Welcome to the entertainment section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.

Select a section:

WP:RD/E

Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

How can I get my question answered?

Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
Note:
- We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
- We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
- We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
- We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.

Ready? Ask a new question!

How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.

June 24

James Gang

Where did James Gang get their name? The only thing our article says about the name is "Reportedly, it was Silverman who suggested the name James Gang." Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 07:21, 24 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The "James Gang" relates to Frank & Jesse James. Note: only historians and Wikipedia refer to the outlaw gang as: "James–Younger Gang". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.20.250.51 (talk) 10:23, 24 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

And presumably because the group's leader was James (Fox). ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:14, 24 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, both. Dismas|^(talk) 02:20, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ben-Hur and other stuff

Two questions: (1) Did the spinning blades attached to Messala's chariot in Ben-Hur inspire the tire-slashers installed on the Bondmobile in Goldfinger? (2) Did the chariot race scene in Ben-Hur influence the podracer scene in The Phantom Menace? 24.5.122.13 (talk) 23:50, 24 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Googling the general subject, it seems that the Mythbusters guys though so. FYI, in the filmed they refer to Messalla's bladed wheel hubs as a "beaked" chariot. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:23, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

According to Star Wars sources and analogues, the pod race scene was inspired by Ben Hur. But it is unreferenced. --Jayron32 01:35, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Just like I thought. Thanks! 24.5.122.13 (talk) 23:23, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

And don't forget Grease_(film) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsYC-hVEpQM&feature=kp 196.214.78.114 (talk) 06:20, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Although almost certainly not used in ~~the ancient world~~ ancient Britain, depictions of scythes-on-wheel-hubs have been around for a while; see Thomas Thornycroft's statue of Boudicca in London which was completed in 1905. Alansplodge (talk) 12:40, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That statue (and the legend that inspired it) have always been my first association for both the scenes mentioned in (1). AlexTiefling (talk) 12:44, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I think your claim is reasonable but how do you know? Merely lack of reference to scythe-on-wheel-hubs in ~~contemporary~~ ~~contemporaneous~~ ancient sources? On the one hand, it seems to gimmicky to be useful in battle (as opposed to battle racing, or whatever you call that scene in the Ben-Hur movie). On the other hand, it seems like a logical thing to try... (p.s. cool statue!) SemanticMantis (talk) 16:02, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

We do have an article Scythed chariot, which traces them back to Xenophon, some 500 years before Ben-Hur's setting. Tevildo (talk) 18:14, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

OK, I have amended my statement above with a dollop of humble pie. Alansplodge (talk) 23:02, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That's just manly chariot racing. No wimps allowed. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:06, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

As Ben-Hur's Arab friend [Sheik Ilderim] put it, "There is no law in the arena - many are killed." Or was he talking about soccer? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:29, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ben-Hur's Arab friend thought that Romans were weird. He thought that a man should have fifty wives and One God. A Roman had one wife at any given time and fifty gods. Robert McClenon (talk) 21:45, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I like Sheik Ilderim's idea. There's a price to be paid for having fifty wives, though... It's having fifty mothers-in-law. (Credit to Jay Leno for that one.) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:49, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 25

Emergency

Is Emergency (series) considered real-time strategy, real-time tactics or some other genre? 24.5.122.13 (talk) 23:26, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

According to Metacritic's review, it is a "rich mix of gripping real-time strategy game and true-to-life simulation":[1] —71.20.250.51 (talk) 13:43, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 26

Charles Schulz lent his aircraft in the capture of a jailbreak?

Did anyone else read a story where Charles Schulz lent his aircraft in the capture of a jailbreak? I can't find anything on it, but I'm sure I read it shortly before his passing.--Kintetsubuffalo (talk) 12:58, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I can't even find evidence that he owned an aircraft or had a pilot's license; actually, he hated to travel, according to various bios/obits (e.g: NY Times). —71.20.250.51 (talk) 15:25, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

All I could find is that there's apparently an airport named for him. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:50, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Could it have been a decidedly non-standard ultralight (vintage World War I)? Clarityfiend (talk) 22:09, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

However, his second wife, Jean Schulz, was "an airplane pilot who once flew across country in the Powder Puff Derby with her mother". See Charles Schulz's widow tends Peanuts gallery. Alansplodge (talk) 12:52, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

"h o n e y b e l l" by maxo

Hiya, I've recently become quite obsessed with this sugar rush of a song, but I can't seem to pinpoint the exact genre. What's the actual name for this type of music? I've seen it labelled as "chill trap" before, but that definitely doesn't sound right.. little help? thanks cheers ~Helicopter Llama~ 15:06, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

World Cup yellow cards

If a player gets a yellow card, does it persist for the rest of the tournament or does it reset after X number of games? --Robert.Labrie (talk) 16:47, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The rules are described at 2014 FIFA World Cup disciplinary record, though not very clearly, and without references. Maybe there's something on FIFA's website, but I can't see anything obvious. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 16:59, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

If memory serves there is a spot where they reset to zero. Perhaps when they enter the round of eight. The rules change from time to time so my info is probably out of date. MarnetteD|Talk 17:04, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

World Cup Press Box Question

The FIFA World Cup is broadcast in many languages. Is the press box very large, to accommodate more than a hundred announcer teams, or are many of the languages broadcast "in country" rather than "in host country"? For instance, is the Polish announcer in Brazil, or in Warsaw? Also, the other side to this question is: How many Spanish-speaking announcer teams are there (with 9 Spanish-speaking teams that qualified and other Spanish-speaking countries in which association football is the most popular sport)? Also, was Ghana v. Portugal, which was televised concurrently with US v. Germany, being broadcast live from the stadium by a US announcer? Robert McClenon (talk) 19:12, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yes the press boxes are enormous. In some stadiums they take up to half an upper tier on one side of the stadium or more. Nanonic (talk) 19:56, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Most of the announcers are in the stadium, but not all. For example, in the United States the television broadcasters for ESPN were at the stadiums in Brazil, but the announcers for ESPN Radio were at the studios in Bristol, Connecticut. (This I know because about an hour before one match, one of the announcers was on the set of SportsCenter, then left to go announce the game.) → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 00:02, 28 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 27

TV series with theatrical releases during their run

The Simpsons, South Park and the X-files come to mind. I'm thinking of Hollywood films and major adult TV shows, so not like Rugrats or Pokemon films, or even Spongebob. Mingmingla (talk) 01:22, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That would be a subset of List of films based on television programs. Just taking a quick glance, Batman and Dark Shadows qualify. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:38, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) Category:Films based on television series would be a good place to start your research. One that comes to my mind is Beavis and Butt-head Do America. --Jayron32 01:42, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Also Dr. Who and Dragnet. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:43, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Not exactly the same, but when The Three Stooges short films were revived on TV in the 1950s, they went back to work, making feature-length movies. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:52, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

TV's version of The Lone Ranger spun off two theatrical films, one of which was released while the series was still in first-run, the other the year after TV production ceased. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:16, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Though not an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. movie, the events of the Avengers and Captain America films figure into the storyline. Dismas|^(talk) 02:17, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Stargate franchise as a whole might qualify, with both of the post-SG1 movies being released during the TV run of Atlantis, but unfortunately the 3 separate shows don't make the cut individually. Organics^LRO 08:34, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Batman series of the 1960s had a theatrical film produced primarily to generate interest in the TV show. → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 23:46, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Monkees released Head (film) while The Monkees (TV series) was still in 1st-run. 71.20.250.51 (talk) 01:47, 28 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

What about British sitcoms ?

Are You Being Served? ran from 1972 to 1985, with a movie in 1977.

Bless This House ran from 1971 to 1976, with a movie in 1972.

Love Thy Neighbour ran from 1972 to 1976 with a movie in 1973.

On The Buses ran from 1968 to 1973, with three movies, one in each of 1971, 1972 and 1973.

