what is the difference between a hollywood and broadway flat

Flats can be soft covered (covered with cloth such as muslin) or hard covered (covered with decorative plywood such as luan). Soft-covered flats have changed little from their origin in the Italian Renaissance. Flats with a frame that places the width of the lumber parallel to the face are called "Broadway" or "stage" flats. Hard-covered flats with a frame that is perpendicular to the paint surface are referred to as "Hollywood" or "studio" flats.

Flat (theatre)

A flat (short for scenery flat) or coulisse is a flat piece of theatrical scenery which is painted and positioned on stage so as to give the appearance of buildings or other background.

Usually flats are built in standard sizes of 8 feet (2.4 m), 10 feet (3.0 m), or 12 feet (3.7 m) tall so that walls or other scenery may easily be constructed, and so that flats may be stored and reused for subsequent productions.

Often affixed to battens flown in from the fly tower or loft for the scenes in which they are used, they may also be stored at the sides of the stage, called wings, and braced to the floor when in use for an entire performance.

Rails (or plates) are the top and bottom framing members of a flat.  Rails run the full width of the flat (4 feet or 1.2 metres, for a 4 by 8 feet or 1.2 by 2.4 metres, flat).

Stiles (or studs) are the vertical members of the frame.  The length of the stiles is the full height of the flat, minus the combined width of the rails (7 feet 7 inches or 2.31 metres, for a 4 by 8 feet or 1.2 by 2.4 metres, flat constructed of 2 1⁄2-inch or 64-millimetre, rails).

Toggles are horizontal cross pieces that run between the stiles or studs.  The number and placement of toggles depends on the type of flat.  The length of the toggles is the total width of the flat minus the combined width of the stiles (3 feet 7 inches or 1.09 metres, for a 4 by 8 feet or 1.2 by 2.4 metres, soft-cover flat constructed of 2 1⁄2 inches or 64 millimetres, stiles).

Corner blocks are used to join the corners of a soft-cover flat.  They are normally made of 1⁄4-inch (6.4 mm) plywood, and are triangles with corners of 45°, 45°, and 90°.  They are most often made by ripping the plywood at 6 1⁄2 inches (170 mm) and then mitering it at 45 degree angles to create triangles with 9-inch (230 mm) legs.

Keystones join the toggles to the stiles of soft-cover flats.  They are 8 inches (200 mm) long, and normally rip sawn to the same width as the toggles (usually 2 3⁄4 inches or 70 millimetres) on one end, and 3 1⁄2 inches (89 mm) on the other, forming a shape similar to the keystone of an archway.

Straps can be used in place of keystones.  They are 8 inches (200 mm) long and 2 1⁄2 inches (64 mm) wide (same as toggle) rectangles.  They are easier to construct than keystones, but not as strong due to their narrower dimension and reduced glue/nailing surface area.

A coffin lock or screws may be used to join securely adjacent flats, or traditionally with a lash line cleat, where cotton sash cord is lashed around cleats installed on the flat's edges. This allows for quick standing and striking of the set.

Broadway or stage flats are generally constructed of 1-by-3-inch (25 mm × 76 mm) nominal (3⁄4 by 2 1⁄2 inches or 19 by 64 millimetres actual) pine boards. The boards are laid out flat on the shop floor, squared, and joined with the keystones and corner blocks. The keystones and corner blocks are inset 1 inch (25 mm) from the outside edge, which allows for flats to be hinged or butted together. They are then glued in place, and stapled or screwed down. The flat can then be flipped over and covered with muslin or decorative plywood. Toggles in a Broadway flat are placed on 4 ft (1.2 m) centers.

Broadway flats can also be constructed using Half-lap and Cross-lap joints instead of keystones and corner blocks, and joins stiles, rails, and toggles, by sawing a 3⁄8 inch (9.5 mm) deep half-lap at the ends of the pieces, and/or a 3⁄8 inch (9.5 mm) deep dado groove mid-piece, which are then glued and stapled together. Dados can be made using a radial arm saw or table saw, and a dado stack cutter (two outer circular saw blades and one or more "chippers" between them, giving a much wider cut). Setting up for a dado stack is approximately the same as for preparing keystones and cornerblocks, but requires less layout, as the length of stiles, rails and, toggles are equal to the face of your flat.

Hollywood or studio flats can be made in various thicknesses to suit a particular design, but are most often made of 1-by-3-inch (25 mm × 76 mm) nominal (3⁄4 by 2 1⁄2 inches, 19 mm × 64 mm actual) pine boards. The boards are laid out on edge on the shop floor, the ends are glued together and stapled or screwed. Keystones and corner blocks are not normally used. Once assembled, the flat can be covered with 1⁄4-inch (6.4 mm) or 1⁄8-inch (3.2 mm) decorative plywood, which is glued on and stapled. The toggles in a Hollywood flat are placed on 2-foot (0.61 m) centers.

Hollywood flats may receive a muslin skin over the decorative plywood face. The face is covered in a mixture of water and white glue, the muslin is applied and the entire flat is covered with the water/glue mixture again, to shrink and attach the muslin.


what is the most common cause of depurination

When depurination occurs with DNA, it leads to the formation of apurinic site and results in an alteration of the structure. Studies estimate that as many as 5,000 purines are lost this way each day in a typical human cell.[1] In cells, one of the main causes of depurination is the presence of endogenous metabolites undergoing chemical reactions. Apurinic sites in double-stranded DNA are efficiently repaired by portions of the base excision repair (BER) pathway. Depurinated bases in single-stranded DNA undergoing replication can lead to mutations, because in the absence of information from the complementary strand, BER can add an incorrect base at the apurinic site, resulting in either a transition or transversion mutation.[2]

Depurination

Depurination is a chemical reaction of purine deoxyribonucleosides, deoxyadenosine and deoxyguanosine, and ribonucleosides, adenosine or guanosine, in which the β-N-glycosidic bond is hydrolytically cleaved releasing a nucleic base, adenine or guanine, respectively. The second product of depurination of deoxyribonucleosides and ribonucleosides is sugar, 2’-deoxyribose and ribose, respectively. More complex compounds containing nucleoside residues, nucleotides and nucleic acids, also suffer from depurination. Deoxyribonucleosides and their derivatives are substantially more prone to depurination than their corresponding ribonucleoside counterparts. Loss of pyrimidine bases (Cytosine and Thymine) occurs by a similar mechanism, but at a substantially lower rate.

Depurination is known to play a major role in cancer initiation.[3]

Hydrolytic depurination is one of the principal forms of damage to ancient DNA in fossil or subfossil material, since the base remains unrepaired. This results in both loss of information (the base sequence), and difficulties in recovery and in vitro replication of the damaged molecule by the polymerase chain reaction.

Depurination is not uncommon because purine is a good leaving group via the 9N-nitrogen (see the structure of a purine). Furthermore, the anomeric carbon is especially reactive towards nucleophilic substitution (effectively making the carbon-oxygen bond shorter, stronger and more polar, while making the carbon-purine bond longer and weaker). This makes the bond especially susceptible to hydrolysis.

In chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides, depurination is one of the major factors limiting the length of synthetic oligonucleotides.[4]


where is mount aconcagua located on a map

Aconcagua (Spanish pronunciation: [akoŋˈkaɣwa]), with a summit elevation of 6,960.8 metres (22,837 ft), is the highest mountain in both the Southern and Western Hemispheres.[1] It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Mendoza Province, Argentina, and lies 112 kilometres (70 mi) northwest of its capital, the city of Mendoza, about five kilometres from San Juan Province and 15 kilometres from the international border with Chile. The mountain itself lies entirely within Argentina, immediately east of Argentina's border with Chile.[3] Its nearest higher neighbor is Tirich Mir in the Hindu Kush, 16,520 kilometres (10,270 mi) away. It is one of the Seven Summits.

Aconcagua

Aconcagua is bounded by the Valle de las Vacas to the north and east and the Valle de los Horcones Inferior to the west and south. The mountain and its surroundings are part of the Aconcagua Provincial Park. The mountain has a number of glaciers. The largest glacier is the Ventisquero Horcones Inferior at about 10 kilometres long, which descends from the south face to about 3600 metres in altitude near the Confluencia camp.[4]
Two other large glacier systems are the Ventisquero de las Vacas Sur and Glaciar Este/Ventisquero Relinchos system at about 5 kilometres long.  The most well-known is the north-eastern or Polish Glacier, as it is a common route of ascent.

The origin of the name is contested; it is either from the Mapudungun Aconca-Hue, which refers to the Aconcagua River and means "comes from the other side",[3] the Quechua Ackon Cahuak, meaning "'Sentinel of Stone",[5] the Quechua Anco Cahuac, meaning "White Sentinel",[2] or the Aymara Janq'u Q'awa, meaning "White Ravine".[6]

The mountain was created by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate. Aconcagua used to be an active stratovolcano (from the Late Cretaceous or Early Paleocene through the Miocene) and consisted of several volcanic complexes on the edge of a basin with a shallow sea. However, sometime in the Miocene, about 8 to 10 million years ago, the subduction angle started to decrease resulting in a stop of the melting and more horizontal stresses between the oceanic plate and the continent, causing the thrust faults that lifted Aconcagua up off its volcanic root. The rocks found on Aconcagua's flanks are all volcanic and consist of lavas, breccias and pyroclastics. The shallow marine basin had already formed earlier (Triassic), even before Aconcagua arose as a volcano. However, volcanism has been present in this region for as long as this basin was around and volcanic deposits interfinger with marine deposits throughout the sequence. The colorful greenish, blueish and grey deposits that can be seen in the Horcones Valley and south of Puente Del Inca, are carbonates, limestones, turbidites and evaporates that filled this basin. The red colored rocks are intrusions, cinder deposits and conglomerates of volcanic origin.[7]

In mountaineering terms, Aconcagua is technically an easy mountain if approached from the north, via the normal route. Aconcagua is arguably the highest non-technical mountain in the world, since the northern route does not absolutely require ropes, axes, and pins.  Although the effects of altitude are severe (atmospheric pressure is 40% of sea-level at the summit), the use of supplemental oxygen is not common. Altitude sickness will affect most climbers to some extent, depending on the degree of acclimatization.[8] Even if the normal climb is technically easy, multiple casualties occur every year on this mountain (in January 2009 alone five climbers died).[citation needed] This is due to the large numbers of climbers who make the attempt and because many climbers underestimate the objective risks of the elevation and of cold weather, which is the real challenge on this mountain. Given the weather conditions close to the summit, cold weather injuries are very common.

