Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Sycamore Gap Tree

2023-09-28T14:31:55Z

149.101.1.117: Corrected date format in first paragraph

{{Short description|Photogenic tree in Northumberland, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox tree
| name = Sycamore Gap Tree
| image = Sycamore_Gap_Tree_arbre.jpg
| alt =
| image_caption = View of the tree from the south in October 2020. [[Hadrian's Wall]] is visible to the left of and in front of the tree.
| native_name =
| species = Sycamore
| binomial = ''[[Acer pseudoplatanus]]''
| location = Near [[Crag Lough]], Northumberland, [[England]]
| coordinates = {{coord|55.00356|N|2.37387|W|display=inline,title}}
| seeded =
| felled = {{End date|2023|09|28|df=y}}
| custodian = [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] and [[Northumberland National Park]]
| website =
}}

The '''Sycamore Gap Tree''' or '''Robin Hood Tree''' was a [[Acer pseudoplatanus|sycamore tree]] standing next to [[Hadrian's Wall]] near [[Crag Lough]] in [[Northumberland]], [[England]]. It was located in a dramatic dip in the landscape and was a popular photographic subject, described as one of the most photographed trees in the country. It derived its alternative name from featuring in a prominent scene in the 1991 film ''[[Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves]]''. The tree won the [[Tree of the Year (United Kingdom)|2016 England Tree of the Year]] award.
The tree was found to have been illegally felled on September 28, 2023.

== Location ==
[[File:Sycamore_Gap_Tree.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Sycamore Gap panorama]]
[[Image:Sycamore Gap 2007.jpg|thumb|View looking west from the north side of Hadrian's Wall]]
The Sycamore Gap Tree was by Hadrian's Wall, between [[Milecastle 39]] and Crag Lough, about {{convert|3|km}} west of [[Housesteads Roman Fort]] in [[Northumberland]], northern England.<ref name=star>{{cite news |title=Famous Hadrian's Wall tree wins national competition |url=http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/Famous-Hadrians-Wall-tree-wins-national-competition-5b8d148a-8eb7-4c4b-9b2d-20e091726817-ds |accessdate=11 July 2018 |work=Carlisle News and Star |date=31 December 2016}}</ref> This section of the wall follows the edge of a cliff{{snd}}an outcrop of the [[Whin Sill]]{{snd}}and several sharp dips in it caused by melting glacial waters.<ref name=itv>{{cite news |title=Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall is 'Tree of the Year' |url=http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2016-12-18/sycamore-gap-on-hadrians-wall-is-tree-of-the-year/ |accessdate=11 July 2018 |work=ITV News |date=18 December 2016 |language=en}}</ref> The tree stood within one of these dips with the cliff and wall rising dramatically either side of it.<ref name=star/> The wall and adjacent land, including the site of the tree, are owned by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]].<ref name=star/>

A popular tourist attraction, the tree was described as one of the most photographed in the country and the location may be the most photographed point in all of [[Northumberland National Park]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harley |first1=Nicola |title=Robin Hood tree wins coveted Tree of the Year crown |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/17/robin-hood-tree-wins-coveted-tree-year-crown/ |accessdate=11 July 2018 |work=The Telegraph |date=17 December 2016}}</ref><ref name=chronicle>{{cite news |last1=Henderson |first1=Tony |title=Is Sycamore Gap the most photographed tree in the UK? |url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/most-photographed-tree-uk-sure-14297920 |accessdate=11 July 2018 |work=Newcastle Evening Chronicle |date=16 February 2018}}</ref><ref name=toty>{{cite web |title=The Sycamore Gap Tree |url=https://www.treeoftheyear.org/ETY-2/Stromy/Javor-v-prikrem-udoli.aspx |website=European Tree of the Year |publisher=Environmental Partnership Association |accessdate=11 July 2018}}</ref> It was visible from the nearby [[Military Road (Northumberland)|B6318 Military Road]].<ref name=star/> The name "Sycamore Gap" was coined by a National Trust employee when the [[Ordnance Survey]] were remapping the area and asked if the previously unnamed spot had a designation.<ref name=nt>{{cite web |title=Read about Sycamore Gap |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704003645/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hadrians-wall-and-housesteads-fort/features/sycamore-gap |archive-date=4 July 2022 |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hadrians-wall-and-housesteads-fort/features/sycamore-gap |website=National Trust |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
[[Image:2018-06-07 Sycamore Gap Tree (Acer pseudoplatanus), next to Hadrian’s Wall UK.jpg|thumb|The tree in summer 2018]]
The tree was a sycamore (''[[Acer pseudoplatanus]]'') and was a few hundred years old.<ref name=toty/> It once stood alongside others but they have been removed over time for unknown reasons, possibly to improve sightlines or for gamekeeping purposes.<ref name=nt/>

