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Doctor Who: The Moonbase (UK - DVD R2)
The Wilson Bros examine this partially animated Patrick Troughton story...
Having witnessed the demise of megalomaniacal Professor Zaroff's plans to flood the Earth's core and bring Atlantis back above sea-level, The Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Ben (Michael Craze) and Polly (Anneke Wills) find themselves on the surface of the Moon. They soon discover that the Moonbase, a local weather tracking station is under attack from an old adversary, hell-bent on using the Moonbase's Gravitron to destroy all life on Earth...
The first appearance of the Cybermen in William Hartnell's final story, The Tenth Planet was unexpectedly successful, and the decision was made to have them return to menace The Doctor as soon as possible (in much the same way that the phenomenal popularity of the Daleks meant that they would come back very quickly to capitalise upon them), and one of their creator, Kit Pedlar was brought in to write their return into the Doctor Who universe.
There have been some who have unfairly criticised Patrick Troughton's Doctor for being too comedic; whist it's true that Troughton himself brought much of the impishness to the character, this lighter side is balanced out by the serious side that lies just underneath the surface and in The Moonbase, he gets to say the line that perfectly sums up the nature of The Doctor - "there are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things that act against everything we believe in. They must be fought." It is a wonderfully written line that seems to resonate with a degree of patriotism (NOT jingoism) that spurred people into action for the greater good during the two bloodiest wars of the 20th century. Troughton does present a more serious side to his Doctor in this story, with little of the incorrectly perceived clownishness that has plagued the general perception of the Second Doctor over the years.
Fraser Hines really isn't given much to do in this story, and the reason is relatively simple; Jamie was meant to be a one-off character, written as a character for The Highlanders and was meant to wave The Doctor and co off at the end of the story. Hines impressed the right people with his performance and was asked if he would like to stay on. The introduction of Jamie as a full-on member of the TARDIS crew meant the scripts for the following stories had already been written, so some frenetic juggling was required, often meaning that some of Michael Craze's lines were taken from him and given to Frazer Hines. This last-minute tinkering is particularly evident in The Moonbase, with Jamie spending much of the first couple of episodes in the sickbay in a state of delirium, only returning to vague lucidity now and again to exclaim "The Phantom Piper!"
You have to feel more than a little sorry for poor old Michael Craze – as soon as Frazer Hines agreed to stay on full-time, the writing was on the wall for him and the character of Ben. Craze brings a degree of earnestness to Ben Jackson, something which was never really replicated in quite the same way – he refers to any commanding officer in a situation as "Sir", which was a conscious nod to his navel background and this little touch adds a unique aspect to his character. Craze was a good actor and he was well equipped to handle the rougher stuff required when an older actor was playing the lead, but the introduction of Jamie seemed to religate him to the background. Whilst we're on the subject of Ben, this episode sees Able Seaman Ben Jackson wearing a shirt that is quite possibly one of the most quintessentially sixties pieces of clothing ever seen on Doctor Who during that era – well, other than anything Dodo ever wore, anyway...
In the documentary, More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS, the issue of sexism and the female companion is touched upon and the clip used to illustrate this apparent gender disparity in Doctor Who is from The Moonbase, where The Doctor rather patronisingly asks Polly to go and make some coffee to keep the men happy whilst he thinks of something. Whilst it's pretty hard to defend that particular moment, Polly gets her time to shine in this story, by creating a solvent-based cocktail that has a fatal effect upon contact with the Cybermen and thereby having a significant effect upon the outcome of the story. What is amusing during the creation of the Polly Cocktail is that whilst Polly is doing all the clever stuff, Ben is essentially fulfilling the age-old role of the companion, to ask "what is it, Doctor?", or more appropriately in this case, "what does this go, Doctor?" After this mini-triumph, Polly is reduced to serving coffee again in episode four – never mind, she got the shine to shine briefly.
Polly's intelligent questioning of the relevance of The Doctor's medical qualifications outside of the era he earned them is hastily – and somewhat conveniently – brushed aside by a quick "shh! Someone's coming!" and never spoken of again. There's still something pleasing about the way that Ben and Polly are clued-in about the Cybermen, having faced them before, albeit with a different Doctor beside them – such a thing is a rarity in Doctor Who, with only the occasional Dalek story to speak of where a companion is up against an enemy for the second time with another incarnation of The Doctor.
Much like the previous Cyberman story, The Tenth Planet, this features an international cast of characters; the most notable of comes in the form of Pink Panther regular Andre Maranne (the long-suffering underling, Francois Chevalier in the series) playing Benoit. Much like the previous Cyberman story, there is a commander of the base who is decidedly bullish in his demeanour and is unwilling to accept that what is happening is actually going on, but unlike the base commander who tangled with the First Doctor, the one here, Hobson, is slightly more open to help from The Doctor. Speaking of assisting a certain Time Lord, future Pertwee-era star John Levene makes his Doctor Who debut in this story, playing one of the Cybermen. After this, Levene would have to play a Yeti before finally appearing without a mask as Sargent Benton in The Invasion.
The format of the base-under-siege came to define the stories in the Troughton era and this was the first of many; though Hartnell's swansong, The Tenth Planet was the first of this often-used format, this was Troughton's initial stab at a concept that would serve him well during his tenure. Staying on the subject of the last Hartnell story, it's great to hear Space Adventure - the piece of library music that would come to be so closely identified with the Cybermen during the sixties – used so boldly during The Moonbase, especially at the climax of episode three, as the silver nemesis are stomping their way across the surface of the moon toward the titular station.
As was often the case in Doctor Who during the sixties (especially the Troughton era), a base-under-siege story often meant that much of the action took place on a large set, with a few smaller ones to help break things up a little and The Moonbase is no exception. The main set that houses the Gravitron device is pretty impressive, with a large glass dome and various control stations around. What is equally impressive is the matching between the large set and the model shots of the Moonbase on the lunar surface, which work wonderfully as a continuation of the set and go a long way in terms of selling the idea that this is all actually happening in front of your eyes. Another innovative piece of production design is having the names of the Moonbase crew and corresponding flag to depict their nationalities on their uniforms – it's a simple but innovative touch that also helps the viewer to remember the names of the guest characters. The stop-motion/animation effect of the mysterious virus that is sweeping through the base, snaking it's way along the skin of its victims is pretty good, looking like a dark tattoo snaking along the nervous system.
The great production design extends to the set used for the surface of the moon, with a convincing lunar surface making the opening scenes of the TARDIS crew traversing it and also makes the Cybermen advancing upon the base even more impressive. There are also some nice effects employed when the Cybermen fire a very large laser weapon at the base, only to have the beams deflected by the Gravitron device – it's fairly simply done, but very effective. Sadly, it's not all great as far as effects are concerned, with a couple of shots of the Cybermen reinforcement ship landing on the surface of the Moon looking like they were literally hung on fishing wire and just rapidly dropped onto the model set – these shots make the Dalek ship flying over London in The Dalek Invasion of Earth look like something by Ray Harryhausen in comparison.
The Moonbase introduces the concept of having the Cybermen take control of humans to make zombie-like slaves of them; this was continued in Tomb of the Cybermen and the Wheel in Space, before eventually being phased out entirely. You would imagine that Russell T Davies watched these stories as a child and thought: "hmm - stories with zombified humans. I think there some mileage in this...?" What is a little suspect is the way that a black character, Ralph, is one of the first to cop it on-screen and is turned into a mindless slave, in many ways, he was the prototype Toberman from Tomb of the Cybermen. Is this mere coincidence? Or is it an example of a possible Catch-22 situation when trying to have diversification on-screen during a turbulent period? Either way, it's a little uncomfortable to see a black character doing the leg-work for the white... sorry, the SILVER man.
Out of all of the recurring adversaries on Doctor Who, the only ones to be in an almost constant state of evolution were the Cybermen. The silver-suited cyborgs from the planet Mondas were often either tweaked or radically overhauled for every appearance on the show. It could be argued that their redesign here would be the most significant one, making the transition from snood-wearing hulks who got dressed-up out of the kitchen drawer and spoke like Rainbow's Zippy after a stroke, to metallic-looking giants who seemed to be more robotic and genuinely emotionless. This design would be tinkered with for their next couple of appearances (and thankfully eradicated the lace-up boots) before being significantly overhauled for The Invasion. If there is one aspect to the Cybermen during Patrick Troughton's era, it's that the voices weren't the best – in this story, and also in the subsequent story, Tomb of the Cybermen, they all had the unfortunate sound of speaking as though they had just stuck a hot chip into their mouth-slit; half of the time, the human cast are reiterating the dialogue spoken by the Cyberman, almost as though they knew that the audience were going to have difficulty in deciphering it. It's hard to decide whether nor not the voices here are preferable to their Tenth Planet 'continually-changing-gears-on-a-busy-motorway' cadence.
Director Morris Barry manages to wring every drop of tension from Kit Pedlar's script, delivering several impressive cliffhangers, particularly the end of episode two, where The Doctor realises that a Cyberman might be hiding out in the medical bay, where they are all situated and they begin to look around at the bodies lying on the beds to see if they are indeed in the company of one of the bad guys. It's a great little scene that really makes you sit up and take notice. Whether or not it was Morris Barry or writer Kit Pedlar, but when the Cybermen broadcast their demands over the communication device, base commander Hobson switches it off before the Cybermen get to finish the words "resistance is useless"; this seems to be a conscious effort to show that this particular phrase in science-fiction had become trite even by the mid-sixties. Douglas Adams would memorably resurrect this sci-fi cliché in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, rendering it completely unusable in straight-faced sci-fi ever since.
