Springhill (TV Series)
''Springhill'' was a British soap opera created by Paul Abbott, produced by Granada Television, and broadcast from 1 October 1996 to 18 June 1997 on the Sky One satellite channel, and later on Channel 4. It consisted of 2 series, each containing 26 episodes. Set in Liverpool, ''Springhill'' based its main theme on the battle between good and evil, entwined around a complex family drama. Issues covered included adoption revelation, genetic sexual attraction, bigamy, homosexuality, infertility, surrogacy and murder. Aside from this there was a supernatural aspect, which included elements of religion, Angels, apparitions, witchcraft, time travel and the Second Coming of Christ. Cast * Gilly Coman as Liz Freeman * Jonathan Barlow as Jack Freeman * Katharine Rogers as Eva Morrigan * Scot Williams (series 1) and Stephen Donald (series 2) as Nick Freeman * Sharon Byatt as Sue Freeman * Christine Tremarco as Trish Freeman * Kevin Knapman as Anthony Freeman * Paul Culshaw as John Pa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Black Comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discuss. Writers and comedians often use it as a tool for exploring vulgar issues by provoking discomfort, serious thought, and amusement for their audience. Thus, in fiction, for example, the term ''black comedy'' can also refer to a genre in which dark humor is a core component. Popular themes of the genre include death, crime, poverty, suicide, war, violence, terrorism, discrimination, disease, racism, sexism, and human sexuality. Black comedy differs from both blue comedy—which focuses more on crude topics such as nudity, sex, and Body fluids—and from straightforward obscenity. Whereas the term ''black comedy'' is a relatively broad term covering humor relating to many serious subjects, ''gallows humor'' tends to be used more specifical ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bigamy
In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. In the case of a person in the process of divorcing their spouse, that person is taken to be legally married until such time as the divorce becomes final or absolute under the law of the relevant jurisdiction. Bigamy laws do not apply to couples in a de facto or cohabitation relationship, or that enter such relationships when one is legally married. If the prior marriage is for any reason void, the couple is not married, and hence each party is free to marry another without falling foul of the bigamy laws. Bigamy is a crime in most countries that recognise only monogamous marriages. When it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other. In countries that have bigamy laws, with a few exceptions (suc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1996 British Television Series Debuts
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on board; Eight people die in a blizzard on Mount Everest; Dolly the Sheep becomes the first mammal to have been cloned from an adult somatic cell; The Port Arthur Massacre occurs on Tasmania, and leads to major changes in Australia's gun laws; Macarena, sung by Los del Río and remixed by The Bayside Boys, becomes a major dance craze and cultural phenomenon; Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 crash-ditches off of the Comoros Islands after the plane was hijacked; the 1996 Summer Olympics are held in Atlanta, marking the Centennial (100th Anniversary) of the modern Olympic Games., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Centennial Olympic Park bombing rect 200 0 400 200 TWA FLight 800 rect 400 0 600 200 1996 Mount Everest disaster rect 0 200 300 400 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vickie Gates (actress)
Vickie Gates is a British actress who made her television acting debut in ''Brookside'' at the age of 16. After her initial storylines from 1990–1993, she joined an all-girl pop band called Dream Reality and then appeared in the TV series '' Springhill'' before returning to ''Brookside'' in 1997 for four additional years. Her television career continued with roles in ''City Central'', '' Liverpool 1'' and ''The Bill''. She has supplemented her television work with appearances in the film ''The Last Straw'' and appearing in the ''Vagina Monologues''. Other TV appearances have included ''Abbamania 2'' and as the winner of Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes for ITV. In 2013, she played Pat in the BBC comedy-drama ''Being Eileen ''Being Eileen'' is a BBC comedy-drama which began as a new six-part series on 4 February, and ended on 11 March 2013. It began as a one-off Christmas special titled ''Lapland'', broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 24 December 2011. A ...''. Acti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Matthew Dunster
Matthew Dunster is an English theatre director, playwright and actor.Dominic Cavendish for The Telegraph. 17 Mar 201Matthew Dunster: From teenage kicks to dramatic hits/ref> He was the Associate Director of the Young Vic from 2005 to 2009 and the Associate Director of Shakespeare’s Globe from 2015 to 2017. His production of Love and Money by Dennis Kelly was nominated for the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre in 2006 and his production of Mogadishu by Vivienne Franzmann was nominated for that same award in 2012. In January 2016 Dunster was appointed as a patron to the Arts Educational Schools, London. He was nominated for the Best Director award at the 2016 Oliviers' for ''Hangmen'' by Martin McDonagh. Directing credits * '' Love and Money'' by Dennis Kelly at the Royal Exchange Theatre and Young Vic Theatre. (2006) * ''You can see the Hills''. Written and directed by Matthew Dunster at the Royal Exchange Theatre (2008) * ''Macbeth''. At the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stephen Walters