The Polish Glacier Traverse route, also known as the "Falso de los Polacos" route, crosses through the Vacas valley, ascends to the base of the Polish Glacier, then traverses across to the normal route for the final ascent to the summit. The third most popular route is by the Polish Glacier itself.

Provincial Park rangers do not maintain records of successful summits but estimates suggest a summit rate of 30-40%[citation needed]. About 75% of climbers are foreigners and 25% are Argentinean. Among foreigners, the United States leads in number of climbers, followed by Germany and the UK. About 54% of climbers ascend the Normal Route, 43% up the Polish Glacier Route, and the remaining 3% on other routes.[9]

The routes to the peak from the south and south-west ridges are more demanding and the south face climb is considered quite difficult.

The camp sites on the normal route are listed below (altitudes are approximate).

Summit attempts are usually made from a high camp at either Berlín or Colera, or from the lower camp at Nido de Cóndores.

The first attempt to reach the summit of Aconcagua by a European was made in 1883 by a party led by the German geologist and explorer Paul Güssfeldt. Bribing porters with the story of treasure on the mountain, he approached the mountain via the Rio Volcan, making two attempts on the peak by the north-west ridge and reaching an altitude of 6,500 metres (21,300 ft). The route that he prospected is now the normal route up the mountain.

The first recorded[2] ascent was in 1897 by a European expedition led by the British mountaineer Edward FitzGerald. FitzGerald failed to reach the summit himself over eight attempts between December 1896 and February 1897, but the (Swiss) guide of the expedition, Matthias Zurbriggen reached the summit on January 14. On the final attempt a month later, two other expedition members, Stuart Vines and Nicola Lanti, reached the summit on February 13.[12]

The east side of Aconcagua was first scaled by a Polish expedition, with Konstanty Narkiewicz-Jodko, Stefan Daszyński, Wiktor Ostrowski and Stefan Osiecki summiting on March 9, 1934, over what is now known as the Polish Glacier. A route over the Southwest Ridge was pioneered over seven days in January 1953 by the Swiss-Argentine team of Frederico and Dorly Marmillod, Francisco Ibanez and Fernando Grajales. The famously difficult South Face was conquered by a French team led by René Ferlet (fr). Pierre Lesueur, Adrien Dagory, Robert Paragot, Edmond Denis, Lucien Berardini and Guy Poulet reached the summit after a month of effort on 25 February 1954.[13][14]

The youngest person to reach the summit of Aconcagua was Tyler Armstrong of California.  He was nine years old when he reached the summit on December 24, 2013.[15] The oldest person to climb it was Scott Lewis, who reached the summit on November 26, 2007, when he was 87 years old.[16]

In the base camp Plaza de Mulas (at 4300 meters above sea level) there is the highest contemporary art gallery tent called "Nautilus" of the Argentine painter Miguel Doura.[17]

In 2014 Kilian Jornet set a record for climbing and descending Aconcagua from Horcones in 12 hours and 49 minutes.[18] The record was broken less than two months later by Ecuadorian-Swiss Karl Egloff, in a time of 11 hours 52 minutes, nearly an hour faster than Kilian Jornet.[19]

The mountain has a cameo in a 1942 Disney cartoon called Pedro, which features a small, anthropomorphic airplane named Pedro who has a near-disastrous encounter with Aconcagua while carrying mail over the Andes.

Aconcagua is the highest peak in the Americas and is also considered an ‘easy’ high altitude peak, being nearly seven thousand metres.[20] And through that, Aconcagua is believed to have the highest death rate of any mountain in South America – around three a year – which has earned it the nickname “Mountain of Death”. More than a hundred people have died on Aconcagua since records began.[21]

Due to the improper disposal of human waste in the mountain environment there are significant health hazards[20] that pose a threat to both animals and human beings.[22] Only boiled or chemically treated water is accepted for drinking. Additionally, Ecofriendly toilets are available only to members of an organised expedition, meaning climbers have to ‘be contracted to a toilet service’ at the base camp and similar camps along the route. Currently, from two base camps (Plaza de Mulas and Plaza Argentina), over 120 barrels of waste (approx. 22,500 kg) are flown out by helicopter each season.[23] In addition, individual mountaineers must make a payment before using these toilets. Some large organisers will give a price up to US$100, some smaller US$5/day or US$10 for the entire stay. Thus, many independent mountaineers defecate on the mountainside.[20]


do you have to pay tax on bet winnings australia

Gamblers' winnings in Australia are not taxed. There are 3 main reasons for that:

Gambling in Australia

Gambling is an activity undertaken by many Australians. Over 80% of Australian adults engage in gambling of some kind, which is the highest rate of gambling in the world.[1] This number includes some 4% of the adult population who play the pokies once a week, accounting for some 62% of localsâ€™ annual gambling spend.[2]

Gambling is a significant public health issue, with around 80,000 to 160,000 (or 0.5 - 1.0%) of Australian adults experiencing significant problems from gambling and a further 250,000 to 350,000 (or 1.4 - 2.1% of adults) experiencing moderate risks that may make them vulnerable to problem gambling.[3] The social cost of problem gambling to the community is estimated to be at least $4.7 billion each year.

In 2007-08 the states collected about $3 billion from poker machines, and $4.9 billion from all forms of gambling, accounting for 9.1% of their total revenue.[4] The NSW government receives about $1 billion from poker machines, and $1.6 billion from all forms of gambling. [4]

Total Australian gambling revenue in 2008-09 was just over $19 billion and the share of household consumption was 3.1%[3]

New South Wales has a long history of gambling; Australiaâ€™s first official horse racing meeting occurred in 1810 at Hyde Park in Sydney; the first official Australian lottery occurred in 1881 at the Sydney Cup; and registered clubs operated the first legal poker machines in Australia from 1956.[5]

Approximately 95,800 of "pokies" are in NSW, a state total beaten only by Nevada, which operated 181,109 gambling machines in 2014.[6]

Fairfield had the highest poker machine revenue in the state for 2013, generating $298 million in clubs and $93 million in pubs, from the start of the year to August.[7] This figure is $123 million greater than the combined total of profits generated from poker machines in the City of Sydney.[7]

From January to March 2013 poker machines in the Hunter region had a turn over of $4.5 billion, showing an increase of $500 million since 2010.[8] Daily figures show a spend of $12.5 million, working out to be $8682 per minute.[8] The Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing found that Newcastle was the Hunter Regions most profitable location with the 3206 poker machines averaging $44,963 each.[8] The top five most profitable clubs for gaming revenue in the Hunter region in 2010 were:[9]

The top five most profitable hotels for gaming revenue in the Hunter region in 2010 were.[9]

Gosford has approximately 1928 pokies, spread across 37 venues. That is the equivalent of one poker machine for every 71 adults. In 2010-11, venues in Gosford made approximately $95,865,000 in profit from pokies. That equates to $700 for each adult member of Gosford's population.[10]

Wyong has approximately 2608 pokies, spread across 35 venues. That is the equivalent of one poker machine for every 47 adults. In 2010-11, venues in Wyong made approximately $123,159,000 in profit from pokies. That equates to $1,000 for each adult member of Wyong's population.[10]

The Central Coast has a higher prevalence of problem gambling than the NSW average. Young men between the ages of 18-24 living on the Central Coast are the biggest players of poker machines in NSW and are the highest risk group for problem gambling.[11]

In 2008 Central Coast Gambling Help carried out a survey of 200 young people aged from 13-24 and found:

Since the introduction of new gambling services, including online gambling, the Commonwealth has taken a more active role in the regulation of gambling, but the Australian gambling industry is also regulated by State and Territory authorities:[13]

Traditionally gambling has been legislated at a state and territory level rather than by the Commonwealth:[14]

The Interactive Gambling Act (2001) was passed by the Australian Commonwealth Parliament on 28 June 2001.[15] It received assent on 11 July 2001[16]

The Act is targeted at online gambling operators such as Sportsbet, making it an offense for them to offer ‘real-money’ online interactive gambling to residents of Australia. It also makes it illegal for online gambling operators to advertise ‘real-money’ interactive gambling services (such as online poker and casino) to Australian citizens.[15] That being said, the amount spent on online gaming by Australians reached some $800 million by 2010, according to the official 2010 Productivity Report of the Australian Government.[2]

Accessing and using the interactive gambling services is not an offence. It is also allowed to companies based in Australia to offer their gambling services to gamblers located outside Australia with the exception of those countries that were called 'designated countries'.[17]

Taxation of gambling operators in Australia differs from state to state and different gambling services are taxed in a different way. There are taxes on the turnover, on player loss and net profit. As gambling operators need to obtain a license to offer their services, certain fees must also be paid at this stage of gambling business development.[19]


where does the new river start and finish

This ancient river begins in the mountains of North Carolina near the Tennessee state line, flows generally northeastward across the Blue Ridge Mountains, Great Appalachian Valley, Ridge and Valley Province, and the Allegheny Front in western North Carolina and Virginia, before turning and following a more northwestward course into West Virginia, where it then cuts through the Appalachian Plateau (in the New River Gorge) to meet the Gauley River and become the Kanawha River in south-central West Virginia.[10] The Kanawha then flows into the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Much of the river's course is lined with steep cliffs and rock outcrops, particularly in its gorge in West Virginia.[10][11]

New River (Kanawha River tributary)

The New River, part of the Ohio River watershed, is about 360 miles (580Â km) long.[3] The river flows through the U.S. states of North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia before joining with the Gauley River to form the Kanawha River at the town of Gauley Bridge, West Virginia.