The tree featured in a key scene of the 1991 [[Kevin Costner]] film ''[[Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves]]'', and has subsequently become known as the "Robin Hood Tree".<ref name=chronicle/><ref name=toty/> It appeared in the music video for [[Bryan Adams]]' ''[[(Everything I Do) I Do It for You]]'' which featured on the film's soundtrack; the video was shown often on the British TV series ''[[Top of the Pops]]''.<ref name=star/> It has also appeared in the TV crime drama ''[[Vera (TV series)|Vera]]'' and in the documentary series ''[[More Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green]]''.<ref name=nt/> It escaped damage on May 30, 2003 when a helicopter filming ''[[British Isles – A Natural History]]'' crashed around {{convert|30|m|ft}} away, narrowly avoiding presenter [[Alan Titchmarsh]]. The four on board the aircraft were lightly injured.<ref>{{cite news |title=TV crew hurt in air crash |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/2951026.stm |access-date=1 March 2021 |work=BBC News |date=30 May 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Star gardener escapes 'copter death |url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/star-gardener-escapes-copter-death-1653566 |access-date=1 March 2021 |work=Evening Chronicle |date=30 May 2003 |language=en}}</ref>

In 2016, the tree was nominated for [[Tree of the Year (United Kingdom)|England's Tree of the Year competition]].<ref name=chronicle/> It was selected from 200 competitors for the final shortlist of 10 and won the competition with 2,542 votes out of 11,913.<ref name=itv/> The prize was a £1000 grant which was used to survey the health of the tree and to carry out work to protect its roots, which were becoming exposed due to the high volume of foot traffic passing over them.<ref name=star/> The Sycamore Gap Tree was entered in the 2017 [[European Tree of the Year]] awards in which it came 5th out of 16, polling 7,123 votes.<ref name=star/><ref name=toty/>

The tree was illegally felled on the early morning of September 28, 2023. The [[Northumberland National Park]] Authority has said they believed it was done deliberately.<ref name="felled">{{cite news |title=World famous Sycamore Gap believed to have been 'deliberately felled' |url=https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2023-09-28/world-famous-sycamore-gap-tree-believed-to-have-been-deliberately-felled |access-date=28 September 2023 |agency=ITV |date=28 September 2023}}</ref>

== References ==
{{commons cat|Sycamore Gap}}
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Maple]]
[[Category:Individual trees in England]]
[[Category:Hadrian's Wall]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Northumberland]]
[[Category:2020s individual tree deaths]]
[[Category:Environmental crime in England]]

Benutzer:Maurice Safranek/Warner Media, LLC

2012-04-17T16:47:27Z

149.101.1.117:

{{about|the film and television production, publishing, and cable channel company|the cable system operator, which has not been affiliated with this company since 2009|Time Warner Cable}}
{{Infobox company
|company_name = Time Warner Inc.
|company_logo = [[File:Time Warner wordmark.svg|200px|The Time Warner logo since 2003.]]
|type = Public
|traded_as = {{New York Stock Exchange|TWX}} [[S&P 500|S&P 500 Component]]
| predecessor = [[Time Inc.]] [[Warner Communications]]
|foundation = 1990
|location_city = [[Time Warner Center]], 10 [[Columbus Circle]], New York City, New York
|location_country = United States
|key_people = [[Jeffrey Bewkes|Jeffrey L. Bewkes]] (Chairman & CEO)
|area_served = Worldwide
|industry = [[Mass media]]
|products = Television, radio, publishing, movies, and Internet
|subsid = [[List of assets owned by Time Warner|List of subsidiaries]]
|revenue = {{nowrap|{{Increase}} US$ 28.974 [[1000000000 (number)|billion]] (2011)<ref name=2011financials>{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/drawFiling.asp?docKey=136-000119312512077072-711ORM7REM2V1ANFOOB7KQBVQI&docFormat=HTM&formType=10-K|title=FY2011 Annual Report}}</ref>}}
|operating_income = {{Increase}} US$ {{0|0}}5.805 billion (2011)<ref name=2011financials/>
|net_income = {{Increase}} US$ {{0|0}}2.886 billion (2011)<ref name= 2011financials/>
|assets = {{Increase}} US$ 67.801 billion (2011)<ref name=2011financials />
|equity = {{Decrease}} US$ 29.954 billion (2011)<ref name=2011financials/>
|num_employees = 34,000 (2012)<ref name=2011financials/>
|homepage = [http://www.timewarner.com/ TimeWarner.com]
}}
[[File:Time Warner Center May 2010.JPG|thumb|[[Time Warner Center]] taken from Central Park West.]]

