Coordinates	35°55′18.71″N74°17′21.15″N
Name	Starz
Logofile	Starz 2008.svg
Logosize	150px
Logo2	Current logo, used since March 31, 2008.
Launch	February 1, 1994
Picture format	480i (SDTV)1080i (HDTV)
Owner	Liberty Starz
Country	United States
Broadcast area	Nationwide
Headquarters	Meridian, Colorado
Former names	Starz! (1994-2005)
Sister names	EncoreMoviePlex
Web	starz.com
Sat serv 1	DirecTV
Sat chan 1	525 Starz Kids & Family (HD)526 Starz Comedy (HD)527 Starz (east) (SD/HD)528 Starz (west) (SD/HD)529 Starz Edge (SD/HD)530 Starz InBlack (SD/HD)531 Starz Cinema (HD)1527 Starz On Demand
Sat serv 2	Dish Network
Sat chan 2	350 Starz East (SD/HD)351 Starz West (SD/HD)352 Starz Edge (SD/HD)353 Starz Cinema354 Starz Comedy (SD/HD)355 Starz InBlack356 Starz Kids & Family (SD/HD)
Cable serv 1	Available on most cable systems
Cable chan 1	Check local listings for channels
Adsl serv 1	Verizon FIOS
Adsl chan 1	Click here
Adsl serv 2	AT&T; U-verse
Adsl chan 2	902 Starz East903 Starz West 904 Starz Edge 906 Starz InBlack908 Starz Cinema910 Starz Comedy 912 Starz Kids & Family }}

Starz (originally "Starz!", before it dropped the exclamation mark in 2005) is an American premium subscription channel that features mainly first-run motion pictures, along with some original programming. The channel is the flagship service of Liberty Starz, which also owns its sister channel Encore, which was launched three years before Starz's February 1, 1994 debut; despite this, Starz is considered by the company as the flagship of the Starz Entertainment channels.

The headquarters of Starz and its sister channels Encore and MoviePlex are located on the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado. As of August 2011, Starz's programming is available to 19 million subscribers in the United States.

History

Starz! was launched on February 1, 1994 at 8 p.m. ET, primarily on TCI cable systems (both it and Liberty Media were controlled by John Malone); the first movie ever aired on the channel was the 1992 drama ''Scent of a Woman'', starring Al Pacino. Starz! originally carried the "Encore 8" moniker, as it was launched as part of the Encore thematic multiplex, the multiplex was to have been only six channels prior to a deal in 1993 in which Encore acquired the pay cable rights to telecast recent feature films released by Universal Pictures after 1993.

While at launch, its cable coverage was mainly limited to TCI systems, Starz's carriage later expanded to more than 90% of all American cable systems in the United States by the beginning years of the first decade of the twenty-first century. The channel focused more on recent hit movies than sister channel Encore, which originally aired movies made primarily in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s before adding recent fare as well in July 1999. Besides rights to Universal Pictures films, Starz also initially had rights to films released by Carolco Pictures, Fine Line Cinema, New Line Cinema and Disney-owned Miramax, Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood Pictures (although films from those studios did not begin to be carried on Starz! until 1997, after the studio's output deal with Showtime ended). Films that contained graphic sexual or violent content would also be scheduled in the late evening and overnight hours.

Within two years of the channel's launch, Starz began being separated from the Encore brand (though the "Encore 8" moniker remained in use until 2002) and Starz began launching its own multiplex channels: Starz! 2 (launched 1996, renamed Starz! Theater in 1999 and Starz Edge in 2005), BET Movies: Starz! 3 (launched 1997, renamed Black Starz! in 2001 after BET came under common ownership with Showtime, and renamed Starz inBlack in 2005), Starz! Cinema (launched 1999), Starz! Family (launched in 2000), and Starz! Kids (launched 2004). Starz! Family and Starz! Kids later merged into Starz Kids & Family in 2005, with Starz Comedy taking Starz! Kids's channel space at the same time. A high-definition simulcast feed was launched in 2004. It was not until September 1995, that Starz! signed its first affiliation agreement with a major multiple system operator other than TCI, when it signed a deal with Continental Cablevision. By 1996, Starz! had an estimated total of 2.8 million subscribers, only one million of which subscribers to another cable provider or satellite.

By 1997, Starz! had lost $150 million in revenue and was predicted to lose an additional estimated $300 million in revenue before its cash flow broke even. On June 2, 1997, TCI announced a deal in which it would transfer majority ownership of Starz to sister company Liberty Media, with TCI retaining a minority 20% ownership; the corporate entity behind Starz and Encore was renamed Encore Media Group (which was renamed the Starz Encore Media Group in 2000, and then to Starz Entertainment in 2005), which operated the seven Encore multiplex networks. By May 1998, Starz! increased its subscriber base to 7.6 million homes.