There's a lovely little moment after the inhabitants of the base have successfully managed to repel a first attack and are confident that the Cybermen will not be able to get inside, only to have the Cybermen reply: "we already are" – just before the faecal matter comes into contact with the blade-driven air conditioner is something that fits in perfectly with the time the story was produced, with fear of infiltration and spying being quite high up in the list of fears fuelled by the Cold War. What really elevates this sequence to 'amazing' status is the unusual amount of menace in the voice of the Cyberman when delivering the line – it really takes you aback momentarily as all hell begins to break loose.
Things end favourably, with the Cybermen floating in space (you would have thought that some of the more vengeful members of the Moonbase would have taken the opportunity to take pot-shots at their helpless adversaries, but this doesn't happen. The Doctor and his companions slip away with no fuss as the everyone else celebrates – classic Doctor Who indeed.
Now – to the question that many of you are asking – what are the animated episodes like? Well, they were done by Planet 55, and they have built upon the sterling work done on episode four of The Tenth Planet and have produced something that would fall comfortably into the category of "wonderful". Though there are a number of showy, unnecessary pans during the first couple of minutes of episode one, these settle down and you are captivated by what is seen on the screen; the likenesses of the cast – from Troughton to the guest actors – are superb, with impressively expressive faces, especially Troughton, who has many of his facial ticks and nuances preserved here for your enjoyment. Finally seeing the walk across the surface of the moon near the start of episode one is most pleasing – we would imagine that it was fairly close to what was originally filmed. The destruction of the Cybermen via Polly's cocktail is done with a loving – scratch that – almost pornographic, level of detail.
There is some interesting non-verbal interplay between The Doctor and Benoit during episode one, that looks like it could have actually taken place and could have been indicated in the script, or remembered by one of the surviving cast members. There is a moment in episode three that has The Cosmic Hobo having a conversation with himself, using both internal and external voices; it's a wonderful example of a great actor able to internalise and react to playback of his own voice, but the animators have really brought this scene back to life in a manner that is beautifully faithful to Patrick Troughton's acting style and is almost certainly a faithful representation of what was originally shot. This has to be the highlight of the animated episodes presented here – or elsewhere for that matter.
Much of the animation has clearly been rotoscoped from other existing material from elsewhere, or even from members of the animation team acting out some of the movements, which is no bad thing, as it adds a greater degree of life to the animation. Troughton is seen clasping his hands together, playing with the hem on his jacket and even just pensively moving his jaw from side-to-side; this sort of attention to detail is something that could only have emerged because the people working on it are passionate about Doctor Who. This is nothing short of a bloody triumph and sets a new standard for Doctor Who animation. We're eager to see what will be done with The Underwater Menace...
The surviving episodes of The Moonbase were originally released on DVD in 2004 as part of the Lost in Time set. The transfers of episodes two and four that are in this release appear to be the same ones; neither episode can be held up as a shining example of restoration, as the surviving prints weren't in the best of shape to begin with. The Doctor Who Restoration Team cleaned them up and presented them in the best condition possible, within the limitations afforded by the source material.
The animated episodes are pristine and have a sharpeness that borders on breathtaking – these are presented 1.33:1, in keeping with the aspect ratio of the surviving episodes. In short, they look absolutely amazing.
The surviving episodes sound fine and have been cleaned-up along with the image; the animated episodes have their audio sourced from the off-air recordings made by fans; though the quality of these recordings tended to vary between pretty good to fairly awful – thankfully, both recordings here are in the higher bracket of examples of off-air recordings and sound perfectly good.
Audio Commentary: Now, this is a game of who halves, Brian. Not that this particular quote from popular sporting culture is in any way relevant to society today, but it serves as a useful method for explaining the polarised nature of the commentary on this disc. Fuck it: there are two different types here, the existing episodes employing the traditional "sit-down-and-watch" variety, whilst the animated ones appropriately constructing ones from remnants, specifically previously existing interviews with those associated with The Moonbase.
Hosting both is the redoubtable Toby Hadoke, where he sits in with Anneke "phwoar" Wills, Frazer Hines, Edward (Bob) Phillips and Brian Hodgson, the man with the very special sounds, and it plays out in every bit as fun a fashion as before. For the animated episodes, Hadoke provides linking and contextual material for a series of interviews, taken from those closest to the show in question. Here are gathered new recordings from writer Kit Pedlar's daughters Lucy and Carol, along with archive material from producer Innes Lloyd, Assistant Floor Manager Lovett Bickford, as well as Cybermen actors Barry Nobel, Derek Chaffer and Reg Whitehead.
The personable Topolski makes no bones about her dad's sociological conscience, asserting that: "… He certainly had a genuine concern," the successful novelist recalls of her father, "…particularly social responsibility, or as he would say 'social irresponsibility' in science, but as far as the Cybermen was concerned…I'm not sure that that was so much to do with his medical background…he did have a very fiendish imagination. He did have some dark ideas about where humankind could go". Younger daughter Lucy Pedlar confirms the suspicion that many had when watching her fathers' stuff, in that he cared very much about the earth and the way it was being systematically destroyed, something which he made sure wasn't lost on his kids, and that they were "…Indoctrinated from birth about environmental issues, so he lives on in many ways".
One story from Topolski makes you think that you have got the ecologically-minded Pedlar skewered, but it all gets turned on its head by the end of the tale. "He was into fast cars," she starts, taking us on a mystery tour, "…he had more cars that other people have boxes of Cornflakes… I think there was one year he went through six, and they were not Austin Minis - they were Maseratis, Lancias and Ferraris. He made one car - he bought a racing car, stripped it down completely… built a whole new body for it and put a V8 engine in the front, and took it for a test-drive and the front of the car blew off! Because the engine was too strong for the body! With all that real, real love for fast cars, when he became an ecologist, he did his research, and discovered… some really naff little car was most environmentally friendly car… and drove around in that, so he was actually prepared to put his money were his mouth was".
The infamous bit of screaming at the start of Episode two is pointed out by Hadoke that it's frequently used by pop-culture historians to illustrate unemancipated women being exploited on the show, which comes as new to the companion responsible. "Is it really?" asks Wills. "Well, I just enjoyed letting rip, I'll tell out what! Listen, if you saw a blooming Cyberman, wouldn't you let rip?" We don't think that our penchant for double-entendre leaves alone in picking up on the juvenile connotations of her statement! Just you wait until your hear about her experiences recording the Target novel of The Moonbase for audio, and how she got far to into the big finale. Wills stresses just how terrific the book of the story is, and its heartening to hear one the cast being so juiced-up about such things.
Phillips proves to fans once again how that which they know intimately and cherish was but a minor blip useful for paying the bills for thespians. His details about his time on the show really aren't that: detailed. Probably the closest we get to anything anecdotal comes when he is expertly prompted by our man Toby, spurring his brain into recalling: "…I can't remember the audition, if there was one," he kind-of asserts, "…in this particular episode [2], I just had to look busy - press levers, turn wheels and things. But what I do remember quite distinctly is in a later episode, getting shot by a Cyberman. In this episode, I am wearing a sleeveless leather jersey…what you didn't see was two pipes, stuck up the back, ending under my armpit…and at the crucial moment, [the operator] pressed the button and volumes of smoke burst out from under my armpit, and I looked as though I was disintegrating, and that's the one thing I do remember!"
Bickford comes across as rather forthright, a quality essential to the job he had, as he would be the one to get it in the neck if everything wasn't ready on the floor when it was needed. His bluntness is cemented by his generalisation of the majority of those he had to work under stating that: "…Most television directors are slightly dull". As if this isn't sour enough, it's hard to know what to say about his comments regarding the differences between the first two to play the lead, with some taking heart in his opinion and others being taken aback at his bluntness. "As actors, I think Patrick probably was the better," he opines. "…probably the best actor of all the Doctor Whos, I would think, and much more versatile. Hartnell was, I think, probably the most successful Doctor who's rather frightening in a way that the others weren't".
Cyber-thespian Reg Whitehead agrees with Bickford about the lead actor, stating that Troughton was : "…lovely man, very different to Bill Hartnell, and very much easier to work with. He had a very wicked, impish quality about him, which everybody liked… the Beeb were not entirely satisfied at some of the antics he got up to, and I know that at certain times, they did try to tone him down and get rid of the hats and other pieces of the costume. They stole them! They couldn't find them for the next show!" The tales told by the very first Cyberman are fascinating, from how he got cast, through to his acting career being derailed via the intervention of the Newton's Cradle, by way of $7 million dollars. Best if all is his story of being confronted by Bill Hartnell, who asked Whitehead if he considered himself an actor, and the bizarre way he went on to prove him otherwise.
Like the damn-good moderator he is, Hadoke puts forward the subject of Innes Lloyd for debate, and how he was infamous for not putting up with the foibles of those involved on the show, postulating that he was "…Quite a harsh producer, in terms of if he came in, and he didn't think you were doing the job. He let Peter Purves and Jackie Lane go very quickly - William Hartnell doesn't last long." At this point, Hines chimes in with a mixture of genuine interest and mild puzzlement: "I'd read about that," he starts, "That he was a very hard taskmaster, and if you were on the wrong side of him, you where gone. I never saw that side of him". This sentiment is echoed by Wills, "Nor did I," she confirms, "He was a pussycat in a tweed suit". Impressions of him follow from both performers, and rather amusing they are, too.