'''Time Warner Inc.''' ({{New York Stock Exchange|TWX}}), (formerly '''AOL Time Warner''' and branded as '''TimeWarner''') is one of the world's largest [[mass media]] corporations with headquarters in the [[Time Warner Center]] in New York City.<ref>[http://www.timewarner.com/corp/aboutus/fact_sheet.html TimeWarner.com Fact Sheet Page]</ref> Formerly two separate companies, [[Warner Communications]], Inc. and [[Time Inc.]], (along with the assets of a third company, [[Turner Broadcasting System]], Inc.) form the current Time Warner, with major operations in [[film]], [[television]] and [[publishing]]. Among its subsidiaries are [[New Line Cinema]], [[Time Inc.]], [[HBO]], [[Turner Broadcasting System]], [[The CW Television Network]], [[The WB|TheWB.com]], [[Warner Bros.]], [[Kids' WB]], [[Cartoon Network]], [[Boomerang (TV channel)|Boomerang]], [[Adult Swim]], [[CNN]], [[DC Comics]], [[Warner Bros. Animation]], [[Cartoon Network Studios]] and [[Castle Rock Entertainment]]. The company used to also have telecommunications assets through [[Time Warner Cable]] and [[AOL]], but in 2009, they were spun off from Time Warner into independent companies.

As of mid-2010, it was the world's second largest media and entertainment conglomerate in terms of revenue (behind [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]), as well as the world's largest media [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2009/industries/145/index.html | work=CNN | accessdate=May 25, 2010 | title=Global 500 2009: Industry}}</ref><ref>http://www.viacom.com/investorrelations/Investor_Relations_Docs/Q407%20Web%20Deck%20FINAL.pdf</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/09/news/companies/disney_dreamworks.fortune/?postversion=2009020914 | work=CNN | title=Why Disney wants DreamWorks | date=February 9, 2009 | accessdate=May 25, 2010 | first=Richard | last=Siklos}}</ref><ref>[http://www.newscorp.com/Report2007/AnnualReport2007/HTML2/news_corp_ar2007_0069.htm News Corporation - Annual Report 2007]</ref>

==History==
===1976===
In 1972, [[Kinney National Company]] spun off its non-entertainment assets due to a financial scandal over its parking operations and renamed itself '''Warner Communications Inc'''.

It was the parent company for [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] and [[Warner Music Group]] during the 1970s and 1980s. It also owned [[DC Comics]] and [[Mad Magazine|''Mad'']], as well as a majority stake in [[Garden State National Bank]] (an investment it was ultimately required to sell pursuant to requirements under the [[Bank Holding Company Act of 1956|Bank Holding Company Act]]). Warner's initial divestiture efforts led by Garden State CEO [[Charles A. Agemian]] were blocked by Garden State board member [[William A. Conway]] in 1978; a revised transaction was later completed in 1980.

In 1976, [[Nolan Bushnell]] sold his Atari company to Warner Communications for an estimated $2–12 million. Warner made considerable profits (and later losses) with [[Atari]], which it owned from 1976 to 1984. While part of Warner, Atari achieved its greatest success, selling millions of [[Atari 2600]]s and computers. At its peak, Atari accounted for a third of Warner's annual income and was the fastest-growing company in the history of the United States at the time.

In 1975, Warner expanded under the guidance of CEO [[Steve Ross (Time-Warner CEO)|Steve Ross]] and formed a joint venture with [[American Express]], named [[Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment]], which held cable channels including [[MTV]] (launched 1981), [[Nickelodeon (TV channel)|Nickelodeon]] (launched 1979) and [[The Movie Channel]]. Warner bought out American Express's half in 1984, and sold the venture a year later to [[Viacom (1971-2005)|Viacom]], which renamed it [[MTV Networks]].