In 2003, Starz Encore Group eliminated 100 jobs at its regional offices and closed four of the nine regional offices it operated, as part of a restructuring plan for the company. On November 19, 2009 Liberty Media spun off Starz and Encore into a new company named Liberty Starz. On January 1, 2010, former HBO President Chris Albrecht joined Starz, LLC as its President and CEO. He will oversee all of the Starz entities, including Starz Entertainment, Overture Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Film Roman.

While sister channel Encore is separate from Starz, cable providers usually offer the Encore services on a separate digital cable tier from Starz and some cable systems do not sell and bundle Encore separately from Starz. Starz and Encore were the first major premium channel competitors since The Movie Channel and Cinemax launched in 1979 and 1980, respectively; as other premium channels that existed before the launch of the Starz and Encore channels including Home Theater Network and Spotlight were unable to compete against HBO and Showtime, and their aforementioned respective sister premium channels. Unlike HBO and Showtime, the Starz channels neither have international premium channels nor have international cable channels that license the Starz or Encore brands.

Channels

Starz operates six multiplex channels, a high-definition simulcast of all six channels, and a video-on-demand service. Starz packages the Eastern/Central and Pacific/Mountain feeds of the main Starz service together, allowing viewers a second chance to watch the same movie/program three hours earlier or later depending on their geographic location.

Starz: The flagship channel; features hit movies and first-run films from Hollywood blockbusters to indie flicks and international pictures, along with some original series.

Starz Cinema: The destination for movies with enduring themes, films outside the mainstream cinema, and arthouse films; launched in 1999.

Starz Comedy: Lighthearted flicks and movies that make you laugh; took over the channel space from Starz! Kids in 2005; the channel was originally slated to launch as a separate multiplex channel in 2002, but plans were postponed for unknown reasons.

Starz Edge: Films for the new generation, aimed at the 18 to 34-year-old demographic; launched in 1996, originally known as Starz! 2 and later Starz! Theater

Starz In Black: Dedicated to showcasing the best in black cinema and urban entertainment; including first-run hits, classical films, Pan-African films and original productions. Launched in 1997, Starz in Black was previously known as BET Movies: Starz! (when it was co-owned with BET), then renamed Black Starz, when BET was opted out of the venture and purchased by Viacom.

Starz Kids & Family: Features commercial-free family movies from action and adventure movies to comedies to family treasures, along with some animated and imported live-action children's series; includes "Building Blocks", a weekday morning block of (primarily Canadian) animated series and "Camp Block", a weekday afternoon block of imported live-action series aimed at pre-teens. This channel previously was two services: Starz! Kids (launched in 2004) and Starz! Family (launched in 2000), but both were merged into one channel in 2005. Unlike Encore Family (which replaced Encore Wam in August 2011), Starz Kids & Family will still mix some PG-13 rated films onto its schedule, along with G- and PG-rated films.

In 1994, Encore launched the industry's first "themed" extension - seven additional channels that each focused on a specific genre. Initially, this was to be six channels, but Encore decided to launch its own competitor to HBO and Showtime, dubbed Starz!, acquiring the rights to first-run Universal Studios films.

Each was given its own number to identify itself as an Encore channel (see Encore article for more information). Starz was the notable exception as it continued to use the "Encore 8" branding in its main idents and movie openers until 2002, even as it was separated entirely from the Encore brand and in the late 1990s, given its own family of channels. The first of which was Starz! 2 in 1996, then in 1997, a multiplex channel that served as a joint venture with BET called BET Movies: Starz! 3 debuted, which later became Black Starz! after BET was opted out of the venture and was acquired by Viacom (then owner of Starz's rival Showtime) in 2001. In May 1999, two additional multiplex channels were added; the first was a family movie channel (possibly launched in response to the earlier launch of HBO's own family service, HBO Family) called Starz! Family, which aired only family movies, and the other service was Starz Cinema, a movie channel featuring thought-provoking independent films and movies outside of mainstream cinema. Starz! 2 was also reformatted as Starz! Theater, offering four different movies programmed movie-theater style throughout the week.

In 2004, Starz! Kids was launched, aimed at children ages 2- to 11-years-old, and carried a similar format to that of Starz! Family. Unlike the rest of the Starz multiplex, Starz Kids was launched on individual cable systems instead of nationwide, similar to HBO2 and MoreMax (then Cinemax 2) when they were launched in 1991.

On March 28, 2005, Starz and Encore both underwent major rebrands. While Encore's rebrand involved a slightly modified logo and the addition of the Encore name to all of its channels, Starz's makeover was more dramatic, opting for a completely redesigned logo and cohesive graphics package across all channels. Several channels formats were changed completely. Starz Theater, a channel that showed four Starz films at fixed times all week, changed its name and format, respectively, to Starz Edge, a movie channel for young men (also known as "The New Generation"). Starz Kids and Starz Family were merged into one channel (Starz Kids and Family) to make room for a new channel called Starz Comedy. And to fit in with the new look, Black Starz was renamed Starz InBlack. Starz Cinema was the only Starz channel other than the main channel to keep its original name.

The Starz Multiplex has been given several names over the years, including "Starz Super Pak." The multiplex now has no "official" name, and viewers are simply told they are watching "one of the six Starz channels." An unofficial name for the Starz and Encore channels on Dish Network is the 'Starz Moviepack,' while other providers who bundle all of the channels still use the "Starz Super Pak" moniker.

Effective February 1, 2011, in celebration of Dish Network's 15th anniversary, every Dish customer, whether or not they subscribe to the premium channels, will get all seven channels of Starz and the East Coast feed of Encore for free until February 1, 2012.

Other services

Starz HD

Starz operates a 1080i high definition simulcast of all six of the Starz channels. When it launched in December 2003, the simulcast originally covered only the main Starz channel (east and west coast feeds); an enhanced definition simulcast feed and a separate 1080i HD channel called Sharper Movies HD, that would be similar to sister channel Encore's MoviePlex, were also planned; but plans for the latter service were later scrapped due to a lack of interest from providers to charge a premium fee for the network. HD feeds of Starz Kids and Family, Starz Comedy and Starz Edge, followed in 2007.

The remaining Starz multiplex channels, Starz Cinema and Starz In Black, launched their HD simulcast feeds on June 23, 2010, with DirecTV becoming the first provider to offer all six channels (including both coastal feeds of the primary Starz channel) in HD. It is currently carried nationally by satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network and regionally by Verizon FiOS, AT&T; U-Verse, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Cablevision and Charter Communications, among others.

StarzPlay from Netflix

Netflix features Starz content on their "Watch Instantly" streaming service under the branding StarzPlay, which also features most of the network's original series programming. StarzPlay was created in late 2008, after Netflix made a deal with Starz Entertainment and smaller studios the Starz channel has output deals with, in lieu of buying digital rights, which can be expensive for newer film titles, allowing Netflix to sub-license the channel's film rights for online streaming as Netflix was merely a "content aggregator". However because Netflix chose to sub-license streaming rights through Starz rather than purchasing them outright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group threatened not to renew its output deal with Starz (which expires in 2012) unless it either ends its deal with Netflix or pays Disney a licensing fee to obtain digital streaming rights to its films. The service was first made available to Verizon FiOS subscribers, who subscribe to the Starz service.

StarzPlay is the third online streaming service operated by Starz: from 2004 to 2006, Starz operated Starz Ticket, a subscription streaming and download movie service that was a joint venture between Starz and RealNetworks. From 2006 until it discontinued the service on September 30, 2008, Starz offered the online movie service, Vongo to its subscribers.

Starz On Demand

Starz operates a called Starz On Demand, which is available at no additional charge to new and existing Starz subscribers. The service launched on September 19, 2001, initially debuting on Adelphia Cable's Cleveland, Ohio system. The service has a unique characteristic of offering early premieres of feature films that are scheduled to premiere on Starz, up to one month prior to their pay cable debut on the primary linear channel. Incidentally, the Starz On Demand name was also used for an online broadband streaming movie service operated by Starz and RealNetworks from 2003 to 2004. In March 2011, Starz On Demand launched a third VOD service (in addition to its standard definition and high definition VOD services), offering movies presented in 3D to customers of Comcast and Verizon FiOS at no additional charge.

Programming

Movie library

As of 2011, Starz, Encore and their respective multiplex movie channels have exclusive first-run premium cable rights to films from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (including Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, and Hollywood Pictures), Sony Pictures Entertainment (including Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures), Overture Films (also owned by Starz' parent, Liberty Media), Anchor Bay Entertainment, Yari Film Group, and Warren Miller Films, among other leading distributors.

Starz also airs older titles from Time Warner subsidiaries Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema and Turner Entertainment, as well as from 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Miramax Films, Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios.

Starz commonly premieres recent theatrically released hit movies on most Saturday nights at 9 p.m. ET as part of a weekly feature film block, called the "Starz Saturday Premiere". Usually films which Starz has pay-cable rights will also run on Encore and MoviePlex during its time of license. From 1995 to 2002, Starz broadcast occasional original made-for-pay cable movies produced by the in-house company Starz! Pictures.

Original and acquired series programming

While the majority of Starz's programming consists of movies, Starz had begun to offer some original programming by the late 1990s pertaining to the behind-the-camera aspects of movies, as well as some entertainment news programs, some of which also aired on Encore. Since 2005, Starz has begun to expand its original programming, airing an increasing amount of original scripted original series to compete with rivals Showtime and HBO. Some of the initial original series, including ''The Bronx Bunny Show'' and ''Head Case'', used unconventional time lengths, running under 15 minutes in length; eventually half-hour and hour-long series were incorporated. Starz has announced it will double its original programming in 2011.