To us, if you want honesty, go ask a Cyberman, and Derek Chaffer is certainly on a short-list for those you'd want as your go-to cyborg. You might think that big, strapping fellows like them would have no problems with the suits, but guess again, "The first ones were the worst," he admits, "…when they had the stocking masks - we were falling over. The front pack was too heavy, so each [design] was a bit different, they were changing all the time." Comfort was not even part of the equation during the evolution of the suits, with no proper testing under working conditions. "You really sweat," informs Chaffer. "You had to be pretty resilient… outside, they were alright, they were cool enough, but when you were on-set, the heat there was fantastic - I've actually seen steam coming out of the eyeholes!".
Fellow Cyberman Barry Nobel concurs, with the aspiring pop-star-turned-baddie waxing philosophical on the nature suffering for his art. "They were quite uncomfortable," he all but winces. "If they were more comfortable, maybe I would have done a few more episodes [laughs]. But they were very, very hot to be in - there was no ventilation, apart from your eyes. You could only walk in the fashion that we did, and you changed your t-shirt, because that was always soaked with the perspiration. It was like a walking sauna-suit. We had a laugh." Doing the whole "monster under uncomfortable conditions" thing ourselves, we can certainly empathise with the guy, but it's also very gratifying to be associated with something so cool, with the end result being worth it.
Not mentioned in the press-notes an the archive recording of the man with the legendary voice, Peter Hawkins, who details the processes he went though to get the creepy tones for the Cybermen, involving the fitting of a metal palate at a dentist to allow the electronic sounds to be made. Naturally, it wasn't a particularly nice experience, made worse when the long days at work literally built up. "…It did get clogged-up a bit with saliva," he revealed at a convention, "It was very unpleasant". This is a lovely inclusion, which they really didn't have to do, and that it goes unbilled makes it really cool surprise.
Well, this could well be the last commentary, and we have to say that Hadoke has captained another fine vessel. The warmth between all participants is so very inviting, with the interplay 'twix Wills and Hines particularly charming. Everyone has a good time, and seems to be a fitting way to round out over ten years of tracks. Things have come a long way since the faltering one found on The Aztecs, with the evolutionary process quickly taking hold, delivering heaping great chunks of enlightening entertainment, cemented together by a glue of affectionate humour every other commentary track can only fruitlessly write to Santa to try and get. Stick it on, pour a glass of your favourite alcoholic substance, and enjoy a fine example of life's pleasures one last time. Talented members of cast and crew, we salute you all!
Production Subtitles: Well, with the word on the street being that the final Doctor Who release - The Underwater Menace - is to contain no extras, then there is a good chance that this is the final text commentary track, and it is a prospect we do not face with glad hearts. It says something when the passion of those brave few who exhaustively gather the ludicrous amount of information, collate it and magically turn it into something which unswervingly enhances the viewing experience can even eclipse the might of the Okudas and their efforts with various Star Trek releases. Whilst the more cheerful of us might it as a way to express our appreciation for the work over more than a decade - which we certainly have - we see it as the end of something pretty damn magical.
With the end being nigh, it seems more than fitting that we are told that the spirit of the Phantom Piper was based squarely on the Ghostly Drummer of Cortachy Castle, presumably given bagpipes to enhance the Scots motif and to give him an instrument even more annoying with which tae irritate those he's haunting. But you don't have to worry, as everything we have grown to love about the production subtitles is present and correct, all laced with a sense of humour so wicked it could grow a goatee and fly off in a column-shaped TARDIS. Just take a look at the description of how Victor Pemberton, who turns up here as an actor, didn't really want to be a script-writer is hilarious, and could easily teach Mike Meyers and Seth McFarlane how to successfully sustain a gag without beating it to death and rendering it DOA in the afterlife.
Once again, the unaccredited are given their dues, and we heartily commend the guys to throwing a light on those who got shafted first time around, and there really are few things more disheartening than being in something a lot of people see without being credited for it. When it comes to exhaustive, then - Jesus, - you even get to find out the owner of the hand who bravely volunteered stand in for Evans during the 8-second animated sequence where the neurotrope surges through the body of its victim. Thirsty for more minutia? How about exactly which Cybermen actors took over when others called in sick?. What about a detailed look at the rush to get a crucial control panel finished when the relevant person called in sick that day, leading the merging of jobs which would have easily resulted in a walk-out if it happened during the seventies! However, the prospect of an all-film Troughton story which might have resulted from said strike is an awesome prospect to mull over…
It certainly isn't all back-slapping for the episode, as the interests of balance are well looked after. There are numerous times where mistakes, bursts of illogic and head-scratching " whaaaaaat???" moments are taken to task, and - where possible - rationalised, without ever being sycophantic about it all. OK, we all know that patching a hole in an environmentally-pressured dome is just bloody stupid, but take a look at the beleaguering moment when nobody notices the zombified Evans as they all drink their coffee the same room. It seems that as originally scripted, an observation tower was to conceal his transformation, and everyone's favourite companion just didn't get to see his face when delivering the hot beverage. The track goes on to state that this sequence was reinstated for the Target book: "…as well as giving Polly a short skirt for good measure".
Speaking of pertinent factual errors being pointed out, the track rather kindly notes that The Doctor should have consulted his 500 Year Diary to jog his memory about a piece of factual information he got totally wrong. We'll leave it for you to discover for yourselves. We are also told where to look for the breaks in recording, including those which allowed Troughton to dispose of certain props he would have otherwise been lumbered with about his person. In perfect keeping with the errors pointed out is where the mood of the victorious goodies is remarkably changes once the pausing in the taping has taken place, when supposed to be an unbroken sequence. It's all there in aching detail, but never a pain to sit back and enjoy such exhaustive research.
Well, if this is to be truly the last of the Information Subtitles to grace a Doctor Who release, then this sends it all off in fine style, with another indispensable accompaniment. There are those who shun the visual medium in favour of the printed word, resolute in the belief that you can never learn anything from television, and them we say this: it depends if you are sitting in front of a constructive programme open exploring ideas, and when you couple it with something as superbly-written and researched by the best in their field, it gives us confidence to say a hearty "thanks" to Martin Wiggins et al, and a flying "fuck you" to all detractors. We'll not see quality of this like again.
Lunar Landing: It's another of the uniformly excellent looks at the original Doctor Who stories, and this one doesn't do anything to disgrace the track record, bring terrifically entertaining as well as tremendously informative. Even though half the episodes are missing, this doesn't translate into 50% effort being put into the accompanying documentary, so it's time (possibly the last!) to sit back and have a straight shot on fun as the guys spill the beans about occasion when the Cybermen panned to bugger about the Earth's weather. Christ - have they been trying it again recently?
It just wouldn't be right for a look at The Moonbase without the participation of the woman who has caused the spilling of more thick, white fluid than a leaking McDonalds Thick-Shake machine, Ms Anneke Wills. There is so much good stuff from her to be found here, including where she brings up the instance of Pat Troughton being told to cut back on the clowning of which he was so very fond, and to keep everything in his performance serious for the dramatic instances, with Morris Barry being the only director forceful enough to keep Troughton on a tight leash. She also mentions that writer Kit Pedler being a feminist, allowing her to get involved with the Doctor's experiments - and all whilst making coffee! Such noble efforts are countered by her comments about the spacesuits they all got to wear, but you have to feel more than an twinge of fuzziness when a woman as lovely as Wills reminisces that: "…They were padded, quilted, zipped up the back. I was worried 'cause I thought my bum looked big in them".
Frazer Hines concurs that the spacesuits were horrible to work in, and had to suffer for his art. "The minute you got the helmet on," he almost winces, "…your brain says 'I want to scratch my nose now' but you can't. 'I want to sweat now'. No, I don't want to sweat!" Still, any such problems encountered with physical aspects where compensated by other ones, and all because of trying to squeeze him into a story after his last-minute joining to the cast and spending much of it in a coma. "I didn't mind that," Hines chortles, "…because I was being paid to lie in a bed and have my brow mopped by the beautiful Anneke Wills. So it wasn't too bad at all". He also covers the re-shooting of the climax to The Highlanders in order to have Jamie join the TARDIS crew in the first place, which: "…Started three of the happiest years I have ever had!"
There is an interesting contrast of opinion about which the favourite design of the Cybermen, with Hines preferring the newer version debuted in The Moonbase, but Wills goes for the original costumes from The Tenth Planet, noting that it was based squarely on Kit Pedler's concept that they are in facet augmented human beings, improving their body without entirely encasing it in metal. It can be safely said that Wills puts her point across with more passion than Hines, who points out that he avoided calling the balaclava on the Cybermen's heads as "condoms". If you ask us, we love those from The Invasion, and the Davison/Baker era, but no further: shiny helmets and cyborgs just don't mix. Speaking of which, we like any which don't have as drones marching in unison which suggests Macho Man is providing the beat.
Conspiracy theories about the moon landing being fake came as something of a pat on the back for Production Assistant Desmond McCarthy, chuffed with their efforts to put Doctor Who on the moon. "Stories abounded that the whole thing was a construction anyway," McCarthy recalls of the doubters. "…that the moon landing took place in a studio in America….when we saw the very grainy pictures coming from that camera on the moon to what we saw on [The Moonbase] I thought that the moon landscape was quite convincing in the studio".