===1985===
In 1980, Warner purchased The [[Franklin Mint]] for about $225 million. The combination was short lived: Warner sold The Franklin Mint in 1985 to American Protection Industries Inc. (API) for $167.5 million. However, Warner retained Franklin Mint’s [[Eastern Mountain Sports]] as well as The Franklin Mint Center, which it leased back to API.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dinger |first=Ed |title=International Directory of Company Histories |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5202/is_1998/ai_n19122709 |accessdate=2008-05-23 |volume=69 |date= |year=1998 |month= |publisher= |location= |chapter=The Franklin Mint }}</ref>

In February 1983, Warner expanded their interests to baseball. Under the direction of Caesar P. Kimmel, executive vice president, bought 48 percent of the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] for $10 million. The company then put up its share for sale in November 1984 following losses of $6 million. The team's elderly majority owner, [[John W. Galbreath]], soon followed suit after learning of Warner's actions.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E1D71F39F932A15752C1A962948260&n=Top%2fNews%2fSports%2fBaseball%2fMajor%20League%2fPittsburgh%20Pirates Galbreaths to Sell Pirates PITTSBURGH], [[New York Times]]</ref>

In 1984, due to the [[video game crash of 1983]], Warner sold the consumer division of [[Atari]] to [[Jack Tramiel]]. It kept the arcade division and renamed it [[Atari Games]]. They sold [[Atari Games]] to [[Namco]] in 1985, and repurchased it in 1994, renaming it Time-Warner Interactive, until it was sold to [[Midway Games]] in 1996. In a long-expected deal, Warner Communications announced on May 11, 1988 they were acquiring [[Lorimar-Telepictures]]; the acquisition was finalized on January 12, 1989.

The merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications was announced on March 4, 1989. During the summer of that same year, Paramount Communications (formerly [[Gulf+Western]]) launched a $12.2 billion hostile bid to acquire Time, Inc. in an attempt to end a stock-swap merger deal between Time and Warner Communications. This caused Time to raise its bid for Warner to $14.9 Billion in cash and stock. Paramount responded by filing a lawsuit in a Delaware court to block the Time/Warner merger. The court ruled twice in favor of Time, forcing Paramount to drop both the Time acquisition and the lawsuit, and allowing the formation of Time Warner which was completed on January 10, 1990.

For employees and shareholders of Warner Communications, particularly Warner CEO Steve Ross, the deal was lopsided in their favor as they were paid cash for their shares. However, many shareholders in Time, Inc. were said to be unhappy about the deal. Henry Luce III, the son of Time Inc.'s founder, remarked "Because of that son of a bitch at Paramount, we had to acquire Warner in cash. That made all of the Warner people rich and all the Time people resentful." Despite it being a bull market, it would take seven and a half years for Time Warner shares to climb to the equivalent of Paramount's $200-a-share offer. Despite all the expected synergies of the Time Warner deal, its stock had never managed to outperform the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.<ref name="ninamunk.com">http://www.ninamunk.com/documents/PowerFailure.htm</ref>

===1990===
Time Warner subsequently acquired [[Ted Turner]]'s [[Turner Broadcasting System]] in October 1996. Not only did this result in the company (in a way) re-entering the basic cable television industry (in regards to nationally available channels), but Warner Bros. also regained the rights to their pre-1950<ref name="ymrt">''You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story'' (2008), p. 255.</ref><ref>WB retained a pair of features from 1949 that they merely distributed, and all short subjects released on or after September 1, 1948; in addition to all cartoons released in August 1948.</ref> film library, which by then had been owned by Turner (the films are still technically held by Turner, but WB is responsible for sales and distribution).

Time Warner had also been owner of the [[Six Flags Theme Parks]] chain during the 1990s after near bankruptcy. It sold all Six Flags parks and properties to Oklahoma based Premier Parks on April 1, 1998.

Dick Parsons, already a director on the board since 1991, was hired as Time Warner president in 1995, although the division operational heads continued to report directly to Chairman and CEO Gerald Levin.