In addition to original programming on the primary Starz channel, Starz Kids & Family also features some series programming, which are aimed at young children and pre-teens. Starz Kids & Family runs a Monday-Saturday morning block called "Building Blocks", featuring both original and acquired animated series (such as ''Dragon Hunters'', ''Eloise'' and ''The New Adventures of Nanoboy''); and a weekday afternoon block called "Camp Block" (the title is a parody of the Disney Channel made-for-cable film ''Camp Rock''), consisting of imported series from Canada and Australia, similar to those seen on sister channel Encore Wam prior to 2009, targeted at pre-teens and young teenagers (such as ''Baxter'', ''Connor Undercover'' and ''Mortified'').

Other ventures

Starz Entertainment has expanded considerably with the presence of its Starz and Encore family of multiplex networks, as well as ventures into television and film production and home video distribution. In 1999, Starz launched the in-house company Starz Pictures, a production company that produced made-for-cable films for the Starz channel; Starz Pictures' only major film project was the 2002 telefilm ''Joe and Max''. Starz Pictures shut down that same year. In November 2006, Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett launched Overture Films, an independent movie studio that Liberty Media operated out of the Starz Entertainment division of the company; in October 2010, after a proposed sale of the company failed to materialize after no buyers were found, the studio was shut down with its marketing and distribution operations handed over to Relativity Media, Overture's small library of less than 20 films will continue to be distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment for DVD release and by Starz for television broadcast. In 2007, Starz Entertainment purchased IDT Corporation and was renamed Starz Media. As a result of the purchase, Starz acquired IDT subsidiaries Anchor Bay Entertainment, Digital Production Solutions (DPS), and New Arc Entertainment. The Weinstein Company, a film studio run by former Miramax heads Bob and Harvey Weinstein, purchased a 25% stake in the company on January 4, 2011, with Anchor Bay entering into a multi-year domestic distribution agreement of theatrical feature films released by The Weinstein Company and its Dimension Films subsidiary. As part of IDT Corporation's purchase by Starz, Starz Entertainment also acquired two animation studios: Toronto-based IDT animation studio (formerly DKP Studios), which was renamed Starz Animation, and Manga Entertainment, an international distributor of Japanese animation. A third animation studio that was also acquired due to the IDT purchase, Film Roman, was sold in October 2010 to a production company owned by a group of investors led by former Film Roman studio president Scott Greenberg called Bento Box Entertainment.

Branding

Just as Encore's is a starburst, Starz's signature logo is a star. In the 1994 launch design, the star was composed of two stars, one large one and one smaller one a silhouette inside the first star. In the 2005 relaunch, this version of the Starz logo was abandoned for a hand-drawn star shooting upwards. In April 2008, the logo was redone with a starburst inserted in-between the "a" and "r" in a lowercase Starz logo. This change was also applied for all of Starz's multiplex logos.

The original on-air graphics were styled like a movie theater. The main network ID featured seats opening (by themselves), various theater imagery, and even images resembling the Caduceus. The word "STARZ!" in the network logo was styled after 1930's-era movie poster typography. Starz! also heavily included its designation of "Encore 8" in their graphics, even after the numbering system was abandoned for "an encore network" (a branding Starz! also used, though sparingly) in 1997. The Feature Presentation bumpers also heavily used the movie theater themes (here spotlights and film canisters) and the "Encore 8" name. This look was ultimately abandoned in May 2002.

In 2002, Starz! introduced the InfoBar, a bar that appears on the bottom of the screen during breaks and at the end of movies. The original purpose was to promote upcoming programming. In the same year, Starz! underwent a major on-air branding revamp, changing from the "theater" look that had been used since the day the network signed on to a look based around natural themes (particularly water). The new look did not carry over to any of the spin-off channels, despite that, Starz! introduced a 7-note fanfare as a musical motif. All of the 2002 branding (excluding the fanfare, which was remixed) was dropped in 2005. In 2005, Starz began branding its feature film content with a semi-transparent version of logo appearing in the lower-right corner of the screen. This practice was discontinued after the April 2008 revamp; instead, a bright white logo (all channels) and a bright orange (Starz Kids & Family HD only) logo, respectively, are in use as of July 2011.

Former Starz president Tom Southwick explained his channel's apparent identity crisis: "Our research found that a large number of our viewers did not know which channel they were watching when they tuned in, particularly if they were channel surfing and came in after the start of the film. We do not use the bug continuously or on all our films. But we need to get attribution for the films we run, and for which we pay hefty fees to the studios. The situation has grown worse as additional premium channels have launched in the past few years and many viewers subscribe to more than one package." Another part of the relaunch is a revamped InfoBar, whose purpose was expanded to tell viewers they were watching "one of the six Starz channels", promote events on the other networks, (example: the InfoBar on Starz promotes "Stand Up or Shut Up" on Starz Comedy) and display entertainment headlines from ''The Daily Variety'''s website. Encore has also adapted a similar version of the InfoBar for its networks, and is still in use today. After the channel's April 2008 rebrand, the InfoBar began to once again only serve to promote programming on the main Starz channel, while on its multiplex networks, the InfoBar only serves as a network ID.