This really is the Cybermen's show here, and how they came back so quickly after their initial appearance to become one of the favourite baddies, with Cyber-trooper Reg Whitehead remembering how their infamous publicity-shoot saw the first time a K9 foiled a Doctor Who villain. "I distinctly remember [a Cyberman] being peed on by a stray dog," he smirks, "…and that was very definitely not in the script". Not everyone loved them, especially on the studio floor, as Wills spills: "Poor Patrick… found them very difficult to work with. They were his nemesis, they absolutely were". With this kind of menace created both on an off screen, it is entirely fitting that they have come to be as cherished as foes of the renegade Time Lord, and it's best left to Reg Whitehead to accurately sum up their place on the show, honestly stating that: "…They really are part and parcel of Doctor Who". No argument from us on this one.
Well, his might be the last time we get to be impressed by the efforts of PUP and their bang-on style used to make all this stuff come together beautifully, so we'll express our appreciation for all their efforts, be they set in the past, present or future. PUP - and previous companies who have produced Doctor Who extras - always coax the best material out of their interviewees, even those who clearly don't like being associated with the programme, and are able to give the fans exactly what they want. Their (possibly) final instalment is excellent stuff - wait until you see the title shot, and just try to convince us otherwise that it isn't on of the coolest things anyone will see all year! This sticks NASA at the top of its "thanks" list above the interviewers, so you know that things have to be pretty damned spiffy on this one! Among the many things we heave learned from the recent crop of these featurettes is just how much we are going to miss them once they are gone. There is no methadone for this particular addition, so it's going to be rough, but we'd just say "thanks for many a Perfect Day, guys".
Photo Gallery: Smile! You certainly will when you take a look at this impressive set of pictures from this bifurcated Doctor Who story. We have an impressive selection of production snaps, behind-the scenes shots and set-reference shots, all combining to provide a good look at The Moonbase, including glimpses of the two missing episodes. A couple of them have severe "blooming" - not that they were taken by Anneke Wills - but severely blown-out whites, but the rest look wonderful. You'll see some great ones of the Cybermen, along with numerous others which have graced the pages of Doctor Who Monthly, but with a vibrancy they couldn't have dreamed of back then. You'll appreciate the sets even more when looking at them in much greater detail, as the nature of the multiple-camera system used back then really didn't make the most of the production design. Keep an eye out for the piccys of our heroes taken on the lunar surface, and note the varying amount of fogging in the space-helmets when actors are "flying", all directly linked to how much they were panicking when the shutter went! It's a great collection, and even better when set to a certain piece of iconic music…
PDF Materials: Nostalgia can be all it used to be, courtesy of the Radio Times listings, and all four parts have their write-ups reproduced faithfully here. The first episode is accompanies by a rather nice piece about the story, with a nicely-comp'd photo of our "flying" heroes and the Cybermen. The wording mentions the "remarkable" Kit Pedler, going on to list his artistic interests, as well as being "…a builder of successful racing cars". Would this include the one which his daughter revealed blew up when tested? This is lovely inclusion, and somehow drags you back to a warmer, fuzzier time, even if it was before you were born.
Coming Soon: Oh shit, it's coming! Possessed of the most OTT villain in the vast pantheon of Doctor Who baddies, The Underwater Menace sees legendary baddie Zaroff planning to blow up the world and nothing - not even scenery - will stand in his way. It's widely looked upon as a box of shite, but there is something so crap about it that it's almost charming, like a bunch of 5-year-olds staging a version of Richard III. All of Troughton's best lines are squeezed in here, and there are so many of them, that it makes the whole story worth sitting through. Coming in the same format as seen here in The Moonbase, it's going to make a lot of fans happy, and many collectors equally so.
Whilst it's far from being in the top three Patrick Troughton stories, The Moonbase is an entertaining romp and presenting the missing episodes in a visual form will almost certain elevate most people's opinion of this story. Troughton is wonderful, the direction is suspenseful and there is a sense of scale that few sixties stories came close to replicating.
The guys at Planet 55 have done an incredible job of animating the long-missing episodes and it's to their credit that their animations just keep getting better. Patrick Troughton lives and breathes again and these episodes are a joy to watch.
Though the Doctor Who DVD range is almost at an end, the love that has been poured into this release of The Moonbase is evident in every frame and has ensured that the range is going out with a bang this year.
Review by Wilson Bros
David Blackwell Senior Member Join Date: February 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2,834
They probably will re-release Enemy of the World and Web of Fear with additional extras. I hope more missing episodes are found so they can put more stuff out on the DVD range- I have slowly been collecting the classic series on DVD and I wish BBC Worldwide Americas wouldn't be putting some of the lesser titles out of print (another reason to get a region free player for DVD and blu-ray). I enjoyed the review as usual and love the captions for the pictures.
Wilson Bros Reviewer Join Date: August 2004 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1,183
Should you be interested, the upcoming release of The Web of Fear uses classic Recon-style to fill in the missing part. It works well, but it might be best to warn in advance for those unaware that they didn't animate the errant episode.
The Wilson Bros
The Wilson Bros
GavSalkeld Member Join Date: August 2005 Location: United States Posts: 439
"Well, I just enjoyed letting rip, I'll tell out what!"
Is there a typo here?
Is there a typo here?
General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children
Disc Details
Release Date: 20th January 2014
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Single side, dual layer
RCE: No
Video: PAL
Aspect: 1.33:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: No
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 English
Subtitles: English
Extras: Audio Commentaries, Lunar Landing, Photo Gallery, Production Subtitles, Coming Soon Trailer, PDF Materials
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Morris Barry
Cast: Patrick Troughton, Michael Craze, Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines
Genre: Sci-Fi
Length: 100 minutes
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Britney Spears Confirms 'X Factor' Departure; Statement
Britney Spears has confirmed that she is not returning to The X Factor for the upcoming third season.
"I've made the very difficult decision not to return for another season. I had an incredible time doing the show and I love the other judges and I am so proud of my teens but it's time for me to get back in the studio," Britney said in a statement. "Watching them all do their thing up on that stage every week made me miss performing so much! I can't wait to get back out there and do what I love most."
"In light of sourced reports and speculation, it is confirmed that Britney did decide, and is in fact not returning to X Factor. Fox has been informed," her rep tells JustJared.com.
Britney is reportedly in negotiations to headline a show in Las Vegas, according to TMZ!
ARE YOU SAD to see Britney Spears leave The X Factor?

subset: commoncrawl


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CBS Corporation Announces Two Strategic Initiatives For Its Outdoor Segment
The Company Begins the Conversion of Its Outdoor Americas Business Into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)
CBS Will Also Pursue a Divestiture of Its Outdoor Business in Europe and Asia
Jan 16, 2013, 04:10 ET
NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) today announced a pair of strategic initiatives regarding its CBS Outdoor operating segment, which is comprised of two businesses -- one in the Americas and the other in Europe and Asia.
For the Outdoor Americas division, the Company has begun the process of converting the business into a real estate investment trust (REIT). For its Outdoor operations in Europe and Asia, the Company will pursue a divestiture of the business, which will be presented as a discontinued operation as of December 31, 2012.
"We believe the moves we are announcing today will unlock the tremendous value of these unique quality assets," said Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation. "We have studied the benefits of converting our Americas operations into a REIT, and we are increasingly enthusiastic that this transaction -- as well as the sale of our business in Europe and Asia -- will achieve significant value for our shareholders."
As part of CBS's plan to convert its Outdoor Americas division into a REIT, the Company will submit a request for a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service during the first quarter of 2013. If the ruling is granted, the Company could complete the REIT conversion in the taxable year beginning in 2014. All of these actions are subject to customary approvals.
About CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world's largest libraries of entertainment content, making its brand – "the Eye" – one of the most recognized in business. The Company's operations span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable, publishing, radio, local TV, film, outdoor advertising, and interactive and socially responsible media. CBS's businesses include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network, Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS Television Stations, CBS Radio, CBS Outdoor, CBS Television Studios, CBS Global Distribution Group, CBS Interactive, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Films and CBS EcoMedia. For more information, go to www.cbscorporation.com.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather reflect the Company's current expectations concerning future results and events. Similarly, statements that describe our objectives, plans or goals are or may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: the inability to obtain the requisite regulatory approvals; changes in legislation, tax rules or market conditions could adversely impact the ability to consummate or achieve the benefits of the transactions; the inability to divest the Company's Outdoor operations in Europe and Asia on terms that the Company finds acceptable; domestic and global economic, business, competitive and/or other regulatory factors affecting the Company's businesses generally; and other factors described in the Company's news releases and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including but not limited to the Company's most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document, and under section 27A of the Securities Act and section 21E of the Exchange Act, we do not have any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
SOURCE CBS Corporation


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|Space Telescope Science Institute
|ACS Instrument Handbook
Information regarding the HRC is provided for archival purposes only. Please check for updates regarding WFC on the ACS Web site.