===2000===

In 2000, a new company called '''AOL Time Warner''' was created when [[AOL]] purchased Time Warner for [[US Dollar|US$]]164 billion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imaa-institute.org/statistics-mergers-acquisitions.html#TopMergersAcquisitions_Worldwide |title=Statistics on Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) - M&A Courses | Company Valuation Courses | Mergers & Acquisitions Courses |publisher=Imaa-institute.org |date= |accessdate=2011-12-27}}</ref> The deal, announced on January 10, 2000<ref name="aoltw-merger-pressrelease">{{cite web|url=http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,667602,00.html|title=America Online and Time Warner Will Merge to Create World's First Internet-Age Media and Communications Company|work=Time Warner corporate homepage|date=2000-01-10 |accessdate=2007-05-06}}</ref> and officially filed on February 11, 2000,<ref name="fcc-aoltw">{{cite web|url=http://www.fcc.gov/mb/aoltw/aoltw.html|title=America Online-Time Warner Merger Page|work=Federal Communications Commission homepage|author=Federal Communications Commission|date=2003-03-25 |accessdate=2007-05-06}}</ref> employed a merger structure in which each original company merged into a newly created entity. The [[Federal Trade Commission]] cleared the deal on December 14, 2000,<ref name="aoltw_ftc-cleared">{{cite web|url=http://ftc.gov/opa/2000/12/aol.shtm|title=FTC Approves AOL/Time Warner Merger with Conditions|work=Federal Trade Commission website|author=Federal Trade Commission|date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2007-05-06}}</ref> and gave final approval on January 11, 2001; the company completed the merger later that day.<ref name="aoltw-mergecomplete">{{cite web|url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-250781.html|title=AOL, Time Warner complete merger with FCC blessing|work=[[CNET News.com]]|author=Patrick Ross, Evan Hansen|date=2001-01-11 |accessdate=2007-05-06}}</ref> The deal was approved on the same day by the [[Federal Communications Commission]],<ref name="fcc-aoltw" /> and had already been cleared by the [[European Commission]] on October 11, 2000.<ref name="ec-aoltw-approve">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/967049.stm|title=EU statement: AOL, Time Warner|work=[[BBC News Online]]|date=2000-10-11 |accessdate=2007-05-06}}</ref> Due to the larger market capitalization of AOL, they would own 55% of the new company while Time Warner shareholders owned only 45%, so in actual practice AOL had acquired Time Warner, even though AOL had far less assets and revenues.<ref name="aoltw-merger-pressrelease" />

'''AOL Time Warner, Inc.''', as the company was then called, was supposed to be a merger of equals with top executives from both sides. [[Gerald Levin]], who had served as [[CEO]] of Time Warner, was CEO of the new company. [[Steve Case]] served as [[Executive Chairman]] of the board of directors, [[Robert W. Pittman]] (President and COO of AOL) and [[Dick Parsons]] (President of Time Warner) served as Co-[[Chief Operating Officer]]s, and [[J. Michael Kelly]] (the CFO from AOL) became the [[Chief Financial Officer]].<ref name="ninamunk.com"/>

According to AOL President and COO Bob Pittman, the slow-moving Time Warner would now take off at Internet speed, accelerated by AOL: "All you need to do is put a catalyst to [Time Warner], and in a short period, you can alter the growth rate. The growth rate will be like an Internet company." When the AOL Time Warner deal was announced, the vision for its future seemed clear and straightforward; by tapping into AOL, Time Warner would reach deep into the homes of tens of millions of new customers. AOL would use Time Warner's high-speed cable lines to deliver to its subscribers Time Warner's branded magazines, books, music, and movies. This would have created 130 million subscription relationships.

Unfortunately, the growth and profitability of the AOL division stalled due to advertising and subscriber slowdowns in part caused by the burst of the [[dot-com bubble]] and the economic recession after September 2001. The value of the America Online division dropped significantly, not unlike the market valuation of similar independent internet companies that drastically fell, and forced a [[goodwill (accounting)|goodwill]] [[write-off]], causing AOL Time Warner to report a loss of $99 billion in 2002 — at the time, the largest loss ever reported by a company. The total value of AOL stock subsequently went from $226 billion to about $20 billion.<ref name="scrapcharge">{{cite news |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060727/wr_nm/media_timewarner_aol_dc_7 |title=AOL expected to scrap charges |first=Kenneth |last=Li |publisher=[[Yahoo!]] |date=2006-07-26 |accessdate=2006-08-09 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060818100420/http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060727/wr_nm/media_timewarner_aol_dc_7  |archivedate = 2006-08-18}}</ref>

An outburst by Vice Chairman [[Ted Turner]] at a board meeting prompted Steve Case to contact each of the directors and push for CEO Gerald Levin's ouster. Although Case's coup attempt was rebuffed by Parsons and several other directors, Levin became frustrated with being unable to "regain the rhythm" at the combined company and announce his resignation in the fall of 2001, effective in May 2002.<ref name="ajbianco.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.ajbianco.com/can_dick_parsons_rescue_time_warner.php |title=Anthony Bianco - Cover Stories |publisher=Ajbianco.com |date=2003-05-19 |accessdate=2011-12-27}}</ref> Although Co-COO Bob Pittman was the strongest supporter of Levin and largely seen as the heir-apparent, Dick Parsons was instead chosen as CEO. Time Warner CFO Michael J. Kelly was demoted to COO of the AOL division, and replaced as CFO by Wayne Pace. AOL Chairman and CEO Barry Schuler was removed from his position and placed in charge of a new "content creation division", being replaced on an interim basis by Pittman, who was already serving as the sole COO after Parson's promotion.

Many expected synergies between AOL and other Time Warner divisions never materialized, as most Time Warner divisions were considered independent fiefs that rarely cooperated prior to the merger. A new incentive program that granted options based on the performance of AOL Time Warner, replacing the cash bonuses for the results of their own division, caused resentment among Time Warner division heads who blamed the AOL division for failing to meet expectations and dragging down the combined company. AOL Time Warner COO Pittman, who expected to have the divisions working closely towards convergence instead found heavy resistance from many division executives, who also criticized Pittman for adhering to optimistic growth targets for AOL Time Warner that were never met. Some of the attacks on Pittman were reported to come from the print media in the Time, Inc. division under Don Logan.<ref name="kara.allthingsd">{{cite web|url=http://kara.allthingsd.com/20080806/the-125-million-sweet-dailycandy-revenge-of-bob-pitchman/# |title=The $125 Million-Sweet DailyCandy Revenge of Bob "Pitchman" - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD |publisher=Kara.allthingsd.com |date=2008-08-06 |accessdate=2011-12-27}}</ref> Furthermore, CEO Parson's democratic style prevented Pittman from exercising authority over the "old-guard" division heads who resisted Pittman's synergy initiatives.<ref name="ninamunk.com"/><ref name="observer.com">{{cite web|last=Hagan |first=Joe |url=http://www.observer.com/node/46271 |title=Pittman’s Last Stand | The New York Observer |publisher=Observer.com |date= |accessdate=2011-12-27}}</ref>

Pittman announced his resignation as AOL Time Warner COO after July 4, 2002, being reportedly burned out by the AOL special assignment and almost hospitalized, unhappy about the criticism from Time Warner executives, and seeing nowhere to move up in firm as Parsons was firmly entrenched as CEO.<ref name="observer.com"/> Pittman's departure was seen as a great victory to Time Warner executives who wanted to undo the merger. In a sign of AOL's diminishing importance to the media conglomerate, Pittman's responsibilities were divided between two Time Warner veterans; Jeffrey Bewkes who was CEO of Home Box Office, and Don Logan who had been CEO of Time. Logan became chairman of the newly created media and communications group, overseeing America Online, Time, Time Warner Cable, the AOL Time Warner Book Group and the Interactive Video unit, relegating AOL to being just another division in the conglomerate. Bewkes became chairman of the entertainment and networks group, comprising HBO, New Line Cinema, The WB, Turner Networks, Warner Bros. and Warner Music. Both Logan and Bewkes, who had initially opposed the merger, were chosen because they were considered the most successful operational executives in the conglomerate and they would report to AOL Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons.<ref name="kara.allthingsd" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-944761.html |title=Pittman to leave AOL Time Warner - CNET News |publisher=News.cnet.com |date= |accessdate=2011-12-27}}</ref> Logan, generally admired at Time Warner and reviled by AOL for being a corporate timeserver who stressed incremental steady growth and not much of a risk taker, moved to purge AOL of several "Pittman panzers".<ref name="ajbianco.com"/>

AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case took on added prominence as the co-head of a new strategy committee of the board, making speeches to divisions on synergism and the promise of the Internet. However, under pressure from institutional investor vice president Gordon Crawford who lined up dissenters, Case announced in January 2003 that he would not stand for re-election as executive chairman in the upcoming annual meeting, making CEO Richard Parsons the chairman-elect. That year, the company dropped the "AOL" from its name, and spun off [[Time-Life]]'s ownership under the legal name Direct Holdings Americas, Inc. Case resigned from the Time Warner board on October 31, 2005.<ref name="ajbianco.com"/><ref>{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/10/31/stevde.case.aol/ | work=CNN | title=CNN.com - Steve Case quits Time Warner board - Oct 31, 2005 | accessdate=May 25, 2010}}</ref>

In 2005, Time Warner was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Jim |last=Drinkard |title=Donors get good seats, great access this week |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-16-inauguration-donors_x.htm |publisher=USA Today |date=2005-01-17 |accessdate=2008-05-25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Financing the inauguration |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-16-inaugural-donors_x.htm |publisher=USA Today |date= January 16, 2005|accessdate=2008-05-25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Some question inaugural's multi-million price tag |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-14-price_x.htm |publisher=USA Today |date=2005-01-14 |accessdate=2008-05-25 }}</ref> On December 27, 2007 newly installed Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes discussed possible plans to spin off [[Time Warner Cable]] and sell off AOL and Time Inc. This would leave a smaller company made up of Turner Broadcasting, Warner Bros. and HBO.<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ata7DiR37G8I Bloomberg.com: Time Warner May End Reign as Largest Media Company]</ref> On February 28, 2008 co-chairmen and co-CEOs of New Line Cinema Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne announced their resignations from the 40-year-old movie studio in response to Jeffrey Bewkes's demand for cost-cutting measures at the studio, which he intended to dissolve into Warner Bros.

On May 28, 2009, Time Warner announced that it would spin off AOL as a separate independent company, with the change occurring on December 9, 2009.

On August 25, 2010, Time Warner's Latin American division bought Chilean nationwide terrestrial television station [[Chilevisión]] from Chile's current president [[Sebastián Piñera]]. Time Warner already operates in the country with [[CNN Chile]].

====Transactions made since the AOL-Time Warner merger====
Since the merger, a number of transactions have taken place:
* [[World Championship Wrestling]] was sold to [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWF Entertainment]] on March 23, 2001 after [[Jamie Kellner]] of TBS decided that wrestling was not in the network's best interest.
* After [[William Hanna]]'s death in March 2001, [[Hanna-Barbera]] was folded to [[Warner Bros. Animation]].
* The [[Atlanta Hawks]], [[Atlanta Thrashers]], and operating rights to [[Philips Arena]] were sold in mid-2003.
* The fifty percent share in the cable channel [[Comedy Central]] was sold to [[Viacom (1971-2005)|Viacom]].
* [[Warner Music Group]] was sold to a group of investors led by [[Edgar Bronfman Jr.]] in March 2004.
* AOL/[[Netscape Communications Corporation|Netscape]]'s longrunning litigation against [[Microsoft]] was settled out of court.
* Time Warner announced that it was shutting down its [[CNNfn]] financial information channel and disposing of its share in [[Google]] (2004).
* On March 31, 2006 Time Warner sold the [[Time Warner Book Group]] to French publisher [[Hachette Livre]], of the [[Lagardere]] group.
* On February 7, 2006, a group led by [[corporate raider]] [[Carl Icahn]] and [[Lazard Ltd.|Lazard Frères]] CEO [[Bruce Wasserstein]] unveiled a 343-page proposal calling for the breakup of Time Warner into four companies and stock buybacks totaling approximately $20 billion. On February 17, 2006, the Icahn-lead group agreed with Time Warner to not contest the re-election of TW's slate of board members at the 2006 shareholders meeting. In exchange for the Icahn group's cooperation, Time Warner will buy back up to $20 billion of stock, nominate more independent members to the board of directors, cut $1 billion of costs by 2007, and continue discussions with the Icahn group over their proposal, particularly on the future of Time Warner Cable.
* On February 23, 2006, [[Turner South]], a regional sports and entertainment network in the south, was sold to [[News Corp.|News Corp's]] [[Fox Cable Networks]] group. The network later became [[SportSouth]].
* On September 12, 2006, Time Inc. announced that Time4 Media, a group of men's interest magazines including ''[[Popular Science]]'' and ''[[Outdoor Life]]'' was to be put up for sale. The sale included 18 publications (including three parenting-related titles), with the eventual buyer being the [[Bonnier Group|Bonnier Magazine Group]].
* In the fall of 2006, the [[Atlanta Braves]] were sold to [[Liberty Media]] in a deal that returned vast amounts of Liberty-owned Time Warner stock back into the company's folds. This sale was made official on May 17, 2007.
* In the summer of 2008, [[the Reader's Digest Association]] sold QSP to Time Warner subsidiary [[Time Inc.]] for $110 million.<ref>{{cite news | last=Ali | first=Rafat | title=Time Inc. Strange Buy: Acquiring Reader's Digest School Funding Raising Unit QSP For $110 Million | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/07/AR2008080702430.html | accessdate=2008-09-03 | work=The Washington Post | date=August 7, 2008}}</ref>
* In March 2009, [[Time Warner Cable]] was divested from the company in a spin-out.<ref>{{cite web | title=Time Warner completes cable spin-off | publisher= [[BusinessWeek]]| url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D96TSJHG0.htm | accessdate=2008-03-14}}</ref>
* On August 26, 2010, in [[Chile]], Time Warner Company took the full control of [[Chilevisión]], a channel owned by Chile's President [[Sebastián Piñera]].

