title: Dornier Do 217

text: Complaints were made by crews about the performance of the Dornier in comparison to other German types. On 12 May 1942 Erhard Milch ordered that Dornier cease all night fighter design. It was decided that the Ju 88 series only (Ju 88C-6) would continue to be developed and serve as a heavy night fighter. Strangely, the order was not passed onto the Dornier design team who continued to produce the N variant.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The end of the J series did not mean the end of the Dornier night fighter. One of the few German fighter pilots to side with the type against its critics was "Hauptmann" Rudolf Schoenert of "III./Nachtjagdgeschwader 3". Schoenert suggested to his Commanding officer, in July 1942, that trials be made of weapons slanting upwards at an angle of 70° (later known as "Schräge Musik") in the fuselage in the hope of increasing the efficiency of his Do 217. This entailed mounting four to six MG 151/20 autocannon in the centre of the fuselage. At "Technisches Amt", two Do 217s, one with four and the other with six MG/151/20 cannon were ready for inspection on 5 August 1942 and testing in September. The idea of the upward firing cannon had originally come from an engineer, Dr. Poppendieck, in June 1942. Nevertheless, Schoenert built on it, and with the introduction of the IR "spanner" and headlight, the bomber could approach from below a British bomber and avoid exposure to its powerful powered turrets guarding its tail, nose and upper fuselage by attacking from behind or head-on. Unlike the B-17 Flying Fortress or B-24 Liberator, the British bombers did not have a ventrally-located Ball turret, and the new Dornier design attempted to take advantage. It was decided, due to cost, to limit the upward-firing armament to four guns. Other tactical improvements involved fitting a semi-rigid brake parachute in October 1942, allowing the Dornier to adjust to the speed of the bomber before firing on its target. The prototypes J-1/U2 and J-1/U4 were tested under these conditions.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: These designs were to be carried forward into the new variant, the Dornier Do 217N. The BMW 801 that powered the Do 217J proved underpowered, so a night-fighter using the more powerful DB 603 A-1 engines was produced, with the first prototype flying on 31 July 1942. While it had much improved performance, it was still unpopular due to its poor agility and climb rate, and was prone to engine problems.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Ten pre-production series N variants were designated as test beds. Trials began in the summer of 1942. On 16 August the second prototype Do 217, N V2, entered trials. The N V1 and N V2 were the main testbeds, and the DB 603 A-1s they were powered by were tested at high altitude. On 11 October 1942 the N V1 crashed after stalling with its landing gear down and crashing into Müritz Lake, killing the crew.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: On 21 December 1942, 100-hour engine endurance trials began at Rechlin with the DB engines. The pistons became useless after 91 hours. Testing of DB 603 A-2 inline engines was carried out between 28 April and 8 May 1943, but the programme was beset by continual breakdowns and the project was abandoned. There was no further record of the N variant prototypes after 20 June 1943.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: In April 1943, the four MG FF guns had started but were not completed until the late summer. The third prototype, N-1/U was fitted with MG 151/20 and unspecified aerodynamic refinements. The machine was used in high-altitude de-icing tests, and the aircraft was tested with "Lichtenstein BCR" and "Bernhardine" radar. In August ten of these aircraft were constructed, and between 27 and 31 August, they were fitted with their "Schräge Musik" at "Erprobungsstelle Tarnewitz" and Wismar Testing Facilities. The tenth N variant, designated N-0, underwent radio trials. The machine was tested with the Peil G VI/APZ 6, a later and more sophisticated variant automatic direction-finding equipment. On 2 December further tactical trials were carried out with infrared target-illuminating equipment. These trials were carried out with DB 601 powered J-1s.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: After testing was satisfied the two variants, the N-1 and N-2, which had two sub-variants, were fitted with FuG 202. The N-1 variants were given two sub-variants which were to follow the design of the E-2/E-4 and the J-1/J-2 with emphasis on range and endurance. Extra fuel tanks were added to the empty bomb bay. For operations over water the heavy night fighters were fitted with lifeboats and radio transmitters. The FuG X with TZG 10 and FuG 16. IFF equipment was the FuG 25s. The N also had the FuG 101 radio altimeter, blind flying equipment FuB1 2 and PeilG V. AI search radar was the FuG 202. The no longer needed bomb release gear remained, bringing the aircraft up to on take-off, so it was barely able to reach . Fuel consumption lightened the load, and the Dornier could reach a maximum operational ceiling of . The speed of the N was a maximum of at . The N-2 was much improved, as it was much lighter and refined.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Overall the N-1 was an initial production of the J-1 version. Powered by a DB 603 it had similar armament to Do 217 J-2, retaining defensive armament. Entered service in April 1943. Some modified with dorsal and ventral guns replaced by wooden fairings as Do 217 N-1/U1, conversion with "Schräge Musik" arrangement of four upward-firing 20 mm MG 151s as Do 217 N-1/U3. About 240 built.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The Do 217 N-2 was a new build equivalent of Do 217 N-1/U1; some were fitted with two or four cannon in "Schräge Musik" installation. About 95 were built until it was retired from front line use in mid-1944.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The N-2 was originally not to have the "Schräge Musik" armament configuration or a brake parachute, but it was then decided to fit the armament set for tactical reasons. A semi-rigid brake parachute was also installed for unspecified reasons. The N-2 prototype was a converted E-1, serial 0174, code PE+AW. Communications were improved on the FuG 16 ZY and FuG 214. The B and C cupolas were removed and the positions fared over with Plexiglas and wood. The MG FF guns were replaced by MG 151/20 cannon. The MG 17s in the nose were to be abandoned with more powerful armament, but this was never carried out. To kill the excess weight that had plagued earlier types, the bomb bay, its doors, and the bomb release gear were removed, and changes were made to the control panels. The gaps were replaced by lighter wood parts which reduced weight, allowing heavier armour protection for the crew. The N variant was the most heavily armoured Dornier variant.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The improvements enabled a top speed of (an increase of ) and a reduction from to , which increased ceiling height to .


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The A variant was a pre-production reconnaissance version, with original shallow fuselage and powered by DB 601A engines. Armed with three MG 15 machine guns. Nine built, entering service in late 1940, and used for secret reconnaissance missions over the then neutral Soviet Union.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Although the specifications had originally envisaged a multi-role aircraft which could perform bombing missions, it was to function in reconnaissance roles. The fuselage had to be extended to accommodate the two cameras which could be "accessed directly by the crew" (presumably in flight).


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Dornier was ordered to produce three A-0 series machines up to the E variant. This changed to six as the number of reconnaissance machines was inadequate for the military's need. The small production run would consist of six aircraft. The original power plants, the DB 601Fs, could not be installed in time and the lower performance DB 601B engines were assigned to the type instead for the short term. As in the Dornier Do 17, Rb 20/30 and 50/30 cameras were to be installed. The 20/30 would be fitted in the fuselage while the 50/30 camera was to be placed in the cockpit and be jettisonable. For emergencies the aircraft was to have a fuel transfer unit control installed to move fuel from one tank to another.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The first four A-0 aircraft were powered by DB 601Bs while the last two were given DB 601N engines in January 1940. The tests were problem free. However the RLM requested a B variant design which would have a fairing in which the film footage would be stored. Dornier reported that the A-0s were not getting the power plants they required for high altitude reconnaissance sorties so construction had to be delayed. The Do 217B program was suspended, as it turned out, altogether.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Dornier completed work on the V6 prototype, the fourth A-0 aircraft. On 15 October 1939 it was flown successfully. The bomb bay had been enlarged and continued testing various weaponry until 1941. It had DB 601P engines installed and its wing was enlarged in early 1941. The DB 601Ps could operate a maximum altitude of 5,800 m and would use high octane C3 aviation fuel. It should have been ready to fly by March, but problems with the engines slowed progress.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: At that time Dornier was working on additional features, in particular a new pressurised cabin for the A variant. It also hoped to introduce GM-1 booster units to increase performance at extreme altitudes. The first trial of this aircraft took place on 23 April 1940.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The RLM had stated it wanted the A prototypes to be tested by May 1940 with its high altitude engines. Owing to unresolved engine complications testing was delayed. Finally, on 1 October 1941 RLM ordered Dornier to return the aircraft to its original condition and abandon high altitude modifications. In January 1942 Dornier was ordered to prepare the two Do 217A aircraft fitted with DB 601Fs for immediate combat operations in both transport and bomber roles. The conversion was to be complete by February but the aircraft were not operational. Finally one machine was made ready and began operations with DB 601F engines on 30 December 1942, some ten months later. The other machine was sent to Löwenthal in July 1940 and had undergone trials with autopilot controls. From March 1941 it had been fitted with BMW 801A-1s and later A-2 engines for greater reliability on long-range sorties. In the summer of 1942 BMW 801G-1 engines were installed while later it had trials with BMW 801G-2 engines which had GM-1 boosters fitted in January 1943 for high performance at altitude.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: A number of the A prototypes served as test beds through the war. The last (V7) flew testing improvised de-icing systems at altitudes of 9,000 metres. In December 1944 the Dornier projects were halted owing to lack of fuel.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: In 1940–1941 the A-0s that were allocated to combat units saw service mainly in Western Europe serving in "Kampfgeschwader 2" from bases in the Netherlands.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The C series was a pre-production bomber powered by DB 601A engines and original shallow fuselage. It had five MG 15 machine guns installed and bombs as its main offensive armament. Five were built and used as test beds.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The V9, which had acted as a prototype for the E variant was also used for the C-0 series. The C-0 was a three crew combat aircraft powered by Jumo 211B engines and had a four-bladed 3.8 m airscrew. The RLM found no faults with the new machine in a June 1939 inspection. The only minor complaint was the limited view from the pilots' seat. Apart from the same engines and small fuselage space inherent in C-series aircraft, externally the C looked like the A-0 series.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: On 12 November 1940 Dornier increased the number of the crew to four to enable the five MG 15 weapons in the A, B and C-Stand positions to operate with the maximum protection. The bomb bay had also been modified to take four SC 500 or multiple SC 50 bomb loads. The Do 217 C-0 was equipped with a Lotfe 7A bomb aiming system and a Revi 12C sight for the pilot. For high-altitude flight sixteen 32-litre oxygen bottles were installed. The C-0 was capable of achieving a maximum speed of at an altitude of . Carrying a full operational load, its maximum speed was reduced by .


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The first Do 217 series aircraft, Wk Nr. 2710 flew on tests between September 1940 and March 1941. It crashed on 2 July 1942 at Rechlin. The second C-0 prototype was fitted with dive brakes on the under side of the wings but this configuration was abandoned in January 1941 and replaced by a brake parachute installed in the tail. The third prototype flew on 6 September 1940 and four further machines flew between September and November 1940. The final machine, 2716, flew on 6 November 1940. The eight machines remained at Rechlin in various test bed roles until at least July 1942. The C series project was abandoned and its variants never entered mass production.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The Do 217 H was a conversion of a Do 217E with DB 601 engines fitted with experimental turbo-superchargers. The H V1 to H V3 prototypes were designed as unarmed bombers with DB engines with 3.8 m VDM propellers. Bombs, Recon cameras, and dive brakes were all dispensable. The H V1 was delivered in September 1941 but crashed soon after as a result of propeller failure. After the evaluation of the flight, the wings were expanded to 67 m. In September 1943, after nearly two years of constant delays, the H V1 was fitted with DB603G prototype engines. It is unknown how these tests developed. The H V2 also crashed on 25 October 1942, severely injuring the crew. The cause was the propellers. The H V3 tested a variety of DB603s until November 1944. On 9 June 1942 it successfully tested at high altitude. It also proved successful testing twin exhausts and pulse jets. Later, in October three and four-bladed duralumin propellers were used. Because of better vibration characteristics, the four-bladed VDM was judged the best performer. On 11 October 1942 the first flight was made at 8,000 m. After, 9,000 m flights were reached. In September 1943 the DB603E had improved superchargers, giving better high-altitude performance. The H series continued as test beds for the M series until October, when they were cancelled for lack of fuel.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The L was a variant of the Do 217K with revised cockpit layout and armament. Only two prototypes were built. The R was a Dornier Do 317 with cabin pressurisation systems removed and modified to carry Hs 293 missiles. Only five built.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: High altitude reconnaissance/bomber version with two DB 603B engines supercharged by a single Daimler-Benz DB 605T engine, in a so-called "Hohen-Zentrale Anlage" (HZ-Anlage) installation in the central fuselage, as one example of the Henschel Hs 130E had been fitted with, solely for powering a shaft-driven centrifugal supercharger. Three prototypes, plus three pre-production Do 217P-0 aircraft, armed with six MG 81s. Ceiling of .


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The production of the Do 217 lasted until December 1943. Between January and August 1944 conversions only took place. Below is a list of the numbers produced.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: In October 1945 British Captain Eric Brown undertook full handling trials with a Do 217 M-1 WNr 56158 at RAF Farnborough. He recalled a distinctly "underwhelming" experience.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Brown recalled that he took off with full power of some 2,700 rpm and the lightly loaded Do 217 M left the runway at . Brown held a shallow climb, waiting to reach before retracting the undercarriage. Brown timed the time it took to retract, which was between 30 and 40 seconds.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: At he reduced power to 2,500 rpm and raised the flaps at about . With the flaps up a climbing speed of was established giving a rate of "very moderate proportions".


title: Dornier Do 217

text: While in cruising mode, Brown took the Dornier to and with the tail at +2 degrees angle of incidence, gave it a top speed of , true air speed.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Brown stated the aircraft was very stable about all three axes, and the controls were well harmonised and effective, and not unduly heavy for bomber operations. At the other end of the speed range, stall occurred at , and was characterised by a gentle nose-down pitch.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: At this stage Brown tried the Dornier's single-engine performance and this "proved decidedly unimpressive". It underlined that the aircraft was underpowered. Above , height could not be maintained at 2,300 rpm and its ceiling was barely .


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Brown reverted to "normal power", and decided to "chance his arm" (risk) on a dive-bombing procedure in what he described as a "ponderous aeroplane".


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Brown made a straight dive to , the maximum permitted below in order to get a feel for the controls, which began to stiffen considerably. The engine revolutions built to 2,750 during the dive causing a lot of noise. Brown pulled the aircraft out of its dive though it called for a "good full-blooded heave" on the control column.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: After climbing to regain the height lost, Brown decided to test the tail-mounted, clamshell-like dive brake and automatic pull-out equipment. The Dornier entered the dive automatically when the dive switch was selected and soon attained its "braked condition", limiting the airspeed to . The pull-out was initiated by hitting the bomb-release stick on the control column or selecting the "level flight" switch, which also retracted the dive-brake. Brown stated, "All very sedate and totally unimpressive as a precision weapon".


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The landing procedure began at an air speed of . The oil coolers were opened fully and the radiator hatches opened to 30 degrees. At the undercarriage was lowered, which again took 30 to 40 seconds. Flaps were lowered to their start position at and fully deployed at . The tail had to be trimmed to 4 degrees incidence (tail heavy).


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Final approach was made at and touchdown occurred at about . Landing weight was roughly . The control column had to be held back beyond the neutral to keep the tail wheel locked until the landing run was complete.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The first deliveries of Do 217s to operational units of the Luftwaffe was the pre-production Do 217A-0 reconnaissance aircraft, which entered service with the "Aufklärungsgruppe der Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe" to carry out clandestine reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union. Deliveries of the Do 217E started late in 1940, with some aircraft joining another reconnaissance unit, 2 "Staffel" of "Fernaufklärungsgruppe 11", which was also involved in spyflights over the Soviet Union from bases in Romania.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The first bomber unit to receive the Dornier Do 217 was II "Gruppe" of "Kampfgeschwader 40" (II/KG 40) in March 1941, followed by KG 2 later that year. At first these units, based in the Netherlands, were used to carry out minelaying and anti-shipping operations over the North Sea. On the night of 24/25 April 1942, however, Dornier Do 217s of KG 2 took part in an attack on the city of Exeter, the first raid of what was to become known as the Baedeker Blitz. 's Dorniers were heavily deployed during the Baedeker raids, against British provincial cities which were less heavily defended than London, which continued until July that year.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The Do 217 squadrons had little time to recover as on 19 August 1942 the Allies launched an amphibious raid on Dieppe in Northern France, with KG 2 launching almost its entire strength of 80 aircraft in response, losing 20 over Dieppe. It had suffered serious losses of trained personnel during operations during 1942, with the number of combat ready crews in KG 2 falling from 88 at the start of the year to 23 by September.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The Dornier Do 217-equipped bomber units spent most of the rest of 1942 recovering from these losses and re-equipping with the more capable Do 217K and M. Night attacks against Britain re-commenced in January 1943, and continued sporadically throughout the year, often suffering heavy losses. As an example the Do 217 equipped KG 2 lost 26 complete crews during March 1943. The pace of bombing attacks against Britain increased again in January 1944 with the launch of Operation Steinbock, with the Do 217 equipped I and III KG/2 and I/KG 66 being involved, these attacks continuing until


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Two "Gruppen" of the anti-shipping "Kampfgeschwader 100" (KG 100) equipped with Do 217s in 1943, with II/KG 100 receiving the Do 217E-5, equipped to carry the Hs 293 guided missile and III/KG 100 the Do 217K-2, with the Fritz-X guided bomb. II/KG 100 made its combat debut against Royal Navy warships in the Bay of Biscay on 25 August 1943, when it near missed the sloop HMS "Landguard", while on 27 August, a second attack by 18 Do 217s sank the sloop HMS "Egret" and badly damaged the destroyer HMCS "Athabaskan". This attack lead to a temporary withdrawal of Royal Navy surface ships from the Bay of Biscay until the guided weapon equipped aircraft were transferred to the Mediterranean following the allied landings at Salerno.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The final actions of Do 217 equipped units over Western Europe was against the allied Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, when the remaining Do 217 equipped bomber units, II/KG 2 and III/KG 100 were thrown into action against the Allied landings. Losses were heavy, with III/KG 100 losing 8 of 13 servicible Do 217s in 10 days of operations. As American forces broke out of the bridgehead at the end of July, III/KG 100 sent its remaining Do 217s to carry out attacks on bridges over the Rivers Sée and Sélune with Hs 293 missiles. They managed a single hit on one of the bridges, which remained in use, while seven Dorniers were lost.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Twelve Do 217 J-1 and J-2 variants were acquired by Italian "Regia Aeronautica" between September 1942 and June 1943 for night fighter operations. One Italian unit was equipped: 235a "Squadriglia" of 60° "Gruppo" (41° "Stormo"). Based at Treviso San Giuseppe, then at Lonate Pozzolo, the unit performed poorly. The unit shot down only one enemy aircraft, and lost one of their own, after nearly a year of activity.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: When the Italian Armistice with the Allies was announced on 9 September 1943, the Italian Fleet was instructed to sail to Malta to surrender. III/KG 100, based at Marseilles launched an attack from its base at comprising 11 Do 217s armed with Fritz-X guided bombs against Italian warships near Corsica, sinking the battleship "Roma" and damaging the battleship "Italia". The Dorniers were then deployed against the Allied landings at Salerno, damaging the cruisers USS "Savannah" and HMS "Uganda" and the battleship HMS "Warspite" with Fritz X bombs.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: The Dorniers of KG 100 continued to be deployed against convoys in the Mediterranean, but by the time of the Anzio landings in January 1944, heavy allied fighter cover and jamming reduced the effectiveness of the attacks, although Hs 293 missiles sank the cruiser HMS "Spartan" and several destroyers and merchant ships.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: Deliveries of the Dornier Do 217J-1 started in March 1942, with night-fighter pilots being unimpressed, considering the type to have poor manoeuvrability and speed. The J-1 was relegated to the training role by summer that year, replaced by the radar equipped J-2 in front-line units. Despite the aircraft's faults, the Do 217 was widely used, being used by 11 night-fighter "Gruppen", although it did not completely equip any unit, usually being operated in conjunction with the more popular Messerschmitt Bf 110. The Luftwaffe deployed the Do 217 night-fighter over Italy and the Eastern front as well as in direct defence of Germany, but the type had been phased out of service by mid-1944.