4.2.1 Detector PropertiesThe WFC/CCD consists of two 4096 x 2048 charge-coupled devices that are sensitive from the violet to the near-IR. These CCDs are thinned, backside-illuminated devices manufactured by Scientific Imaging Technologies (SITe) and are butted together along their long dimension to create an effective 4096 × 4096 array with a gap corresponding to approximately 50 pixels between the chips. The CCD camera design incorporates a warm dewar window, designed to prevent buildup of contaminants on the window that cause a loss of UV throughput. A summary of the ACS CCD performance is given in Table 3.1.The HRC CCD is a flight-spare STIS 1024 × 1024 CCD and is a thinned, backside-illuminated device, manufactured at SITe. The coating uses a process developed by SITe to provide good quantum efficiency in the near-ultraviolet. The performance characteristics and specifications are given in Table 3.1
4.2.2 The responsive quantum efficiency (RQE) of the WFC and HRC CCDs is shown in Figure 4.1; the RQE includes corrections needed to reproduce the instrument sensitivity measured on orbit (ACS ISR 2007-06). The total spectral response of the camera (see Figure 5.7) is given by the product of the RQEs shown here and the throughput of optical elements of the camera. For example, the WFC silver coated mirrors enhance the reflectivity in the near-IR but impose a violet cutoff below 370nm.Figure 4.1: Responsive quantum efficiency of the HRC CCD (solid line) and WFC CCDs (dashed line).Based on current data, the ACS CCDs do not suffer from quantum efficiency hysteresis (QEH). The CCDs respond in the same way to light levels over their whole dynamic range, irrespective of the previous illumination level.Like most thinned CCDs, the ACS CCDs exhibit fringing longward of ~7500 Å. The fringing is caused by interference of incident light reflected between the front and back surfaces of the CCD. The amplitude of the fringes is a strong function of wavelength and spectral bandpass. Only the F892N filter shows a fringe pattern for white light illumination. The fringe pattern is stable and is removed to first order by the F892N flat field for continuum sources.
4.2.5 Each CCD is read out as a 4144 × 2068 array, including physical and virtual overscans. Two amplifiers are used to read out each CCD. The final images consist of 24 columns of physical overscan, 4096 columns of pixel data, and another 24 columns of physical overscan. Each column consists of 2048 rows of pixel data followed by 20 rows of virtual overscan. The orientation of the CCD is such that for the grism spectra, the dispersed images have wavelength increasing from left to right in the positive x-direction.The HRC CCD was read out as a 1062 × 1044 array, including physical and virtual overscans. There are 19 columns of physical overscan, followed by 1024 columns of pixel data, and then 19 more columns of physical overscan. Each column consists of 1024 rows of pixel data followed by 20 rows of virtual overscan. As with the WFC, the orientation of the HRC CCD was chosen so that grism images have wavelength increasing from left to right.Electrons that accumulate in the CCD pixels are read out and converted to data numbers (DN) by the analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The ADC output is a 16 bit number, producing a maximum of 65,535 DN in one pixel.Before the failure of ACS in January 2007, the WFC and HRC CCDs could be operated at ADC gains of 1, 2, 4 or 8 electrons/DN. The current CCD Electronics Box (CEB-R) installed during SM4 changed the WFC's ADC operational gains to 0.5, 1.0, 1.4, and 2.0 electrons/DN. All four new gains are available to the observer but only the GAIN=2.0 option is fully supported by the ACS Team. Although lower ADC gains can in principle increase the dynamic range of faint source observations by reducing quantization noise, the improvement is not significant for the WFC.Table 4.1 shows the gain and read noise values of the four WFC amplifiers measured during the orbital verification period after SM4 for each commanded gain available with the dual-slope integrator pixel sampling mode of the CEB-R. The read noise values apply to the imaging (light-sensitive) regions of the CCD quadrants and are about 0.1 electrons higher than the measured values in the corresponding overscan regions.For archival purposes, Table 4.2 and Table 4.3 show the gain and read noise values of the four WFC amplifiers and the default HRC amplifier C when operated with Side 1 (March 2002 to June 2006) and Side 2 (June 2006 to January 2007) of the original CEB. The readnoise values in Tables 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 apply to the image areas.Table 4.1: WFC amplifier gain and read noise after installation of the CEB-R (valid after May 2009). Values apply to dual-slope integrator mode of pixel sampling.
Table 4.2: CCD gain and read noise operated under Side 1 of original CEB (March 2002 to June 2006).
Table 4.3: CCD gain and read noise operated under Side 2 of original CEB (June 2006 to January 2007).
4.2.7 The WFC flat field reference images are constructed from both ground-based and on-orbit data. Ground-based flats with signal-to-noise ratios of ~300 per pixel were obtained for all filters. Low-frequency refinements of these pixel flats were made using in-flight dithered observations of a rich star field (see ACS ISRs 2002-08 and 2003-10).These low-frequency flats (L-flats) initially showed a corner-to-corner sensitivity gradient across the CCDs of 10-18%, depending on wavelength.The L-flats were updated in July 2006 after the operating temperature of the WFC was lowered to -81 °C (see ACS ISR 2006-06). The resulting flat fields are accurate to 1% over the WFC field of view for most broad-band filters and to 2% for F850LP and the narrow-band filters. Observations of a rich star field were obtained shortly after the ACS repair in May 2009 and have been used to verify that the L-flats remain stable. Internal observations made during SMOV SM4 show that the P-flats (high frequency pixel-to-pixel flats) are also stable.Figure 4.2 shows the corrected WFC ground flats for several broadband filters. The 50 pixel gap between the top and bottom CCDs is not shown. Because the two CCDs were cut from the same silicon wafer and underwent similar processing, their sensitivities are continuous across the gap. The central doughnut-like structure is wavelength dependent. The pixels in the central region are less sensitive than surrounding pixels in the blue F435W flat, but they are more sensitive in the red F850LP flat. See ACS ISRs 2001-11, 2002-04, 2003-10, 2003-11, 2005-02, and 2005-09 for more information.The HRC ground flats were refined using in-flight dithered observations of a rich star field designed to track low-frequency sensitivity variations. These L-flats revealed a corner-to-corner sensitivity gradient across the CCD of 6-12%, depending on wavelength. NUV flats were constructed from in-flight images of the bright Earth (see ACS ISR 2003-02) and include both the pixel-to-pixel and low-frequency structure of the detector response.The HRC flat fields have a signal-to-noise of ~300 per pixel and support photometry to ~1% over the full HRC field of view. Figure 4.3 shows the corrected HRC ground flats derived for 6 broadband optical filters. The doughnut-like structure in the WFC flats is not seen in the HRC flats. For further discussion of HRC flat fields, see ACS ISRs 2001-11 and 2002-04.Figure 4.2: WFC flat field.


text:
Booz Allen Hamilton has won a $12.5 million task order to provide the Navy with program management office support for the Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems, Naval Enterprise Networks office.
Under the contract, Booz Allen will provide program management, financial management and administrative services in support of the NEN program office.
Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., and San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by July 2014.
Funding in the full amount of the contract is obligated at the time of the award, and will expire at the end of fiscal 2014.
About the Author
Mark Hoover is a senior staff writer with Washington Technology. You can contact him at firstname.lastname@example.com, or connect with him on Twitter at @mhooverWT.
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Quellë was the Quenya name for "fading", or late autumn; it was the fourth of the six "seasons" in the Reckoning of Rivendell. Alternatively it was also called Lasse-lanta or "leaf-fall". Quellë corresponded to the 54 days between modern 8 October and 30 November. In Sindarin, Quellë was called Firith and Lasse-lanta was called Narbeleth (which meant "sun-waning").[1]
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix D, "The Calendars"


text:
Friends are forever as they say. And so are friendship quotes. With just a few well chosen words, you can let that special friend in your life know how you feel about them how they are always there for you, how you cherish the time you spend together and how they always seem to know just what youre thinking. And while it may be hard for you to put all these big friendship feelings into words, others have done the hard work for you, capturing the very essence of your deepest and warmest thoughts about your dearest friends.
"Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find."
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All friendships go through rough patches; an argument or disagreement can cause hurt in these that are among the most intimate of relationships. A friendship quote could be the best way for you to touch that special friend in your life, a needed addition to a note asking forgiveness, the perfect reminder of the friendship you share.
If a dear friend is struggling with life or work, the Great-Quotes collection of motivational and inspirational quotes can put the light back in their eyes and the fire back in their soul. Or, when a friend is feeling down, use one of our many of funny quotes to brighten their day and bring a smile to their face, and yours!
Reference.com Definition of Friends Or Friendship
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"A friend is someone you can do nothing with, and enjoy it."
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A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849) This famous American author spent two years living in the wilderness at Walden Pond, where he penned some of his most-remembered works. This quote was written in memory of a trip he took with his brother John, who died of tetanus in 1842. The quote continues, "It is an intelligence above language. One imagines endless conversations with his Friend, in which the tongue shall be loosed, and thoughts be spoken without hesitance or end..." Add Category or Author
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Essays, First Series (1841), essay titled "Friendship." Add Category or Author
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Often attributed to Titus Maccius Plautus. Add Category or Author
"Love is friendship set on fire."
As quoted in The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare's Poetry (2010) pg. 88 No context is available for this quote beyond the fact that Taylor wrote frequently on the subject of love and God. Add Category or Author
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The Godfather, Part II Often misattributed to Sun Tzu, it is actually spoken by the character Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Part II. The quote begins, "My father taught me many things here...he taught me in this room. He taught me..." Add Category or Author
"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and sings it back to you when you have forgotten how it goes."