Much of the river's course through West Virginia is designated as the New River Gorge National River, and the New River is one of the nation's American Heritage Rivers. In 1975, North Carolina designated a 26.5-mile (42.6Â km) segment of the river as "New River State Scenic River", by including it in the state's Natural and Scenic Rivers System.[7][8] The segment was added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System the following year.

The origins of the name are unclear. Possibilities include being a new river that was not on the Fry-Jefferson map of Virginia, an Indian name meaning "new waters", or the surname of an early settler.[9] Despite its name, the New River is one of the five oldest rivers in the world geologically.[10]

This low-level crossing of the Appalachians, many millions of years old, has long been a biogeographical corridor allowing numerous species of plants and animals to spread between the lowlands of the American East Coast and those of the Midwest; other unusual kinds of plants occur on the gorge's cliffs or rim-top ledges.[11] Portions of this corridor are now also used by various railroads and highways, and some segments of the river have been dammed for hydroelectric power production.

The New River Gorge is not only quite scenic, but also offers numerous opportunities for white-water recreation such as rafting and kayaking. Many open ledges along the rim of the gorge offer popular views, with favorites including Hawks Nest State Park and various overlooks on lands of the New River Gorge National River.

Few highways cross the gorge, with the most dramatic bridge by far being the New River Gorge Bridge on U.S. 19, a steel arch bridge spanning 1,700 feet (518 m), with the roadway 876 feet (267 m) above the average level of the river. This structure is the third-longest single-arch bridge in the world, and is also the world's twelfth-highest vehicular[12] bridge, and the fourth highest in the Americas.

The New River Gorge and the U.S. 19 bridge crossing it are shown on the West Virginia State Quarter, minted in 2005.

The New River is formed by the confluence of the South Fork New River and the North Fork New River on the Ashe County-Alleghany County line in North Carolina. It then flows through Alleghany County into southwestern Virginia, passing near Galax, Virginia and through a gorge in the Iron Mountains. Continuing north, the river enters Pulaski County, Virginia, where it is impounded by Claytor Dam, creating Claytor Lake. North of the dam the New River accepts the Little River and passes the city of Radford, Virginia before passing through Walker Mountain via a narrow water gap. After flowing north through Giles County, Virginia and the town of Narrows, the river crosses into West Virginia.

The New River is impounded by Bluestone Dam, creating Bluestone Lake in Summers County, West Virginia. The Bluestone River tributary joins the New River in Bluestone Lake. Just below the dam the Greenbrier River joins the New River, which continues its northward course into the New River Gorge. Near the end of the gorge the river flows by the town of Fayetteville, West Virginia. A few miles northwest of Fayetteville, much of the New River's flow is diverted through the 3-mile (4.8Â km) Hawks Nest Tunnel for use in power generation. The water re-enters the river just upstream of Gauley Bridge, where the New merges with the Gauley River to form the Kanawha River. The Kanawha is a tributary of the Ohio River, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi River.

Ironically, the New River is considered by some geologists to be one of the oldest rivers in the world.[13] and certainly one of the oldest rivers in North America.[14] The New River flows in a generally south-to-north course, at times cutting across the southwest-to-northeast-trending ridges and geological texture of the Appalachian Mountains, and flows directly across the Appalachian Plateau, contrasting with the west-to-east flow of most other major rivers to the east and northeast in Virginia and North Carolina, and on the west side of the Appalachians on the Plateau.

It may have been in its present course for at least 65 million years. In the geologic past, the New River was a much longer stream. Geologists have named it the Teays.[14][15] The last advance of Pleistocene continental glacial ice buried most of this river. At that time, the waters of the New were diverted into rivers (the present-day Ohio & Kanawha Rivers) created by the glaciers.

On its journey through the New River Gorge, the New River passes through an extensive geological formation. Emergent rocks, rock outcrops, trails and coal mines are found to provide diverse habitat producing rich and abundant flora and fauna species. In the gorge, there is typically a 1000 feet difference in elevation between the river bottom and the adjacent plateau. The New River dissects all physiographic provinces of the Appalachian Mountains, and therefore is believed to be a corridor facilitating the movement of southern plant and animal species into West Virginia. In addition to serving as a refuge for some species, New River Gorge provides a geographical barrier that limits the east-west distribution of other species.[15]

Because the New River is so old, its habitats and wildlife have been able to achieve a form of stability. Millions of years of available passage have allowed many species of plants and animals to move in and persist in the area. Since the New River cuts from east to west across the Appalachians, we find species that are typically Atlantic coastal plain and piedmont, such as melic grass, living with northern mountain species. Because time has favored the new River Gorge, certain unique species have been able to carve their own niches here. Several species of fish have evolved that are endemic (found nowhere else) to this river.[16]

New River Gorge lies at the core of the largest remaining block of relatively unfragmented, mid-latitude forest in the world. The gorge section of New River supports the most diverse plant assemblage of any river gorge in the central and southern Appalachians. This is due, in part, to the moisture gradient extremes that exist between the rim and river. This portion of southern West Virginia falls within the Mixed Mesophytic Forest Region. Recognized forest types include oak-hickory, mixed oak, oak-maple, oak-yellow pine, hemlock-hardwoods, northern hardwoods, cove hardwoods, and bottomland and floodplain hardwoods.[15]

Also located in the gorge is the rare Appalachian Flatrock plant community which includes sedges, cedars and pines. This plant assemblage occurs on flat sandstone ledges along the New River and is dependent on the scouring caused by occasional flooding for its long-term integrity.[15]

A wide variety of animals live in and around the New River, the Gorge, and the surrounding forests. The New River has long served as a migration corridor for both plants and animals. For this reason, animals more commonly found much farther south may reach the northern extent of their range in the New River Gorge area. Likewise, animals more commonly associated with the northern forests may reach the southern extent of their range in this area. Other animals are found only in the New River area. These species, called endemics, were isolated from similar populations by the steep, rugged terrain of New River Gorge and/or the tumultuous rapids and waterfalls of New River. Thus isolated, these animals evolved to be adapted to the unique circumstances of New River Gorge.[15]

Approximately 65 species of mammals are known to occur in the New River Gorge area, such as beaver, mink, muskrat, river otter. Continuous forest, abandoned mine portals, rivers and streams provide habitat for a diverse variety of amphibians like hellbenders (large aquatic salamanders). There are nearly 40 species of reptiles like the eastern fence lizard, five-lined skinks, copperhead snake, black rat snake, river cooter, stinkpot turtles (common musk turtle) and snapping turtles. And many Benthic Macroinvertebrates including worm, crustaceans and immature forms of aquatic insects such as dragon fly, stonefly and mayfly nymphs.[15]

The New River and the gorge area provides critical habitat for birds such as bald eagles, osprey, great blue herons, kingfishers, numerous ducks and migrating waterfowl like loons, cormorants, hooded mergansers and other migratory birds including the Cerulean warbler, a species in decline elsewhere in its range.[15]

The New River basin has seven endemic species of fish, which are the: Appalachia darter, bigmouth chub, Bluestone sculpin, candy darter, Kanawha darter, Kanawha minnow, and New River shiner.

The fur trading Batts-Fallam expedition of 1671, sent by Colonel Abraham Wood, was the first recorded exploration of the river.[17][18] Variant names of the New River include "Wood's River", after Abraham Wood. Mary Draper Ingles traversed the gorge during her 1755 escape from captivity among the Shawnees.[19] Hiking or driving through New River Gorge today will provide glimpses of old stone walls, foundations of homes and buildings, coal mine entrances, and coke ovens decaying alongside the railroad tracks.[20]

The New River and its Gorge and Valley have been turned into protected parks and recreation areas along much of the river. Congress has designated the New River Gorge the "New River Gorge National River". The choice of national river designation came about through a long series of discussions among interested parties. A grassroots coalition formed and pleaded the case for protection of the area in Congress. The initial goal, however, was not protective designation of the gorge in West Virginia, but stopping an engineering project on the Virginia-North Carolina border. Plans had been proposed in the early 1960s to dam the New River in Virginia, backing up water into North Carolina for pumped storage, the production of hydroelectric power, and the regular flushing of pollution downstream. Proponents called it the Blue Ridge Pumped Storage Project. Many citizens in West Virginia felt that such a dam would negatively affect the gorge. Water flow and quality were major concerns. These West Virginia opponents to the dam joined those in Virginia and North Carolina and helped block the dam before shifting attention toward protection of the New River in West Virginia. The coalition ultimately chose a designation for the New River Gorge that would have a chance of success in Congress. That designation passed Congress in 1978.[21]

The New River is spanned by the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville, West Virginia, which is open for BASE jumping on Bridge Day. It is also a very popular river for white water rafting (class II-IV in season, IV-V during the spring run-off), and several commercial outfitters offer a variety of guided trips. Those willing to brave the colder water of spring will be rewarded with a more challenging big-water experience. Near the bridge, there are over 1400 single pitch sport climbs[22] and trails suitable for hiking and mountain biking.