Please Sir! ran from 1968 to 1972, with a movie in 1971

Steptoe and Son has its second run from 1970 to 1974, with two movies, one in 1972, and another in 1973.

Till Death Us Do Part ran from 1965 to 1975, with two movies, one in 1969 and another in 1972.

and not forgetting The Best of Benny Hill which was a 1974 movie made by Thames Television by editing together sketches taken from episodes of the TV series between 1969 to 1973.

New episodes were still being made by Thames until 1989.

and what about the Muppets ?

there have been several Mmppet movies, but the first one was during the run of the original TV series.

The Muppet Show ran from 1976 to 1981, with The Muppet Movie in 1979.

( The Great Muppet Caper wouldn't count - it was released in 1981, just after the end of the TV series. )

90.244.130.169 (talk) 05:09, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Trippy stop motion short film about fighting tooth decay.

I hazily recall seeing something where a bunch of walking, talking teeth get mixed up with some bad sugar (in the style of of Clone High's Pusher), then wind up being drilled and mined alive by some sort of evil plaque-eating race. I think they were called the Sweeties or Sugaries or something like that. The teeth survive, but learn a valuable lesson.

Somebody needs to see that film, and I can't show it. It looked late '70s or early '80s, I think, and was a PSA from some sort of dental association and/or toothpaste. Ring a bell? InedibleHulk (talk) 03:54, June 27, 2014 (UTC)

Not the one where crummies capture kids and take them in their Holesmobile to the planet Cavitar where there is a fiendish plot to make craters "cavities, that is" in all children's teeth, and where "No flouride toothpaste – No toothbrushes – No floss – No dentists or dental hygienists – No smiles —are allowed. —And Crummy Crater made everything "irresistible" to kids (chocolate trees, etc.) - and they're never allowed to brush their teeth - and, ... [as seen here] —No, not trippy enough. What were you smoking in the late '70s? —71.20.250.51 (talk) 03:22, 28 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

No, not nearly trippy enough. Personally, space stuff gets more boring when I'm high (and I'm more of a Colgate guy). Thanks, anyway. Pretty sure mine was pre-crack epidemic. Looked more like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer than Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.

I'm not sure I was even smoking Popeye cigarettes yet in those days. InedibleHulk (talk) 03:53, June 28, 2014 (UTC)

There's also the trippy and/or confusing (depending on your state of mind) "cult-classic" (?) Disney-esque Winky the Watchman - Animated Film (1945) where the "Baduns" and "Gooduns" do battle in the "white wall" which is your teeth -or something like that. The Baduns are an evil race that have a drilling/mining operation, etc., and the Gooduns have white tanks and airplanes... Luckily, there is a dentist that explains everything at the end. 71.20.250.51 (talk) 04:17, 28 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Looks good, skimming through. I'll check it out later. InedibleHulk (talk) 04:19, June 28, 2014 (UTC)

Heh. 4:20. InedibleHulk (talk) 04:20, June 28, 2014 (UTC)

Well, the someone who had to see it has shown herself the door. You were too late, Help Desk, and now she's probably getting cavities! All good, though. It's a tough one. If anyone still wants to answer, that'd be cool, but it's low priority now. My teeth are beyond salvation and there are plenty of other good PSAs out there. InedibleHulk (talk) 20:03, June 29, 2014 (UTC)

Is Star Trek really a "global" phenomenon?

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen.

I have traveled half the world in my life (South America, North America, Europe, big parts of Asia, some parts of Africa and Australia). I am a big fan of science fiction and often talk to other people about it (this includes of course foreigners as well). During my travels, I recognized, that no one I talked to outside the Western world had ever even heard of Star Trek. I was surprised to see, that even in most European countries I have been, people did not know Star Trek. A man in South Africa told me, that he heard of the show, but that he is unfamiliar with it. My question is, is Star Trek really unknown outside the Western world? Is it really a "global" phenomenon?--178.195.94.230 (talk) 09:06, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You appear to have answered your own question. Is someone claiming that it is a global anything? Wikipedia doesn't.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 12:24, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