title: Dornier Do 217

text: A total of 1,925 Do 217s were produced, however no complete aircraft survives. The largest known relic of this aircraft, a large piece of the rear fuselage, can be found at the Italian Air Force Museum in Rome. One remnant of a Do 217 in the United States is one of the "Motoranlage" unitized BMW 801ML (BMW 801L) radials, still fully cowled, at the New England Air Museum that used to power a Do 217. The remains of two aircraft then based at Toulouse that crashed over the Pyrenées in July 1944, were being recovered in 2013.


title: Men in Black: The Series

text: Men in Black: The Series (also known as MIB: The Series, MIB: The Animated Series, and Men in Black: The Animated Series) is an American animated television series that originally aired on Kids' WB from October 11, 1997 to June 30, 2001.


title: Men in Black: The Series

text: The show features characters from the 1997 science fiction film "Men in Black", which was based on the comic book series "The Men in Black" by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Marvel / Malibu Comics. The series was produced by Adelaide Productions, a division of Columbia TriStar Television, and Amblin Entertainment as a half-hour series originally airing on Saturday mornings, and later moving to weekdays during its final run.


title: Men in Black: The Series

text: The show is set in an alternate timeline to the "Men in Black" film universe. The most significant differences in the series are that Agent K did not retire, and Agent J is still regarded as a rookie. Agent L on the other hand is depicted as a senior staff of the organization, a radical change from the first film. Some episodes do incorporate aspects of the film franchise. While the series offers internal continuity and extended plot arcs, it is primarily presented in standalone episodes. Some recurring themes include exploration of K's origins, as well as J encountering individuals from his life prior to joining MIB. Unlike the film series, the MIB headquarters is located at what looked like a disused area under LaGuardia airport instead of 504 Battery Drive in New York City.


title: Men in Black: The Series

text: In the United States, six episodes from the first half of the first season were issued on three two-episode VHS volumes, all made available on March 16, 1999. The United Kingdom received a similar release on August 19, 2002, however, all six episodes were released on one bumper VHS instead of three two-episode volumes. The release also included a bonus seventh episode, which was actually episode one, billed as the "pilot episode". It was then announced that the remainder of the show's first season, episodes 8–13, would be exclusively released in the region, being made available on VHS on January 24, 2003. On July 12, 2004, the first three episodes of the first season were issued on DVD for the first time by UCA Pictures. Further releases were planned, but sales were not strong enough to warrant any other DVD releases from UCA. The entire first season was issued on DVD for the first time on July 4, 2007 in Australia, via Sony Pictures Entertainment. The set contained two discs, one containing seven episodes and the other containing the remaining six. On July 16, 2007, the set was made available in the United Kingdom, however, was this time split up into two separate volumes instead of a whole box set. On May 11, 2012, the entire first season was released on DVD for the first time in the United States, being made available as an exclusive product for Target stores in the country. Thus far, no plans have been announced to issue any further seasons of the show on DVD as of 2021. The series is available on the streaming service Sony Crackle, alternating between the first two seasons and the last two.


title: Men in Black: The Series

text: A video game based on the series, titled "", was released for the Game Boy Color in 1999. A sequel, titled "" and also based on the show, was released for the Game Boy Color in 2000. A different version of "" was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. Another game based on the series, titled "", was released for the PlayStation later in 2001.


title: ZANU–PF

text: The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years under Robert Mugabe, first as prime minister with the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and then as president from 1987 after the merger with the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and retaining the name ZANU–PF, until 2017, when he was removed as leader.


title: ZANU–PF

text: At the 2008 parliamentary election, the ZANU–PF lost sole control of parliament for the first time in party history and brokered a difficult power-sharing deal with the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC), but subsequently won the 2013 election and gained a two-thirds majority.


title: ZANU–PF

text: On 19 November 2017, following a coup d'état, ZANU–PF sacked Robert Mugabe as party leader, who resigned two days later, and appointed former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa in his place.


title: ZANU–PF

text: ZANU was founded by Ndabaningi Sithole, Henry Hamadziripi, Mukudzei Midzi, Herbert Chitepo, Edgar Tekere, and Leopold Takawira at the house of former Defence Minister Enos Nkala in Highfield in August 1963.


title: ZANU–PF

text: The Patriotic Front (PF) was formed as a political and military alliance between ZAPU and ZANU during the war against white minority rule in Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe). The PF included the Soviet Union-backed ZAPU, which was led by Joshua Nkomo and operated mainly from Zambia, and the Chinese-backed ZANU led by Robert Mugabe, which operated mainly from neighboring Mozambique. Both movements contributed to their respective military forces. ZAPU's military wing was known as the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) and ZANU's guerrillas were known as the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army. The objective of the PF was to overthrow the predominantly white minority government, headed by the Prime Minister Ian Smith, through political pressure and military force.


title: ZANU–PF

text: Their common goal was achieved in 1980, following the Lancaster House Agreement of December 1979, when the United Kingdom granted independence to Zimbabwe following a brief period of direct British control. During the 1980 general election campaign, the PF parties competed separately as ZANU–Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) and Patriotic Front–ZAPU (PF–ZAPU). The election was won by Mugabe and ZANU–PF, with Nkomo and his PF–ZAPU retaining a stronghold in the provinces of Matabeleland.


title: ZANU–PF

text: In December 1981, agents of South Africa's apartheid government bombed party headquarters, nearly killing many senior ZANU–PF leaders, including Robert Mugabe.


title: ZANU–PF

text: In December 1987, after five years of the low-level civil war known as Gukurahundi, the opposition ZAPU, led by Nkomo, was absorbed through the Unity Accord with ZANU to form an official ZANU–PF.


title: ZANU–PF

text: From 1999 to 2017, Mugabe faced a major political challenge from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Mugabe won 56% at the presidential elections of 9–11 March 2002.


title: ZANU–PF

text: At the December 2004 five-year conference, Joice Mujuru, a Zezuru Shona like Mugabe, and whose late-husband Solomon Mujuru was the retired head of the armed forces, was elevated to the post of vice president of the party (the first woman to hold that office) at the expense of contender Emmerson Mnangagwa and his supporters; Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Information Minister Jonathan Moyo.


title: ZANU–PF

text: The 2005 Zimbabwe parliamentary elections were held on 31 March 2005. The party won 59.6% of the popular vote and 78 out of 120 elected seats. Later that year, 26 November, it won 43 of 50 elected senators. The parliamentary election was disputed as being unfair. The leader of the opposition MDC party said, "We are deeply disturbed by the fraudulent activities we have unearthed", and various human rights groups reported that hundreds of thousands of "ghost voters" had appeared on the electoral roll of 5.8 million people.


title: ZANU–PF

text: At the 2008 parliamentary election, the ZANU–PF lost its majority in parliament for the first time since independence, and held 94 seats out of the expanded 210 seats, with Sokwanele stating that this figure would have been lower had it not been for gerrymandering, electoral fraud, and widespread intimidation.


title: ZANU–PF

text: At the 2008 presidential election, Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC candidate, received the most votes, but did not gain an absolute majority; thus a runoff was necessary. Initial results led to MDC-T claiming the required majority. However, ballots were recounted at a National Command Centre over a period of over a month without the presence of independent observers. The election process that followed was marred by more violence against and intimidation of voters and party workers. Morgan Tsvangirai initially stated he intended to contest the second round but pulled out of the runoff saying a free and fair election was impossible in the current climate. The elections were held on 27 June with a single candidate, Robert Mugabe, who was re-elected.


title: ZANU–PF

text: Many blame ZANU–PF for neglecting to deal with Zimbabwe's problem with the mounting 2008 Zimbabwean cholera outbreak, which by the start of December 2008 had already killed between 500 and 3,000 people.


title: ZANU–PF

text: Former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki facilitated, under the auspices of Southern African Development Community (SADC), a Zimbabwean Government of Power-Sharing between ZANU–PF, the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai and the Movement for Democratic Change – Mutambara.


title: ZANU–PF

text: In November 2008, a group of former ZAPU members, most of them hailing from Bulawayo in Matabeleland, left ZANU–PF and re-established the ZAPU party stating five motives:


title: ZANU–PF

text: In 2014, a battle between Vice President Joice Mujuru and Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, and possibly First Lady Grace Mugabe, began over the succession to President Robert Mugabe. An elective congress was scheduled for December 2014, in which ZANU–PF would elect members to fill vacancies in the central committee, politburo, and presidium, and most likely endorse the party's next candidate for president. This congress, which takes place every five years, is the most important elective organ for the party.


title: ZANU–PF

text: Although President Mugabe had not named a successor, Joice Mujuru was seen by many as the most likely candidate. She had support from both the politburo and the population at large (demonstrated by the election of her loyalists to the youth league). Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa was supported by a smaller group composed mainly of senior members of the security establishment, part of ZANU–PF's parliamentary caucus, younger party members, and a few influential parts of the Zimbabwean business community. He had been with Mugabe since Zimbabwe gained independence and was regarded by many as a successor who could maintain stability after Mugabe eventually left office.


title: ZANU–PF

text: Mujuru lost the succession battle with Mnangagwa after being expelled from the party in 2015 a new power struggle began between Mnangagwa's faction (known as Team Lacoste) and Grace Mugabe's faction (known as Generation 40 or G40) which had become violent by 2017. Emmerson Mnangagwa was demoted from Minister of Justice following a cabinet reshuffle, soon after he publicly claimed that he was poisoned, in early-October 2017. On 15 November 2017, a military coup in Zimbabwe resulted in President Robert Mugabe being placed under house arrest and led to speculation over whether Grace Mugabe or Emmerson Mnangagwa would succeed him as leader of the party. Following the 2017 Zimbabwe coup, ZANU–PF voted to depose Robert Mugabe as party leader and install the banished Emmerson Mnangagwa as leader instead. Before the Zimbabwean parliament could vote to impeach Mugabe, he resigned from the presidency on 21 November 2017. Mnangagwa was sworn in as the new President of the Republic of Zimbabwe on 24 November 2017.