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Over 2,000,000 quotes and growing!Famous Quotes organized by author or category for your pleasure and convenience. We now have over two million famous quotes and Movie Quotes, which is, by far, the largest collection of Famous Quotes on the Web. We have also selectively chosen a large collection of Inspirational Quotes, Quotes about Life, Motivational Quotes, Friendship Quotes, Graduation Quotesand and Funny Quotes to help motivate and brighten your day. Many of our more popular author webpages include: Marilyn Monroe Quotes, Bob Marley Quotes, Albert Einstein Quotes, Abraham Lincoln Quotes & Winston Churchill Quotes. We hope you enjoy your time with us! Please contact us if you have any suggestions for improving our site. Now over 750,000 Movie Quotes & TV Quotes.
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BEDMINSTER, N.J. and DUBLIN, Ireland, Jan. 23, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amarin Corporation plc (Nasdaq:AMRN), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the commercialization and development of therapeutics to improve cardiovascular health, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published notification of a Notice of Allowance for Amarin's U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 12/815,569 titled "Compositions and Methods for Lowering Triglycerides Without Raising LDL-C Levels in a Subject on Concomitant Statin Therapy." This application includes claims intended to protect the proposed Vascepa® (icosapent ethyl) indication based on Amarin's Phase 3 ANCHOR clinical trial results. Amarin is on track to file a Supplemental New Drug Application for the Vascepa ANCHOR indication with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of February 2013, and expects an FDA action date on the application before the end of 2013.
A Notice of Allowance is issued after the USPTO makes a determination that a patent can be granted from an application. The issued patent would have a term that expires no earlier than in 2030. Amarin plans to list this patent in the FDA's Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, or Orange Book, after issuance of the patent and the anticipated approval of Vascepa in the ANCHOR indication.
The claims in this allowed application cover a method of use relating to Vascepa's ANCHOR indication. Specifically, the allowed independent claim covers use of icosapent ethyl, or EPA, including Vascepa, in lowering triglycerides through the daily administration of about 4 capsules, each containing about 900 mg to about 1000 mg of EPA, regardless of EPA purity with not more than about 3% docosahexaenoic acid.
"We are very pleased to announce this Notice of Allowance, the first from many pending patent applications with the USPTO expected to cover our planned ANCHOR indication for Vascepa," stated Joseph Zakrzewski, Chairman and CEO of Amarin. "The claims cover a significant range of EPA dosage strengths administered to patients on any statin product. This allowance is based upon showings that important clinical results for Vascepa in Amarin's ANCHOR trial were surprising and unexpected, key factors considered by the USPTO in granting a patent."
This application is part of an expanding patent portfolio for Amarin with 13 patent applications now either issued or allowed with the USPTO and over 30 additional applications pending in the United States. Amarin is also pursuing patent applications related to Vascepa in multiple jurisdictions outside the United States.
About Amarin
Amarin Corporation plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the commercialization and development of therapeutics to improve cardiovascular health. Amarin's product development program leverages its extensive experience in lipid science and the potential therapeutic benefits of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Vascepa® (icosapent ethyl), Amarin's first FDA approved product, is a patented, ultra pure omega-3 fatty acid product comprising not less than 96% EPA. For more information about Vascepa visit www.vascepa.com. For more information about Amarin visit www.amarincorp.com.
The Amarin Corporation plc logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=13817
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about whether the subject patent would be issued and adequately protect Vascepa against competition, the expiration date of the pending patent, Amarin's plan to list the patent, when issued, in FDA's Orange Book assuming FDA approval of the ANCHOR indication, the anticipated approval of Vascepa in the ANCHOR indication, Amarin's plan to protect the commercial potential of Vascepa, the future status of pending patent applications, planned regulatory submissions and expected action dates. These forward-looking statements are not promises or guarantees and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described or projected herein include the following: events that could interfere with the issuance of a patent, or once issued, the continued validity or enforceability of a patent; Amarin's ability generally to maintain adequate patent protection and successfully enforce patent claims against third parties; commercializing Vascepa without violating the intellectual property rights of others; and uncertainties associated generally with research and development, clinical trials clinical trial enrollment in Amarin's REDUCE-IT trial and related regulatory submissions, action dates and approvals. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other risks associated with an investment in Amarin can be found in Amarin's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Amarin undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.
Amarin's product candidates are in various stages of development and are not available for sale or use outside of approved clinical trials. Nothing in this press release should be construed as promoting the use of such product candidates.
CONTACT: Stephen D. Schultz Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Amarin Corporation In U.S.: +1 (908) 719-1315 email@example.com
Source:Amarin Corporation plc


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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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The shipwreck is just south of town (kmz attached); it's about 1.5 miles from there to the Plaza de Armas (IIRC everybody had to go to Cerro Cruz first; even the navigators had to pick up their maps at Cerro Cruz first before heading out to meet the sailor; hence Chateau's sharp eyes on the D/O cap that they were heading away from Cerro Cruz on Ave. Fagnano).
MSWOOD, another fine Racing Report. I have one correction. You were speculating on flight numbers for thte LAN charters from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia and attempting to assign regular flight numbers. Those would be special flights without regular LAN flight numbers. They might have a 4-digit flight number for the purposes of identifying the flights for air traffic control.
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Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts
ReadHowYouWant.com, 2010 - 404 pages
You don't need a diploma in arithmancy, the friendship of a hippogriff, or even a Hogwarts Library card to discover amazing and arcane secrets in the labyrinthine world of Harry Potter. In the book you now hold in your hands (or for more advanced students, the book you have levitated into a suitable position while you feed snacks to your owl), seventeen philosophical scholars unlock some of Hogwarts secret panels, displaying fresh insights enlightening both for sorcerers and for the more discerning Muggles. Among the occult lore here revealed, behold the best recipe for true courage, proof that self-deception does not yield happiness, how ethics can be applied to the branch of technology known as magic, why the Mirror of Erised isn't adequate for real life, whether prophecy rules out free choice, and what dementors and boggarts can teach us about joy, fear, and the soul. All the pages of this book are acid-free and have been individually bewitched with an anti-befuddlement incantation. Dont forget to keep your wand primed and read between the lines. Failure to observe these precautions may invite the malign influence of Vol sorry, He Who Must Not Be Named. ''Harry Potter and Philosophy is the most enjoyable HP spin-off Ive read and Ive read most of them. Some chapters are so full of good reflections, clear thinking, and reliable scholarship, I couldnt resist reading entire passages aloud. Our family plans to read these thought-provoking essays at the dinner table, sparking intelligent conversation with our teen- and college-aged children Harry Potter fans all.''
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LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - dono421846 - LibraryThing
Interesting lever by which to introduce some fundamental questions (and occasional answers) in philosophy. Made accessible by drawing upon illustrations from the Harry Potter books (but only through ... Read full review
LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - bostonian71 - LibraryThing
Entertaining in spots, but overall too lightweight and, oddly enough, too generic to satisfy either philosophy buffs or Harry Potter fans. The best essays are those that tackle a specific topic (such ... Read full review
Selected pages
The Courageous Harry Potter
Can Possibly Imagine 2005
Dursley Duplicity The Morality and Psychology
Voldemorts Agents Malfoys Cronies and Hagrids Chums
the Defective Detective 2010 Edited by D E Wittkow
Feminism and Equal Opportunity Hermione and
Heaven Hell and Harry Potter
Magic Science and the Ethics of Technology 7 The Mirror of Erised Why We Should Heed Dumbledores
Kreachers Lament S P E W as a Parable
A Skewed Reflection The Nature of Evil 175 9 Is Ambition a Virtue? Why Slytherin Belongs at Hogwarts
Magic Muggles and Moral Imagination Ravenclaw ManyFlavored Topics in Metaphysics 217 11 Voldemort Boethius and the Destructive Effects of ...
Can Teach Us about Personal Identity
Hogwarts Emeritus Faculty
Other editions - View all
Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts
David Baggett,Shawn Klein,William Irwin
Limited preview - 2004
Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts
David Baggett,Shawn E. Klein
Limited preview - 2004
Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts
David Baggett,Shawn Klein
No preview available - 2004
Common terms and phrases
Abanes actions appearance argument Aristotle believe body Boethius boggart Buckbeak Chamber of Secrets character choice choose claim courage curse danger Dark Arts Death Eaters dementors desire Diagon Alley Dumbledore Dumbledore's Dursleys emotions ethics evil evildoer example exist Experience Machine fact fear feel fight the basilisk Floo powder foreknowledge friends friendship Goblet of Fire Gryffindor Hagrid happiness Harry and Ron Harry Potter Harry will fight Hermione Hermione's Hogwarts house-elves human imagine J.K. Rowling Kreacher lives Malfoy Malfoy's McGonagall means Ministry of Magic Mirror of Erised moral Muggles Narnia natural Neville one's Pensieve personal identity Pettigrew Petunia Philosophy Phoenix Potter books Potter stories Prisoner of Azkaban Professor question Quidditch Quirrell reality Rowling Rowling's books self-deception sense Sirius Slytherin Snape Sorcerer's Stone sort space-time splinched there's things tion true truth virtue Voldemort Weasley what's witches wizarding world


text: Charlie Sheen is a prolific, and apparently, very informed consumer of substances. In a recent Inside Edition interview, his former girlfriend Ginger Lynn brought out a copy of publishing pal Consumer Reports book The Complete Drug Reference that he inscribed and gave to her when they were dating back in the early 90's. It reads, "To Ging, From one Druggie To Another. Love, C." The book is going for $1,000 but that's silly, you can get all the prescription drug information you need at Consumer Reports Health, and you don't even need to be an extra-dimensional warlock to use it. [More]


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|Friday, Feb 14, 2014 - 5:30 PM
Tonight on Nightly Business Report, Stocks log their biggest weekly gain this year. Is the recent pullback over? And, our market monitor guest tonight is recommending dividend paying stocks that she says will do well in a slow growth environment.. D
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PALM: Oh face, come closer. I've needed your touch since I heard that fundamentalist Christians were being stupid again.FACE: Not again! Quickly Palm, come to me!