typical american who think the world revolves around them, they meet one german star wars fan at a science fiction convention and think all germany like it, when in reality that guy was the odd one out. statistically most people on the earth do not even own a television — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.207.198.16 (talk) 12:40, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Don't be rude, the OP is geolocates to Switzerland. I'm surprised you didn't find people knowing it in Europe, in my experience ST is pretty well known in Europe. Can't comment for out of Europe. 131.251.254.110 (talk) 13:16, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I was in France in the late 1980s and watched an episode of Star Trek (TOS) dubbed into French on one of the national TV stations (I think FR3, but not sure). --McDoob AU93 13:34, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

As I recall from talking to various foreign-born colleagues, most of them knew of Star Trek, but were often more knowledgeable about Star Wars. This could be considered a reflection of the take from those respective film series, as in List of highest-grossing films. It's important to keep in mind that the Star Trek TV series had a "cult following", which is one reason the original series only lasted three years (and it took a major fan campaign to get that third year). It's a large cult, to be sure, but still a cult. Star Wars is more traditional, like King Arthur set in outer space, and thus has more mainstream appeal. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:56, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

True. I was surprised to hear, that even some of the Massai I have met have at the very least heard of "Star Wars". One of them even called himself "The Darth". The only global sci-fi phenomenon seems to be the Star Wars saga (nearly everybody I have ever met knew it). The people in Japan seem to really love it. As for Star Trek: I guess you need a TV to know it. Our friend 190.207.198.16 seems to be right on this one, the Internet is much wider spread than television (it sounds weird, but is the truth according to the article Internet). And cinemas seem to exist everywhere. The films of Star Trek are even less known, with "Into Darkness" being the very first one that actually generated success overseas (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324102604578493111216214662).--178.195.94.230 (talk) 14:34, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

International messages of world peace delivered by multicultural aliens generally fare better with various audiences than the same messages delivered by any who may be perceived by some as "those people". The one thing that unites us all is we have no true prejudice against Klingons or Muppets, because we've never met any. There's a subconscious acceptance in us that they have no ulterior motives, since they're so far away from us, but they're just human enough that we still all realize they're not so different from whichever "us" we think we are. InedibleHulk (talk) 15:11, June 27, 2014 (UTC)

Well spoken!--178.195.94.230 (talk) 17:04, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. If you'd like to hear it paraphrased, illustrated and sung by a monster, here you go. InedibleHulk (talk) 04:11, June 28, 2014 (UTC)

Thanks a lot! What a great video!--178.195.94.230 (talk) 12:29, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It's a great show, for all ages. (That I brought it up had a lot to do with you reminding me of Traveling Matt in your opener.) InedibleHulk (talk) 20:10, June 29, 2014 (UTC)

most successful

In the ABBA article it says that they're the most successful group ever to take part in eurovision. This made me wonder who is the most successful individual to take part in eurovision. Is it Celine Dion? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.74.94.106 (talk) 12:41, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

erm... I'm not a fan of Eurovision and all that, but, would Nana Mouskouri or Cliff Richard be classed as "more successful" than Celine Dion ?

A quick glance at the respective Wikipedia articles shows claims that Celine Dion has sold "more than 200 million records", Cliff Richard "more than 260 million" and Nana Mouskouri "more than 350 million"...

However, to quote the Nana Mouskouri's page on Wikipedia itself:

Although Nana Mouskouri was presented with a plaque representing 350 million in sales at her final concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 2009 by her record company, the actual figure is uncertain as record sales need to be supported by at least 20% in certified units. She is therefore not included in Wikipedia's list of best selling music artists (a fate she shares with Cliff Richard, Diana Ross, Charles Aznavour, Bing Crosby, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Tom Jones, the Jackson 5, Dionne Warwick, the Andrews Sisters, Luciano Pavarotti and others).

16:40, 29 June 2014 (UTC)

An animated movie - a time-travelling schoolboy and his dog monkey foil a villain ? - SOLVED

Can anyone recognise this half-remembered movie ?

It was probably an American movie, and probably a "children's movie", but seen on television in Britain, some time in the late 1970s, possibly *very* early 1980s.

The villain is going back to various points in history, planning to change certain events, so that, erm... something or other.
( I seem to remember the villain being a Snidely Whiplash -type of character, though that may not be accurate )

One event in particular is the original landfall of erm... Columbus ? or the Mayflower ?

The heroes are a boy and his dog, who follow the villain through time and foil each of his plans in turn.

The film has almost ended. The villain has been thwarted, and the boy is back in school... with his dog.
The teacher says something like: "here is our guest speaker, Mr so-and-so"

And in walks the villain. Who declares he has A TIME MACHINE...

and gives a talk about how a camera is a type of time machine, as it can bring the past to life.
( He has apparently reformed and now only wants to do good. )

During this lecture, he's showing a film projection of scenes from earlier in the story...
90.244.130.169 (talk) 16:20, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds like something in the vein of Mister Peabody, but the only theatrical film was this year. Maybe a collection of the original short cartoons, perhaps? --McDoob AU93 16:29, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

the fact that op mentioned snidely would make sense with that too ~Helicopter Llama~ 16:33, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

This looks like a fairly substantial list of movies featuring time travel; it might be a long shot, but you could see if anything there strikes a chord with you. It's sorted by date of release. We also have a similar list; it doesn't seem as inclusive, but there are at least links to follow for details. Here is a cross-category search between our categories for Category:American animated films and Category:Time travel films; I didn't see anything obvious, but you can certainly play with the settings. Matt Deres (talk) 02:02, 28 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

FOUND IT ! Thanks muchly :D

The "fairly substantial list" at krabat.menneske.dk has suffix summary tags for most of the movies listed.

Looking at each entry with "children" - made easier with "Findbar Tweak" in Firefox - reveals 13 entries, including:

"1965 | Willy Bean and his Magic Machine | 94 min. (dir. Arthur Rankin Jr.) | Time Travel | Children"

Willy McBean and his Magic Machine

So, half-remembered - it's a stop-motion animation, and it wasn't a talking dog, it was a talking monkey.

Though, looking at the wikipedia article, I *seriously* doubt the statement that Glenda Jackson voiced a part... wiki vandalism perhaps ?

The movie can be seen on youtube - the cast list doesn't include her... ( but surprisingly, does include James Doohan ... )

90.244.130.169 (talk) 15:33, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed vandalism, but Doohan also appears to be a mistake. Willy, the machine canna take much more! Clarityfiend (talk) 02:55, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

PlayStation games on Danish

Do anyone know a list of PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 games with Danish speech, text or subtitles? The only ones i can remember is Sly Cooper, Wipeout 2048, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Unit 13 and LittleBigPlanet Vita. --193.163.223.68 (talk) 17:25, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 28

SNL parodies of films like Beastly

How many movies did SNL do parodies of, for example they did a parody sketch of Beastly starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer and in that sketch it was Adam Samberg and Miley Cyrus who was the host of the episode of that time?

SNL does movie parodies all the time; I don't know if anyone has tried to enumerate them all. According to List_of_Saturday_Night_Live_episodes, Miley has been on SNL twice. In both cases she was the host; the first time she was on, the musical guest was The Strokes and the second time she was on, she did both duties. Her first appearance, on March 5, 2011, was one day after the release of Beastly, so that seems more likely to be the one you're looking for. Matt Deres (talk) 02:10, 28 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The first image that came to George Lucas' mind when he came up with Star Wars was of a big ship chasing a little ship.

This is not a forum for discussion. Please take this to a Star Wars discussion group.

The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

Ok, so in the book The Making of Star Wars, George Lucas talks about "a big ship chasing a little ship" and he says that that was his "original vision of the film". So the first image that came to George Lucas' mind when he came up with Star Wars was the opening scene of the Imperial Cruiser chasing the Rebel SpaceFighter.