title: ZANU–PF

text: Officially, ZANU–PF has a socialist ideology. The party maintains a Politburo and a Central Committee. However, the party's ideology may be changing as Mnangagwa said that "all foreign investments will be safe in Zimbabwe" and calls for "increased production and capacity and new investment in the country."


title: ZANU–PF

text: Mugabe pursued a more left-wing populist policy on the issue of land redistribution in 2000s, encouraging seizure of commercial farms—usually owned by Zimbabwe's white minority—"for the benefit of landless black majority." The inauguration speech of President Mnangagwa threw this program's support into question since he said that the "government is committed to work on a compensation plan for former land owners." The compulsory acquisition of commercial farmland without compensation was discontinued in early 2018.


title: ZANU–PF

text: ZANU–PF is a member of the Former Liberation Movements of Southern Africa, an association of six socialist and communist political parties that were involved in the nationalist and anti-colonialist movements of Southern Africa, with roots in the Frontline States. ZANU–PF was previously affiliated with the Socialist International (SI), having sent representatives with guest status to the SI Congress in 1980, 1992, and 1996, and was present at the Socialist International Africa Committee meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, as recently as 1999. ZANU–PF has not attended any SI congresses or meetings since, and the party's opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai, in fact joined the SI in 2008. The Socialist International has condemned the actions of Zimbabwe's ZANU–PF-dominated government and military.


title: Married at First Sight (Australian season 8)

text: The eighth season of "Married at First Sight" premiered on 22 February 2021 on the Nine Network. Relationship experts John Aiken and Mel Schilling returned from the previous season, and were joined by sexologist Alessandra Rampolla to match 9 brides and 9 grooms together. Halfway through the experiment, the experts matched another 3 brides and 3 grooms together.


text: The season was heavily criticised by media outlets and fans of the show due to the lack of diversity in casting. A petition attracting over 13,000 signatures and started by fans asked the Nine Network to apologise for airing scenes that resembled a toxic relationship between couple Bryce and Melissa. In June the Australian Communications and Media Authority revealed they were looking into the season after receiving 54 complaints from viewers about the show. Several of the complaints alleged the series had aired abusive interactions between participants through "gaslighting, social, verbal and mental abuse". The Network was later cleared of any breaches.


title: Buick Encore

text: The Buick Encore is a subcompact crossover SUV built by General Motors since 2012. It is subcompact crossover SUV marketed by Buick and its fourth SUV overall after the Rendezvous, Rainier, and Enclave.


title: Buick Encore

text: The "Encore" designation was previously used by American Motors Corporation (AMC) for the subcompact two and four-door hatchback variants of the U.S.-built front-wheel drive Renault Alliance from 1984 to 1987.


title: Buick Encore

text: The first-generation Encore a restyled first-generation Chevrolet Trax, and shares the same styling with the European Opel/Vauxhall Mokka. It debuted at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 10, 2012, and went on sale at the end of 2012. The North American Encore is assembled at the GM Korea plant in Bupyeong, South Korea alongside the Trax. The Chinese market Encore is assembled in Shandong.


title: Buick Encore

text: The 2013, 2014 and 2015 Encore in the U.S. was offered in Base, Convenience, Leather, and Premium level models with the "A14NET" 1.4-liter inline-four multi-port fuel injected (MFI) VVT turbo gasoline engine rated at @ 4900 rpm coupled to a 6-speed automatic transmission. It was available in front-wheel drive (FWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD) versions.


title: Buick Encore

text: For 2016, a new Sport Touring second tier model was added which included an 18-inch alloy wheels with midnight silver finish, rear spoiler, body-color door handles, remote start, fog lights, and a new more powerful "B14XFT" Ecotec inline four-cylinder direct fuel injection VVT engine rated at @ 5600 rpm in Encore marketing materials. However, Opel in Europe rates the engine for the Mokka at @ 4900–6000 rpm.


title: Buick Encore

text: The Ecotec direct-injection engine package includes Stop/Start technology to improve fuel economy and was made available as an option on all but the base model for 2017 and 2018. In 2017, the model levels became Base, Preferred, Sport Touring, Preferred II, Essence, and Premium.


title: Buick Encore

text: For 2017, the Buick Encore received revised headlights and bumpers, LED tail lights, and the interior received a revised dash and gauge cluster with a 4.2-inch information screen, a revised center stack, and infotainment system with an 8-inch frameless screen. The faux fender ports, marketed as VentiPorts on models from 2013 to 2016, were deleted.


title: Buick Encore

text: Following the introduction of the all-new Encore GX for the 2020 model year, the Encore remained in the Buick lineup as the brand's "entry-level" vehicle. All trims except for the mid-level Preferred trim were discontinued, and the Preferred became the new "base model" of the Encore, with limited exterior color options, only one interior color option, and condensed options.


title: Buick Encore

text: In March 2022, General Motors confirmed that it would be discontinuing the Buick Encore following the 2022 model year. There will be no direct replacement, and the larger Buick Encore GX will become the new entry-level vehicle in the Buick lineup.


title: Buick Encore

text: The second-generation Encore was revealed alongside the Encore GX during the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show. It will be available with either a 1.0 L inline-3 turbo petrol engine rated at or a 1.3 L inline-3 turbo petrol producing .


title: Buick Encore

text: The second-generation Encore is not exported to North America, since it uses the GEM platform intended for emerging markets. The first-generation Encore has continued to be sold in North America, along with the new Buick Encore GX that debuted in 2020.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: William Desmond Anthony Pertwee, (21 July 1926 – 27 May 2013) was a British comedy actor. He played the role of the antagonist Chief ARP Warden Hodges in the sitcom "Dad's Army".


title: Bill Pertwee

text: Pertwee was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, on 21 July 1926. Born the youngest of three boys of a Brazilian mother and an English father, James Francis Carter Pertwee, who travelled the country as a salesman until he became ill and died in 1938, when Bill Pertwee was 12. The family moved home many times during Pertwee's childhood and he lived in Hereford, Glasbury, Colnbrook, Newbury, Erith, Belvedere, Blackheath, Storrington, Westcliff-on-Sea, Wilmington and Worthing.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: His education was disrupted by the moves and he attended many schools including an independent convent school, a small independent school, followed by Frensham Heights School in Surrey, Dartford Technical College and Southend College.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: Pertwee left school during the Second World War and worked for a company that made parts for Spitfire cannon. He was declared unfit for RAF service as he was on medication following a swimming accident, but was a member of the Air Training Corps (UK Air Cadets). He later worked as an accounts clerk at the Stock Exchange and as a salesman for the clothing retailer Burberry in London.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: Pertwee appeared in the radio comedy series "Beyond Our Ken" (1959–1964) and "Round the Horne" (1965–1967). He was also a warm-up act for many television shows.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: His most prominent role was that of ARP Warden Hodges in "Dad's Army", which he played in both the original television series from 1968 to 1977, and the radio adaptations, as well as the radio sequel "It Sticks Out Half a Mile", set after the war. Pertwee was president of the Dad's Army Appreciation Society and the author of the book "Dad's Army – The Making of a Television Legend".


title: Bill Pertwee

text: In July 2008 he and other surviving members of the "Dad's Army" cast gathered together at the Imperial War Museum on the 40th anniversary of the show's first broadcast in 1968. He also made appearances on "This Morning". In 1975 he took part in the "Dad's Army" stage show and with Norman Macleod released the Dad's Army single "Get Out And Get Under The Moon", with Pertwee's B-side song "Hooligans" on EMI.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: Pertwee appeared in two "Carry On" films – "Carry On Loving" (1970) and "Carry On Girls" (1973). His appearance in "Carry On at Your Convenience" (1971) was cut from the final film. His other film appearances include "The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins" (1971), "Psychomania" (1973), as postmen in the film versions of "Love Thy Neighbour" and "Man About the House", "Confessions of a Pop Performer" (1975), "What's Up Nurse!" (1977) and "What's Up Superdoc!" (1978).


title: Bill Pertwee

text: On television Pertwee appeared in the final episode of "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" (1981) and an episode of "Hi-de-Hi!" (1986). He played PC Wilson in "You Rang, M'Lord?" (1988–1993), another creation of Jimmy Perry and David Croft.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: The subject of "This Is Your Life" in 1999, Pertwee was surprised by Michael Aspel at the Imperial War Museum. In 2006, he performed in the World Cup song, "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Jurgen Klinsmann?"


title: Bill Pertwee

text: Pertwee died aged 86 on 27 May 2013. He had been ill since the previous year and died peacefully at his home in Cornwall. Three days previously he had attended a parade in Thetford (home of the Dad's Army Museum) where spectators and museum volunteers remarked how frail he was looking. His death, and those of Pamela Cundell in 2015 and Frank Williams in 2022, leaves Ian Lavender, who played Private Pike, as the only surviving "Dad's Army" cast member.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: In 2011 a portrait of Pertwee, painted by a local artist, was unveiled in the Dad's Army Museum, Thetford where it now resides. Pertwee was patron of the museum and of the DAAS (Dad's Army Appreciation Society) until his death.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: Pertwee married Marion Macleod, sister of John and Norman Macleod of the Maple Leaf Four, in 1955. They had a son, Jonathan James Pertwee (born in 1966), who has appeared in various TV programmes.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: Following the death of his wife, he lived in Topsham, Devon. He was awarded an MBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for his services to charity. He was vice-president of the "Railway Ramblers" and a member of the executive committee of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund ('The Royal Variety Charity') and was initiated in 1976 as a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: Pertwee's brother James Raymond "Jiggy" Pertwee was an RAF Whitley Bomber pilot who was killed in a crash on a hillside close to a disused quarry above Bank Foot, near Ingleby Greenhow in North Yorkshire, following a leaflet drop over Dortmund, Germany, in June 1941.


