Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise, centered on a film series created by George Lucas. It depicts the adventures of various characters "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away".

The first film in the series, Star Wars (later subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope), was released on May 25, 1977 by 20th Century Fox and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. It was followed by the similarly successful sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983); these three films constitute the original Star Wars trilogy. A prequel trilogy was later released between 1999 and 2005, which received a more mixed reaction from critics and fans, compared to the original trilogy. All seven films were nominated for or won Academy Awards, and were commercial successes, with a combined box office revenue of $4.38 billion, making Star Wars the fourth highest-grossing film series. The series has spawned an extensive media franchise—the Star Wars expanded universe—including books, television series, computer and video games, and comic books, resulting in significant development of the series's fictional universe. Star Wars also holds a Guinness World Records title for the "Most successful film merchandising franchise." In 2012, the total value of the Star Wars franchise was estimated at USD $30.7 billion, including box-office receipts as well as profits from their video games and DVD sales.

Mazhavil Manorama

Mazhavil Manorama is a Malayalam general entertainment television channel from the Malayala Manorama group, the publisher of the widely circulated Malayalam Manorama daily, and Malayalam women's magazine Vanitha. Mazhavil Manorama is headquartered at Aroor, Alappuzha, near Kochi, Kerala.

The channel has been on air since 06:30 pm on 31 October 2011. The Malayalam Manorama group is already into TV media through their Malayalam news channel, Manorama News. Through the launch of Mazhavil Manorama, the group has widened its media business portfolio.

Mazhavil Manorama will be the second regional Malayalam channel to be launched in full high definition, after Asianet HD. It has been aired since 13 August 2015 as Mazhavil Manorama HD.

Programmes

Mazhavil Manorama has various entertainment programmes in its portfolio including television dramas, music reality shows, and Malayalam movies. The channel also telecasts popular shows like Katha Ithu Vare, hosted by Poornima Indrajith, a talk show with celebrities; Samadooram, presented by Sreekandan Nairdna; and popular comedy show Marimayam, which conveys a real picture of public offices in Kerala. The channel also broadcasts reality shows like Veruthe Alla Bharya, a family based reality show hosted by Swetha Menon; Indian Voice, a musical reality show; and Comedy Festival, a reality competition among comedians for a title.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the fourth installment in the Star Wars saga and stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August and Frank Oz.

The film is set thirty-two years before the original film, and follows Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi as they protect Queen Amidala, in hopes of securing a peaceful end to a large-scale interplanetary trade dispute. Joined by Anakin Skywalker—a young slave with unusually inherent powers of the Force—they simultaneously contend with the mysterious return of the Sith.

Lucas began production of this film after he concluded that film special effects had advanced to the level he wanted for the fourth film in the saga. Filming started on June 26, 1997, at locations including Leavesden Film Studios and the Tunisian desert. Its visual effects included extensive use of computer-generated imagery (CGI); some of its characters and settings were completely computerized and did not exist in the real world. The film was Lucas' first directorial effort after a 22-year hiatus following Star Wars in 1977.

The Phantom

The Phantom is a long-running American adventure comic strip, first published by Mandrake the Magician creator Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The character has been adapted for television, film and video games.

The series began with a daily newspaper strip on February 17, 1936, followed by a color Sunday strip on May 28, 1939; both are still running as of 2016. In 1966, King Features stated that The Phantom was being published in 583 newspapers worldwide. At its peak, the strip was read by over 100 million people daily.

Falk worked on The Phantom until his death in 1999; the comic strip is currently written by Tony DePaul and drawn by Paul Ryan (Monday-Saturday) and Terry Beatty (Sunday). Previous artists on the newspaper strip include Ray Moore, Wilson McCoy, Bill Lignante, Sy Barry, George Olesen, Keith Williams, Fred Fredericks, Graham Nolan and Eduardo Barreto. In the strip, the Phantom was 21st in a line of crime-fighters which began in 1536, when the father of British sailor Christopher Walker was killed during a pirate attack. Swearing an oath on the skull of his father's murderer to fight evil, Christopher began a legacy of the Phantom which would pass from father to son. Nicknames for the Phantom include "The Ghost Who Walks", "Guardian of the Eastern Dark" and "The Man Who Cannot Die".

Episode

An episode is a coherent narrative unit within a larger dramatic work such as a film or television series. An episode is to a sequence as a chapter is to a book. Most are from 20 to 40 minutes in length.

The word derives from the ancient Greek ἐπεισόδιον (epeisodion), meaning the material contained between two songs or odes in a Greek tragedy.

See also

References