Network slogans

''Only on Starz and No Other Movie Channel'' (1994–1995)

''Starz! - Big Movies and More'' (1995-1998)

''100% Movies'' (1998–2000)

''#1 in New Hit Movies'' (2000–2004)

''An Influx Of Movies - Only on Starz'' (2004–2008)

''Are You Ready?'' (2008–present)

See also

Prism (TV channel)

References

External links

Official website

Starz Media corporate website

Category:Starz Entertainment Group Category:Television channels and stations established in 1994 Category:American television networks Category:Commercial-free television networks Category:Movie channels

it:Starz (rete televisiva) ja:Starz tr:Starz

Coordinates	35°55′18.71″N74°17′21.15″N
Name	Just Jack
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jack Christopher Allsopp
Birth date	May 18, 1975
Origin	Camden Town, London, UK
Genre	Dance pop, hip hop, garage
Years active	2002–present
Label	RGR Records (2002-2003) Mercury (2006–present)
Website	JustJack.co.uk }}

Jack Christopher Allsopp (born 18 May 1975), known by the stage name Just Jack, is an English musician from Camden Town, London. He first came to prominence with the release of his 2007 single "Starz in Their Eyes", which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. He has also since been known for the songs "Embers", peaking at number 17, and "The Day I Died", which peaked at number 11.

Background

Born in Camden, Allsopp grew up listening to dance music including breakdance, electro hip hop and house. An amateur breakdancer at eight, he started DJing at the age of 15 and he soon became submerged in DJ culture and UK garage.

After completing a degree in Furniture Design at Kingston University, he enrolled in a community music production course, so that he could better his awareness of sampling and its potential for use. He went on to practice on perfecting his sound by night and to take on a series of jobs by day.

Career

Allsopp's debut album, titled ''The Outer Marker'', released in 2002 by the independent label RGR Records, was a collection of songs about modern life, relationships, and the pressures of social situations. The album spawned three singles "Paradise (Lost & Found)", "Snowflakes" and "Triple Tone Eyes". "Snowflakes", his first song to enter the charts at number 164, samples The Cure's song "Lullaby" off of their album ''Disintegration''.

He did not gain fame until 2007, following his TV debut on BBC2's ''Later... with Jools Holland'', and then on the Channel 4 show ''The Friday Night Project'', where he performed the single "Starz in Their Eyes", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. The following three singles from the album ''Overtones'', "Glory Days", "Writer's Block" and "No Time" did not make the top thirty. "Starz In Their Eyes" was also featured in the Dolce & Gabbana Summer 2008 fashion show, and the Xbox 360 Kinect game ''Kinect Sports''. He also collaborated with Kylie Minogue on the song "I Talk Too Much", for the American release of ''Overtones''.

Alsopp performed at Glastonbury Festival, V Festival and T4 on the Beach in 2007 and again at Glastonbury Festival in 2009. He also performed at Guilfest in 2010.

He released his third album ''All Night Cinema'' on 31 August 2009, preceded by its first single "Embers", which had its premiere on BBC Radio 1 on 12 January 2009, and second single "The Day I Died", which became Jack's second highest charting single on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 11. Both singles peaked inside the top 20. The original choice for second single was "Doctor Doctor" but the single release was subsequently postponed.

He performed at the "Nuit de l'ESSEC" on 29 January 2011.

Jack Recently announced on Facebook "So close to finishing a 5 track EP. Just need to find a home for it..."

Discography

Albums

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center; ! rowspan=2| Year ! rowspan=2| Album ! colspan=5| Highest ranking |- style=font-size:smaller; ! width=50| UK ! width=50| IRL ! width=50| FRA ! width=50| SWI ! width=50| DUT |- | 2002 | align=left| ''The Outer Marker''

1st Studio Album

Released: 30 September 2002

Genre: Hip hop, trip hop

Label: RGR

| – | – | – | – | – |- | 2007 | align=left| ''Overtones''

2nd Studio Album

Released: 29 January 2007

Genre: Hip hop, House

Label: Mercury Records

| 6 | 11 | 25 | 69 | 74 |- | 2009 | align=left| ''All Night Cinema''

3rd Studio Album

Released: 31 August 2009

Genre: Pop, Electro

Label: Mercury Records

| 22 | – | 94 | – | – |- |}

Singles

Year	Title	Chart Positions						Album
		!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"
	"Paradise (Lost & Found)"
	"Snowflakes"
"Triple Tone Eyes"
	"Starz In Their Eyes"
"The Day I Died"

References

External links

Just Jack official website

Just Jack @ MySpace

Just Jack interview at mychemicaltoilet.com

Category:TVT Records artists Category:English dance musicians Category:English male singers Category:English pop singers Category:English electronic musicians Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:People from London

da:Just Jack de:Just Jack es:Just Jack fr:Just Jack it:Just Jack lt:Just Jack nl:Just Jack ru:Just Jack fi:Just Jack tr:Just Jack

Coordinates	35°55′18.71″N74°17′21.15″N
name	Sheryl Underwood
birth date
birth place	Little Rock, Arkansas
nationality	American
website	www.sherylunderwoodandfriends.com
past members	}}

Sheryl Underwood (born October 28, 1963) is an American comedienne.

