to toxins, up to two doses of benzodiazepines should be used. If this is not effective pyridoxine is recommended. Phenytoin should generally not be used.


title: Seizure

text: There is a lack of evidence for preventive anti-epileptic medications in the management of seizures related to intracranial venous thrombosis.


title: Seizure

text: Helmets may be used to provide protection to the head during a seizure. Some claim that seizure response dogs, a form of service dog, can predict seizures. Evidence for this, however, is poor. At present there is not enough evidence to support the use of cannabis for the management of seizures, although this is an ongoing area of research. There is low quality evidence that a ketogenic diet may help in those who have epilepsy and is reasonable in those who do not improve following typical treatments.


title: Seizure

text: Following a first seizure, the risk of more seizures in the next two years is 40–50%. The greatest predictors of more seizures are problems either on the electroencephalogram or on imaging of the brain. In adults, after 6 months of being seizure-free after a first seizure, the risk of a subsequent seizure in the next year is less than 20% regardless of treatment. Up to 7% of seizures that present to the emergency department (ER) are in status epilepticus. In those with a status epilepticus, mortality is between 10% and 40%. Those who have a seizure that is provoked (occurring close in time to an acute brain event or toxic exposure) have a low risk of re-occurrence, but have a higher risk of death compared to those with epilepsy.


title: Seizure

text: Approximately 8–10% of people will experience an epileptic seizure during their lifetime. In adults, the risk of seizure recurrence within the five years following a new-onset seizure is 35%; the risk rises to 75% in persons who have had a second seizure. In children, the risk of seizure recurrence within the five years following a single unprovoked seizure is about 50%; the risk rises to about 80% after two unprovoked seizures. In the United States in 2011, seizures resulted in an estimated 1.6 million emergency department visits; approximately 400,000 of these visits were for new-onset seizures. The exact incidence of epileptic seizures in low-income and middle-income countries is unknown, however it probably exceeds that in high-income countries. This may be due to increased risks of traffic accidents, birth injuries, and malaria and other parasitic infections.


title: Seizure

text: Epileptic seizures were first described in an Akkadian text from 2000 B.C. Early reports of epilepsy often saw seizures and convulsions as the work of "evil spirits". The perception of epilepsy, however, began to change in the time of Ancient Greek medicine. The term "epilepsy" itself is a Greek word, which is derived from the verb "epilambanein", meaning "to seize, possess, or afflict". Although the Ancient Greeks referred to epilepsy as the "sacred disease", this perception of epilepsy as a "spiritual" disease was challenged by Hippocrates in his work "On the Sacred Disease", who proposed that the source of epilepsy was from natural causes rather than supernatural ones.


title: Seizure

text: Early surgical treatment of epilepsy was primitive in Ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian medicine. The 19th century saw the rise of targeted surgery for the treatment of epileptic seizures, beginning in 1886 with localized resections performed by Sir Victor Horsley, a neurosurgeon in London. Another advancement was that of the development by the Montreal procedure by Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield, which involved use of electrical stimulation among conscious patients to more accurately identify and resect the epileptic areas in the brain.


title: Seizure

text: Seizures result in direct economic costs of about one billion dollars in the United States. Epilepsy results in economic costs in Europe of around €15.5 billion in 2004. In India, epilepsy is estimated to result in costs of US$1.7 billion or 0.5% of the GDP. They make up about 1% of emergency department visits (2% for emergency departments for children) in the United States.


title: Seizure

text: Many areas of the world require a minimum of six months from the last seizure before people can drive a vehicle.


title: Seizure

text: Scientific work into the prediction of epileptic seizures began in the 1970s. Several techniques and methods have been proposed, but evidence regarding their usefulness is still lacking.


title: Seizure

text: Gene therapy for epilepsy consists of employing vectors to deliver pieces of genetic material to areas of the brain involved in seizure onset.


title: Seizure

text: Seizure prediction is a special case of seizure detection in which the developed systems is able to issue a warning before the clinical onset of the epileptic seizure.


title: Seizure

text: Computational neuroscience has been able to bring a new point of view on the seizures by considering the dynamical aspects.


title: Jashodaben Modi

text: Jashodaben Modi ("née" Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi; born 1951) is a retired Indian school teacher. She is the estranged wife of Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India. The couple were married in 1968 when she was about 17 and Modi was 18. A short time into the marriage, her husband abandoned her. He did not acknowledge the marriage publicly until he was legally required to do so prior to the 2014 Indian general elections. Having retired from teaching, Jashodaben is said to lead a simple life of prayer.


title: Jashodaben Modi

text: Jashodaben was born as Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi in 1951. Her mother died when she was two years old.


title: Jashodaben Modi

text: Narendra Modi and Jashodaben had an arranged marriage in the custom of the caste of Vadnagar, starting with a family-arranged betrothal in their very early childhood. According to Narendra Modi's brother, the couple had undergone "vivaaha", the religious ceremony of marriage when Narendra Modi was 18 and Jashodaben was about 17.


title: Jashodaben Modi

text: A marriage ceremony was held to begin their married life together when she was 17 and he was 18. Modi abandoned Jashodaben soon after the marriage.


title: Jashodaben Modi

text: After about two years of being out of contact with all who knew him, Modi returned to Vadnagar and contacted his family. He had made plans to go to Ahmedabad to work at his uncle's canteen. At his mother's insistence, Jashodaben came to the family household to maintain their marriage, but her husband objected to the arrangement, insisting on continuing his life on his own terms and encouraging her to continue in her studies.


title: Jashodaben Modi

text: Jashodaben said that she spent a total of about three months with her husband during a three-year period before their final separation.


title: Jashodaben Modi

text: Jashodaben continued with her professional life, receiving a Secondary School Certificate in 1972 or 1974, completing teacher's training in 1976 and becoming a teacher in 1978. From 1978 to 1990, she taught in Banaskantha district. In 1991 she moved to Rajosana village and remains there. She is retired and her pension is per month. One commentator said that her low salary would have made much of life a hardship for her. Talking about her relationship with Modi, in one interview Jashodaben said "We have never been in touch... There has been no communication from his end to this day." In a later interview Jashodaben said that until 1987, she and Modi spoke "normally". Jashodaben lives with her brother Ashok and his wife in Unjha.