Stephen Walters (born 22 May 1973) is an English actor. A regular in British television and film, he has played a wide range and variety of character roles in both drama and comedy. Walters is most commonly associated with unpredictable, complex figures. He was nominated for a Royal Television Society Best Actor award in 2013 for his role in the Sky Arts drama ''Ragged''. Career Television In 1989, whilst at St. Wilfrids secondary school, Walters was cast in ITV's British Children's anthology series ''Dramarama'' where he portrayed Corporal Tomkins in the series seven episode entitled "Ghost Story". Walters' second professional role was in season five of another anthology series, BBC's drama '' Screenplay.'' He was featured in Jimmy McGovern's episode ''Needle'' (1990), which was based upon the needle exchange programme and heroin epidemic in 1980s Liverpool. After obtaining of a BTEC in Performing arts at Southport College (1990–1992), Walters went on to gain a place at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stephen Donald
Stephen Rex Donald (born 3 December 1983) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for the NEC Green Rockets in the Japanese Top League. A first five-eighth or centre, he has won 24 international caps for New Zealand. Nicknamed 'Beaver', he is best known for kicking the winning penalty in the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final. Domestic career Waikato Initially progressing and playing through all levels for the Waikato province in the ITM Cup. Chiefs He then played for the Chiefs in the Super Rugby competition. He would initially play for the franchise from 2005 until 2011. In 2015, Donald had signed to returned to New Zealand to play for Waikato in the ITM Cup. Donald made his return with Waikato on 10 September 2015 against Southland at Waikato Stadium, coming on as a substitute. In June 2016, Donald captained the Chiefs to a dominating win over Wales. Although the Welsh were the strong favourites going into the match, Donald had played a 'man of the matc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scot Williams
Scot Williams (born 29 November 1972), is an English actor, writer, and producer for stage, film and television. Early life Williams is a native of Liverpool, Merseyside and grew up around Penny Lane, a street made famous by the Beatles song. He explained in 2014 that he wore trench coats and motorcycle boots as a young unknown actor, and would go to meet like-minded people, with a similar taste in fashion, at the Everyman theatre in Liverpool. Williams worked as an usher at the Everyman venue, selling ice creams for £8 per shift, but he states that his real payment was the ability to also see the theatrical performances. It was this early exposure to acting that served as a foremost inspiration for Williams's acting aspirations. Career As an actor, Williams made his film debut in the 1994 Iain Softley film ''Backbeat'', in which he played the role of the Beatles' original drummer Pete Best. Subsequently, he later discovered that he was a distant relative of the late Alun Owen, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Second Coming Of Christ
The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messianic prophecies and is part of most Christian eschatologies. Terminology Several different terms are used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ: In the New Testament, the Greek word ἐπιφάνεια (''epiphaneia'', appearing) is used five times to refer to the return of Christ. The Greek New Testament uses the Greek term ''parousia'' (παρουσία, meaning "arrival", "coming", or "presence") twenty-four times, seventeen of them concerning Christ. However, parousia has the distinct reference to a period of time rather than an instance in time. At parousia is used to clearly describe the period of time that Noah lived. The Greek word ''eleusi''s which means "coming" is not interchangeable with parousia. So this parousia or "p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Time Travel
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a widely recognized concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. The idea of a time machine was popularized by H. G. Wells' 1895 novel ''The Time Machine''. It is uncertain if time travel to the past is physically possible, and such travel, if at all feasible, may give rise to questions of causality. Forward time travel, outside the usual sense of the perception of time, is an extensively observed phenomenon and well-understood within the framework of special relativity and general relativity. However, making one body advance or delay more than a few milliseconds compared to another body is not feasible with current technology. As for backward time travel, it is possible to find solutions in general relativity that allow ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have used malevolent magic against their own community, and often to have communed with evil beings. It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by protective magic or counter-magic, which could be provided by cunning folk or folk healers. Suspected witches were also intimidated, banished, attacked or killed. Often they would be formally prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. In some regions, many of those accused of witchcraft were folk healers or midwives. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment. Contemporary cultures that believe in magic and the superna ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marian Apparition
A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian apparition, the person or persons who claim to see Mary (the "seers") must claim that they see her visually located in their environment. If the person claims to hear Mary but not see her, this is known as an interior locution, not an apparition. Also excluded from the category of apparitions are dreams, visions experienced in the imagination, the claimed perception of Mary in ordinarily-explainable natural phenomena, and miracles associated with Marian artwork, such as weeping statues. Believers consider such apparitions to be real and objective interventions of divine power, rather than subjective experiences generated by the perceiving individuals, even in cases where the apparition is reportedly seen by only some, not all, of the people ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |