1{2 "document_id": "lb_hotpotqa_77439b0a62b6de3a022b1d7a5678c1c00fa8d9af42fea1bf",3 "family": "public_hotpotqa",4 "split": "dev",5 "text": "Passage 1:\nNPO Best\nNPO 1 Extra is a television channel jointly operated by Dutch public broadcasters AVROTROS, BNNVARA, EO, KRO-NCRV and MAX. It was originally launched as HilversumBest on 1 December 2006. NPO 1 Extra presents highlights of more than sixty years of Dutch television history. The channel was founded by Han Peekel.\n\nHistory\nIn April 2009, HilversumBest was renamed as Best24. On 10 March 2014 the channel changed its name to NPO Best. On 26 March 2018 the channel was renamed as NPO 1 Extra.NPO 1 Extra (along with NPO Zapp Extra) became a 24-hour channel on 25 December 2018. Previously, NPO 1 Extra time-shared with NPO Zapp Xtra.\n\nProgramming\nNPO 1 Extra broadcasts programmes created by the public broadcasters from the NPO. Most programmes are from the archives of the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. NPO 1 Extra is mainly focused on programmes from the eighties and nineties of the last century. Television programmes from other decades regularly passes in shortened or compiled versions. NPO 1 Extra has a linear programming with many regular program titles in the early evening. The soap Onderweg naar morgen and the comedy series Zeg 'ns AAA are scheduled daily on NPO Best.\n\nLogos and identities\nPassage 2:\nJessica Biel\nJessica Claire Timberlake (née Biel ; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Young Artist Award, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.\nBiel began her career as a vocalist appearing in musical productions until she was cast as Mary Camden in the family drama series 7th Heaven (1996–2006), in which she achieved recognition.In 1997, Biel won the Young Artist Award for her role in the drama film Ulee's Gold. She received further recognition for her lead role as Erin Hardesty in the horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). Biel has since starred in such films as The Rules of Attraction (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), Stealth (2005), The Illusionist (2006), I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), Valentine's Day (2010), The A-Team (2010), New Year's Eve (2011), Total Recall (2012), and Hitchcock (2012).\nIn 2017, Biel was the executive producer and star of the USA Network limited drama series The Sinner, for which she received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.\n\nEarly life\nJessica Claire Biel was born on March 3, 1982, in Ely, Minnesota, to Kimberly (née Conroe), a homemaker and spiritual healer, and Jonathan Biel, a business consultant and General Electric worker. Her paternal great-grandfather was the son of Hungarian-Jewish immigrants, which she discovered on the show Who Do You Think You Are?; she also has German, French, English, and Scandinavian ancestry. Her younger brother, Justin, launched and runs the eco-accessory line BARE. Biel's family moved frequently during her childhood, living in Texas, Connecticut, and Woodstock, Illinois, before finally settling in Boulder, Colorado. While growing up, Biel played soccer and trained as a level six gymnast. From 2000 to 2002, she attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.\n\nCareer\nBeginnings (1991–2002)\nBiel initially trained to be a vocalist. At age nine, she appeared in several musical productions in her hometown, playing lead roles in productions such as The Sound of Music and Beauty and the Beast. At 11 she participated in a competition sponsored by the International Modeling and Talent Association in Los Angeles where she acquired an agent and professional talent manager. She began modeling for print advertisements and appeared in commercials for products such as Dulux Paint and Pringles. In her film debut, Biel played the character Regrettal, a lead role in the ambitious musical film It's a Digital World, produced and directed by Paul Greenberg. At age 14, after auditioning for several television pilots, Biel was cast as Mary Camden, the oldest daughter and second-oldest child in the family drama 7th Heaven.Biel landed her first feature film role as Peter Fonda's granddaughter in the critically acclaimed drama Ulee's Gold, released in 1997. Her performance earned her a Young Artist Award. In spring 1998, during a break from filming 7th Heaven, she co-starred in I'll Be Home for Christmas with Jonathan Taylor Thomas as his character's love interest. When she was 17, she posed for a risque photo shoot that appeared in the March 2000 issue of Gear. Producers of 7th Heaven were outraged and brought legal action against Gear. She later expressed regret for doing it, claiming she had been used and that she had been shown different pictures from those published. In 2001, Biel played the love interest of Freddie Prinze, Jr. in the baseball-themed film Summer Catch. In 2002, she starred as promiscuous college student Lara in the ensemble film The Rules of Attraction, an adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel. The movie received mixed reviews, became a box-office hit, and has since gained a cult following.\n\nRise to prominence (2003–2012)\nBiel was cast in her first top-billing role in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Although the film met with negative reviews, it was a commercial success, scoring the number-one spot in its opening week and going on to earn more than $80 million in the U.S. In 2003, Biel began work on the third installment of the Blade film series, Blade: Trinity. Despite negative reviews, Trinity was a box office hit, grossing $150 million worldwide. After finishing it in 2004, she headed to Australia to shoot the action-thriller Stealth. Biel also appeared in the 2004 film Cellular; played a supporting role, Ellen, in the romantic comedy Elizabethtown (2005); and starred in the indie film London. In 2005, Esquire named her the \"Sexiest Woman Alive\" in a six-part series with each month revealing a different body part and clue to the woman's identity.In 2006, Biel played a turn-of-the-century duchess in the period piece The Illusionist, co-starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. While her casting was met with a mixed response, her performance was ultimately praised. James Berardinelli of Reelviews called her the \"film's real acting revelation\", while Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, \"Handily employing a refined English accent where the others lay on a light Austrian veneer, Biel is entirely stunning enough to fight to the death over.\" Biel played an Iraq War veteran in the 2006 film Home of the Brave, a drama about soldiers struggling to readjust to society after facing the hardships of war. In Next Biel starred alongside Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore. She appeared in the summer comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, co-starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. In late 2007, Biel signed on to play a stripper in Powder Blue, alongside Forest Whitaker (who also produced the film), Ray Liotta and Patrick Swayze. In 2007, Stuff magazine's named her No. 1 on their \"100 Sexiest Women\".At the start of 2008, Biel shot Easy Virtue, an adaptation of the play by Noël Coward. Like the play, the film is set in the 1920s and Biel plays young widow Larita, who impulsively marries John Whittaker in France and must face her disapproving in-laws on returning to England. The film premiered in September 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Critics praised Biel for her performance, with Todd McCarthy of Variety saying Biel \"more than kept up\" with veterans Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth and praising her \"sparkling\" performance. The Hollywood Reporter described her performance as \"an irresistible force of nature — a kind, witty, supremely intelligent and beautiful woman who ... is capable of rejoinders that thoroughly undercut her opponent's withering criticism.\" Biel also performed two songs on the film's soundtrack, \"Mad About the Boy\" and \"When the Going Gets Tough\".In 2009, Biel lent her voice to the animated science fiction film Planet 51. Biel performed the role of Sarah Brown with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a fully staged concert production of Guys and Dolls during the 2009 season at the Hollywood Bowl. On the last night, she received a rousing standing ovation from 17,000 people. She subsequently landed a part in Lincoln Center Theater's two-week-long workshop of the musical version of the Pedro Almodóvar film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, along with Salma Hayek.In 2010, Biel starred in the large ensemble cast film Valentine's Day and in the A-Team, based on the television series as Capt. Charissa Sosa. In 2011, she appeared in New Year's Eve, directed by Valentine's Day's Garry Marshall. In 2012, Biel starred in the remake of the 1990 science fiction movie Total Recall alongside Colin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale. She portrayed actress Vera Miles in the biographical film Hitchcock, based on Stephen Rebello's book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. She also appeared in Playing for Keeps with Gerard Butler.\n\nIndependent film route and move into producing (2013–present)\nBiel starred in the thriller film Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2013. In April 2008, Biel began working on the political satire Nailed, with Jake Gyllenhaal. The film centers around a woman who accidentally gets a nail lodged in her head and travels to Washington, D.C. to fight for better health care. In May 2009, Biel spoke about the film's production turmoil, saying: \"That was definitely an experience, something I could not say no to. I am a huge David O. Russell fan. It's just heartbreaking that so many people put so much work into this particular project only to have it sit there, unfinished.\" The film was released on video on demand on February 10, 2015, and received largely negative reviews from critics.In 2015, Biel starred in the independent drama Bleeding Heart, in which she plays a yoga instructor named May who meets her biological sister Shiva (Zosia Mamet), a sex worker, for the first time. The film premiered on April 17, 2015, at the Tribeca Film Festival, receiving mixed reviews, though Biel earned praise for her performance. Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair commented: \"Though she's not given too much to work with in terms of character, Biel plays May with appealing nuance, creating a low-key, bliss-based Angeleno, all light and airy and gentle and poised, who discovers within herself an untapped hardness and anger and strength... when Biel has to conjure up more profound emotions, she proves adept, and surprisingly subtle.\" Clayton Davis of AwardsCircuit.com also praised her performance, writing, \"With an internalized and very subtle performance, Biel excels in her ability to find the very motivation of May.\"In 2016, Biel co-starred with Patrick Wilson (with whom she had worked on The A-Team) in the thriller A Kind of Murder, based on the novel The Blunderer by Patricia Highsmith. She voiced the character Vix in the animated film Spark, with Susan Sarandon and Hilary Swank, which was released in 2016. Biel also appeared in the drama The Book of Love, based on the book The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, about an introverted architect (Jason Sudeikis) who loses his wife (Biel) and sets out to help a teenager named Millie (Maisie Williams). Biel also produced the project from its conception some years prior, and was directed by Bill Purple, who directed her in the short film Hole in the Paper Sky. The film was released in January 2017.On August 2, 2017, Biel's eight-episode limited series murder mystery, The Sinner, debuted on USA Network. Biel is both executive producer and played the series' lead character Cora Tannetti. She stated that she moved into production so that she could develop projects with challenging and interesting roles rather than waiting for them to happen.In October 2021, it was announced Biel would star and executive produce the true-crime drama miniseries Candy for Hulu.\n\nPersonal life\nIn January 2007, Biel began dating singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. They became engaged in December 2011 and married on October 19, 2012, at the Borgo Egnazia resort in Fasano, Italy. Biel and Timberlake have two sons together: one born in April 2015, and another born in July 2020.Alongside anti-vaccination conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Biel publicly lobbied in June 2019 against California's vaccination bill that would limit medical exemptions from vaccinations without approval from a state public health officer.\n\nCharitable causes\nOn July 18, 2006, Biel participated in a charity auction to raise medical funds for teen Molly Bloom, who was injured in a limousine accident. \"I promise I'm a cheap date\", Biel quipped in a pre-recorded video. John Schiffner of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, successfully bid $30,000 to have lunch with Biel. Biel and Schiffner lunched at The Palm restaurant in Denver, Colorado, on August 18, 2006. In early 2007, Biel co-founded the Make the Difference Network with her father and another business partner, Kent McBride. In 2010, Biel climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with members of the United Nations Foundation to raise awareness of the global water crisis. That same year Biel earned a nomination for a Do Something Award. Biel teamed with nonprofit health care organization WomanCare Global to develop content that will provide girls with sex education.\n\nFilmography\nFilm\nTelevision\nMusic videos\nAwards and nominations\nPassage 3:\nCharisma (horse)\nCharisma (30 October 1972 – 7 January 2003), nicknamed \"Podge\" and \"Stroppy\", was a horse ridden by New Zealander Mark Todd. Charisma won many competitions in the sport of eventing. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest event horses ever to have competed. He stood 15.3 hands (63 inches, 160 cm).\n\nBreeding and early life\nCharisma's dam, Planet, stood 15 hands (60 inches, 152 cm) and was sired by the Thoroughbred/Percheron-cross Kiritea. Planet's dam was a Thoroughbred named Starbourne. Planet was a successful Grade A show jumper in New Zealand and under rider Sheryl Douglas, became the first mare in New Zealand to jump her own height. After an injury ended her career, she was bred to the Thoroughbred stallion Tira Mink, and Charisma was foaled on 30 October 1972.\nCharisma's first home was on the Williams' 3,000-acre (12 km2) farm in Wairarapa, New Zealand. Even at a young age, Charisma was laid-back and easy to train. He was soon bought by David Murdoch, who placed the yearling in a small pasture with a four-foot fence, which Charisma jumped. The colt was gelded as a four-year-old, although he managed to cover four mares before that time.\n\nCompetitive career\nThe Beginning: 1977–1982\nThe young horse was slowly broken in, and later bought by Sharon Dearden in 1977. She competed him in Grade B show jumping competitions, and trained him up to intermediate level in eventing. Although the pair was long-listed for the Los Angeles Olympics, Dearden decided to sell the horse. Mrs. Fran Clark bought him and later lent him to Jennifer Stobart. Stobart brought him to Prix St Georges level in dressage \"just for fun\".\n\nUnder Mark Todd: 1983–1986\nMark Todd was offered Charisma to ride by Virginia Caro, as his experienced horse was sick. In May 1983, he tried the gelding out, and brought him back to his place to get the horse fit. Charisma was a bit fat at that time, and had to be bedded on newspaper strips, as he would try to eat other bedding. Keeping the weight off the horse was always quite a struggle.\nCharisma won his first two one-day events with Mark Todd, and then won the National One-Day Event Championship and National Three-day Event at Taupo (both of which he led after dressage and finished on his dressage score). The pair was then selected for the Los Angeles Olympics.Charisma was moved to England in February 1984. During the trip he became sick, and the illness never really left him for the rest of his career. The gelding was taken to the Badminton Horse Trials later that year, where he finished in 2nd place on his dressage score. Another satisfying finish came a few months later, at the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Mark and Charisma finished well after dressage, and then put in a clear cross-country and stadium round. A rail down by Karen Stives, who was leading by a few points, allowed the pair to cinch the individual gold.After the Olympics, Charisma's owner, Fran Clark, decided to sell her horse. However, for some reason she did not seem to want Mark Todd to continue with Charisma as a mount. In 1985, she offered Charisma to the British rider Lizzie Purbrick. Knowing that Todd wanted the horse badly, Purbrick managed a deal with him to buy Charisma behind Fran Clark's back. Mark Todd's sponsor, Woolrest, transferred 50,000 pounds to Lizzie's account, to which she paid Fran Clark, and Mark Todd now was the official rider of Charisma under Woolrest's sponsorship. Needless, to say, Fran Clark was not pleased.\nMark Todd continued to compete Charisma in England, where he placed second at the 1985 Badminton Horse Trials, and won every one-day event of the season in which they competed, except Dauntsey after a fall on cross-country. In 1986, the pair went to the World Championships in Australia. Unfortunately, they had a fall at the water, and two rails down in stadium, and they finished in 10th place. They redeemed themselves a few weeks later in Luhmuhlen, where they won both individually and as part of a composite team.