Listed from upstream to downstream:

The quality of the surface water resources of the New River has been studied in recent years by both the State of West Virginia and New River Gorge Park Resource Management staff. Data from these studies suggest the presence of metals, organic contaminants and influx of raw sewage are common in many tributaries of the New River. Metals contamination, resulting from mining activities and or urban surface flows, are present in most tributaries. Other sources of pollutants within park boundaries include unlined landfills, illegal dumps, pesticide sprayed directly into the New River, agricultural runoff, road salt runoff, direct discharge of residential sewage, inadequate municipal sewage treatment facilities, recreation waste streams, and industrial discharges. Pollution of rural streams by fecal coliform bacteria is a widespread issue. Since fecal coliform bacteria live in the gut of warm-blooded animals, fecal contamination of rural streams can come not only from humans, but also from livestock, pets, and wildlife (including birds). Several research efforts have been made to understand the role of these various potential sources of bacteria. One of these studies was conducted in New River Gorge by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service. The results indicate that human caused wastewater pollution is present in each of the four New River Gorge tributaries sampled. The report also found other sources of contamination in some streams.[15]

Most of the original deciduous forest stands and understory species have been impacted by past and current activities associated with timbering, mining, agriculture, transportation, utilities, and the exclusion of fire. Internal development projects, increasing recreational activities, and expanding commercial and residential influences on the boundary continue to put pressure on a highly fragmented base resource. Power lines and rights-of-way present additional problems. There is currently only limited information on all such areas throughout the park. Right-of-ways are routinely maintained with herbicides application or mechanically treated. There are currently no Special Use Permits in place to regulate this activity. Herbicides are managed through the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. The park lies directly in the path of the leading edge of gypsy moth infestation. Baseline data on the condition of resources, which would be the indicators of the effects of defoliation, does not exist. Critical documents, such as the Environmental Assessment for gypsy moth management, require detailed information and hard scientific data in order to justify management actions.[15]

Many areas within New River Gorge have been impacted by either strip or deep mining for coal, as well as by oil and gas operations. The park has completed an Abandoned Mine Lands Inventory (AML Inventory) that identifies 115 sites that are abandoned. Many of these sites were abandoned prior to the 1977 Surface Mining Reclamation Act (SMCRA), and are completely or partially unreclaimed. Since 1987, the National Park Service and the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) have worked together to mitigate the most severe safety hazards identified on this inventory.[15]

Air pollution sources resulting from activities within the park includes windblown soil and dust from construction activities, smoke from residential wood burning, automobile emissions, and forest fires. A significant issue for the park is solid waste management. Hundreds of illegal dumps and roadside trash create both aesthetic and health and safety problems. Hazardous waste is also an issue. The area has active rail lines and abandoned mine operations. There is great potential for hazardous material spills to occur within the gorge. Also, some potential development sites within the New River Gorge have been surveyed during preliminary development concept planning. Asbestos has been found in several historic structures within the park, and this has lengthened the time and costs involved in renovation of these buildings.[15]

Over time, the New River Gorge has provided a refuge for plants and animals as habitats have shifted with changing weather patterns. As global climate change progresses, the New River Gorge will provide critical habitat for species displaced from warmer climates.[15]

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the New River has also been known as:


what is google pay and how does it work

Google Pay Send (formerly Google Wallet) is a peer-to-peer payments service developed by Google that allows people to send and receive money from a mobile device or desktop computer at no cost to either sender or receiver. When set up, a Google Pay account must be linked to an existing debit card or bank account in the United States or United Kingdom.[4] Google Pay Send can be used through the Google Pay Send app and Gmail. The app is available for Android devices running Android 4.0 and above, and for iOS devices running iOS 7.0 and above.[5]

Google Pay Send

Since 2018, Android Pay and Google Wallet has unified into a single pay system called Google Pay.[6] Google Pay Send, a feature included inside Google Pay, has replaced the Google Wallet service.[7]

Google Pay is structured to allow its patrons to send money to each other. To send money, a Google Pay user enters the email address or phone number of the recipient. The recipient must then link that phone number or email address to a bank account in order to access those funds. If the recipient also has a Google Pay account, the funds will post to that account directly.

Users can link up to two bank accounts when the Wallet account is created.[8] Received money goes to the Google Pay Balance and stays there until the user decides to cash out to a linked account.

The Google Pay app is available for free from either Google Play or the App Store. After downloading the app, the user creates a four-digit personal identification number (PIN) for managing everything within their Google Pay account. The PIN verifies access to the Wallet app on the userâ€™s mobile device.[9]

Before it was discontinued on June 30, 2016, the Google Wallet Card was recognized by the Cirrus network operated by MasterCard (rather than the Plus network operated by Visa).[10]

In September 2017, Google launched its first major payments service outside the United States, Tez,[11][12] in India.

Google Pay Send is available only in the US and the UK.[13]

Google demonstrated the original version of the service at a press conference on May 26, 2011.[14] The first app was released in the US only on September 19, 2011.[15]

On May 15, 2013, Google announced the integration of Google Wallet and Gmail, allowing users to send money through Gmail attachments.[16] While Google Wallet is available only in the United States, the Gmail integration is currently available in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.[17]

The physical Google Wallet Card was an optional addition to the app which allowed users to make purchases at point-of-sale (in stores or online) drawing from funds in their Google Wallet account, attached debit card account, or bank account. The card could also be used to withdraw cash at ATMs with no Google-associated fee, and could be used like a debit card for virtually any purpose, including such things as renting a car. The Wallet Card was discontinued on June 30, 2016, and replaced with Android Pay.[18][19]

The original version of Google Wallet allowed users to make point-of-sale purchases with their mobile devices using near-field communication (NFC) technology.  As of September 2015, however, Google dropped NFC from Google Wallet, offering the technology only through Android Pay, which is a separate application available only to Android users.  As a result, any gift cards, loyalty programs, and promotional offers stored in an older version of Google Wallet could no longer be used. For Android users, those outstanding offers and gift cards were automatically transferred to Android Pay. For iOS users, instructions were provided to export the offers for alternative use.[20][21] There were no reported security problems with the NFC technology.[22]

On February 23, 2015, Google announced that it would acquire the intellectual property of the carrier-backed competitor Softcard and integrate it into Google Wallet, and that American mobile network operators AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile US, and Verizon Wireless would bundle the Google Wallet app on their compatible devices. The effective merger resulted in the new service known as Android Pay, a competitor to Apple Pay and similar NFC mobile payment service.[23][24]

Separate from Android Pay, Google Wallet now allows peer-to-peer transactions for cases such as when people want to split the cost of shared expenses, reimburse each other, keep track of joint spending, or give money as a gift or loan.

While Android Pay is only available to Android users, Google Wallet is available on iOS and via Gmail as well. For those using Android, the two products together (Android Pay and Google Wallet) offer a comprehensive payments management system, a “tool for staying in charge of the bank account.”[20] Users can link their bank accounts or debit cards to Android Pay and to their Google Wallet app. With this approach, users can manage their money from one source, with the ability to:

Google does not charge users for access to Google Wallet. Sending and receiving money is free, as is adding money to a Wallet Card through a linked bank account. There are limits on how much money users can add to their Wallet Balance, withdraw from the linked account or card, or send and receive to other individuals. These limits are set per transaction and within certain time periods. Previously, a 2.9% fee applied to funds added via debit card, although Google dropped that ability as of May 2, 2016.[25]

Funds sent from a Wallet balance, debit card, or linked bank account are generally available to the recipient immediately, and if the recipient has his or her own Wallet account and card, he or she can make an immediate withdrawal of those funds from an ATM.  If the funds are drawn on the sender's Wallet balance, the balance will also reflect this change immediately.  Any portion of funds drawn via a linked bank account will take two or three days to actually post to that account, though these funds will show as "pending" withdrawals on that account within 24 hours.[25]

While Google does not have revenue coming in from the Wallet ecosystem (the web service, app, and the Wallet Card), the product is part of a larger suite of e-commerce products, including Android Pay, which integrates loyalty programs and promotions from other businesses.

Google Wallet protects payment credentials by storing user data on secure servers and encrypting all payment information with industry-standard SSL (secure socket layer) technology. Full credit and debit card information is never shown in the app.[26] All Google Wallet users are also required to have a PIN to protect access to their Wallet account. The payments PIN is used for:

Google also recommends having a general passcode on mobile devices for additional security.

In some cases, users have to verify their identity in order to make certain transactions. If prompted to do so, the user will visit the Wallet website and follow steps to ensure their accurate identity. This is in adherence with US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation financial regulations that require payment providers to ensure customer identity.[9]

If a Google Wallet Card is lost or stolen, users can immediately cancel access to it by signing into myaccount.google.com. Google also offers the additional flexibility of temporarily locking the card if a user suspects that the card has simply been misplaced. In the event of unauthorized transactions, Google Wallet Fraud Protection covers 100% of verified unauthorized transactions made in the US reported within 120 days of the transaction. Only US residents who have Wallet accounts associated with a US address are eligible for coverage under this policy.[27]

Regarding an earlier version of Google Wallet (in 2012), an analysis by security company Nowsecure revealed that some card information stored by Google Wallet was accessible outside of the application. It is suggested that hackers could create a way to intercept data by eavesdropping on Google Analytics, which monitors apps used on the Android OS. A previous analysis by the same firm revealed a number of other exploits that have since been fixed.[28]

Privacy concerns include the storing of data regarding payment information, transaction details, payment attempts and other information stored by Google indefinitely. The privacy policy for Google Wallet, called the Google Payments Privacy Notice, indicates that much of the data is stored but may not be shared outside Google except under certain circumstances.[29] Information that may be collected upon signing up includes credit or debit card number and expiration date, address, phone number, date of birth, social security number, or taxpayer ID number. Information that may be collected about a transaction made through Google Wallet includes date, time, and amount of transaction, merchantâ€™s location and description, a description of goods or services purchased, any photo the user associates with the transaction, the names and email addresses of sender and recipient, the type of payment method used, and a description of the reason for the transaction if included.[30]

The storage of such personal information about users' transactions is of significant financial value to a company that earns much of its revenue from data, but may be controversial to users aware of the policies.[31] Information collected is shared with Googleâ€™s affiliates, meaning other companies owned and controlled by Google Inc., which can be used for their everyday business purposes. They provide the option to opt out of certain sharing capacities with these affiliates. Google states that it will only share personal information with other companies or individuals outside of Google in the following circumstances:[30]