title: Bill Pertwee

text: He was related to Michael Pertwee and Jon Pertwee, being a second cousin of Michael's and Jon's father, the screenwriter and actor Roland Pertwee. He was godfather to one of the sons of his "Dad's Army" co-star Ian Lavender.


title: American Apparel

text: American Apparel Inc. is an online-only retailer and former brick-and-mortar stores operator based in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Canadian businessman Dov Charney in 1989, it was a vertically integrated company that ranked as one of the largest apparel manufacturers and marketers in North America.


title: American Apparel

text: American Apparel filed for bankruptcy a second time in November 2016. Two months later, the company laid off 2,400 Southern California workers and began shutting factories and closing its 110 stores. That month, Gildan Activewear purchased American Apparel's intellectual property and other assets for $88 million in a bankruptcy auction.


title: American Apparel

text: , American Apparel runs as an online-only retailer and markets itself as "Ethically Made—Sweatshop Free," with most of its apparel made in Central America, primarily Honduras and Nicaragua.


title: American Apparel

text: American Apparel was founded in 1989 by Canadian Dov Charney. For some time, clothes were made in South Carolina.


title: American Apparel

text: In 1997, the company moved to Los Angeles. Charney sub-contracted sewing to Sam Lim's 50-worker shop under the Interstate 10 freeway in east LA. Months later, the two became partners. In 2000, American Apparel moved to a factory in downtown Los Angeles where it continued to grow primarily as a wholesale business, selling blank T-shirts to screenprinters, uniform companies and fashion brands. Later, the company moved into the retail market.


title: American Apparel

text: In 2005, the company was ranked No. 308 in Inc.'s list of the fastest-growing U.S. companies in the United States, with athree-year growth of 440% and 2005 revenues of over US$211 million.


title: American Apparel

text: In late 2006, American Apparel went through a reverse merger and became listed on the American Stock Exchange.


title: American Apparel

text: It is also one of the few clothing companies exporting "Made in the USA" goods and in 2007 sold about $125 million of domestically manufactured clothing outside of America.


title: American Apparel

text: In 2010, American Apparel's auditors, Deloitte & Touche, resigned after informing the company that its financial statements for 2009 may not have been reliable. The resignation led to investigations by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States attorney's office for the Southern District of New York.


title: American Apparel

text: In April 2011, American Apparel confirmed that it had secured $14.9 million by selling some 15.8 million shares of common stock at 90 cents a share to a group of Canadian investors led by Michael Serruya and Delavaco Capital. The investors also received warrants to buy as much as 27.4 million additional shares.


title: American Apparel

text: In April 2013, American Apparel issued a private offering of $206 million in senior secured notes. The proceeds were used to repay a long-standing, high-interest credit facility from Lion Capital and Crystal Financial.


title: American Apparel

text: In June 2014, the company's board of directors ousted American Apparel founder, chairman and CEO, Dov Charney, after allegations of misconduct and inappropriate behaviour towards employees. As interim chief executive during the search for a permanent CEO, the company's CFO John Luttrell was appointed. As co-chairmen the company appointed Allan Mayer and David Danziger. Charney, through his lawyers, claimed his ousting was illegal and demanded reinstatement. Soon after, Lion Capital demanded the repayment of a $10 million loan four years early. A failure to repay the loan would trigger a default on a $50 million credit line with Capital One Financial.


title: American Apparel

text: By September 2015, American Apparel struggled to avoid bankruptcy, as the company needed to repay a debt of $15.4 million due the following month. It struggled to find funds and prepared to report dismal financial results in the coming weeks.


title: American Apparel

text: The clothes retailer warned investors in August 2015 that it would not have enough cash to "sustain operations for the next twelve months" which raises "substantial doubt that we may be able to continue as a going concern". The firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 5, 2015. In January 2016, the company rejected a $300 million takeover bid from Hagan Capital Group and Silver Creek, two investment firms aligned with Dov Charney.


title: American Apparel

text: In January 2017, American Apparel was acquired at auction for $88 million by Canadian sportswear company Gildan Activewear.


title: American Apparel

text: American Apparel designs, creates and prints its own advertisements. The company is known for its provocative and controversial advertising campaigns, which is largely the inspiration of the company CEO Dov Charney. According to Adage, American Apparel's advertising "telegraphs the brand" from person to person. Their print campaigns are widely considered to be some of the best in the industry. The sexually charged advertising has been criticized, but has also been lauded for honesty and lack of airbrushing.


title: American Apparel

text: According to CEO Dov Charney, the vision for the brand is that of a "heritage brand. It's like liberty, property, pursuit of happiness for every man worldwide. That's my America." In regards to the company's image overseas, advisor Harry Parnass stated that the brand is about aspiration and that they are "selling the American dream."


title: American Apparel

text: American Apparel images often display subjects with their blemishes, imperfections and asymmetrical features highlighted and attached with brief, personal descriptions. Many of the models in American Apparel's advertising are recruited by Charney and his colleagues on the street, or company stores; others are selected after sending their photos directly to the company website.


title: American Apparel

text: The company has also used pornographic actors and glamour models in some of its ads including Lauren Phoenix, Charlotte Stokely, Sasha Grey, Euguenia Diyordiychuk and Faye Reagan. Adult entertainment trade magazine Adult Video News cited the American Apparel website as "one of the finer softcore websites going". Some of the company's other ads, which feature nudity or sexual themes, have been banned by various advertising authorities. In 2009, an American Apparel ad which appeared in VICE Magazine was banned in the UK, because the image "could be seen to sexualise a model who appears to be a child". American Apparel complied with this ruling. American Apparel also came under fire for a 2014 ad for mini-skirts, which featured a model bending over so that her underwear was prominently exposed. In 2013, the company released an ad in which the model lay on a bed with her feet up in the air without wearing pants. The company also released an ad in which a model posed in a series of photos focused on her crotch, in which her face was not seen. The UK Advertising Standards Authority criticized the ad for being "voyeuristic" and "vulnerable".


title: American Apparel

text: For a time, Charney used a branding strategy that spotlighted his treatment of workers, promoting American Apparel's goods as "sweatshop free". In 2014, the company released a controversial ad with a topless model, and the words "Made in Bangladesh" across her chest, in an effort to draw attention to the company's fair labor practices. In 2008, the company took out a series of political ads featuring the corporate logo that called current immigration laws an "apartheid system".


title: American Apparel

text: In 2005, the company was named "Marketer of the Year" at the first LA Fashion Awards. "Women's Wear Daily" published a survey in April 2007 from Outlaw Consulting, a creative research firm tracking the habits of 21- to 27-year-olds, which ranked American Apparel as the 8th most trusted brand, ahead of such clothing brands as H&M and Levi's.


title: American Apparel

text: In 2007, Imp Kerr created a fake American Apparel ad campaign in New York. The stunt lasted almost a year, until it was revealed that the fake ads were actually Photoshop mockups. American Apparel ran a tribute ad on the back cover of Vice magazine showing a compilation of the fake ads.


title: American Apparel

text: In January 2008, the Intelligence Group, a trend and market research firm, listed American Apparel as their number two Top Trendsetting Brand, behind only Nike. In 2008, The Guardian named American Apparel "Label of the Year".


title: American Apparel

text: From 2009 until 2014, photographers such as Henrik Purienne and David Shama worked on a number of ad campaigns for American Apparel that defined the identity of the brand.


title: American Apparel

text: In 2007, American Apparel put up two billboards, one in New York and one in Los Angeles, featuring an image of Woody Allen's character dressed as a Rabbi from the movie "Annie Hall" and Yiddish text, for a period of one week. According to Charney, the billboards were a satire and allegory alluding to both the scene in the movie and the similar controversy experienced by both individuals. Allen strongly objected to this use of his image and sued the company for $10 million. Allen testified at a December 2008 deposition that he considered the company's advertising to be "sleazy" and "infantile".


title: American Apparel

text: Although the company said as early as May 2008 that the billboards were meant "strictly as social parody", there was much debate over whether American Apparel's lawyers would use Allen's personal life, namely his affair with Soon-Yi Previn as their defense at the trial. Charney claimed that these rumors were outright false and that his speech was protected by the First Amendment. In May 2009, the case was settled by American Apparel's insurance carrier for $5 million, with the insurance company paying the bulk of the settlement. The settlement was for half of Allen's initial demand. Dov Charney said that if it had been up to him, he would have continued the case and taken it to trial.


title: American Apparel

text: In addition to participating in a variety of immigration protests, the company launched an advertising and advocacy campaign called "Legalize LA". The campaign featured advertisements in national papers like "The New York Times" as well as billboards, T-shirts, bus ads and posters. The company also maintains a Legalize LA portion of their website that features news articles relating to immigration reform, the brand and information on the history of the issue.


title: American Apparel

text: After the passing of Prop 8 (which defines marriage in the state as one man and one woman) in California in November 2008, American Apparel launched the Legalize Gay campaign. It is similar to the Legalize LA campaign, and shirts with "Legalize Gay" and "Repeal Prop 8" printed on them in the same style as the shirts of Legalize LA are sold by the company.


title: American Apparel

text: In June 2012 American Apparel partnered with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in releasing a new line of T-shirts to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. Fifteen percent of the net sales of the shirts were donated to GLAAD. Isis King modeled for this line, becoming American Apparel's first openly transgender model. In the summer of 2013, American Apparel announced their desire for more "transexy" models.


title: American Apparel

text: In a November 2010 ad running in Canadian alternative weeklies, the company describes itself as "a majority-owned Canadian company, founded and operated by Dov Charney, a Montrealer". The ad goes on to say, "In the end, one of the important things that makes American Apparel special is its Canadian heritage."