Microsoft's actually in a lawsuit about that last one. www.oldeenglish.org has a clip called "Gym Class" which is a lot like that.And here's a crappy claymation I made!http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3933624132220114033&q=american+warfarePlease comment on my claymation, as I think it sucks but people generally say that it's alright. And it doesn't have sound.
IT'S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6573545656651316099&q=Family+guy
There are some subtleties that I wish would have been more profound, at least to the point of being noticeable. The map that they are all standing on should be pretty obvious, maybe it's just because I'm looking for it when I watch. In WWII, you'll notice that Italy is really small and doesn't do anything. You'll also notice that France (bottom left of the screen) runs away right after Germany kicks the crap out of Britain. Little things like that which I had in my head which aren't noticable in the movie kind of ruined it for me.
Sam is basically right, he's just cranky.
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A little blog about life, family, food, and living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest
Friday, October 3, 2008
Company Worthy Salad Nicoise
When you have guests visiting, do you stick to your regular cooking routine and recipes, or do you perk it up a bit? I was pondering that question last night. My wonderful dad and his sweet wife are visiting us this week, and I find that I am most definitely perking it up a bit. I don't know why that is really. My dad and are are close, he knows me and my cooking quite well, and, besides, my dad is so easy to please and his wife is always so complimentary that I know I don't need to do anything different from usual. I think that I must be channeling both my late grandma and late mom in that when company comes, you take good care of them, prepare your meal with love and care, and you never let anyone leave your house hungry. No problem there ... I like to feed people.
Yesterday was a drizzly day here in the Pacific Northwest, and in the culinary department, I just wanted to hold onto summer a little bit longer. What to do, what to do. Soup and salad sounded just right ... soup for the warmth and comfort, and salad for the crunchy, summery feel. But with company here, a regular tossed salad would not do. I remembered seeing a wonderful recipe called Salad Nicoise in one of my well loved older cookbooks (Cookery for 1 or 2 by Barbara Swain). This cookbook was one of the very first that I purchased right before I got married, and fell in love with it. Although my cooking requirements have evolved beyond feeding 1 or 2 people, this cookbook retains its place of honor on my shelf.
People, this salad is GOOD and so company-worthy!!! It can easily stand on its own with a thick slice of bread. I pared it with homemade chicken and rice soup, and had to refrain from making multiple yummy noises ... I had company after all!
This salad took some organizational effort, but was quite easy to make. It's so pretty to look at, don't you think? I almost didn't want to toss it before serving! Every single bit was eaten. When I cleared the dishes, the salad serving bowl was clean!
Here's what you do: Boil some baby red potatoes that have been cut in bite size halves or quarters, until tender. While potatoes are boiling, prepare a simple french vinaigrette by whisking 3 parts Olive oil, 1 part white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice, little bit of whole grain mustard or dijon mustard, few shakes of garlic salt, freshly ground pepper, and your favorite herbs. Drain potatoes and immediately toss with vinaigrette. Set aside to marinate. Do the same with the green beans; marinate separately from the potatoes. Layer lettuce in the bottom of a large serving bowl. Arrange the following items in their own section on top of lettuce: marinated potatoes, marinated green beans, hard boiled eggs-quartered, slice tomatoes, olives - I used plain old black olives because that's what my guests like, but use whatever type you like including nicoise olives!, and good quality tuna or even grilled tuna would be terrific. Prepare another vinaigrette, same as before, but this time add some finely diced shallot or red onion. Drizzle over the salad. A traditional salad nicoise calls for layering anchovies on top. My guests and hubbyman opted not for the anchovies; however, as I love anchovies, I lovingly layered mine on as well as ate their portions of the little salty strips, too. Serve this immediately at room temperature or refrigerate it and serve cold. If you don't have guests, make yummy noises. Oh, and this salad is gluten free, all the way, baby!
What are your favorite dishes to serve guests? Since my company will be here for a couple more days, I'd love to hear any recipe suggestions you may have!
28 comments:
- The Blonde Duck said...
I love that salad. I always wondered what Salad Nicoise was.
- October 3, 2008 at 11:50 AM
- Marjie said...
That salad's so pretty! Nothing wrong with using a cookbook for 2; you just multiply. Heck, that's what I do with "normal" recipes! And when your son gets just a touch bigger, you'll be multiplying your food again!
Chicken with lemon is a good choice; I wrote about it a while back. Serve over a bed of rice for your little one. Lemons make it seem summery, but it's still warming in the drizzly weather!
Glad your family's visiting; have fun!
- October 3, 2008 at 12:14 PM
- Pam said...
Stunning! What a beautiful and delicious salad. I love all the ingredients and the dressing sounds simple but perfect. Have fun with your family!
- October 3, 2008 at 1:13 PM
- noble pig said...
It is perfectly company worthy and I'm sure they loved it!
The colors look so great too!
- October 3, 2008 at 2:04 PM
- Jan said...
I'm not surprised the salad bowl was clean, that salad looks fabulous. I love it, and am definitely going to be taking this one for a spin.
- October 3, 2008 at 3:41 PM
- Esi said...
Looks so good! I like serving recipes to guests that taste really comforting and look like they took a long time, but really was not much effort on my part!
- October 3, 2008 at 3:45 PM
- Linda said...
What a wonderful, healthy looking salad. I usually rely on my old standbys when company comes and just pretty up the table a bit more:)
- October 3, 2008 at 5:51 PM
- Cheryl said...
Oohhh my goodness that looks sooooo good! I usually serve lasagna, mexican food of some sort or barbequeue!
p.s. is it muggy there too! I hate it!
- October 3, 2008 at 5:51 PM
- Pam said...
This salad looks great! I always serve casserole type things to company, so that I can always make sure I have enough. I'm very paranoid that someone will not get enough!
- October 3, 2008 at 6:49 PM
- MEDITERRANEAN KIWI said...
well done - this is a meal on its own. excellent arrangement of shape and colour
- October 3, 2008 at 10:14 PM
- Aggie said...
What a beautiful salad! Love it!
- October 4, 2008 at 5:21 AM
- Kevin said...
That is a hearty looking salad.
- October 4, 2008 at 1:17 PM
- Proud Italian Cook said...
Truely worthy for company Paula! I love sitting around the table and taking a little bit of this and a little bit of that! Everything looks so healthy and good for us!
- October 4, 2008 at 6:54 PM
- RecipeGirl said...
Beautiful! I love salad nicoise. Yes, I do tend to step it up a bit when I'm feeding others...even if it's just family!
- October 5, 2008 at 7:55 AM
- Jan said...
That does look like one yummy salad!
- October 5, 2008 at 9:41 AM
- Bellini Valli said...
Salad Nicoise is perfect company fare. I sa a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa using salmon that I must try. I like the idea of holding on to summer:D
- October 5, 2008 at 10:10 AM
- Lulu Barbarian said...
Beautiful salad! I love the presentation, each component separate.
- October 5, 2008 at 6:10 PM
- Peter M said...
The Nicoise always looks so festive, great colours & it got my attention.
- October 5, 2008 at 7:26 PM
- Sara said...
I love composed salads like this!
- October 5, 2008 at 7:51 PM
- Paula said...
Hi Everyone! Thanks for stopping by! The past few weeks have been crazy as we are getting used to our school routines. Even so, know that I read each and every comment and appreciate hearing from you!
The Blonde Duck: It is such a great salad, I wonder why we don't see it more often!
Marjie: I thought about you while I was cooking this week for just two extra people, but needed more pans! I would think ... now what would Marjie do!
Pam: The salad dressing provided a simple yet perfect balance of flavor to this diverse salad!
Noble Pig: The colors really made it beautiful, and my guests devoured it.
Jan: Let me know if you try it. It is a very hearty salad and is a meal unto itself!
Esi: I have to admit that it did make a great presentation!
Linda: Great idea to pretty up the table. Plus, this is a new table so it helped with the pretty department.
Cheryl: It has been muggy here ... I bet we live in the same neck of the woods!
Pam: I'm the same way and end up making enough to feed the entire neighborhood!
Mediterranean Kiwi: This really was quite filling. Next time I'm going to serve it with bread (and your oil and tomato mixture!).
Aggie: It was lovely to look at and eat!
Kevin: It was hearty indeed!
Proud Italian: The meal and conversation around the table was lively and so wonderful!
RecipeGirl: I really enjoy having my dad around! He's willing to eat just about anything!
Jan: It was hard not to make yummy noises while I ate it!
Bellini Valli: Oooh, I like the idea of using salmon! Yum!
Lulu Barbarian: I enjoy composed salads. This one was so pretty I almost didn't want to toss it together when it was time to serve it!
Peter: Thanks! This salad is quite pleasing to the eye!
Sara: Thanks for stopping by! This salad is very good!
- October 5, 2008 at 10:37 PM
- syrie said...