Shortly after the launch of Google Wallet's first iteration in 2011, PayPal filed a lawsuit against Google and two former employees of PayPal – Osama Bedier and Stephanie Tilenius.  The complaint alleges "misappropriation of trade secrets" and "breach of fiduciary duty". The lawsuit reveals that Google was negotiating with PayPal for two years to power payments on mobile devices. But just as the deal was about to be signed, Google backed off and instead hired the PayPal executive negotiating the deal, Bedier. The lawsuit notes that Bedier knew all of PayPal's future plans for mobile payments, as well as an internal detailed analysis of Google’s weaknesses in the area. Not only that, it accuses him of storing "confidential information in locations such as his non-PayPal computers, non-PayPal e-mail account, and an account on the remote computing service called 'Dropbox.'"[32]

Google ran a competitor to PayPal, Google Checkout, from 2006 to 2013. In 2011, Google Wallet replaced Checkout's services, and development on Checkout was discontinued in 2013.[33]


who are the groundlings who attended the globe

A groundling was a person who visited the Globe Theatre in the early 17th century. They were too poor to pay to be able to sit on one of the three levels of the theatre. If they paid one penny, they could stand in "the pit", also called "the yard", just below the stage to watch the play. Standing in the pit was uncomfortable, and people were usually packed in tightly. The groundlings were commoners who were also referred to as stinkards or penny-stinkers. The name 'groundlings' came about after Hamlet referenced them as such when the play was first performed around 1600. At the time, the word had entered the English language to mean a small type of fish with a gaping mouth - from the vantage point of the actor playing Hamlet, set on a stage raised around 5 feet from the ground, the sea of upturned faces may have looked like wide-mouthed fish.[1] They were known to misbehave and are commonly believed to have thrown food such as fruit and nuts at characters they did not like, although there is no evidence of this.[citation needed] They would watch the plays from the cramped pits with sometimes over 500 people standing there.

Groundling

In 1599, Thomas Platter mentioned the cost of admission at contemporary London theatres in his diary:

"There are separate galleries and there one stands more comfortably and moreover can sit, but one pays more for it. Thus anyone who remains on the level standing pays only one English penny: but if he wants to sit, he is let in at a farther door, and there he gives another penny. If he desires to sit on a cushion in the most comfortable place of all, where he not only sees everything well, but can also be seen then he gives yet another English penny at another door. And in the pauses of the comedy food and drink are carried round amongst the people and one can thus refresh himself at his own cost."


who voiced gaston in beauty and the beast 1991

Gaston is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 30th animated feature film Beauty and the Beast (1991). Voiced by American actor and singer Richard White, Gaston is an arrogant man whose unrequited feelings for the intellectual Belle drive him to murder his adversary, the Beast, once he realizes she cares for him instead. Gaston serves as a foil personality to the Beast, who was once as vain as Gaston prior to his transformation.

Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

An original character who is not present in the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont upon which the film is based, Gaston was inspired by Avenant, a character filmmaker Jean Cocteau created specifically for his 1946 film adaptation of the story. Created by screenwriter Linda Woolverton, who based the character on some of the ex-boyfriends she dated in her past, Gaston was developed specifically for Disney's adaptation of Beauty and the Beast because the studio felt that the film could benefit from a strong villain, who is lacking in the original fairy tale. As the character evolved from a nonthreatening aristocrat into an arrogant man relentlessly seeking Belle's hand in marriage, Gaston ultimately replaced a female relative of Belle's who the filmmakers had originally created to serve as the film's villain.

Both Disney and supervising animator Andreas Deja initially struggled with the concept of animating a handsome villain, which had never been attempted by the studio before. Deja ultimately based Gaston's appearance on those of handsome soap opera actors in order to create a grotesque version of the Prince Charming stock character, while some of White's own operatic mannerisms were incorporated into the character. Gaston both physically and emotionally embodies hypermasculinity. In direct contrast to his adversary the Beast, Gaston is depicted as handsome with an unattractive personality. Gaston has been generally positively received by film critics, although some of them dismissed the character as an inferior, less memorable villain than some of the studio's previous efforts. Considered to be one of Disney's most famous villains, Gaston is frequently ranked within the top-tens of Disney villain rankings released by several media publications.

Gaston is one of several elements unique to Disney's animated adaptation of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale, written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.[1] Under Richard and Jill Purdum's direction, Gaston originally resembled a "foppish aristocrat" as opposed to the strong, arrogant hunter he would ultimately be revised into;[2][3] The Huffington Post described early drafts of Gaston as "a weaselly, sort of wimpy character".[4] In fact, Gaston was originally intended to resemble more of an annoying than antagonistic character, while the main villainous role belonged to Belle's aunt Marguerite instead, who plotted to force Belle into marrying Gaston.[5] This version of Gaston was abandoned along with much of the original film treatment's elements, including Marguerite,[5] at the behest of Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg.[2]

After Katzenberg insisted that development on the film be completely overhauled, the studio ultimately decided to incorporate elements from filmmaker Jean Cocteau's 1946 film adaptation of the fairy tale into their own version of Beauty and the Beast.[6] Gaston, a character who does not exist in the original fairy tale,[7] was among several elements borrowed from the live-action version of the story,[6] based on a character Cocteau himself had created specifically for his film: Avenant,[6] portrayed by French actor Jean Marais who also plays the Beast in a duo role.[8][9] Similar to Cocteau's addition of Avenant, Gaston was created for the animated adaptation because Disney felt that the story could potentially benefit from a legitimate villain, which the original text lacks,[10] in addition to instilling Beauty and the Beast with a more prominent element of danger.[11] With Marguerite completely eliminated, Gaston replaced her and ultimately became a more formidable villain.[4][5] Musicals in Film: A Guide to the Genre author Thomas S. Hischak observed that Gaston himself had been developed as "a new kind of Disney villain" because he is introduced as a harmless, comic individual who gradually changes and evolves into a much more sinister character as the film progresses.[12] With its handsome villain and liberated heroine,[13] both of whom had been developed into fully realized, multi-dimensional characters,[14] finally established, Beauty and the Beast's storyline began to solidify.[13] However, some filmmakers continued to contest whether or not Gaston was actually a strong enough villain.[15]

In addition to eliminating Belle's sisters, screenwriter and creator Linda Woolverton introduced Gaston as a "blockheaded suitor" for the heroine,[16] basing the character on boyfriends she had dated in the past.[17] Several darker elements originally conceived for the film were ultimately written out of the final version, among them the idea of Gaston himself first visiting the insane asylum in which he plans on imprisoning Belle's father Maurice.[18] After Woolverton re-wrote Belle into a more liberated Disney heroine, the animators struggled to realize the screenwriter's vision and briefly depicted the character shoving Gaston into a closet after he proposes to her, an idea Woolverton strongly contested and fought to have written out of the film in favor of Belle rejecting her suitor's proposal in a less "bitchy" way.[19] During Gaston and the Beast's climatic battle, the character was originally intended to yell "Time to die!" to his opponent, but the writers ultimately replaced this line with "Belle is mine!" in order to return some of the scene's focus to the heroine of the story, over whom the two men are fighting.[18] Additionally, Gaston's death was originally intended to have resulted from him being eaten alive by wolves after surviving his fall from the Beast's castle, suffering only a broken leg;[20] this idea was ultimately discarded and eventually resurrected for Scar's death in The Lion King (1994).[18] The writers also briefly deliberated having Gaston kill himself once he realizes that Belle will never love him, but this idea was also quickly discarded.[21] Small skulls were drawn in Gaston's eyes as he descends from the Beast's castle to confirm that he does, in fact, die from his fall.[20]

Disney hosted an open casting call for the character, which several actors attended.[22] Among the actors who auditioned for the role was Rupert Everett,[7] who Disney decided not to cast because the filmmakers felt that he did not sound arrogant enough to voice such a proud character;[23] Everett would ultimately go on to voice Prince Charming, a similar character who appears in the Shrek film series, using the critique of not sounding arrogant enough to play Gaston to secure the role.[18] American actor and opera singer Richard White was selected to voice Gaston.[22] His initial audition was first recorded on audio cassette, a copy of which was then forwarded to Disney.[24] White's feature film debut,[22] the actor recalled that lyricist and executive producer Howard Ashman guided him through discovering how he would approach voicing Gaston without telling him exactly how to do it,[25] describing having the opportunity to voice a character like Gaston as "freeing... cathartic, in a way".[25] Although White did not feel like it was necessary for him to physically "become" his character in order to voice him, in retrospect, he admits that he acted much more like Gaston during recording sessions.[22] Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune compared White's "brash" vocal performance to that of actor Howard Keel.[26]

Andreas Deja served as Gaston's supervising animator. The first villainous character to whom Deja had been assigned by Disney, the animator immediately recognized that Gaston was unique in terms of Disney villains because he was not designed to frighten both the film's hero and audience, as previous Disney villains had been.[27] In the case of Gaston, Deja stated that viewers are unable to immediately decipher whether or not the character is actually an antagonist based on his physical appearance alone.[27] White agreed that Gaston is "full of himself, of course, but he's not recognizably villainous" until his opinions and expectations of Belle are further explored.[13] Deja initially struggled with the idea of designing a "supremely handsome" villain, a specific instruction administered to him by Katzenberg, but he eventually grew to understand the concept upon studying the film's underlying themes of not judging a book by its cover and "deceptive appearances".[28][14] Deja explained, "I understood him from a story point of view, but visually was hard", and at times argued with Katzenberg over whether or not the character was handsome enough.[29] Some Disney executives also shared Deja's initial hesitation over the character's appearance.[22] Deja ultimately overcame his deliberations about the character's appearance by modeling Gaston based on handsome soap opera actors, a creative decision Katzenberg approved of, explaining to the animator "the story weâ€™re trying to tell here is don't judge a book by its cover, so Gaston has to have the opposite qualities of the Beast... no one said it was going to be easy!'".[29]

White's casting ultimately influenced Gaston's design; the animators adjusted the character's appearance after hearing White's operatic singing voice for the first time, making Gaston similarly operatic in his movements, gestures and mannerisms.[7] According to White, Gaston's early designs initially looked "much more Brutish" before the animators ultimately decided to go in a "more beautiful" direction,[22] basing the character "on a grotesque version" of the Prince Charming character.[30] Describing the design process as highly collaborative between actor and animator, White would record his lines while the animators drew his character, alternating back and forth for several months.[24] This process allowed the animators to incorporate White's acting performance into Gaston.[22] Because White continued to perform on Broadway while working on Beauty and the Beast, Disney would accommodate his stage career by hiring a studio to work wherever he was located.[24] White recalled, "The experience is kind of like an actor's sandbox. You're in a room by yourself and are invited to be as creative as you can be. Anything you could imagine â€¦ they could draw!"[24] In his book Tradigital Animate CC: 12 Principles of Animation in Adobe Animate, author Stephen Brooks observed that Deja's challenge "was to let [audiences] know that Gaston is not as courageous as everyone says he is... but also keep him a real and credible threat" since he is a villain nonetheless.[31]

Both Gaston's personality and physical appearance evolved dramatically during production over the course of two and a half years.[13] Deja incorporated physical attributes of several of Disney's "classic" villains into Gaston's design, specifically the wide chest and square jawline of Captain Hook from Peter Pan (1953).[32] One particular challenge of animating a realistic-looking character like Gaston was the difficulty of having him express certain emotions that would not result in him looking too "cartoony", but at the same time trying to instill the character's performance with "life".[27] Gaston's expressions were exaggerated to the point of which they exceeded normalcy, essentially "overacting."[31] Deja recalled that he was constantly "walking a fine line by drawing and animating Gaston in subtle ways, yet he also had to be able to articulate emotions like arrogance, anger and evil."[27] To make Gaston a multi-dimensional character, Deja worked to incorporate various "expressions - the sarcasm, the broadness and the expressiveness - that the handsome leading man seldom gets to show".[33] According to Den of Geek's Simon Brew, Gaston is "animated really carefully, as it would have been easy to slip, and allow us to see the less jovial, more sinister side of his character earlier."[21] Deja maintains "a real discipline here in holding Gaston back, to let the audience hook into him, before allowing his gradual slide."[21] Deja also exaggerated Gaston's proportions to help audiences believe that the character could actually physically face the beast head-on.[31] In terms of research, Deja sought inspiration from male Los Angeles residents who constantly adore themselves, observing them as they fix their hair and admire themselves in mirrors, explaining, "It was fun to observe them and bring some of that attitude to Gaston."[33][14] Creating the character's chest hair, which he exposes during his performance of "Gaston", was a fiercely debated subject among animators.[34][29] Deja described early renditions of the character's chest hair as "peculiar" in design because of the way in which it was combed, "from the inside out."[29] The final version was decided via a contest, in which the animators vied to determine who could best design Gaston's chest hair.[34] Colors were used to indicate characters' emotions and affiliations in the film; while Gaston is dressed in red to represent evil, Belle and the Beast wear blue to depict goodness.[35] Following Gaston's success, Deja would develop a reputation of animating Disney villains, continuing with Jafar from Aladdin (1992) and Scar from The Lion King (1994).[36][37]

Gaston is depicted as a very narcissistic, self-centered and superficial individual, motivated by extreme jealousy.[38][21][39] Identified as the film's villain by the Orlando Sentinel's Joy Boyar,[40] Gaston is not ugly in appearance, nor does he realize that he himself is a villain until approximately midway through the film and during "The Mob Song",[7][41] a musical number he uses to convince his loyal followers to storm the Beast's castle and kill him,[42] although traces of his villainy are first hinted after he proposes to Belle.[43] Simon Brew of Den of Geek attributes Gaston's increasing villainy to "his raging jealousy and insecurity" that ultimately "transforms him into the storyâ€™s antagonist" after he finally succumbs to "circumstance[s] of his life".[21] The character's villainy peaks after he attempts to have Maurice incarcerated, although his transformation remains far from complete.[21] Further distinguishing Gaston from the villains in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Sleeping Beauty (1959), respectively, the character does not undergo a hideous physical transformation before he dies.[1] Mania.com's Rob Vaux observed that Gaston is "small-minded" in comparison to other Disney villains because his ideas tend to resemble those of school bullies, particularly one whose ego has been inflated "by the people around him", as opposed to "grand schemes";[32] the character has no known desire to conquer the world, lacking ambitions beyond simply marrying the woman he is attracted to.[21] The character is also void of both magical powers and political influence.[44] The Huffington Post's Lauren Duca agreed that Gaston is "more aggressively intolerable than horrifying."[45]

Beloved by nearly every character in the film, most of whom revere him as the town's most eligible bachelor,[46][29] Decent Films film critic Steven D. Greydanus agreed that Gaston initially resembles "merely the ultimate dumb jock".[43] Gaston's bodybuilder physique serves as a deliberate exaggeration upon "the stereotyped image of male beauty";[47][48] The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook author Jerry Griswold compared the character's appearance to actors Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger,[49] while the Chicago Tribune's Gene Siskel described him as a "Robert Goulet clone on steroids."[50] Tradigital Animate CC: 12 Principles of Animation in Adobe Animate author Stephen Brooks likened Gaston's exaggerated facial expressions to the way in which people "give away their lies as they try to overcompensate."[31] According to From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture author Elizabeth Bell, Gaston "functions... to contrast to the Beast", whose personality ultimately helps make the Beast a more appealing hero despite the latter character's own flaws.[48] While the Beast maintains "a heart of gold" despite being hideous in appearance, Gaston boasts a handsome exterior but remains "rotting on the inside";[51] the Beast risks becoming like Gaston on the inside if he fails to change his ways.[49] Gaston represents "the difference between outward beauty and beauty of the soul", one of the film's central themes.[11] The fact that Gaston's cruel nature is not mirrored by his handsome exterior "further emphasiz[es] the filmâ€™s message about inner beauty."[32] A visual reference to the Beast's "half-man, half-animal" appearance, Gaston's body is temporarily attached to a pig's head when he falls into a large mud puddle upon having his marriage proposal rejected by Belle.[52] Ultimately, although Gaston mortally wounds the Beast, he is still unable to kill the human who continues to thrive within him.[53] In the end, Gaston becomes the monster the Beast was originally depicted as,[51] and his failure "to transform into a New Man" ultimately results in his own death.[54] At the same time, Gaston's cowardice is demonstrated by his decision to stab the Beast in the back immediately after the reformed creature offers him a choice to walk away unharmed.[55]

From very early during the film, audiences are led to expect that Gaston's obsession with Belle will eventually drive him to battle the Beast, Belle's love interest and protector.[31] Despite their obvious differences, Gaston and the Beast boast several similarities, namely their shared interest in Belle – Gaston's climatic fight with the Beast is driven by the fact that both characters are in love with the same person, albeit differently –[21] exaggerated musculature,[49] and respective goals motivated by their own insecurities.[21] Additionally, both characters use Belle's loyalty to her father to manipulate her.[51] The scene in which Gaston sits in his large chair in the village tavern is a reference to him and the Beast's similarities.[49] Decorated with fur and horns, Gaston's chair resembles the Beast when viewed from behind.[49] In his book The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook, author Jerry Griswold observed that "given the dramatic contrast between Gaston and the Beast... the title of the film may actually refer to them alone."[49] In her book Beyond Adaptation: Essays on Radical Transformations of Original Works, author Phyllis Frus observed that the villain's subtle, entirely non-physical transformation into a more demonic version of himself forces the character to suffer a "loss of humanity", in the end justifying his ultimate death.[1] By the end of the film, Gaston has essentially traded places with the Beast, the latter of whom was originally depicted as the story's antagonist.[21] Frus elaborated, "few viewers predict that" Gaston "will finish the film snarling like an animal... before falling to his death", concluding that the character "does not need to magically turn into a beast at the end because, as a male, he is already 'beastly'."[1]

Beauty and the Beast parodies the idea of excessive masculinity, a trait shared by both Gaston and the Beast.[56] Obsessed with his own virility,[41] Gaston shares several opinions associated with "the hyper-masculine male",[48] boasting many "traditionally heroic" qualities and beliefs.[32] Representing "everything that can go wrong in the heterosexual male" according to The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook author Jerry Griswold,[49] Gaston is essentially a caricature of hypermasculinity; he proudly hunts, drinks, fights, spits, bullies and lies in addition to being shallow and ignorant, exuding what are considered to be some of the worst masculine traits.[47] Gaston intimidates and threatens anyone opposed to his ideas,[48] and actively attends male social gatherings via which he can exercise his "alpha male" status.[47] Extremely egotistical, Gaston appears to pride himself as the greatest at any task he attempts.[11] Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun wrote, "at the foundation of [Gaston]'s personality is something that is merely hinted at in conventional star personas: an overweening vanity. He's in love with the face in the mirror, and the pathology of male vanity is a very '90s idea."[57]

Gaston is Disney's most chauvinistic villain to-date, although this trait is approached with humor, making him at times a comic relief character early on,[51]  unlike Disney's previous villains.[43][58] According to Yahoo! Movies' Will Perkins, Gaston believes that "he’s God’s gift to women and the world."[59] Referred to as a personification of misogyny,[60] Gaston is accustomed to acquiring anything he desires,[51][21] and believes he deserves to marry Belle only because she is considered to be the most beautiful girl in his hometown, and thus "the best."[46] According to Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church author Kenda Creasy Dean, the character "only understands love as self-fulfillment, which allows him to perpetrate domination, viciousness and violence" in pursuit of it.[53] Greg Garrett, author of The Gospel According to Hollywood, determined that Gaston serves as "a reminder that what the world loves is not worth emulating".[46] Determined to win Belle as a trophy wife,[61] Gaston never attains her;[51] the character's ego is sorely bruised when his vision of a provincial life is threatened by Belle's rejection,[53] only augmenting his determination to marry her at whatever cost,[11] and bringing his insecurities to the forefront for the first time.[21] Gaston fails to understand Belle's passion for reading.[46] Gaston effectively uses his charm, good looks and a fabricated image of the Beast to rally the entire village against his opponent,[60][52] demonstrating his ability to convince others that he is a gentleman despite never actually having shown concern for anyone other than himself;[60] only Belle remains unfazed by Gaston's facade and uncovers his true nature,[62] further highlighting the heroine's strength and independence.[63] Opposed to the idea of women reading, Gaston believes that he'll be able to "cure" Belle of her thirst for intellect after marrying her,[64] although at the same time these same passions appear to heighten his interest in her.[65] The film makes sure that Gaston's opinions about women are viewed as little more than "boorish";[64] Woolverton wanted Gaston to teach young boys "how not to treat women".[19]