\n\nThe end of his career: 1987–1988\nHowever, Charisma never got his chance to win Badminton, as it was cancelled in 1987. He won the three-star in Saumur, and the pair almost won Burghley that year, but two rails down in show jumping dropped them to second. They later won the British Open Championships before shipping to Seoul.At the 1988 Olympics, Charisma put in a stellar dressage test, and jumped clear rounds in both the cross-country and stadium. He won the individual gold yet again, and beat the second-place horse, Sir Wattie, by the incredible margin of 10.20 penalties. The New Zealand team also won the bronze that year. The back-to-back Olympic win in eventing had only been accomplished once before.\n\nRetirement\nCharisma was retired after his second Olympic victory and he went home to New Zealand. He then went on a six-month tour before taking a well-earned rest. He was later shipped to Britain in 1995 to continue retirement.\nOn 7 January 2003, Charisma was euthanized at Mark Todd's Rivermonte Farm in Cambridge, after breaking a shoulder in the field. He was 30 years old.\n\nAchievements\nSecond Place at the Badminton Horse Trials in 1984 and 1985\nIndividual Gold at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles\nWon the Luhmuhlen, Germany Three-Day Event in 1986\nSecond Place at the Burghley Horse Trials, England in 1987\nWon the British Open Championships in 1987\nIndividual Gold and Team Bronze at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul\nVoted best NZ Sport Horse in the world in 1983 and 1985\nSmallest Thoroughbred foal in Invercargill, NZ in 1972\nHorse with the most fan mail in New Zealand\nCarried Mark Todd into the stadium carrying the torch at the opening ceremony of the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand\nPassage 4:\nJohn Ranelagh\nJohn Ranelagh (John O'Beirne Ranelagh) is a television executive and producer, and an author of history and of current politics. He was created a Knight First Class by King Harald V of Norway in 2013 in the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit, for outstanding service in the interest of Norway.\n\nEducation\nHe read Modern History at Christ Church, Oxford, and went on to take a Ph.D. at Eliot College, University of Kent.\n\nCareer\nHe was Campaign Director for \"Outset\", a charity for the single homeless person, where he pioneered the concept of charity auctions. From 1974 to 1979 he was at the Conservative Research Department where he first had responsibility for Education policy, and then for Foreign policy. He started his career in television with the British Broadcasting Corporation, first for BBC News and Current Affairs on Midweek. As Associate Producer he was a key member of the BBC/RTE Ireland: A Television History 13-part documentary series (1981). Later a member of the team that started Channel 4, he conceived the Equinox program, developed the \"commissioning system\", and served as Board Secretary. He was the first television professional appointed to the Independent Television Commission (ITC), a government agency which licensed and regulated commercial television in Britain from 1991 to 2003.Eventually Ranelagh relocated to Scandinavia where he continued in television broadcasting. There he has been with various companies: as Executive Chairman for NordicWorld; as Director for Kanal 2 Estonia; and, as Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Programmes for TV2 Denmark. Later Ranelagh worked at TV2 Norway as Director of Acquisition, and at Vizrt as deputy Chairman and then Chairman .Ranelagh stood as the Conservative Party candidate in Caerphilly in the 1979 general election.\n\nBooks\nRanelagh has also written several books:\n\"The I.R.B. from the Treaty to 1924,\" in Irish Historical Studies, Vol. 20, No. 77 (March 1976).\n\"Science and Education,\" CRD, 1977.\n\"Human Rights and Foreign Policy,\" with Richard Luce, CPC, 1978.\nIreland. An illustrated history (Oxford University 1981);\nA Short History of Ireland (Cambridge University 1983, 2d ed. 1995, 3d ed. 2012);\nThe Agency. The rise and decline of the CIA (New York: Simon and Schuster 1986, pb. ed. 1987);\n\"Secrets, Supervision and Information,\" in Freedom of Information; Freedom of the Individual, ed. Julia Neuberger, 1987.\n\"The Irish Republican Brotherhood in the revolutionary period, 1879–1923,\" in The Revolution in Ireland, 1879–1923, ed. D.G. Boyce, 1988.\nDen Anden Kanal, Tiderne Skifter, 1989.\nThatcher's People. An insider's account of the politics, the power and the personalities (HarperCollins 1991);\nCIA: A History (London: BBC Books, illustrated edition 1992).\nEncyclopædia Britannica, \"Ireland,\" 1993–\n\"Through the Looking Glass: A comparison of United States and United Kingdom Intelligence cultures,\" in In the Name of Intelligence, eds. Hayden B. Peake and Samuel Halpern, 1998.\n\"Channel 4: A view from within,\" in The making of Channel 4, ed. Peter Catterall, 1998.\n\nFamily\nJohn Ranelagh's Irish father was James O'Beirne Ranelagh (died 1979 Cambridge) who had been in the IRA in 1916 and later, fighting on the Republican side in the 1922–24 Civil War. His mother was Elaine (née Lambert Lewis). She had been a young American folklorist with her own WNYC radio program, and thereafter became the noted author, E. L. Ranelagh (born 1914 New York, died 1996 London). A native New Yorker, she had moved to rural Ireland following her 1946 marriage to James. Their son John Ranelagh, who has three younger sisters, Bawn, Elizabeth and Fionn, was born in 1947. His wife is Elizabeth Grenville Hawthorne, author of Managing Grass for Horses (2005). Hawthorne is the daughter of the late Sir William Hawthorne.\n\nSee also\nChannel 4\nEquinox\nTV2 Norway\n\nNotes\nExternal links\nExclusive Interview with John O'Beirne Ranelagh\nVideo Snack with John Ranelagh, TV2 Norway\nPassage 5:\nCartoon Network\nCartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Cartoonito, Adult Swim, and Toonami under its purview. The channel is headquartered at 1050 Techwood Drive NW in Atlanta, Georgia.\nFounded by Ted Turner (who appointed Betty Cohen as the first president of the network), the channel was launched on October 1, 1992, and primarily broadcasts animated television series, mostly children's programming, ranging from action to animated comedy. It currently runs from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET/PT on Mondays through Saturdays, and from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays (the sign-off time varies with holidays and special programming). Cartoon Network primarily targets children aged 6 to 12, while its early morning block Cartoonito is aimed at preschool-aged children, and nighttime block Adult Swim targets older teenagers and young adults aged 18 to 34.Cartoon Network offers an alternate Spanish-language audio feed, either via a separate channel with the English audio track removed as part of a package of Spanish-language television networks sold by subscription providers, or a separate audio track accessible through the SAP option, depending on the provider.\nAs of March 2021, Cartoon Network is available to approximately 94 million paid television households in the United States.\n\nHistory\nOn August 9, 1986, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists. On October 18, Turner forcibly sold back MGM. However, Turner kept much of the film and television library made before May 1986 (including some of the UA library) and formed Turner Entertainment Co. On October 8, 1988, its cable channel Turner Network Television was launched and gained an audience with its extensive film library. In 1991, Turner also purchased the library of animation studio Hanna-Barbera. Ted Turner selected Betty Cohen (then-Senior Vice President of TNT) to devise a network to house these programs. On February 18, 1992, Turner Broadcasting announced its plans to launch Cartoon Network as an outlet for an animation library. On October 1, 1992, the network officially launched as the first 24-hour single-genre cable channel with animation as its main theme.\nIn 1994, Hanna-Barbera's new division Cartoon Network Studios was founded and started production on What a Cartoon!. This show debuted in 1995, offering original animated shorts. In 1996, Cartoon Network aired two preschool programs: Big Bag, a live-action/puppet television program with animated short series produced by Children's Television Workshop, and Small World, which featured animated series aimed at preschoolers imported from foreign countries. Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner, which consolidated/reverted ownership of all the Warner Bros. cartoons. The network could then continue more original productions.\n\nProgramming\nCartoon Network's current original programming includes such shows as\nThe Amazing World of Gumball, Craig of the Creek, Teen Titans Go!, and We Baby Bears. The network's original programming is produced at Cartoon Network Studios, while other shows have either been co-produced with or acquired from other studios, including the affiliated Warner Bros. Animation. In the past, Cartoon Network has also produced and aired live-action and animated hybrid programming.