title: American Apparel

text: In 2010, Kanye West released his album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy". On this album, the song "Gorgeous" (featuring Kid Cudi and Raekwon) contained the following lyrics: "I need more drinks and less lights, and that American Apparel girl in just tights."


title: American Apparel

text: The 2013 Capital Cities song "Farrah Fawcett Hair", features a verse in which André 3000 lists a number of things he appreciates, ending with "getting tucked in every night for a month by the American Apparel ad girls". This song became the source for a parody by Willam Belli, Courtney Act, and Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 titled "American Apparel Ad Girls".


title: American Apparel

text: In February 2014, the band 5 Seconds of Summer released their hit single "She Looks So Perfect", which included the following lyrics: "You look so perfect standing there


title: American Apparel

text: The production system of American Apparel centralizes most of its employees in a single location. By not outsourcing, founder and former CEO Dov Charney believed that he knew his workers better and that it tied them directly to the brand. A banner on top of the downtown factory states "American Apparel is an Industrial Revolution."


title: American Apparel

text: Charney had also previously stated that American Apparel hired its creatives by their sense of culture and fashion, not their resume. Conversely, the company has also been accused of focusing on personal style and outward appearance in its hiring practices for retail positions. According to Charney, the unconventional corporate culture at American Apparel was responsible for the company's creativity and rapid growth. Charney also stated that the company was open about sexuality and its culture because "young people like honesty".


title: American Apparel

text: The company has been criticized for its unconventional corporate culture. Charney claimed to have slept with employees, and reportedly masturbated numerous times and had oral sex performed on him by an employee during a series of interviews with a writer for the magazine "Jane".


title: American Apparel

text: As of 2012, American Apparel has sued in seven public sexual harassment lawsuits; all were dismissed, "thrown out", remanded to arbitration, or in one case, settled but with "no monetary liability to the company". Many cases were remanded to arbitration because the company required employees to sign away their right to any legal claim against Charney or American Apparel.In one prominent case, the company was sued by four ex-models for sexual harassment—including one separately named plaintiff who sued the company for $250 million—in a lawsuit which involved mutual nude photographs, sexual text messages and requests for money. The company was accused of being responsible for these leaks in a later lawsuit. However, the case was dismissed by a New York City judge in 2012. In another case, American Apparel was reprimanded in an opinion by the Second Appellate District for a settlement in which the plaintiff, Ms. Nelson, would agree that she had not been subjected to sexual harassment. American Apparel attempted to issue a press release which mentioned an arbitration hearing that had, in fact, never taken place due to Ms. Nelson's lawyer Keith Fink not showing up for arbitration. Keith Fink would instead later go on to represent Dov Charney in future cases, including defending against allegations of sexual harassment and assault. As of 2013, only one case, a "class action [lawsuit] on behalf of all female employees" which contains no "specific allegations against Charney," remains active. In response to the lawsuits, American Apparel has claimed that the lawsuits were extortionary attempts to "shake the company down", and has run advertisements saying so. Charney has maintained his innocence in all the lawsuits, telling CNBC that "allegations that I acted improperly at any time are completely a fiction." The board of directors voted to strip him of his position of chairman in June 2014 and fire him as CEO. Charney responded with several SLAPP lawsuits claiming defamation, which were thrown out in court.


title: American Apparel

text: In December 2014, Dov Charney was terminated as the company's Chief Executive Officer after months of suspension. He was replaced by Paula Schneider, president of ESP Group Ltd, company of brands like English Laundry, on January 5, 2015.


title: American Apparel

text: As of 2008, the company employed more than 10,000 people and operated more than 200 retail locations in 20 countries. The company paid its manufacturing employees an average of $12 per hour. According to the "San Francisco Chronicle" the average factory worker at the company makes $80–120 per day, or roughly $500 per week compared to the $30–40 made daily at most other Los Angeles-based garment factories. Employees also receive benefits such as paid time off, health care, company-subsidized lunches, bus passes, free English as an additional language classes, on-site massage therapists, free bicycles and on-site bike mechanics, free parking in addition to the proper lighting and ventilation. Every floor of the factory includes free telephones where workers can make and receive long-distance phone calls. The company's employees in foreign countries do not receive the same hourly wages as their Los Angeles counterparts. However, employees in China will earn US Federal minimum wage. After going public, the company offered employees as much as $40 million in stock shares. The plan grants employees roughly 1 share of stock for every workday they'd spent at the company. Approximately 4,000 of the company's employees are eligible for the program. In previous years the waiting list for employment at American Apparel has had over 2,000 names on it. In 2010 the company was actively looking for staff following an investigation by US immigration found that 1,500 of its workers lacked the legal immigration documents and were subsequently dismissed.


title: American Apparel

text: "New York Times" reporter Rob Walker wrote about the controversy in his book "Buying In" and revealed that since the unionization drive, the company Sweat X, which was held up as the example for what American Apparel should be, had since gone out of business. He quotes Charney saying more explicitly that "[Sweat X] ... fucking failed."


title: American Apparel

text: The differences between American Apparel and Sweat X were the subject of the 2010 documentary "No Sweat".


title: American Apparel

text: In 2015, the company hired the union-busting firm Cruz & Associates. The firm was paid a total of $462,343.


title: American Apparel

text: As early as 2001, American Apparel has been a vocal advocate for reform of U.S. immigration laws. On May 1, 2002 American Apparel shut down its factory to allow the company's workers, many of whom are immigrants, to participate in a pro-immigration rally in downtown Los Angeles. Dov Charney, a Canadian, also marched alongside the workers. American Apparel participates annually in the May 1st Immigration March and Rally in downtown Los Angeles. In 2008, they added a route from their factory that eventually connected with other supporters near the city hall. The company's politics were eventually spun off into the Legalize LA advertising campaign.


title: American Apparel

text: In 2009, an ICE audit of American Apparel's employment records uncovered discrepancies in the documentation of about 25% of the company's workers, implying mainly that they were undocumented immigrants. American Apparel terminated the employment of about 1,500 employees that September as a result. American Apparel responded with questions of the effectiveness of such an action and said ""[the firings] will not help the economy, will not make us safer. No matter how we choose to define or label them [undocumented immigrants] are hard-working, taxpaying workers."" The ICE audit highlighted a new strategy from President Obama which announced they were shifting away from high-profile raids. According to CEO Dov Charney, American Apparel promised its workers who were fired for improper immigration documentation that they would be given "priority treatment, in terms of being interviewed for future positions with the company", if and when they "got [their] immigration papers in order." Commenting on the loss of 1,500 workers due to concerns over illegal immigration Charney said "It broke our efficiencies and generated a situation where we were late delivering garments. It lost us an enormous amount of money. It cost us agility."


title: American Apparel

text: The company depends on environmentally friendly practices and is known for its innovations in sustainability due to vertical integration. American Apparel manufacturing system is designed around the concept of "Creative Reuse"—which converts excess fabric from one garment template into several additional garments such as bathing suit tops, belts, headbands, bows, bras, underwear and children's clothing. This otherwise wasted material reduces the amount of fabric the company needs to produce in addition to expanding its product line and saves approximately 30,000 pounds of cotton per week.


title: American Apparel

text: American Apparel maintains a bicycle lending program for its employees and according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals it is a vegan-friendly clothing company. As of 2007 the company planned to increase its use of organic cotton within the next four years from over 20% to 80%. American Apparel also sells a line of shirts under the "Sustainable" label that are 100% USDA organic cotton. In 2008, American Apparel purchased over 30,000 pounds of organic cotton known as B.A.S.I.C cotton.


title: American Apparel

text: American Apparel installed a 146-kilowatt solar electric system on its factory roof, designed to reduce power costs by at least 20%. These panels power as much as 30% of the factory.


title: American Apparel

text: In 2005, the company hosted a bikini car wash benefit with the American Red Cross to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. In addition, they packaged and delivered 80,000 shirts to the relief effort in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. As an underwriter of Farm Aid, American Apparel donates the blank shirts that the organization prints and sells as merchandise. In 2007, right before Christmas, American Apparel donated more than 300,000 articles of clothing, with the giveaway specifically targeting the homeless population of large cities. In 2009, the company had a "Justice for Immigrants" factory sale in Los Angeles—the proceeds of which benefitted organizations such as the Casa Libre Immigrant Children's Homeless Youth Shelter, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, the Coalition for Humane Immigration Reform of Los Angeles, Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, and the National Day Laborers Organizing Network.


title: American Apparel

text: American Apparel also donated more than $400,000 worth of garments to the victims of the Haitian earthquake through Fashion Delivers as well as over 5,000 pairs of socks to the shoe charity Soles4Souls.


title: American Apparel

text: American Apparel was criticized in October 2013 for a "culturally insensitive display" in one of its New York stores. The display used imagery associated with Traditional African religion and Afro-American religion. This sparked outrage among some practitioners of these various religions, that include Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, West African Vodun, Cuban Santería, and others.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: "Encounter at Farpoint" is the pilot episode and series premiere of the American science fiction television series "", which premiered in syndication on September 28, 1987. It was written by D. C. Fontana and Gene Roddenberry and directed by Corey Allen. Roddenberry was the creator of "Star Trek", and Fontana was a writer on . It was originally aired as a two-hour (with commercials) TV movie, and subsequent reruns typically split the episode into two parts.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Set in the 24th century (2360s to 2370s), the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship "Enterprise"-D. In this episode, the crew of the newly built "Enterprise" examine the mysterious Farpoint Station which the Bandi people are offering to the Federation, while under the scrutiny of a powerful godlike entity that calls itself "Q" (John de Lancie).