As a strong leader, Gaston is able to convince a large following to do as he commands and trigger conformity and bigotry in others,[66][52] although he remains incapable of implementing such ideas on his own.[52] Richard Corliss of Time observed that the character's "bigotry, for wanting to marry Belle because she’s the prettiest girl in town... corrodes into malevolence when he consigns Belle’s eccentric father to an asylum and leads the ignorant villagers on a torches-and-pitchforks crusade," which has been compared to scenes from the horror film Frankenstein (1931).[67][68] Brett Seegmiller of Medium compared Gaston's leadership skills to those of German politician Adolf Hitler because he combines "a call to action with the command to follow him... after he’s whetted our appetites for some action."[66] Additionally, author Jerry Griswold wrote in his book The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook that Gaston's hypermasculinity potentially "amounts to a resistance to his own homosexuality" (after all, he is in love with himself), comparing him to Lester Burnham's homophobic neighbor in the film American Beauty (1999).[49] Toying with gender expectations, Gaston's masculinity is depicted as ridiculous, while Belle becomes drawn to the Beast's "gentle vulnerability".[69] The Beast gifting Belle a library further emphasizes the differences between the two male characters because Gaston frowns upon reading, accusing the activity of giving women ideas and allowing them to think for themselves as opposed to solely bearing children.[1] Ultimately, Gaston and the Beast embody bad and good masculinity, respectively;[70] the characters are used "to play the New Age sensitive man off against the macho man," according to Ways of Being Male: Representing Masculinities in Children's Literature author John Stephens.[71]

Gaston debuted in Beauty and the Beast as an arrogant hunter who is determined to marry Belle, whom he considers to be the village's most beautiful woman. However, she refuses his proposal when he throws a wedding party without her prior knowledge. Belle is the only one in town who actually dislikes Gaston for the person he is inside. Thoroughly humiliated, he sulks, but when her father Maurice shows up saying that she has been captured by a hideous Beast, he comes up with the idea of having him thrown into an insane asylum, unless Belle agrees to marry him. His plan fails when Belle proves the Beast does exist, and she says that he is her friend, and that he is a better person than Gaston. He becomes jealous, snaps, and decides to gather a band of villagers to kill the Beast, playing off their fears that the Beast might wreak havoc on their village.[72] In the ensuing fight, he shoots the Beast with an arrow and beats him down, taunting him about his appearance, and still refusing to believe that Belle will not marry him. The Beast has no heart to fight until he sees that Belle came back for him, at which point he easily overpowers Gaston and intends to kill him. However, when Gaston begs for his life, the Beast decides to be the better man and have mercy, and climbs back up to Belle. Ungrateful and unrepentant, Gaston stabs the Beast in the back when he sees him embracing Belle, but loses his balance when the Beast swings his arm backwards at him; consequently, Gaston falls to his death.

Gaston appears in the 2017 remake as played by Welsh actor Luke Evans. During an interview with Empire magazine, Evans said that Gaston would retain his hunter background, yet would also be a former soldier in the French army. He also implied that this version of Gaston is darker than the original.[73] In the film, Gaston plays out the same role as in the animated movie, though with a few differences. Bored with his peaceful life after returning from the war, Gaston pursues Belle, determined to marry her, as she is the most beautiful girl in the village and the only one good enough for him. He also finds her independence to be a thrilling challenge, and shows obvious disgust with the bimbettes who constantly fawn over him purely because of his appearance. He accosts her at her home, subtly offering his hand in marriage for when Maurice dies, but she turns him down. Gaston sulks in the tavern until LeFou cheers him up with a song. Maurice appears, claiming that Belle has been imprisoned by the Beast. Intrigued, Gaston offers to help Maurice free her as means of gaining both Maurice and Belle's favor. Gaston comes to doubt Maurice's claims and reveals the only reason for helping him was so he could give Gaston Belle's hand in marriage. When Maurice refuses to allow Gaston to marry Belle, Gaston ties him to a tree, leaving him to the wolves. He hopes by doing this, it would coerce Belle into marrying him, as he tells Lefou that after Maurice dies there will be no one to take care of Belle except for him. Maurice later accuses Gaston of his crime, but Gaston fools the people into thinking Maurice is mad and arranges for him to be locked up in the asylum. He privately offers to put a stop to it if he lets him marry Belle, but Maurice still refuses. When Belle turns up and proves the Beast's existence with the mirror, Gaston's jealousy drives him to rally the people to storm the castle and kill the Beast, but not before he orders Tom, Dick, and Stanley to lock Belle alongside her father to prevent her from warning the Beast. He confronts the Beast alone and shoots him in the back. Belle appears and the Beast fights back, holding Gaston over a chasm, but Gaston begs for mercy and is spared. Instead of leaving, Gaston stands on a nearby stone bridge and shoots the Beast again, this time fatally. In response to the Beast's life fading, the castle begins to crumble and the bridge where Gaston is standing breaks into pieces, sending Gaston falling to his death. Unlike in the animated movie, Gaston's death is shown onscreen.

Gaston appears in Broadway musical adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, which premiered at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 18, 1994.[74] The role was originated by actor Burke Moses, who received a nomination for a Drama Desk Award and won a Theatre World Award.[75] Besides the songs "Belle", "Gaston", and "Kill the Beast" (which were from the Disney movie), Gaston performs "Me" (in which he self-centeredly proposes to Belle), "Gaston (Reprise)" (which was expanded to have Gaston and Lefou sing about his wicked plan, with Gaston also admitting he "won't feel the least bit remorseful" so long as it works), and "Maison de Lunes" (in which he recruits the asylum owner to have Maurice committed). In the Melbourne stage production of the film, he was played by Hugh Jackman.[76] Notable actors who have played the role on Broadway include Burke Moses, Marc Kudisch, Christopher Sieber, and Donny Osmond.[citation needed]

Gaston is also featured in the Marvel Comics serial for Beauty and the Beast, taking place during Belle's stay at the castle. He generally served as comic relief and effectively the "protagonist" of the village B-stories, where he is trying to come up with some scheme to get Belle to marry him, only for the triplets to interfere and sabotage his plans in order to get him to focus on them over Belle.[citation needed] He also appears in an expanded role in Serena Valentino's 2014 book The Beast Within: A Tale Of Beauty's Prince, which takes place prior to the start of the original film. In the novel, Gaston and the Beast are portrayed as childhood friends, with the curse erasing Gaston's memory of the prince.[77] He has a brief cameo in the fourth Kingdom Keepers book, where he alongside Prince John and Horned King were present with the Overtakers at Tom Sawyer Island. He also had a section dedicated to himself in the tongue-in-cheek book Villain Files alongside the other Disney Villains, with it implying that his meeting Belle was during archery practice. He also was in Descendants: Isle of the Lost, the tie-in novel to Descendants, where he haves three sons, two whom he evidently named after himself due to his egomania. They also shared his egomania to some extent, but were comparatively kinder than their father.[citation needed]

Gaston has appeared in the television series Disney's House of Mouse, and was voiced again by White. The character also makes sporadic appearances in Sing Me a Story with Belle, mostly acting as a comedic foil, always stating “No one (insert action) like Gaston!" while walking by, rudely interrupting people's conversations and this phrase is frequently used as rip-offs by other characters.[citation needed] A live-action version of Gaston appears in two episodes of the fantasy television series Once Upon a Time, in which he is first portrayed by Sage Brocklebank and later by Wes Brown. The first was in the first season, where he was Belle's fiancé and attempted to save Belle from Rumplestiltskin, but got transfigured into a rose. The second time was in the fifth season, where he befriended Belle. He was depicted in a more lighter manner compared to the original movie, where it is implied that his love for Belle was genuine.[citation needed]

He is included in the 1993 video game adaptations Beauty & The Beast: Belle's Quest and Beauty & The Beast: Roar of the Beast. Although he acted as the main antagonist for both games, he also acted as an ally character in the former, using his strength to help in a task early in the game. In the Disney Princess video game, he acts as the main antagonist of Belle's chapter. Like in the film, he attempts to rabblerouse the villagers into attacking the castle. This time, however, he simply tries to convince the villagers the castle was evil and of dark magic, and thus needed to be destroyed, and to that end tried to abduct Mrs. Potts, Chip, Cogsworth, and Lumiere to act as proof. However, Belle outsmarted him. He also had a mention in Kinect Disneyland Adventures, and also appeared briefly as a disguise for the villain Misrabel in Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion.[citation needed] Gaston also appears as a non-playable character in the Kingdom Hearts video game Kingdom Hearts χ as an antagonist who controls an army of Heartless.[78]

Gaston has received generally favorable reviews from film critics.[66] Simon Brew of Den of Geek was very receptive towards the character: "thanks to a mix of humour, believable character development, compelling motivation and the excellent voicing work of Richard White (proving you don’t need a big movie star on voice duties), he’s an utterly compelling antagonist, and an extremely interesting one."[21] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman hailed Gaston as "a wonderful character",[79] while The Daily Beast lauded the character as "a triumphantly funny villain".[80] The New York Times' Janet Maslin described Gaston's "fatuousness" as "well conveyed" while praising White's performance, writing that the actor "do[es] wonders in bringing... Gaston to life."[81] Writing for IndieWire, Drew Taylor felt the fact that Gaston is "a strapping cad" as opposed to a witch or hideous creature contributes to making the film "a wholly unique experience".[82] Reviewing the film 25 years after its original theatrical release, Creative Loafing's Matt Brunson admitted that he "never grow[s] tired of watching the boorish Gaston".[83] The Seattle Times' John Hartl called White "hilarious" as Gaston.[84]