\nOver the years, Cartoon Network has aired various Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, Tom and Jerry and Droopy shorts in constant rotation, dating back to the network's launch in 1992 until 2017. In its early days, Cartoon Network benefited from having access to a large collection of animated programming, including the libraries of Warner Bros. (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Tom and Jerry), Hanna-Barbera (The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Snorks), and DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Justice League and Teen Titans). Turner's ownership of Hanna-Barbera gave the network access to an established animation studio, something its rivals didn't have. Most of these series were removed by 1999 and moved to Boomerang in 2000.\n\nOriginal series\nMuch of Cartoon Network's original programming originates from the network's in-house studio, Cartoon Network Studios. Beginning as a division of Hanna-Barbera, this studio would produce some of the network's earliest original series, including Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, Johnny Bravo, and The Powerpuff Girls. Cartoon Cartoons was once the branding for Cartoon Network's original animated television series, but it was seldom used by the network by 2003. The name was eventually discontinued in 2008. Additionally several of the Cartoon Network's original series have been produced by studios other than the network's own in-house studio. Notable examples of this being Ed, Edd n Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Codename: Kids Next Door. The name was resurrected by the network in 2021, for a new animated shorts program.\n\nProgramming blocks\nFrom 1999 to 2003, Cartoon Cartoon Fridays served as the channel's flagship block, featuring premieres of Cartoon Network original series that fell under the Cartoon Cartoons branding; from 2003 to 2007, the block was renamed to \"Fridays\" after Cartoon Network began to phase out the Cartoon Cartoons branding. The Toonami block, which originally ran from 1997 to 2008, primarily carried action-oriented series aimed towards an older youth and teen audience, including imported anime series; it was later re-launched under the auspices of Adult Swim in 2012. 2008 saw the introduction of CN Real, a block that featured live-action reality television series aimed towards a youth audience. In 2011, the channel introduced DC Nation, a block that would be focused on series adapted from DC Comics properties.In September 2021, Cartoon Network introduced two new blocks oriented towards preschool and family viewing respectively, including the preschool block Cartoonito, and the new Sunday-evening block ACME Night–which primarily carries family films and library content, as well as other original series, specials, and television films from Warner Bros. Animation, as well as some programming from Adult Swim. They were introduced as part of an effort by new head Tom Ascheim to broaden Cartoon Network's demographic reach.\n\nEditing of theatrical cartoon shorts\nCartoon Network has, during its history, broadcast most of the Warner Bros. animated shorts originally created between the 1920s and the 1960s, but the network edited out scenes depicting discharge of gunfire, alcohol ingestion, cowboys and Indians gags, tobacco, and politically incorrect humor. The unedited versions were kept from both broadcasting and wide release on the video market. Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943), a politically incorrect but critically well-regarded short, was notably omitted entirely, while The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1950) and Feed the Kitty (1952), both well-regarded, had their finales heavily edited due to violence.There was media attention in June 2001 over a network decision concerning further omissions from broadcasting. Cartoon Network formerly scheduled a 49-hour-long marathon annually known as June Bugs, promising to broadcast every Bugs Bunny animated short in chronological order. The network originally intended to include 12 shorts for its 2001 airing of the marathon (one of them part of the Censored Eleven list of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons effectively shelved from distribution) that had become controversial for using ethnic and national stereotypes, albeit broadcasting them past midnight to ensure few children were watching, with introductions concerning their historic value as representatives of another time. The network's corporate parent considered it likely that there would be complaints concerning racial insensitivity. This led to all 12 being omitted in their entirety. Laurie Goldberg, vice-president of public relations, defended the decision, stating, \"We're the leader in animation, but we're also one of the top-rated general entertainment networks. There are certain responsibilities that come with that.\"\n\nRelated brands and units\nCartoonito\nCartoonito is a preschool programming brand owned by Warner Bros.; the brand was first launched in 2006 for use in international markets. In February 2021, it was announced that Cartoonito would make its U.S. debut as a block on Cartoon Network and as a content brand on HBO Max; the Cartoon Network block launched on September 13, 2021.\n\nAdult Swim\nAdult Swim (often stylized as [adult swim] or [as]) is the adult-oriented programming brand of Cartoon Network. The programs featured on Adult Swim are geared toward a mature audience, in contrast to the all-ages, preteen daytime programming of Cartoon Network. As a result, Adult Swim is treated by Nielsen as a separate channel in its ratings reports (similar to Nickelodeon's Nick at Nite block) and marketed as such because of its differing target demographics. The block broadcasts both animated and live-action shows (including original programming, reruns of animated sitcoms, and other action and anime series) generally with minimal or no editing for content.\nAs of May 2023, Adult Swim broadcasts from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. ET/PT on Monday through Saturdays, and from 9:00 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Sundays. Initially airing in the late-night hours, it has since expanded into prime time, moving its start time to 10 p.m. in 2009, and 8 p.m. in March 2014 (although the hour was given back to Cartoon Network for programming events and premieres, such as Steven Universe Future, in the fall-to-early-winter period).Due to increasing viewership of Cartoon Network in the evening hours by viewers over 18, Adult Swim's sign-on was moved to 7 p.m. ET/PT on weekdays and Saturdays on May 1, 2023. It will expand further to 6 p.m. on August 28; this hour will initially feature the sub-block \"Checkered Past\" on weekdays, airing reruns of classic Cartoon Network original series.\n\nToonami\nToonami (a portmanteau of \"cartoon\" and \"tsunami\", suggesting a \"tidal wave\" of animated cartoons) is a brand used for action-oriented programming blocks and television channels worldwide. The original program block launched on Cartoon Network in the United States on March 17, 1997, and primarily aired both American cartoons and Japanese anime. The block would end its original run on September 20, 2008, before it was later revived on May 26, 2012, as a relaunch of Adult Swim's Saturday night anime block. Toonami's current incarnation is similar to that of the \"Midnight Run\", a special version of the block that originally ran on Saturday nights and was the forerunner for Adult Swim. The block is best known for its branding and aesthetic, including its animated host, a robot named TOM, that was later voiced by Steven Blum.\nThe Toonami brand was also used internationally for dedicated networks in the United Kingdom (replacing CNX), Asia (in December 2012), India (in February 2015), and France (in February 2016).\n\nBoomerang\nBoomerang is a brand dedicated to classic and theatrical cartoons aimed towards children 7–13. It was originally a weekend programming block that aired on Cartoon Network from December 8, 1992, until October 3, 2004. On April 1, 2000, Boomerang received a new look and was spun off into its own cable channel. In 2017, an online Boomerang video-on-demand service was launched, which includes classic series along with new episodes of original series like Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, New Looney Tunes, and The Tom and Jerry Show.