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: The episode was made as a pilot for the new "Star Trek" series, and was a double length episode at Paramount Television Group's insistence. After the show was initially announced on October 10, 1986, Roddenberry put together a production team which included staff members from the original series such as Robert H. Justman. The show used some existing sets and props from the "Star Trek" films and both "" and "". New actors were hired for the pilot, which in some cases required the character concepts to be redeveloped to better fit the actor. Marina Sirtis and Denise Crosby were hired for the roles of Macha Hernandez and Deanna Troi respectively, but were later switched by Roddenberry and Crosby's new role renamed to Tasha Yar.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: DeForest Kelley agreed to appear in a cameo role in the pilot, but—as a gesture to Roddenberry—refused to be paid more than the minimum possible salary. The show made its debut in syndication to a mixed critical response, an assessment which was upheld by critics reassessing the episode following the end of the entire series. It also marked the first appearance of the emergency saucer separation maneuver and the only time where saucer reconnection sequence appears on-screen.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: In 2364, the new flagship of the United Federation of Planets, Starfleet's , travels to the planet Deneb IV for its maiden voyage. "Enterprise" is to open relations with the simple Bandi people who have somehow been able to tap immense energy reserves and construct Farpoint Station, much to the surprise of the Federation. En route, the "Enterprise" is met by an omnipotent being who identifies himself as Q, a member of the Q Continuum—posing in appearance as a Grand Inquisitor—who declares that humanity is being put on trial then decides that their actions in their upcoming mission will be used to judge their worthiness and determine their fate as a race. Before letting the ship resume its course, Q warns Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) that he is destined to fail.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: As the "Enterprise" arrives, the crew members explore the offerings of Farpoint Station and establish relations with their Bandi host, Groppler Zorn (Michael Bell). The crew becomes suspicious when items they desire seem to appear out of nowhere moments later, and are unable to identify the power source that feeds the station. Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), an empath, senses a being with powerful yet despairing emotions nearby, and the crew discover a strange labyrinth beneath the station, but Zorn does not offer an explanation. As the "Enterprise" crew continues its explorations, a large unknown alien craft enters orbit and begins to fire upon an older Bandi settlement near Farpoint Station, and abducts Zorn. Before Picard orders the ship's phasers to be fired at the craft, Q appears to remind him of humanity's trial and prompts Picard to send an away team to the alien craft. The away team discovers the craft has passages similar to those under Farpoint and they are able to free Zorn. Their actions cause the alien craft to transform into a jellyfish-like space creature, and Picard is able to deduce the mystery of Farpoint Station. He confirms with the apologetic Zorn that the Bandi found a similar lifeform injured on their planet and, while attempting to care for it, they also exploited its ability to synthesize matter to create Farpoint Station. The creature now in orbit is trying to help free its mate by attacking those who hold it captive.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Though Q goads Picard into punishing the Bandi, Picard refuses, instead ordering the "Enterprise" to fire a vivifying energy beam onto Farpoint after the station is evacuated. The beam allows the land-bound creature to transform back into its jellyfish-like form, and it flies into orbit to join its fellow being. As the crew watches the reunion of the alien creatures, Q reluctantly tells Picard that the humans have succeeded in their test, but hints that they will meet again.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: The new "Star Trek" series was announced on October 10, 1986, by the head of Paramount Television Group, Mel Harris. He announced that the creator of "Star Trek", Gene Roddenberry, was to be executive producer and lead the creation of the new series. It was the second attempt at creating a new live-action television series based on "Star Trek" for Paramount; production on the previous attempt in 1977, called "", became "". When the decision was made not to proceed with the Paramount network it had been slated to be the flagship for, and interest in a new movie was piqued after the release of "Star Wars". Paramount had pitched ideas to Roddenberry earlier in 1986 as it was the twentieth anniversary of the original series, but Roddenberry turned them down and initially didn't want to do a new series. He later said, "It was only when the Paramount people agreed with me and said a sequel was probably impossible anyway that my interest was piqued."


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: All four major networks turned down the new "Star Trek" series, as they were not willing to commit to a twenty-six-hour first season with a guaranteed unchanging time slot as well as a promotional campaign for the show. The team proceeded with the project with the backing of Paramount. Roddenberry began putting together a production crew which included colleagues who had worked with him on the original series, including Robert H. Justman, David Gerrold, and Eddie Milkis. Justman proposed three ideas to the others on October 17, including families on board the ship, a concept which later became the holodeck and both an android and a Klingon character. One idea discussed by the production team was for Deanna Troi to have three breasts to which writer D. C. Fontana objected.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Fontana, who had previously worked on a number of episodes of the original series, was tasked with writing the script for the pilot. The production team met in full for the first time on February 18, 1987, having received the first draft of Fontana's script a few days earlier. The original premise involved the "Enterprise" and the USS "Starseeker" approaching an alien lifeform captured by a race called the Annoi and turned into a weapon. After the Annoi told the Starfleet ships to surrender, the "Starseeker" opened fire and was destroyed, while Troi contacted the alien and convinced it to crash on a nearby planet so that the "Enterprise" can help it to free itself along with rescuing other prisoners the Annoi were using as slaves on the surface. Despite numerous changes taking place to the plot before the final version, some of the introductions for various characters made it through to the final version. The plot involving Q was added subsequently to the episode in order to make it longer. Roddenberry was aiming for an hour-long pilot, but Paramount wanted a two-hour show and eventually won out. Other items were also added in order to lengthen the episode, including the saucer separation sequence and the appearance of Admiral Leonard McCoy.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Roddenberry realized early on that a series with the original crew from "Star Trek" was unlikely to be practical, nor did he want to recast the roles or have a "retread" crew – a series of different characters in very similar roles to the original series. He explained, "I would hate to think our imagination is so slender that there aren't other possibilities to think about." The first casting call was sent out on December 10, 1986. While some characters such as Geordi La Forge and Beverly Crusher remain recognizable from their descriptions in the initial casting call, others have clear differences; "Julien Picard" would lapse into a French accent when he became emotional, and Data was non-Caucasian. Macha Hernandez was a Latino security chief based on Jenette Goldstein's role in "Aliens", while Deanna Troi was to appear "foreign" or more specifically of an Icelandic or Scandinavian nature. Leslie Crusher was listed as a fifteen-year-old girl with a photographic memory, although was quickly changed to a male teenager called Wesley. Justman argued for a female teenager but Roddenberry thought that there would be a greater number of storylines available if the character was male.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Patrick Stewart was cast in the role of Jean-Luc Picard after Justman saw him perform at the University of California, Los Angeles. Roddenberry insisted that he wanted a French actor in the role, but Justman arranged a meeting between Stewart and the production team to introduce the actor, and later Rick Berman supported the casting. Fontana thought that American actor Stephen Macht would be better in the role. Justman wanted Stewart in the show in some capacity, and with Roddenberry still opposing him as Picard, Justman suggested that he might be a good fit instead for Data. Because Roddenberry couldn't find an actor he preferred more for Picard, he relented and changed his concept of Picard to better fit Stewart. Although Stewart was willing to put on an American accent to portray the role of Picard, the producers asked him to use his natural accent instead. They also tested him with a hairpiece but thought that it looked "awful". Stewart was pleased to have received the role, saying that his children were impressed with the new part and praised the mythos of the show saying, "The great strength of "Star Trek" is its epic, classic feel. For an actor of my background, it has more richness and depth than you might expect on television."


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Roddenberry's favorite for Riker was Jonathan Frakes, who went through seven auditions before claiming the role. Despite being the second choice of the casting team, he was hired after their first choice was unimpressive in his auditions.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: LeVar Burton had worked with Justman on another pilot for a series called "Emergency Room" and was suggested to apply for the role of La Forge. For US audiences he was the most well-known actor in the cast, due to his role in "Roots".


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Gates McFadden and Brent Spiner gained the parts of Beverly Crusher and Data respectively through the normal audition processes. Eric Menyuk had also been considered for the part of Data, and would later be cast as the recurring character of the Traveller in three subsequent episodes. Justman later said that he was the only one out of the production team who preferred Menyuk in the role.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Marina Sirtis auditioned for the role of Macha Hernandez, while Denise Crosby auditioned for the part of Deanna Troi. They both gained the parts with the approval of Berman and Justman, but Roddenberry switched the roles of the actresses as he thought Sirtis would be better suited for the role of the ship's counselor. Macha Hernandez was re-written to become Tasha Yar to better suit Crosby.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: The role of Worf required a black actor in order to make the Klingon make up easier to apply, and was expected to be only a recurring character, but following the casting of Michael Dorn and his work in "Encounter at Farpoint", the role was expanded.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: The appearance of DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy was kept a secret, with the character only being referred to in scripts as "Admiral". While Roddenberry had wanted Kelley to appear, he thought that the actor would turn him down. The two had lunch together and Roddenberry suggested the appearance, with Kelley agreeing not only to appear, but also that he wouldn't take anything more than the Screen Actor's Guild base salary for the part. He later said, "I just wanted scale, to let it be my way of saying thank you to Gene for the many good things he has done for me".


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: John de Lancie deliberately missed his first audition for Q as he was appearing as a lead in a play at the time. A second audition was arranged during lunchtime so that he could attend. He later said that after he auditioned, "a big guy walked out, put his hands on my shoulder, and said, 'You make my words sound better than they are.' I said, 'Well, you must be the writer.' And he said, 'I'm Gene Roddenberry.' I had absolutely no idea who that was."


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Colm Meaney was cast in the part of the conn ensign on the ship's battle bridge, and after a further appearance in the episode "Lonely Among Us", his character was given the name Miles O'Brien in season two.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: The cast was announced on May 15, 1987. There was a certain degree of uncertainty regarding job security during the pilot for the main cast, as they did not hear until after production had wrapped that the show had been picked up for a further thirteen episodes.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Due to what was seen as a low budget for the pilot and series in general, the existing sets and equipment from the "Star Trek" movies were re-used in the new show. Milkis and Justman were given the task of reviewing the standing sets from the movies on the Paramount lot in order to see what they could use. The duo would later recall that one stage was so completely covered with cat feces due to the number of cats living on the lot that the pair couldn't walk on the set. Certain sets were re-used, including a re-dress of the "Enterprise" bridge from "" to act as the "Enterprise" battle bridge in the new series. The main engineering set from "Star Trek III" became the new main engineering set, albeit with a command console from "Star Trek IV" added as well as two walls from sickbay from "Star Trek III". The rest of the sickbay set became the observation lounge during the first season. Some of the sets contained components from both "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and the unfilmed "".