However, critical opinions of Gaston have been rather lackluster in comparison to those of other, more acclaimed Disney villains; reviewers generally prefer Scar, Maleficent and Jafar.[66] While dubbing Gaston's characterization "one of the movie's cleverest touches", at the same time Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun felt that the character lacks the charisma of some of Disney's earlier female villains, namely the Evil Queen and Cruella de Vil from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1964), respectively.[57] Times' Richard Corliss called Gaston "a way-too-handsome galoot" and "Dudley Do-Right gone wrong."[67] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post felt that Gaston was "overbearing" because "everything about him is comically exaggerated and satirized to the point that you feel as if the cleft in his chin might swallow you whole."[85][86] In her book From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture, author Elizabeth Bell reviewed Gaston as a "Chauvinist Pig, the kind that would turn the women of any primetime talkshow audience into beasts themselves."[48] Similarly, The Media and the Models of Masculinity author Mark Moss accused the character of uttering "the most anachronistic nonsense heard on the screen for quite some time."[47] JoBlo.com reviewed Gaston as an "inferior villain", writing, "While Whiteâ€™s performance is terrific, the character itself is ultimately basic and bland."[87] Jaime N. Christley of Slant Magazine dismissed the character as juvenile and little more than the film "reducing every aspect of its source material to the level a kindergartner would understand".[88] Film critic Roger Ebert described Gaston as too "insufferable" as he "degenerates... from a chauvinist pig to a sadistic monster", but at the same time cited White among the film's "gifted cast".[89]

Gaston is considered to be one of Disney's "classic" villains,[90][45] as well as one of the studio's most famous.[59] Prior to Gaston's debut, virtually every Disney villain before him had been unattractive in appearance; Den of Geek writer Simon Brew holds Gaston accountable for changing the reputation of future Disney villains.[21] The character's villainy tends to resonate with audiences more than those of other Disney villains because fans can often identify someone similar to him in real life.[32] Medium contributor Brett Seegmiller strongly believes that "Gaston is one of the best villains in the Disney canon" because audiences both respect and fear him, as well as the best leader in his opinion.[66] MTV crowned Gaston "Disney's smarmiest villain",[13] while Thomas S. Hischak, author of Musicals in Film: A Guide to the Genre, dubbed him "one of Disney's most fiendish human villains".[12] Crowning the character the "Most Terrifying Disney Villain of All", Bustle's Mary Grace Garis praised Gaston's depiction of a misogynistic villain: "because Gaston is the walking embodiment of patriarchy at its most comically aggressive, anyone... from a 3-year-old to a 23-year-old can look at him and be like, 'THAT. That's the enemy.'," with Gaston being easier to relate to than other Disney villains due to him lacking "magic power or political influence" and being "just your everyday alpha-male trying to mansplain to you when you're just trying to live your life".[44]

Gaston frequently appears within the top-tens of Disney villain rankings organized by various media publications; however, he is usually placed closer towards the middle of these countdowns and seldom ranks number one.[66] E! ranked the character the sixth best Disney villain.[91] TVOvermind also ranked Gaston sixth despite his lack of magical powers "because of his overwhelming douchebaggery" whose "general intolerance makes for a terrific villain."[38] On The Huffington Post's "Definitive Ranking Of 25 Classic Disney Villains", Gaston was featured at number eight,[45] while About.com placed the character ninth on a similar list.[55] Yahoo! Movies included Gaston at number 11 on their ranking of "the 12 most famous Disney villains from worst to best", awarding him "points for not only being a huge jerk, but for also trying to blackmail Belle into marrying him... and for leading a mob to kill Beast."[59] According to the Orlando Sentinel, Gaston is the 12th greatest Disney villain.[92] Meanwhile, on Babble's list of "The Top 15 Disney Villains Ranked from Bad to Worst", which ranked the characters based on scariness, Gaston was placed 10th.[41] CNN agreed that Gaston is one of "Disney's scariest villains", writing, "the only thing worse than a cocky, demanding guy who can't take a hint is a cocky, demanding guy who organizes a mob to kill your boyfriend", concluding, "He may not have looked scary, but he was obviously the movie's real beast."[93] Featured among Collider's "9 Most Wicked Animated Villains", contributor Matt Goldberg hailed Gaston as "a delightful caricature of an idiotic jock."[63] Facetiously, Beamly considers Gaston to be among "8 Disney villains who are better than the heroes" for catching their attention despite being an "awful and sexist" character.[94] Moviefone was less receptive towards the character, ranking him 25th out of 30 on their list of the "Top Disney Villains of All Time".[95] Oh My Disney ranked Gaston's line "The most beautiful girl in town, that makes her the best! And don’t I deserve the best?” the ninth most sinister quote uttered by a Disney villain.[96]


where is the tv show single handed filmed

Single-Handed is an Irish television drama series, first broadcast on RTÉ Television in 2007. Set and filmed in the west of Ireland, it focuses on the life of a member of the Garda Síochána (police), Sergeant Jack Driscoll (played by Owen McDonnell). Three two-episode, single-story series aired one each on consecutive nights in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Series Four, consisting of three stories told over six episodes, began in RTÉ One November 2010.[3]

Single-Handed (TV series)

Owen McDonnell[1]
Ian McElhinney[1]
Steve Blount[2]
Liam Carney[1]
Pádraic Delaney[2]
Bríain Gleeson[2]
David Herlihy[2]
Ann Marie Horan[2]
Nick Lee[2]
Ruth McCabe[2]
Michael McElhatton[2]
Charlene McKenna[1]
Laura Murphy[1]
Marcella Plunkett[2]

The series is partially inspired by garda corruption in County Donegal.[4]

The first series was shot in October 2006.[5] It was directed by Colm McCarthy; the second and third by Antony Byrne. Barry Simner wrote the screenplay. It was co-produced by Touchpaper Television Productions and Element Pictures.[2] Clare Alan also produced the third series.[2]

In 2009, all three series were broadcast in the United Kingdom on the ITV1 network, as double-length, two-hour episodes on three consecutive Sundays, from 2â€“16 August.

Series 4 began broadcasting on RTÉ One on Sunday, 7 November 2010.[6] It was shown in the UK on ITV1 from Thursday, 14 July 2011.[7][8]

Owen McDonnell was given the lead role of Garda Sergeant Jack Driscoll after receiving a call from casting director Maureen Hughes. Appearing onstage in The Lieutenant of Inishmore in the Town Hall, Galway at the time, McDonnell, alongside two other cast members, left for Dublin to read a script for the original Single-Handed director Colm McCarthy. He was given the lead role one day later.[5]

The series has been consistently popular in Ireland since its first broadcast,[9] with the first series receiving a 40% audience share.[5] However, leading actor Owen McDonnell has been able to escape a significant increase in recognition by the general public as, according to him, "once you're out of the uniform you're fairly anonymous".[5][10] He has, however, been criticised for suggesting that alcoholism and depression are widespread in Connemara.[11]

Gavin Corbett, writing in the Sunday Tribune, dismissed the original series as "an uninspired piece of writing brought to some sort of lugubrious half-life, superficially engaging for a while, but growing more and more ponderous and pofaced the longer it went on over its two nights".[12] Patrick Freyne, also writing in the Sunday Tribune, called Single-Handed 3 "all puffed up with a melodramatic 'I-can't-believe-it's-not-drama' form of drama in which people glare at one another, shout, are unhelpfully abrasive for no reason, and give each other symbolic bullets".[13] John Boland, writing in the Irish Independent, praised the original Single-Handed for its "taut and suggestive" screenplay.[14] Heralding it as "the real deal" and "that rare oddity—an RTE drama that works" and drawing comparisons to the Roman Polanski film Chinatown, he said "it didn't lose its nerve by resorting to far-fetched plot twists or ludicrous melodrama".[15] Boland's report on the sequel indicated his view that it "wasn't as arresting as its predecessor but it was a superior drama all the same".[14] Boland viewed Single-Handed: The Drowning Man as also being a "superior drama" whilst "a sense of place was arrestingly captured, too".[16] When Single-Handed eventually aired in the UK in 2009, he noted the reactions of the British newspaper critics, remarking satirically on how "The Guardian's Sam Wollaston and The Independent's Tom Sutcliffe[17] couldn't contain their surprise that dark doings lurked behind the'stunning scenery' of this Irish Hoirtbeat. Faith and begorrah, lads, shure we're even in the EU".[18]

The UK debut of Single-Handed received 4 million viewers.[19]

The Daily Telegraph, a broadsheet in the UK, said Single-Handed was "distinctly classy"[20] and "not soft-centred. In fact it's more like biting into an apple only to find there's a worm in it".[11] The regional newspaper, Leicester Mercury, remarked that it "confounds expectations from the very beginning", saying "it was dark, not dreary. And slow, not stupid. There wasn't even a hint of Irish whimsy about it. No-one's eyes twinkled, humorously. No fiddly jigs and reels drifted from the pub. And no-one—praise be—mentioned the damned craic".[21]

Single-Handed received one nomination at the Irish Film and Television Awards in 2008. It was nominated in the Drama Series/Soap category but lost to The Tudors.[22][23]

Single Handed 3: The Drowning Man received two nominations at the Seoul International Drama Awards. Anthony Byrne was nominated in the Best Director category and Barry Simner was nominated in the Best Writer category.[24]

Under the name "Jack Driscoll," the series was aired at least twice in Denmark on the primary Public Service channel DR 1. The episodes have been put together in manner customary for Danish TV series, and therefore have a length of around 90 to 100 minutes (DR uses no advertising).