Professional career

Underwood first gained notoriety as the first female finalist in the Miller Lite Comedy Search in 1989. She won the BET "Funniest Female Comedian on Comic View" award in 1994 and the BET Comedy Awards' Platinum Mic Viewers Choice Award in 2005. Following her stand up success, Underwood took a number of minor acting roles including Bad Mouth Bessie in the 1998 film ''I Got the Hook Up,'' and Catfish Rita in the 2005 film ''Beauty Shop''.

Underwood was the host of BET's ''Comic View'' and executive producer and host of the limited run comedy/variety series ''Holla'' (September 2002- January 2003)

Underwood is a regular on-air radio personality on the nationally syndicated ''Tom Joyner Morning Show''. She briefly hosted her own radio program, "Sheryl Underwood and Company" for Radio One-owned Syndication One News/Talk and XM Satellite Radio's Channel 169 (The Power ). On Tuesday nights, Underwood hosts ''The Sheryl Underwood Show'' on Jamie Foxx's Sirius Satellite Radio channel, The Foxxhole (Sirius 106)

Television and Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role |- |1992 |Def Comedy Jam |Frequent Performer |- | 1993 | Soul Train Comedy Awards (TV) | Presenter |- | 1997 | Make Me Laugh TV Series | |- |1998 |Bulworth |Woman in Frankie's |- | 1998 | I Got the Hook Up | Bad Mouth Bessie |- | 2001 | Nikki (TV series) (episode: ''Working Girl'') | Janeth |- | 2002 | Holla (TV series) | Host |- | 2005 | Beauty Shop | Catfish Rita |- | | Holla (TV series) | Executive Producer |- | 2000 | Oh Drama! (TV Series) | Host |- | 2002 | Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (TV Series) | Self |- | 2004 | BET Comedy Awards (TV) | Self |- | 2005 | The 2nd Annual BET Comedy Awards (TV) | Self |- | 2005 | Weekends at the DL | |- | 2005 | Made You Look: Top 25 Moments of BET History (TV) | |- | 2005 |Getting Played | |- | 2007 | Baisden After Dark | Self |- |2011 | Comics Unleashed | Self |}

Personal life

College educated, she holds a Bachelor's degree and two Master's degrees. Underwood once served in the U.S. Armed Forces, and frequently makes jokes about "all the creative places you can get busy on military base."

Underwood is a lifetime member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority, first joining in 1990. She served as president of the organization's Omicron Rho Zeta chapter, as the National Chair of Honorary Members, and as the National Executive Board Chair. She also chartered a graduate chapter of Zeta Phi Beta in Inglewood, California.

In addition to the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, Underwood is also a National Council of Negro Women and the NAACP member. She also founded the African-American Female Comedian Association.

Zeta Phi Beta presidency

Underwood was placed as the 23rd International Grand Basileus (President), during Zeta Phi Beta's biennial business meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2008. Her title as Grand Basileus was disputed, but District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Gerald I. Fisher dismissed a lawsuit against the sorority and Underwood. Judge Gerald Fisher dismissed the case out of an unwillingness of the court to involve themselves in the internal affairs of a voluntary organization. Further, Judge Fisher recognized that the dispute was legitimate, but Kim Sawyer (the plaintiff) did not in his estimation utilize/exhaust the fullness (paraphrasing) of the internal checks and balances to protest the initial election results before pursuing a legal remedy. Her title made her the first professional entertainer to hold the highest office of a National Pan-Hellenic Council organization. No financial reporting has been provided to the body since she has gained control in 2008.

References

External links

Category:1963 births Category:1960s births Category:Actors from Arkansas Category:American film actors Category:Living people Category:People from Little Rock, Arkansas Category:African American actors Category:African American comedians Category:American stand-up comedians Category:Zeta Phi Beta Category:Women comedians Category:African American radio personalities

Coordinates	35°55′18.71″N74°17′21.15″N
name	All Starz
jp	PPB, PPB All Stars
country	United States
appear	It's All Relative, Episode 20
names	PPB All Starz, All Starz
leader	Michael Parker
members	Emily YorkEddy Wheeler Steven JonesRick Anderson (Season 3 only)Max Tate (Season 3 only)
support	Judy }}

The All Starz (later known as PPB All Starz) are a fictional team of Beybladers in the anime series Beyblade. The team consisted of Michael, Steven, Eddy and Emily in the First Season, and Max and Rick in the Third season, while Michael, Eddie and Emily would be supporting members, and Steven would not appear in the entire season. Nevertheless, he is seen with a broken foot during the anime final epilogue cut by Nelvana. They hail from the United States of America, and except for Max and Rick, they love other sports apart from Beyblade: Michael plays Baseball, Steven plays Football, Eddy plays Basketball and Emily plays Tennis. Also, during the First Season, they use sports-related objects as launchers: Michael throws a baseball with a baseball glove, Steven kicks a Football, Eddy dunks a basketball on the ground, and Emily uses a tennis racquet to strike a tennis ball.

In the original version, The All Starz are always known as the PPB All Stars. The dub removed PPB and placed it back in in G-Revolution, and they replaced the last "s" with "z". They are also the only team in season one to have all its members keep their original names.

Members

;Michael Parker (voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi) :Michael is the team captain of the All-Starz and is first shown in Episode 20; Series 1, in a quick screen shot with him shadowed so it's not possible to see his face. Then in Episode 22 he is shown as an arrogant, over confident show off who does not like it when people question his abilities (ie. Judy and Emily). He is first shown to place his trust totally in science and that skill will never beat it. Until Max, in Episode 28 beats him with sheer skill and power. He realises that skill and heart are much better than science afterward. :During G-Revolution, he is seen with a new haircut (long, straight blonde hair, with his right eye being covered by his bangs). He is defeated by Rick during the American eliminations of the Beyblade Championship, and confronts Judy by saying: "Now you have your team, so I guess you don't need us any more." He and Rick never really get along, but later in the series they have been shown to at least tolerate each other. :He is 16 in the first season and 18 in the third. :In the first season, his beyblade is Trygle with the Fast Ball Attack, Maximum Cannon Ball Flame Attack and Talon Attack. In the third, it's upgraded to Trygle 2 with the Super Cannon Attack. ;Rick Anderson (voiced by Takehiro Murozono) :Rick is a bull-like strong blader but he doesn't have respect for the game. He first appears in G-Revolution where he teams up with Max and forms the PPB All Starz. His bitbeast is Rock Bison and his finishing move is the Drop Rock attack. Rick was born in a rough neighbourhood where everybody cared for themselves. He is dominant in the first couple of matches where he physically destroys the left arm of Claude of the Barthez Battalion and in his second match where he manhandles Raul of the F-Dynasty. During the fight against the White Tiger X, he is forced to fight together with Max against Ray and Lee. During this fight, Rick learns how to work in a team. However, his dream of becoming the world champion ends when he and Max are defeated by the BBA Revolution. After the championship ends, he supports the G-Revolution team as they get ready to fight the BEGA League. In the final scenes of Beyblade G-Revolution, Rick is seen beyblading with Carlos in an alley. ;Emily York (voiced by Yukari Honma) :Emily is first shown in Episode 19; Series 1, she is shown to be quite snobby and stuck up. She does not like trash talk, as she jumps to the challenge when Tyson exclaims that he is just as good as those trained in the PPB corporation. She beats Max in a small beyblade match showing the strength of the All Starz in that match. :She is the only girl of the All Starz team. Emily relies solely on science to help her team beat their opponents. She uses a tennis racket for a launcher in the first season. :During the third season, she loses to Max during the American eliminatories of the Beyblade Championship, and refuses his words of encouragement. :She has shown affection toward Max and Kenny on occasion. :She is 15 in the first season and 17 in the third. :In the first season, her beyblade is Trygator with the Water Smash attack. In the third, it's upgraded to Trygator 2 with the Alligator's Bites attack. ;Eddy Wheeler (voiced by Hisayoshi Suganuma) :Eddy fits in perfectly with the All-Starz due to his love for basketball. Rarely if ever seen without his basketball by his side, Eddy is a valuable asset to the All-Starz, even though he might not be as strong as some of the others. Eddy is first show during episode 20 with another one of his team mates; Steven. He is shown to have grey/black hair and is African American. Eddy is an all round easy going character but will step up to fight if his team is being trash talked. :Eddy is seen multiple times during the American Tournament and at the very end of the Tournament is seen to be battling the Bladebreakers team mate, Ray. Eddy has the upper hand with the dish that has been selected making it easier for him to beat Ray in 2 battles, the last one not needing to be played as Eddy won the best of three. :Eddy is then seen during the Russian Championships along with his team and faces the Demolition Boys' Captain, Tala. He loses the battle quite easily, shocking him and his team. :During the third season, his hair is blonde and his lips are no longer drawn with emphasis. :He is then seen again in Season 3, with a different hair style (now grey and what seems to be a bleached blond colour for his hair) and is pretty much in the same outfit; besides the new PPB jackets. He has a battle with Rick, another African American with grey hair (soon to be a member of the team) and Eddy seems to tie with Rick in what seems to be an unfair battle as Rick follows no rules of Beyblading. Eddy is seen again in further episodes (episode 7) and by the looks of things lost his tournament battle to become a tag team member, but he supports his other team mates; Emily and Michael in trying to win their respective battles. :He is 17 in the first season and 19 in the third. :In the first season, his beyblade is Trypio with the Sting Shoot attack. In the third, it's Trypio 2 with the Scorpio Sting attack. ;Steven Jones (voiced by Kenichi Suzumura) :Steve used to be a pro football player before being kicked off his team for unsportman-like conduct (Dizzi states this in the dubbed version) and then takes up Beyblade to beat other players which his sheer brute force of power. Steven uses a beyblade with more powerful attack rings in an attempt to do more damage in battle. Steve was first seen in Episode 20 with his team mate Eddy when the Blade Breakers decided to check out the PPB Corp. Ray challenged Steven to a battle, but lost the battle after Steven's bitbeast overpowers Driger. Steven then proceeds to show the Bladebreakers the exact power of his blade by smashing a hard glass wall behind the Bladebreakers, of which Tyson tried to smash but failed. :Steven is then seen multiple times leading up to the final American Tournament Battle against Tyson. The first round, Steven lets him have an easy win, to allow his team to collect data on his newer attack moves and such, so they know what to expect the next battle. The 2nd battle is won pretty easily by Steven after a few new battle techniques he overcomes Tyson for a victory. The 3rd battle, being the longest; Tyson tries out some new battle techniques to catch the All Starz data collecting system off guard and to make Steven, who can not keep up with him; get angry. With Steven getting angry, he fails to concentrate on the battle at hand and Tyson simply uses his special attack to finish him off. Steven loses this battle. :Steven in then seen again during the Russian Championships, he battles the Demolition Boys 'Ian'. Ian beats him with incredible ease, leaving the Steven annoyed once more. :He is 17 in the first season. His beyblade is Tryhorn with the Stampede Rush attack. ;Judy Tate (Judy Mizuhara) :A researcher and scientist of the BBA, and the All Starz coach. Also Max's mother, she does beyblade research at an American BBA facility. During the First World Championship, she assists the All Starz against her own son and the Bladebreakers, and she and her team learn that technology isn't everything one needs to be the best.