Ooh I love nicoise and yours looks perfect. I like the way you've styled it in on the plate. Makes it easier to get a bit of everything. Company-worthy indeed!
- October 5, 2008 at 10:48 PM
- Grace said...
i'll take mine without anchovies too. :) it's definitely company-worthy--hope you had a nice weekend with them. :)
- October 6, 2008 at 6:46 AM
- Deborah said...
I was going to say that I could eat this as a complete meal! And I was just telling my husband yesterday that we need to start eating more salads - this would fit the bill!
- October 6, 2008 at 10:43 AM
- Lo said...
I just need to OOOH and AHHH a bit over that salad. It looks lovely, and I'll bet it tastes just as good.
I hope your visit with your dad continues to be great...
- October 6, 2008 at 7:13 PM
- Katherine Aucoin said...
What an elegant looking salad. Very well done.
- October 7, 2008 at 4:55 AM
- Bridgett said...
This is a gorgeous salad, Paula! The time and effort and love that went into this would only receive positive reviews. The colors are very inviting as well. I always look for something a bit more special when family or friends come around and you proved that the simple ingredients have a huge impact as well.
I hope you enjoy your visit!
- October 7, 2008 at 11:46 AM
Beautiful! Looks good enough to eat!
- October 7, 2008 at 5:43 PM
- Jeena said...
Give me a plate of this salad any day of the week! This is such a wholesome rustic dish and it looks amazing wow!
- October 8, 2008 at 5:04 AM


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Hiking is a wonderful way to reconnect with your family. Not only are you getting exercise, you're also getting away from the distractions of TV and computers. It's satisfying to watch your children's eyes refocus on the world around them. But if the prospect of persuading your kids to walk anywhere, let alone in the wilderness, seems daunting, don't worry. These ideas can make the experience fun and low-stress.
Just remember, it's about the journey, not the destination. Relax and enjoy the slower pace that hiking with kids can bring.
Picking a route
You'll want to choose a hike that's challenging, but not too challenging: somewhere in between a trek to Machu Picchu and a trip to the mailbox. For tips on picking the right track, we asked Helen Olsson, author of "The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping With Kids."
For a rough idea of how long a trail to try, figure that a child can walk about a half mile for each year of age. So a 6-year-old should be able to handle a 3-mile trek. (Of course, you should take into account your child's disposition and energy level.)
Loop trails are more interesting than out-and-back trips, which have you retracing your steps on the way home.
For a group goal, set a destination to reach, such as an old cabin or a pond with a beaver lodge.
Consider the change in elevation (meaning, how steep the trail is). Two miles on a flat trail is easier to hike than a trail with a vertical gain of 500 feet. That said, many kids find uphill routes, with their opportunities to scramble up boulders, more engaging than flat trails.
What to bring
Bring or wear these essentials for a safe and happy hike, says Karthika Gupta, owner of the family adventure travel agency Memorable Jaunts.
Sturdy, supportive walking/hiking shoes
Track pants/waterproof pants or shorts. If there's any chance of rain, skip the jeans — denim is very uncomfortable when gets wet.
Light, rainproof jacket. Dress in layers; weather in the mountains and in forests tends to be much cooler than at lower elevations.
Daypack. (An everyday backpack is fine.)
Snacks, such as trail mix, granola bars and nuts. Individual portions are easier to dole out to hungry hikers.
Notebooks and pens so that kids can doodle what they see.
Water. A general rule of thumb is one 8-ounce bottle per person, but more is always better.
Small flashlight, especially if you're hiking near dusk.
Compass. It's a great educational tool and a good backup to cellphones and a GPS device.
Small first-aid kit containing bandages and antibiotic ointment (such as bacitracin) for any cuts or scrapes along the way.
Bug spray, sunblock, sunglasses.
Matches (in case you get lost or stuck and need to make a small fire for warmth).
Fun extras
If you have the space, add these unessential items to your pack for on-the-trail activities.
Magnifying glass for getting a closer look at interesting bugs, mosses, and rocks.
Spray bottle. Fill it with water and use it to mist spider webs, making them easier to examine. Spray rocks to see if they become more colorful. Turn the sprayer on yourselves if you're in need of cooling off.
Games to play along the way
A simple game can rejuvenate hikers and head off boredom at the pass.
Hold a sensory scavenger hunt that'll encourage your kids to focus on their surroundings. Instead of giving them a list of items, ask them to find something that's lumpy, orange, smooth, rough, sticky, cold and so on.
Play classic car games as you walk, such as 20 questions or "I'm going on a hike." For the latter, one person says, "I'm going on a hike, and I'm bringing _________" (filling in the blank with something that begins with the letter A). The next person repeats what the first person said but adds an item that begins with B: "I'm going on a hike, and I'm bringing applesauce and brownies." The next person adds something that begins with C, and so on.
Remind kids to stay on marked trails by making it a game. Who can spot the trail blazes — those dots of paint or plastic markers affixed to tree trunks — first?
Take turns being the leader. The rest of the family has to follow the leader's movements as closely as possible. If he skips while flapping his arms, you do the same.
Clear packing tape. Loop a tape "bracelet" around your child's wrist, sticky side out. She can adhere leaves and other lightweight nature finds to it as she walks. (Note: Some parks have a strict "leave what you find" policy. Don't play this game if so.)
Crayons and paper for making rubbings of tree bark and rocks.
There's an app for maps
Like us, trail master John McKinney (author of "Hiking With Kids") hopes you'll be "unplugged" during your hike. That said, he recommends a few smartphone apps to enhance the experience.
The websites trails.com (and free iPhone app) and alltrails.com (free iPhone and Android apps) offer the two most comprehensive collections of trail descriptions and maps. Their latest apps offer hiking distance, elevation gain, GPS locations and weather conditions.
Maplets (iPhone, $3) allows you to download thousands of maps — not just of parks but also of cities, theme parks, subways and more. Some maps are GPS-tagged so that you can see your current location.
These other apps can help you learn as you explore.
Find out who shared your trail with MyNature Animal Tracks (iPhone and Android, $7).
Name that blossom with Audubon Wildflowers (iPhone and Android, $5).
Meet the flockers (or at least identify them) with WildLab Bird (iPhone, free).
For hikes on clear nights, find stars and planets with Sky Map (Android, free) or Star Walk (iPhone, $3).
When you get home
Back at home, write down the name, date and location of your hike in a special notebook. Ask everyone to add what they liked and didn't like about the trail. Invite them to include drawings or any other observations. Your Explorer's Log will serve as both a journal and a handy reference for future adventures.


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As soon as Barack Obama's victory was realized and the world knew he was to be the 44th President of the United States, demand for a piece of Obama history generated huge interest in signed copies of his books. In the week after his triumph at the polls, AbeBooks.com sold 20 books autographed by the President-elect priced at $500 or higher, with one buyer shelling out $5,500 for a signed copy of Dreams From My Father.
Before the election, the most expensive Obama book sold by AbeBooks.com – a marketplace for used, rare and out-of-print books – was a signed copy of Dreams From My Father for $1,798. Twelve of the 20 signed copies sold in the week following Obama's victory were priced over $1,000.
The most desirable Obama books are the signed 1995 first editions of Dreams From My Father. Originally published when he was still working as a lawyer and lecturer, the book went out-of-print and had a small print run. Asking prices for these scarce editions stretch well past $10,000.
Even prior to his moving into of the White House, prices for Obama's signed books were already comparable to previous presidents: AbeBooks.com sold a signed copy of Bill Clinton's My Life for $3,450 and a signed copy of Ronald Reagan's An American Life for $6,325. And the prices just keep rising - in January 2009 AbeBooks.com sold a signed copy of Dreams From My Father for $12,500.
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Profile of Ted Bundy
Name at birth: Theodore Robert Cowell
Ted Bundy was a clean-cut, smooth-talking serial killer who confessed to raping and killing more than 20 young women between 1974 and 1978. Executed in Florida in 1989 for three murders, his crimes began in Washington state in 1974. Bundy committed his attacks on women while leading a seemingly normal life, first in the Seattle area as a local Republican party campaigner, then in Salt Lake City as a law student at the University of Utah. He was arrested during a traffic stop in 1975, after police found evidence linking him to a kidnapping in Utah and a murder in Colorado. While in jail in Utah, investigators in Washington and Colorado pegged Bundy as a suspect in the disappearances and murders of several others. He was convicted of kidnapping in Utah in 1976 and sentenced to 15 years in jail, but he escaped in late 1977 and made his way to Florida, using the name Chris Hagen. Shortly after arriving in Tallahassee, Bundy attacked four women in a sorority house at Florida State University, killing two. A few weeks later he raped and killed a 12 year-old girl in Lake City, Florida. Bundy was finally apprehended when a Pensacola police officer arrested him for driving a stolen car.
Bundy went on trial for murder, proclaiming his innocence and defending himself in court. The televised trial showed that Bundy could look and talk just like a lawyer; many viewers couldn't believe a poised, normal-looking guy could be guilty of such brutal crimes. After Bundy was convicted and sentenced to death, he reluctantly began to confess to previous unsolved murders, saying an "entity" inside him drove him to rape and kill. In a failed effort to delay his execution he offered to provide more details and confessions, but the state of Florida electrocuted him on 24 January 1989. On the eve of his execution, Bundy was interviewed by Christian media personality James Dobson. Under Dobson's questioning, Bundy claimed an "addiction" to pornography led him to commit violent crimes.
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