Does the same apply to you? If not, what is the first image that comes to your mind when you think of Star Wars? Rebel Yeh (talk) 10:01, 28 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Name of comic book villain

Who's the guy who is a giant head (or maybe just face) inside a big cylinder that floats thanks to an always firing rocket in the bottom with two little arms and two little legs coming out in front?75.75.42.89 (talk) 15:48, 28 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

MODOK. Matt Deres (talk) 17:40, 28 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 29

What are the standard video game character types across all genres of games, but not including pervert or adult games?

You have this list of character archetypes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_characters but it doesn't answer my question. It's more for TV and Movies.

Why should it be any different for video games? The difference lies in the viewer's interaction with the characters, not the character types. I don't think there's a standard, or the stories would get very boring, as they would in TV or movies. They can't all be paladins or killbots. But some sort of "hero" works for most player-controlled characters on quests. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:29, June 28, 2014 (UTC)

I take it you aren't a gamer? There are definitely character types in games. You can't play too many video games without running into the same types of characters over and over. In some genres this is so obvious that certain things become a notable cliche. The article you have already looks specifically for TV and movies, what with characters like The Grand Dame, and I'm more interested in researching character types specific to video games of all genres minus, you know, hentai games and whatever other weird stuff.

I'm not a hardcore gamer, but a longtime one. Of course there are characters. I just doubt they're any different from TV, film, novel or comic characters, aside from the part where you make them move. The article you linked says they recur "in many works", and many of the specific examples are video game characters as well. Darth Vader, Tony Montana, Atalanta (I just finished Herc's Adventures recently as Player 2).

Can you think of a game which doesn't use characters from this list? If so, maybe this question has a different answer. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:47, June 28, 2014 (UTC)

Are there any characters in Tetris, for example? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:00, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Or Flight Simulator? Or Sudden Strike/Blitzkrieg, for that matter? 24.5.122.13 (talk) 00:29, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Or Pong. Nature's purest battle, between whatever Player 1 stands for and Player 2 longs to destroy. Should have specified "games with characters", I guess. InedibleHulk (talk) 17:32, June 29, 2014 (UTC)

The Spy, The Infiltrator, and The Amnesiac aren't listed but they are character types in games as well as TV and movies. There is also The Mentally Unstable Woman, like American McGee's version of Alice.

As far as common stock characters in computer games, the player's character is often variously an action hero, angry white male, anti-hero, bad boy, battle-axe, Byronic hero, detective, farmer's daughter, feral child, hero, hotshot, knight-errant, legacy hero, lone vigilante, outlaw, paladin, reluctant hero, superhero/supersoldier, swashbuckler, or Tarzanide (sometimes more than one of these); whereas the opfor may be variously composed of alien invaders, black brutes, killbots, mad scientists, monsters, outlaws, redshirts, space Nazis, space pirates, supersoldiers, swamp monsters, swashbucklers, or zombies, with their evil bosses represented variously by bad boys, battle-axes, black knights, crones, dark ladies, evil clowns, femmes fatales, hags, mad scientists, monsters, outlaws, rakes, space Nazis, space pirates, stupid superiors, supervillains, swamp monsters, swashbucklers, town bullies, treasure guardians, or tycoons. 24.5.122.13 (talk) 02:51, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Cool, thanks.