History

2000

By being the top American team, they had a huge success during the American championship. When the fight against the Bladebreakers arrives, everyone is able to see that this is a fight of skills against science. Tyson defeats Steven after he loses his mind during the fight. Eddy easily defeats Ray. Michael then confronts Max, and is defeated by him even though he had all the technology on his side. During the finals in Russia Steve goes first but is easily defeated by Ian, Eddie fights Tala second but gets easily defeated where Tala makes a new record of fastest battle in the championship, after that all the team's bit beasts are taken by Kai and his Black Dranzer, even though he fought alone against all them at the same time. They recover their bit beasts after end of the championship, though.

G-Revolution

The All Starz reappear in the third season, as the PPB All Starz (PPB stands for Project Power Beyblade which is told in the very first series of beyblade when the Bladebreakers visit the PPB center to check out their competition), with a modified player line-up, excluding Steven (who was revealed in the finale to be in the hospital with an injured leg) and adding Max Tate and Rick Anderson. On the first chapters, Rick wins against Michael, this victory brings him the main place in the team, along with Max, who wins against Emily. At first, Rick doesn't want to cooperate with Max, and only want to win by himself. Their first battles against the F-Dynasty and the Barthez Battalion are easily won by them, but they are now seen as villains, for Rick having seriously injured Claude during his fight, even though it was a plan by the Barthez Coach. When they fight against the Blitzkrieg Boys, Max is defeated by Kai, despite Max's new Draciel Gravity. Rick then beats Tala up very quickly, and then strikes Kai with extreme force, only to be defeated by Kai's delicate moves. The next fight was against the White Tiger X, and he is forced to fight together with Max against Ray and Lee. During this fight, Rick finally learns how to work in a team. Their final match is against the BBA Revolution. Rick is defeated by Daichi after a long and heavy fight, and Max barely loses to Tyson. Although he didn't win the battle, he managed to at least severely damage Tyson's Dragoon.

In the BEGA saga, Max wins a place on the new team G-Revolutions, and Michael and Emily bring them the pieces for new beyblades plus assistance from Rick, especially when he partners up with Lee of the White Tigers to protect Tyson during Ming-Ming and Crusher's reluctant attempt to incapacitate the world champion under orders from Boris before the BEGA Justice 5 tiebreaker battle.

Trivia

All the names of the All Starz (Michael, Steve, Emily and Eddy) bitbeasts starts with "Try" (Trygle, Trygator, Trypio, Tryhorn). This changes with Rick's and Max's inclusion in the team with their Rock Bison and Draciel.

Category:Beyblade teams Category:Fictional American people