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: After running tests with a company for computer-generated special effects, it was decided that, for the sake of reliability, Industrial Light & Magic would produce the new models of the "Enterprise", at a cost of $75,000 for a and a version. ILM was also integral to the development of the "jump to warp" special effect, which resulted in the company remaining on the show's end credits through its entire run. Filming of "Encounter at Farpoint" began on the Paramount lot May 29, 1987, and wrapped on June 25. Wil Wheaton noted that during the filming of "Encounter at Farpoint", most of the cast believed that the series would not last more than a year.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: The show was broadcast on both 98 independent stations and 112 network affiliates. In several locations, including Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle and Miami, the stations which were broadcasting "Encounter at Farpoint" gained higher ratings than the four major networks during prime time. Overall, it aired to an audience of 27 million. The show was immediately called the "highest-rated syndicated one-hour drama series on television".


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Jill L. Lanford watched the episode for "The Herald Journal", prior to the series premiere. She thought it was a resurrection of a "legend". She believed the episode itself was reminiscent of classic "Star Trek" episodes "" and "The Squire of Gothos", was the "perfect vehicle to introduce the crew", and a "perfect start". Don Merrill, writing for "TV Guide" said that the show was a "worthy successor to the original". Bob Niedt reviewed "Encounter at Farpoint" for "Newhouse News" and thought that the show had potential on the back of the episode, but there were problems such as "spots where the dialogue is pedestrian and interactions sputter". Tom Shales of "The Washington Post" viewed DeForest Kelley's cameo as "touching", but thought that Patrick Stewart was a "grim bald crank who would make a better villain". He felt Jonathan Frakes "verges on namby-pamby". Actress Marina Sirtis later recalled the reviews of the show's debut in 1987 while being interviewed to promote "The Next Generation"'s fourth film, "", saying "they bloody hated us".


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: Several reviewers reassessed the episode some time after the series aired. Michelle Erica Green reviewed the episode for "TrekNation", and found the episode disappointing with reference to the character of Captain Picard and the female crew members and a lack of sense of fun. Actor Wil Wheaton, also reviewing the episode years later for "TV Squad", gave the episode a 'C−' grade, suggesting that "at the time, Trekkies who were hoping to see the Star Trek that they were used to from the sixties must have been disappointed". Zack Handlen at "The A.V. Club", criticized some of the elements of the episode, such as the "long, rather pointless sequence" where the "Enterprise" undergoes a saucer separation and overall described the episode "more functional than inspiring". He praised the performance of Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard, describing him as a "damn fine actor" and enjoyed John de Lancie as Q. He gave the episode an overall score of B−. James Hunt, from "Den of Geek", re-reviewed the show following the re-release of season one on Blu-ray Disc. He stated, "even if it wasn't the first episode, it'd be worth watching" despite it coming from "what could arguably be called the worst season of "Star Trek"". Keith DeCandido for Tor.com thought that the pace of the episode was slow, but that both Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner stood out from the rest of the cast for good reasons. He enjoyed the references to the original series, especially DeForest Kelley's appearance. He gave it overall a score of four out of ten. The episode was one of a handful of "Star Trek" programs recommended for viewing to introduce new viewers to the mythos in Jon Wagnar and Jan Lundeen's 1998 book "Deep Space and Sacred Time: Star Trek in the American Mythos".


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: The episode has been rated one of the series' best by "The Hollywood Reporter" and "Den of Geek", and one of the most important Picard-focused episodes by "SciFiPulse.net" and Tom's Guide.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: In 2021, "Tom's Guide" said that the character Q's appearance in this episode helped TNG "work", with his debut bringing an energy to the episode, a character that was enigmatic, playful, and possessing a "rapier wit."


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: "Star Trek: The Next Generation" made its debut on VHS in September 1991 with "Encounter at Farpoint" as a feature-length episode on a single tape. It was subsequently released on DVD on region one on March 26, 2002. The sound was remastered to Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround standards, and a series of interviews with the cast and crew were included on the sixth disc.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: This episode was released in the "Q Continuum" collection of LaserDisc. The collection was released on July 30, 1997 and was published by Paramount Home Video; it retailed for 100 USD. The set included the 2-part "Encounter at Farpoint", "Hide & Q", "Q Who?", and "Deja Q" on 12 inch optical discs in NTSC format with a total runtime of 230 minutes. The collection came in a Tri-Fold jacket that also included a letter from actor Jon De Lancie.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: "Encounter at Farpoint" was released in Japan on LaserDisc on June 10, 1995, as part of "First Season Part.1". This included first season episodes up to "Datalore" with a total runtime of 638 minutes on 12-inch optical video discs.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: "Encounter at Farpoint" was released on PAL-format LaserDisc in the United Kingdom as part of "The Pilots" collection, in April 1996"." This included the color version of "", "Where No Man Has Gone Before", "Encounter at Farpoint", "", and "" with a total runtime of 379 minutes.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: "Encounter at Farpoint" was one of the first episodes of the series to be released on Blu-ray Disc. The episode was remastered into high-definition video and involved the original production team in updating some of the special effects in the episode. It was featured on the single disc sampler of the series which was launched prior to any full season box sets in early 2012, entitled "Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Next Level" along with two other episodes. "Encounter at Farpoint" was subsequently included in the Blu-ray Disc release of the season one box set.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: "Encounter at Farpoint" first aired as single 2 hour long movie in broadcast syndication starting the week of September 28, 1987. The production code for the 2 hour movie is 721, whereas it was also presented as two television episodes with production numbers 101 and 102.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: On the launch of Paramount+ streaming service, on March 4, 2021, a free "Star Trek" marathon was presented, featuring the pilots of the various "Star Trek" television series, including "Encounter at Farpoint". The marathon started at 7 am PT/10 am ET and was Live streamed on the YouTube internet video platform on that day.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: A novelization of this episode was published by Pocket Books, it was one of five novelizations to be made of "The Next Generation" episodes, alongside "", "", "", and "". The novelization was credited to original Star Trek series writer David Gerrold, but according to Gerrold the manuscript was actually written by D.C. Fontana, who had the assignment taken away by Roddenberry following a dispute over writing credits for the original teleplay. Gerrold submitted Fontana's manuscript under his own name with Fontana's blessing (without informing Roddenberry or Paramount) and voluntarily gave all proceeds from its sales to Fontana. Gerrold himself was denied co-creator credit for the series despite having written the original writers' "Bible," and was given the novelization as a financial apology.


title: Encounter at Farpoint

text: "The Q Continuum" trilogy of novels, featuring the character Q, was conceived by John J. Ordover at Pocket Books and written by Greg Cox. The author only accepted the project after rewatching all the television episodes featuring Q.


title: Irreplaceable

text: "Irreplaceable" is a song by American singer Beyoncé for her second studio album, "B'Day" (2006). The song was written by Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund, Beyoncé and produced by Stargate and Beyoncé. "Irreplaceable" was originally a country record; it was re-arranged as a mid-tempo ballad with pop and R&B influences by modifying the vocal arrangements and instrumentation. During the production and recording sessions, Beyoncé and Ne-Yo wanted to create a record which people of either gender could relate to. The song's lyrics are about the breakdown of a relationship with an unfaithful man and the song contains a message about female empowerment.


title: Irreplaceable

text: Following the moderate chart performances of "Déjà Vu" and "Ring the Alarm", "Irreplaceable" was released internationally on October 23, 2006, as the album's second single, and the third in the United States on December 5, 2006. The single was released through Columbia Records. "Pitchfork Media" and "Rolling Stone" placed it on their lists of Best Songs of the 2000s. "Irreplaceable" won several awards, including Best R&B/Soul Single at the 2007 Soul Train Music Awards. It was nominated for the Record of the Year award at the 50th Grammy Awards.


title: Irreplaceable

text: The single became Beyoncé's fourth number-one in the U.S., was "B'Day"s most successful release, and remained at the top of the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 chart for ten consecutive weeks. "Irreplaceable" was the twenty-fifth most successful song of the 2000s (decade) in the U.S., and was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It became Beyoncé's second single to achieve 200 million audience impressions in 2006. She is the second singer to achieve this feat in the U.S., the first having been Mariah Carey in 2005. "Irreplaceable" also peaked at number one in Australia, Hungary, Ireland, and New Zealand, at number four in the United Kingdom, and reached the top ten in several other European countries. "Irreplaceable" was the most successful song of 2007 in the US and 2007's tenth best-selling digital single with over 4.6 million copies sold worldwide. It also was the most downloaded female ringtone of the 2000s decade in the US.


title: Irreplaceable

text: The single's accompanying music video was directed by Anthony Mandler and served as the debut performance of Beyoncé's all-female band, Suga Mama. The video was included on the 2007 "B'Day Anthology Video Album", and a video edit was produced for "Irreemplazable", the Spanish version of the song. It won the Video of the Year award at the 2007 Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards, and was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year at the 2007 Awards. "Irreplaceable" has regularly featured in Beyoncé's tours and live performances since 2006. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized the song as one of the most performed of 2007 at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.


title: Irreplaceable

text: "Irreplaceable" was written for Chrisette Michele. Production team Stargate and singer-songwriter Ne-Yo had written for Beyoncé's second album "B'Day", but Tor Erik Hermansen of Stargate said that they might not have gone in the direction they did on the song. The tune did not suit Beyoncé's voice, and Ne-Yo wrote the lyrics from a male perspective, although it was not based upon his personal experiences. Ne-Yo wrote the song in the country style, thinking of country singers Shania Twain and Faith Hill during the sessions. When Ne-Yo heard them playing the song with a guitar, he thought it sounded like country music. But when the drums were incorporated into the music, it was brought to an R&B vibe, and Ne-Yo considered making an R&B-country western music song instead.