For example, let's analyze the characters in the Command & Conquer franchise (which, incidentally, is the only video game series I play which actually has characters other than a supersoldier player character and a bunch of redshirts filling the roles of both squadmates and enemies): Stalin is a villainous tyrant (as he was in real life); Gradenko and Kukov are both stupid superiors; Nadia is a typical femme fatale; Kosygin is a professor character who ends up being a lone vigilante against Stalin; Von Esling is a colorless paladin; Tanya, by contrast, is a hyperbolic battle-axe and tomboy; Einstein is portrayed as an absent-minded professor; Romanov is an evil clown; Yuri is a black knight and mad scientist who also happens to be an esper (and uses it to further his evil plots); Boris is a supersoldier; Eva and Zofia are both girls next door; Carville is a Miles Glorious; Dugan is a stereotypical Jewish lawyer; Kane is a supervillain/tycoon; Seth is by turns a contender and a stupid superior; Greg Burdette is a yokel who's tricked into doing Kane's bidding; Gen. Sheppard is a paladin similar to Von Esling; Mobius is an absent-minded professor similar to Einstein; Morelli is a girl next door; Havoc is a typical hotshot and supersoldier, as are the rest of the Dead-Six (Deadeye, Gunner, Hotwire and Patch); Sakura is a femme fatale; Mendoza and Raveshaw are both supervillains; Elena Petrova is a mad scientist; Slavik is a black knight; Vega is a villainous rake; CABAL is a Nod killbot; Umagon is alternately a battle-axe and a damsel in distress; and Michael McNeil is a knight-errant. 24.5.122.13 (talk) 02:44, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Celebrities donate game-show winnings to charity

Oftentimes, when celebrities appear on TV game shows, they donate their prize money to charity. In cases like this, does the game show pay the money to the celebrity (who must report this as income), and then the celebrity donates the money to charity (and can thus declare a charitable contribution)? Or does the game show itself just directly give the donation to the charity (so that the celebrity has earned no income whatsoever in the process and, presumably, the game show itself declares a charitable contribution)? This refers to the USA. Does anyone know how this typically works? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 15:46, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I believe they plan and announce in advance which charity they are playing for, and that the money goes directly there. Of course, charitable contributions are tax deductible, so they could do it that way, but it would be a hassle for the celebrity, and if they didn't give it to charity, as promised, that might cause legal problems. Better to just give it directly to the charity. StuRat (talk) 16:51, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Not answering the question, but coincidentally, yesterday I was reading this blog from someone who had appeared on Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in the UK. He says that the show gave the option of donating the celebrities' appearance fee - which he says was relatively small for WWTBAM - to the charity on top of the winnings. (The situation is a bit different in the UK as prize money in shows of this type is not taxable.) AndrewWTaylor (talk) 20:35, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

If you win a lot of money (or any amount, for that matter) on a TV game show in the UK, you are not taxed on the winnings at all? Is that how it works? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 22:51, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

In IRS equivalent terminology, it might be considered a "gift" rather than "income". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:46, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I guess that makes sense. I'm just surprised that the government would pass over this chance to generate how many millions of dollars in tax revenue. What about lottery ticket prizes? Are those taxed as income, or is that a "gift", also? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 00:19, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Just to be clear, in the USA lottery winnings and game show winnings are both taxable, i.e. not considered "gifts". A different story in the UK? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:23, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I'm confused. I thought that your answer above (In IRS equivalent terminology, it might be considered a "gift" rather than "income".) was in response to my question about the UK immediately above that. No? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 03:58, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

In the UK, you are not taxed on the winnings from a game, but you will be taxed on any interest arising from its investment. As the National Lottery website says, "National Lottery Prizes are not chargeable gains for the purposes of UK Capital Gains Tax and will not normally be assessed for UK Income Tax". Can't speak for other game show winnings though. --TammyMoet (talk) 08:50, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

As far as I can tell, HM Revenue and Customs seem to consider that it isn't taxed as income as long as winning money in game shows isn't your profession: you are an amateur. See, for example [2]. They don't want the headache of people claiming back deductions and expenses for entering these things. The only relevant stuff I can find on the HMRC website is that unskilled games of chance, or semi-skilled games dominated by chance so that a player cannot reasonably use skill to reliably win, tend to not be considered income to tax, whereas skilled games can be. There's a lot of stuff about how to work out tax and deductions if you're a professional athlete whose income is from prizes in competitions, and fragmented specific stuff about gambling machines and horse racing and bingo and such like. 86.129.13.205 (talk) 09:23, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hands & feet sport

Are there any sports that allow the players to touch the ball with both the hands and the feet (as opposed to either one or the other)? --66.190.99.112 (talk) 18:48, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Rugby, American Football, Australian Football, Gaelic Football. Widneymanor (talk) 19:09, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Association football, if you include goalkeepers. Ice hockey players may use their hands or feet to stop or redirect the puck on the ice, though they may not score by deliberately throwing, swatting, or kicking the puck into the net, they may swat, catch-and-drop, or kick at the puck in other situations (they may not hold the puck in their hands for any length of time, however). --Jayron32 23:11, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

And obviously association football (soccer) players who are executing a throw-in, and also when they position the ball for a penalty kick, as we were seeing yesterday. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:37, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Kickball, for one. And as far as I know, in baseball there's no rule against one fielder kicking the ball (accidentally or on purpose) to another fielder, but that would be a rather desperate strategy. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:35, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hurling Widneymanor (talk) 07:15, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

FIFA World Cup 2014

I was watching the game Costa Rica-Greece and something caught my attention. I don't know if I saw it correctly, but at one moment Costa Rica's goalkeeper seemed to take the ball out of the penalty area with his hands and then performed the goal kick with his foot. Wouldn't that have been against the rules? --2.245.218.102 (talk) 22:40, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Technically, a goal kick is taken from the six-yard box after the ball has crossed the goal line (outside the goal). However, it is indeed an infringement for the goalkeeper to touch the ball with his hands outside the penalty area. The linesman (sorry, "assistant referee") must have been unsighted - _not_ the first time that's happened. Tevildo (talk) 23:07, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Inattentive officials? Wow, that bites. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:29, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

How could this be overlooked? All other players (from the same and from the other team) were very far away. The goalkeeper was alone and had the ball. Shouldn't be everyone focusing on him? --2.245.218.102 (talk) 23:40, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I watched the game too, and if what you saw happened toward the end of overtime then I think you witnessed an indirect free kick taken by goalkeeper Keylor Navas outside his penalty box. Once the ball is back in play, i.e. once he kicked it, he wouldn't be allowed to pick it up with his hands outside the penalty box of course, but all the time you saw him carrying and placing (or dropping) it where he was supposed to take the free kick, the ball hadn't been in play yet. ---Sluzzelin talk 23:39, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, it was indeed during overtime. --2.245.218.102 (talk) 23:51, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Guest actors in a particular music video

In the Reba McEntire Video "Kathy's Clown" there are four guest actors from TV Westerns seated at a table in the Saloon playing cards. I have identified three of these men as Paul Brinegar of Rawhide, Buck Taylor from Gunsmoke and Johnny Crawford of The Rifleman. The fourth man, a very large fellow sitting at the far left of the table I cannot identify. There is no mention of any of these actors in the Wikipedia description of the video and I can not find any source to find the names. Can you answer, "Who is the fourth, very large actor at the card table in the music video 'Kathy's Clown' by Reba McEntire?" Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.161.0.169 (talk) 22:41, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Can you find a youtube link? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:28, 29 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Here is a YouTube link: Reba McEntire - Cathy's Clown. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 00:22, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 30

Looking for a music video

I've asked this before but the video was never found.

Okay, the music video which is most likely from 1998-2006, features a man in his american jeep (can't remember the brand) he is driving in a small towm, in either heavy snow storm or heavy rain.. at night, and it's like a loop, but the future changes in each one, in the first one he drives through the town, stops at a cafe, then goes out to his car and drives on, until he reaches train tracks... and drives and gets hit by the train, then it starts again, featuring him driving, and stoping at the cafe, and then into his car.. but he drops something.. and continues on, and nearly evades something crossing the road .. and continues and again his jeep is hit by the train.. and the loop is again, but this time he does all things the same until cafe, drops something and picks it up? and then stops completely for the ball or kid runinng cross the road and continues... before stopping at the train tracks, and the train driving past.. and then he continues to drive on, alive. 31.209.150.192 (talk) 00:21, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Googling music video time loop doesn't turn up anything obvious. Do you recall anything about the music? Was it a male or female singer? Country, rock, pop? Can we assume it's in English? Matt Deres (talk) 01:43, 30 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]