\n\nOther services\nProduction studios\nCartoon Network Studios\nCartoon Network Studios is a production studio located in the network's West Coast headquarters of Burbank, California, which serves as the network's first animation studio division to provide original programs for the network, succeeding Hanna-Barbera. While the studio makes original programs for the network, original Cartoon Network and Cartoonito shows like Big Bag, Ed, Edd n Eddy, Mike, Lu & Og, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Sheep in the Big City, Codename: Kids Next Door, The Secret Saturdays, and Sunday Pants were all produced without Cartoon Network Studios’ involvement. Starting from 2014, it starts producing shows for Adult Swim alongside its sister company Williams Street, following botched attempts to launch pilots on the block. It also produces live-action shows under the pseudonyms Alive and Kicking, Inc., Rent Now Productions and Factual Productions, formerly for Cartoon Network and currently for Adult Swim.\n\nWilliams Street\nWilliams Street Productions is the adult production studio division that provides original program to the network's late-night programming block Adult Swim that is located in Atlanta, Georgia, along with the main headquarters of the network. Prior to Adult Swim, the company produced Space Ghost: Coast to Coast for Cartoon Network.\n\nHanna-Barbera Studios Europe\nHanna-Barbera Studios Europe (formerly known as Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe until 2017 and Cartoon Network Studios Europe until 2021) is the network's European production studio division that is located in London, England, which provides other original programs but from the United Kingdom.\n\nCartoon Network Productions\nCartoon Network Productions is the global distribution arm for shows, pilots, and movies through various international Cartoon Network channels since December 5, 1993.\n\nCN LA Original Productions\nCartoon Network Latin America Original Productions (abbreviated as CN LA) is a production studio division of the network's Latin American station, formed on May 26, 2019.\n\nMedia\nCartoon Network Games\nCartoon Network Games (formerly Cartoon Network Interactive) is the video game developer and publisher of video games based on Cartoon Network shows since 2000.\n\nCartoon Network Enterprises\nCartoon Network Enterprises is the network's global licensing and merchandising arm established in 2001. It distributes merchandises of various Cartoon Network brands.\n\nMobile app\nCartoon Network has a mobile app that provides the latest full episodes, a live stream from the East and West coast, games, and the network's schedule.\n\nBook licensing\nCartoon Network Books is the book publisher established in 2015. It licenses books based on various Cartoon Network franchises.\n\nVideo games\nIn 2011, Cartoon Network characters were featured in a four-player mascot brawler fighting game similar to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. video game series called Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was later released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii as Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL. Several video games based on the cartoon series Ben 10 were released by Cartoon Network as well. The Cartoon Network website also features various browser games incorporating characters from various Cartoon Network franchises. One such game was FusionFall, a massive multiplayer game released on January 14, 2009, and shut down on August 29, 2013.\n\nMovies\nCartoon Network has produced various films, most of them being television films; the only films from Cartoon Network that had a theatrical release are The Powerpuff Girls Movie, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, Regular Show: The Movie and Teen Titans Go! To The Movies.\n\nOnline\nCartoon Network registered its official website, CartoonNetwork.com, on January 9, 1996. It officially launched on July 27, 1998. Sam Register served as the site's Senior Vice President and Creative Director from 1997 to 2001. In its early years, small studios partnered with the network to produce exclusive \"Web Premiere Toons\", short cartoons made specifically for CartoonNetwork.com. More about animation was included in the \"Department of Cartoons\", which featured storyboards, episode guides, backgrounds, sound and video files, model sheets, production notes, and other information about shows on the network. In January 1999, the Department of Cartoons showcased the \"MGM Golden Age Collection\", most of which had not been published or even seen in more than 50 years. Cartoon Network launched Cartoon Orbit, an online gaming network characterized by digital trading cards called \"cToons\", in October 2000. The game officially ended on October 16, 2006.\nIn October 2000, CartoonNetwork.com outdid its rival Nickelodeon's website in terms of unique users, scoring 2.12 million compared to Nick.com's 1.95 million. In July 2007, Nielsen ratings data showed visitors spent an average of 77 minutes on the site, surpassing the previous record of 71 minutes set in 2004, and the site ranked 26th in terms of time spent for all US domains.\n\nMarketing\nCartoon Network shows with established fan followings, such as Dexter's Laboratory, allowed the network to pursue licensing agreements with companies interested in selling series-related merchandise. For example, agreements with Kraft Foods led to widespread in-store advertising for Cartoon Network-related products. The network also worked on cross-promotion campaigns with both Kraft and Tower Records. In product development and marketing, the network has benefited from its relation to corporate parent Warner Bros. Discovery, allowing for mutually beneficial relationships with various subsidiary companies.Time Warner Cable, the former cable television subsidiary of the corporate parent (which was spun off from Time Warner in 2009), distributes Cartoon Network as part of its packages. Turner Broadcasting System, the subsidiary overseeing various Warner Bros. Discovery-owned networks, helped cross-promote Cartoon Network shows and at times arranged for swapping certain shows between the networks. For example, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, one of CN's original shows, was at times seen at Kids' WB (which was discontinued on May 24, 2008), while Xiaolin Showdown and ¡Mucha Lucha!, two of Kids' WB's original shows, were seen at Cartoon Network. In each case, the swap intended to cultivate a shared audience for the two networks. Time Inc., the former subsidiary overseeing the magazines of the corporate parent, ensured favorable coverage of Cartoon Network and advertising space across its publications. Printed advertisements for CN shows could appear in magazines such as Time, Entertainment Weekly and Sports Illustrated Kids until Time Inc. was spun off from WarnerMedia on June 9, 2014. AOL, a now-former sibling company to WarnerMedia covering Internet services, helped promote Cartoon Network shows online by offering exclusive content for certain animated series, online sweepstakes and display advertising for CN.Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, the home video subsidiary, distributes VHS tapes, DVDs and Blu-ray discs featuring Cartoon Network shows. Select Warner Bros. Family Entertainment VHS releases came with bonus cartoons from Cartoon Network. Rhino Entertainment, the former record label subsidiary of the corporate parent (which was spun off from Warner Bros. Discovery in 2004), distributed cassette tapes and CDs with Cartoon Network-related music. These products were also available through the Warner Bros. Studio Store. DC Comics, the comic book subsidiary, published a series featuring the Powerpuff Girls, indicating it could handle other CN-related characters. Warner Bros., the film studio subsidiary, released The Powerpuff Girls Movie in 2002. Kevin Sandler considered it likely that this film would find its way to HBO or Cinemax, two television network subsidiaries which regularly broadcast feature films. Sandler also viewed book tie-ins through Warner Books as likely, since it was the only area of marketing not covered yet by 2001.Cartoon Network also licensed its original series out for food promotions. Nestlé was granted a licensing agreement that resulted in a Wonder Ball chocolate candy tie-in with Cartoon Network characters and logos beginning in 2003. A new Wonder Ball promotion began in 2004 with characters from Ed, Edd n Eddy and exclusive Wonderball prizes and cToons on the Cartoon Orbit website.\n\nInternational channels\nSince its inception, Cartoon Network and its sister channels have set up various national and regional feeds. Since the early 1990s and 2000s, the network has expanded to countries including Canada, Mexico, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Africa, and several Asia-Pacific regions.\n\nSee also\nAdult Swim\nBoomerang\nCartoonito\nPassage 6:\nThe Greatest Event in Television History\nThe Greatest Event in Television History is a mockumentary TV special series created by Adam Scott and Naomi Scott. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim on October 12, 2012 and ended on January 23, 2014 with a total of four episodes. Each episode originally aired independently as a \"special presentation\", several months apart.\n\nFormat\nThe format of each special is a brief mockumentary about the shot-for-shot remake of a 1980s TV series opening credits sequence, followed by the remake itself. Series co-creator Adam Scott says the specials are at least in part motivated by his own memories of watching 1980s TV as a kid. Each episode is hosted by Jeff Probst with actors portraying fictional versions of themselves or others. After each episode, the original opening credit scene is shown.\n\nProduction\nFour episodes were produced during the show's run; the series finale aired on January 23, 2014. In an interview with Splitsider, Scott explained the conclusion of the series: \"It's a lot of work for such a short, stupid thing... they're really fun and they're fun to make, but we're ready to move on.\"\n\nCast\nAmanda Anka as voiceover (voice)\nJeff Probst as himself\nJon Hamm as Rick Simon\nAdam Scott as A.J. Simon / Jonathan Hart / Monroe Ficus / Henry Desmond\nPaul Rudd as Director / Kip Wilson\nGus Van Sant as himself\nJoe Schroeder as Tallest Doctor\nKathryn Hahn as Gretta Strauss / Sara Rush\nPaul Scheer as Protester\nMegan Mullally as Cecilia Simon\nBailey as Marlowe\nAmy Poehler as Jennifer Hart\nPaul Rust as Director\nHoratio Sanz as Max\nMaya Ferrara as Basecamp PA\nDavid Wain as Bell Taint\nNick Kroll as Jeremy Bay\nCatherine O'Hara as Muriel Rush\nJon Glaser as Henry Rush\nChelsea Peretti as Jackie Rush\nJason Mantzoukas as Director\nSeth Morris as Channon Flowers\nDamian Lang as Emergency Medic\nGillian Jacobs as Sonny Lumet\nMo Collins as Ruth Dunbar\nAisha Muharrar as Isabelle Hammond\nHelen Slayton-Hughes as Lilly Sinclair\nAidy Bryant as Amy Cassidy\n\nEpisodes\nPassage 7:\nAllan Wicks\nEdward Allan Wicks (6 June 1923, Harden, West Yorkshire − 4 February 2010) was an English cathedral organist, who served in Canterbury Cathedral for nearly 30 years. He was an early champion of the music of Olivier Messiaen, Peter Maxwell Davies and Kenneth Leighton. He also directed the specially-commissioned music for the 1951 revival of the York Mystery Plays, regarded as the greatest event in the Festival of Britain celebrations.\n\nCareer\nThe son of a parson, Wicks began his musical studies as a pianist at an early age, but did not think that he would be good enough to become professional. He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead and at the age of 14 he was advised to convert to the organ. He took his degree at Christ Church, Oxford, where he was also organ scholar at the cathedral, assistant to Thomas Armstrong. Completing his studies after serving in the 14th Punjab Regiment, gaining an MA and an FRCO, he then took up post at York Minster in 1947, as sub-organist to Francis Jackson. He described his time at York as being much easier than modern cathedral organists: \"In those days it was easier to manage on one's own, because we never used to conduct, except a cappella pieces, we never conducted like cathedral organists now who hardly ever play the organ, they're down there wagging a finger, waving their arms about.\" Whilst based in York, he was on the music staff at St Peter's School and Chorus Master of Leeds Philharmonic Society. For the 1951 revival of the York Mystery Plays he was director of the music, composed by his friend James Brown. The plays captured the hearts of the British public, and have been performed regularly ever since.In 1954, Wicks left York to take the job of organist and choirmaster of Manchester Cathedral. There he inspired Maxwell Davies by his directing the choir in performances of John IV of Portugal and John Dunstaple. Wicks also championed Maxwell Davies's Fantasia on O Magnum Mysterium, as well as Malcolm Williamson's six-movement Symphony. He also organised a Cantata Choir and a small orchestra for Tuesday evening concerts of larger-scale works, including Igor Stravinsky's Canticum Sacrum and Messiaen's Messe de la Pentecôte.In 1961 he was appointed organist and master of the choristers of Canterbury Cathedral, where he served for 27 years, under three Archbishops, retiring after being appointed C.B.E. in 1988. Whilst at Canterbury, he also was honoured with the Lambeth MusDoc in 1974 and an honorary DMus from the University of Kent in 1985.\nWicks died in 2010, and was survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and their two daughters.\n\nOrganist posts\n1941–1946: Organ Scholar, Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford (interrupted by wartime service in the 14th Punjab Regiment)\n1947–1954: Sub Organist, York Minster\n1954–1961: Organist at Manchester Cathedral.\n1961–1988: Organist at Canterbury Cathedral.\nPassage 8:\n2005 World Series of Poker\nThe 2005 World Series of Poker opened play on June 2, continuing through the Main Event No Limit World Championship starting on July 7. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15 marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports and/or television history at the time ($7,500,000) was awarded to the winner. ESPN's broadcast began July 19th with coverage of WSOP Circuit Tournaments, and coverage of the Main Event began October 11th and ended November 15th.\nAll events were held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino with the exception of the final 2 days of the Main Event which were held at Binion's Horseshoe. This marked the last time the Main Event final table was held at Binion's Horseshoe.\n\nEvents\nMain Event\nThere were 5,619 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter what was the largest poker tournament ever played in a brick and mortar casino at the time. Many entrants won their seat in online poker tournaments. 2004 Main Event champion Greg Raymer finished in 25th place in his title defense.\n\nFinal table\n*Career statistics prior to the beginning of the 2005 Main Event.\n\nFinal table results\nOther High Finishes\nNB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.\n\nFall of World Champions\nDay 1: Jim Bechtel, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Tom McEvoy, Carlos Mortensen, Scotty Nguyen, Robert Varkonyi\nDay 2: Dan Harrington, Chris Moneymaker, Huck Seed\nDay 3: (none)\nDay 4: Russ Hamilton\nDay 5: (none)\nDay 6: Greg Raymer\n\nSee also\nWorld Series of Poker Circuit events\nWorld Series of Poker Tournament of Champions\n2005 World Series of Poker Results\nPassage 9:\nER (TV series)\nER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist and physician Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994, to April 2, 2009, with a total of 331 episodes spanning 15 seasons. It was produced by Constant C Productions and Amblin Television, in association with Warner Bros. Television. ER follows the inner life of the emergency room (ER) of Cook County General Hospital (a fictionalized version of the real Cook County Hospital) in Chicago, and various critical issues faced by the department's physicians and staff.\nThe show is the second longest-running primetime medical drama in American television history behind Grey's Anatomy, and the seventh longest medical drama across the globe (behind the United Kingdom's Casualty and Holby City, [United States’s] Grey's Anatomy, Germany's In aller Freundschaft, Poland's Na dobre i na złe, and New Zealand's Shortland Street). It won 23 Primetime Emmy Awards, including the 1996 Outstanding Drama Series award, and received 124 Emmy nominations. ER won 116 awards in total, including the Peabody Award, while the cast earned four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Drama Series. As of 2014, ER has grossed over $3 billion in television revenue.\n\nProduction\nDevelopment\nIn 1974, author Michael Crichton wrote a screenplay based on his own experiences as a medical student in a busy hospital emergency room. The screenplay went nowhere and Crichton turned to other topics. In 1990, he published the novel Jurassic Park, and in 1993 began a collaboration with director Steven Spielberg on the film adaptation of the book. Crichton and Spielberg then turned to ER, but decided to film the story as a two-hour pilot for a television series rather than as a feature film. Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment provided John Wells as the show's executive producer.\nThe script used to shoot the pilot was virtually unchanged from what Crichton had written in 1974. The only substantive changes made by the producers in 1994 were that the Susan Lewis character became a woman and the Peter Benton character became African-American, and the running time was shortened by about 20 minutes in order for the pilot to air in a two-hour block on network TV. Because of a lack of time and money necessary to build a set, the pilot episode of ER was filmed in the former Linda Vista Hospital in Los Angeles, an old facility that had ceased operating in 1990. A set modeled after Los Angeles County General Hospital's emergency room was built soon afterward at the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California, although the show makes extensive use of location shoots in Chicago, most notably the city's famous \"L\" train platforms.Warren Littlefield, running NBC Entertainment at the time, was impressed by the series: \"We were intrigued, but we were admittedly a bit spooked in attempting to go back into that territory a few years after St. Elsewhere.\" With Spielberg attached behind the scenes, NBC ordered six episodes. \"ER premiered opposite a Monday Night Football game on ABC and did surprisingly well. Then we moved it to Thursday and it just took off\", commented Littlefield. ER's success surprised the networks and critics alike, as David E. Kelley's new medical drama Chicago Hope was expected to crush the new series.Crichton remained executive producer until his death in November 2008, although he was still credited as one throughout that entire final season. Wells, the series' other initial executive producer, served as showrunner for the first three seasons. He was one of the show's most prolific writers and became a regular director in later years. Lydia Woodward was a part of the first season production team and became an executive producer for the third season. She took over as showrunner for the fourth season while Wells focused on the development of other series, including Trinity, Third Watch, and The West Wing. She left her executive producer position at the end of the sixth season but continued to write episodes throughout the series' run.\nJoe Sachs, who was a writer and producer of the series, believed keeping a commitment to medical accuracy was extremely important: \"We'd bend the rules but never break them. A medication that would take 10 minutes to work might take 30 seconds instead. We compressed time. A 12- to 24-hour shift gets pushed into 48 minutes. But we learned that being accurate was important for more reasons than just making real and responsible drama.\"Woodward was replaced as showrunner by Jack Orman. Orman was recruited as a writer-producer for the series in its fourth season after a successful stint working on CBS's JAG. He was quickly promoted and became an executive producer and showrunner for the series' seventh season. He held these roles for three seasons before leaving the series at the end of the ninth season. Orman was also a frequent writer and directed three episodes of the show.\nDavid Zabel served as the series' head writer and executive producer in its later seasons. He initially joined the crew for the eighth season and became an executive producer and showrunner for the twelfth season onward. Zabel was the series' most frequent writer, contributing to 41 episodes. He also made his directing debut on the series. Christopher Chulack was the series' most frequent director and worked as a producer on all 15 seasons. He became an executive producer in the fourth season but occasionally scaled back his involvement in later years to focus on other projects.\nOther executive producers include writers Carol Flint, Neal Baer, R. Scott Gemmill, Dee Johnson, Joe Sachs, Lisa Zwerling, and Janine Sherman Barrois. Several of these writers and producers had background in healthcare: Joe Sachs was an emergency physician, while Lisa Zwerling and Neal Baer were both pediatricians. The series' crew was recognized with awards for writing, directing, producing, film editing, sound editing, casting, and music.\n\nBroadcasting\nFollowing the broadcast of its two-hour pilot movie on September 19, 1994, ER premiered Thursday, September 22 at 10pm. It remained in the same Thursday time slot for its entire run, capping the Must See TV primetime block. ER is NBC's third longest-running drama, after Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the second longest-running American primetime medical drama of all time, behind Grey's Anatomy. Starting with season seven, ER was broadcast in the 1080i HD format, appearing in letterbox format when presented in standard definition. On April 2, 2008, NBC announced that the series would return for its fifteenth season. The fifteenth season was originally scheduled to run for 19 episodes before retiring with a two-hour series finale to be broadcast on March 12, 2009, but NBC announced in January 2009 that it would extend the show by an additional three episodes to a full 22-episode order as part of a deal to launch a new series by John Wells titled Police, later retitled Southland. ER's final episode aired on April 2, 2009; the two-hour episode was preceded by a one-hour retrospective special. The series finale charged $425,000 per 30-second ad spot, more than three times the season's rate of $135,000. From season 4 to season 6 ER cost a record-breaking $13 million per episode. TNT also paid a record price of $1 million an episode for four years of repeats of the series during that time. The cost of the first three seasons was $2 million per episode and seasons 7 to 9 cost $8 million per episode.In September 1998, TNT aired syndicated reruns of the series.\n\nCast and characters\nThe original starring cast consisted of Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene, George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross, Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis, Noah Wyle as medical student John Carter, and Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton. As the series continued, some key changes were made: Nurse Carol Hathaway, played by Julianna Margulies, who attempts suicide in the original pilot script, was made into a regular cast member. Ming-Na Wen debuted in the middle of the first season as medical student Jing-Mei \"Deb\" Chen, but did not return for the second season; she returns in season 6 episode 10. Gloria Reuben and Laura Innes would join the series as Physician Assistant Jeanie Boulet and Dr. Kerry Weaver, respectively, by the second season.In the third season, a series of cast additions and departures began that would see the entire original cast leave over time. Stringfield was the first to exit the series, reportedly upsetting producers who believed she wanted to negotiate for more money, but the actress did not particularly care for \"fame.\"\n She would return to the series from 2001 until 2005. Clooney departed the series in 1999 to pursue a film career, and Margulies exited the following year. Season eight saw the departure of La Salle and Edwards when Benton left County General and Greene died from a brain tumor. Wyle left the series after season 11 in order to spend more time with his family, but would return for two multiple-episode appearances in the show's final seasons. Goran Visnjic as Dr. Luka Kovač, Maura Tierney as Dr. Abby Lockhart, Alex Kingston as Dr. Elizabeth Corday, Paul McCrane as Dr. Robert Romano, and Mekhi Phifer as Dr. Greg Pratt all joined the cast as the seasons went on. In the much later seasons, the show would see the additions of Scott Grimes as Dr. Archie Morris, Parminder Nagra as Dr. Neela Rasgotra, Shane West as Dr. Ray Barnett, Linda Cardellini as nurse Samantha Taggart, John Stamos as intern Tony Gates, David Lyons as Dr. Simon Brenner and Angela Bassett as Dr. Catherine Banfield.In addition to the main cast, ER featured a large number of frequently seen recurring cast members who played key roles such as paramedics, hospital support staff, nurses, and doctors. ER also featured a sizable roster of well-known guest stars, some making rare television appearances, who typically played patients in single episode appearances or multi-episode arcs.\n\nEpisodes\nA typical episode centered on the ER, with most scenes set in the hospital or surrounding streets. In addition, most seasons included at least one storyline located completely outside of the ER, often outside of Chicago. Over the span of the series, stories took place in the Democratic Republic of The Congo, France, Iraq and Sudan. One early storyline involved a road trip taken by Dr. Ross and Dr. Greene to California and a season eight episode included a storyline in Hawaii featuring Dr. Greene and Dr. Corday. Beginning in season nine, storylines started to include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, featuring Dr. Kovac, Dr. Carter, and Dr. Pratt. \"We turned some attention on the Congo and on Darfur when nobody else was. We had a bigger audience than a nightly newscast will ever see, making 25 to 30 million people aware of what was going on in Africa,\" ER producer John Wells said. \"The show is not about telling people to eat their vegetables, but if we can do that in an entertaining context, then there's nothing better.\" The series also focused on sociopolitical issues such as HIV and AIDS, organ transplants, mental illness, racism, human trafficking, euthanasia, poverty and gay rights.Some episodes used creative formats, such as the 1997 \"Ambush\", which was broadcast live twice, once for the east coast and again three hours later for the west coast, and 2002's \"Hindsight\", which ran in reverse time as it followed one character, Dr. Kovac, through the events of a Christmas Eve shift and the Christmas party that preceded it.\n\nCrossover with Third Watch\nThe episode \"Brothers and Sisters\" (first broadcast on April 25, 2002) begins a crossover that concludes on the Third Watch episode \"Unleashed\" in which Dr. Lewis enlists the help of Officers Maurice Boscorelli and Faith Yokas to find her sister and niece.\n\nRatings\nU.S. seasonal rankings based on average total viewers per episode of ER on NBC are tabulated below. Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. All times mentioned in this section were in the Eastern and Pacific time zones. Ratings for seasons 1–2 are listed in households (the percentage of households watching the program), while ratings for seasons 3–15 are listed in viewers.\n\nIn its first year, ER attracted an average of 19 million viewers per episode, becoming the year's second most watched television show, just behind Seinfeld. In the following two seasons (1995–1997), ER was the most watched show in North America. For almost five years, ER battled for the top spot against Seinfeld, but in 1998, Seinfeld ended and then ER became number one again. The series finale attracted 16.4 million viewers. The show's highest rating came during the season 2 episode \"Hell and High Water,\" with 48 million viewers and a 45% market share. It was the highest for a regularly scheduled drama since a May 1985 installment of Dallas received a 46. The share represents the percentage of TVs in use tuned in to that show.\n\nCritical reception\nThroughout the series ER received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. It scored 80 on Metacritic, meaning \"generally favorable reviews\", based on 21 critics. Marvin Kitman from Newsday said: \"It's like M*A*S*H with just the helicopters showing up and no laughs. E.R. is all trauma; you never get to know enough about the patients or get involved with them. It's just treat, release and move on\". Richard Zoglin from Time stated that it's \"probably the most realistic fictional treatment of the medical profession TV has ever presented\".\nCritical reactions for ER's first season were very favorable. Alan Rich, writing for Variety, praised the direction and editing of the pilot while Eric Mink, writing for the New York Daily News, said that the pilot of ER \"was urban, emergency room chaos and young, committed doctors.\" However some reviewers felt the episodes following the pilot did not live up to it with Mink commenting that \"the great promise of the \"E.R.\" pilot dissolves into the kind of routine, predictable, sloppily detailed medical drama we've seen many times before.\"NBC launched the show at the same time that CBS launched its own medical drama Chicago Hope; many critics drew comparisons between the two. Eric Mink concluded that ER may rate more highly in the Nielsens but Chicago Hope told better stories, while Rich felt both shows were \"riveting, superior TV fare.\" The Daily Telegraph wrote in 1996: \"Not being able to follow what on earth is going on remains one of the peculiar charms of the breakneck American hospital drama, ER\".In 2002, TV Guide ranked ER No. 22 on their list of \"TV's Top 50 Shows\", making it the second highest ranked medical drama on the list (after St. Elsewhere at No. 20). Also, the season 1 episode \"Love's Labor Lost\" was ranked No. 6 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time list having earlier been ranked No. 3. The show placed No. 19 on Entertainment Weekly's \"New TV Classics\" list. British magazine Empire ranked it No. 29 in their list of the \"50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time\" and said the best episode was \"Hell And High Water\" (Season 2, Episode 7) where \"Doug Ross (George Clooney) saves a young boy from drowning during a flood.\" In 2012, ER was voted Best TV Drama on ABC's 20/20 special episode \"Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time\". In 2013, TV Guide ranked it No. 9 in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time and No. 29 in its list of the 60 Best Series. In the same year, the Writers Guild of America ranked ER No. 28 in its list of the 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time.\n\nAwards and nominations\nThe series has been nominated for 375 industry awards and has won 116. ER won the George Foster Peabody Award in 1995, and won 22 of the 124 Emmy Awards for which it was nominated. It also won the People's Choice Award for \"Favorite Television Dramatic Series\" every year from 1995 to 2002. Over the years, it has won numerous other awards, including Screen Actors Guild Awards, Image Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, and Golden Globe Awards, among others.\n\nDistribution\nHome media\nWarner Home Video has released all 15 seasons in R1, R2, and R4.\nIn the UK (Region 2), The Complete Series boxset was released on October 26, 2009. On September 12, 2016 the series was re-released in three box sets, Seasons 1–5, Seasons 6–10 and Seasons 11–15.\nThe DVD box sets of ER are unusual in the fact that they are all in anamorphic widescreen even though the first six seasons of the show were broadcast in a standard 4:3 format. ER was shot protecting for widescreen presentation, allowing the show to be presented in 16:9 open matte (leaving only the title sequence in the 4:3 format). However, as the production of the show was generally conceived with 4:3 presentation in mind, some episodes feature vignetting or unintended objects towards the sides of the frame that would not be visible when presented in the 4:3 format. These episodes also appear in the widescreen format when rerun on TNT HD, Pop and streaming services.\nIn 2018 Hulu struck a deal with Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution to stream all 15 seasons of the show. The show arrived on HBO Max in January 2022.\n\nSoundtrack\nIn 1996, Atlantic Records released an album of music from the first two seasons, featuring James Newton Howard's theme from the series in its on-air and full versions, selections from the weekly scores composed by Martin Davich (Howard scored the two-hour pilot, Davich scored all the subsequent episodes and wrote a new theme used from 2006–2009 until the final episode, when Howard's original theme returned) and songs used on the series.\nTheme From ER – James Newton Howard (3:02)\nDr. Lewis And Renee (from \"The Birthday Party\") (1:57)\nCanine Blues (from \"Make of Two Hearts\") (2:27)\nGoodbye Baby Susie (from \"Fever of Unknown Origin\") (3:11)\nDoug & Carol (from \"The Gift\") – composed by James Newton Howard and Martin Davich (1:59)\nHealing Hands – Marc Cohn (4:25)\nThe Hero (from \"Hell And High Water\") composed by James Newton Howard and Martin Davich (1:55)\nCarter, See You Next Fall (from \"Everything Old Is New Again\") (1:28)\nReasons For Living – Duncan Sheik (4:33)\nDr. Green and a Mother's Death (from \"Love's Labor Lost\") (2:48)\nRaul Dies (from \"The Healers\") (2:20)\nHell And High Water (from \"Hell And High Water\") – composed by James Newton Howard and Martin Davich (2:38)\nHold On (from \"Hell And High Water\") (2:47)\nShep Arrives (from \"The Healers\") (3:37)\nShattered Glass (from \"Hell And High Water\") (2:11)\nTheme From ER – James Newton Howard (1:00)\nIt Came Upon A Midnight Clear – Mike Finnegan (2:30)\n\nOther media\nAn ER video game developed by Legacy Interactive for Windows 2000 and XP was released in 2005.\nIn the Mad episode \"Pokémon Park / WWER\", the show was parodied in the style of WWE.\nA recurring sketch called \"Toy ER\" in the Nickelodeon comedy series All That parodies the show, featuring Dr. Malady (Chelsea Brummet), Dr. Botch (Giovonnie Samuels), and Dr. Sax (Shane Lyons) \"treating\" damaged toys.\nA book about emergency medicine based on the TV series, The Medicine of ER: An Insider's Guide to the Medical Science Behind America's #1 TV Drama was published in 1996. Authors Alan Duncan Ross and Harlan Gibbs M.D. have hospital administration and ER experience, respectively, and are called fans of the TV show in the book's credits.\n\nForeign adaptations\nIn March 2012, Warner Bros. International Television announced that they would sell the format rights to ER to overseas territories. This allowed foreign countries to produce their own version of the series.In June 2013, Warner Bros. International Television and Emotion Production from Belgrade, Serbia, announced a Serbian version of ER. Urgentni Centar premiered on October 6, 2014, on TV Prva. As of 2014 a Colombian version was planned.\n\nSee also\nCasualty – Similar concept but based on a British fictional hospital's accident & emergency department.",6 "char_len": 70538,7 "document_hash": "d2f1cf671fe34bd6f848636b85aaad3ff8945f144725a444d4be10fac740eba3",8 "questions": [9 {10 "question_id": "q00",11 "qtype": "hotpotqa",12 "question": "The Greatest Event in Television History aired on the channel that was founded by whom?"13 }14 ]15}