==The CW Television Network==
{{See also|The CW Television Network}}
[[File:The CW.svg|right|200px|thumb|The CW logo]]
On January 24, 2006, [[CBS|CBS Corporation]] and Time Warner announced that they were to create a new broadcast network, [[The CW Television Network]]. The network officially debuted on September 18, 2006. The network formally debuted on September 20 with the 2 hour premiere of ''[[America's Next Top Model]]''.

The network is the result of a merger of [[The WB Television Network]] (a Time Warner holding) and [[UPN]] (a CBS Corporation holding). CBS Corporation and Time Warner each own 50% of the network. [[Tribune Broadcasting]] (previously owned a 25% stake on [[The WB]]) and CBS Corporation contributed its stations as new network affiliates, although Time Warner's sole owned TV station (via Turner) Atlanta's WTBS (now [[WPCH-TV|WPCH]]) remains an independent station, competing against CBS-owned CW O&O [[WUPA]].

==Time Inc.==
The [[Time Inc.]] division publishes approximately 150 titles worldwide. It is the leading magazine publisher in the U.S. and UK, and is understood to be profitable at US$5 billion in annual revenues.<ref>[http://www.nypost.com/seven/01272007/business/time_to_leave_says_coo_mcaniff_business_keith_j__kelly.htm NYPost]</ref> As of January 2007, the unit is experiencing downsizing.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/business/media/15time.html "As Time Inc. Cuts Jobs, One Writer on Britney May Have to Do"], ''[[New York Times]]'', January 15, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2008.</ref> In January 2007, the [[Bonnier Magazine Group]] agreed to acquire 18 magazines that Time Inc. was divesting. The magazines in the package employed 550 people and included ''[[Field & Stream]]'', ''[[Outdoor Life]]'', ''Ski'', ''[[Yachting (magazine)|Yachting]]'', and ''TransWorld Snowboarding'', as well as 11 other titles that were part of Time Inc.'s Time4Media Group. Also included were ''[[Parenting (magazine)|Parenting]]'', and ''[[Babytalk (magazine)|Baby Talk]]'', which were part of the Parenting Group.<ref>[http://www.nypost.com/seven/01262007/business/bonnier_coughed_up_225m_to_time_business_keith_j__kelly.htm?page=2 NY Post]</ref>

==Financials==
When the AOL-Time Warner merger was announced in January 2000, the combined market capitalization was $350 billion. It has subsequently fallen dramatically. Even by the time the merger was approved by the FCC and FTC just one year later on February 11, 2001, the company's market capitalization had plunged to $208.6 billion. By 2009, the company's value had tumbled even further, to just $65.7 billion, or roughly one-sixth of its value at the height of the dot.com bubble era when the deal was announced.[http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MzkxNTR8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=&t=1 Time Warner 2009 Annual Report]

For fiscal year 2002 the company reported a $99 billion loss on its [[income statement]] <ref>[http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=TWX&annual TWX annual statement]</ref> because of $100 billion in non-recurring charges, almost all from a writedown of the goodwill ([[intangible asset]]) from the merger in 2000. This loss is one of the [[List of largest corporate profits and losses|largest in corporate history]]. The value of the AOL portion of the company had dropped sharply with the [[Dot-com bubble|collapse of the Internet boom]], in the early 21st century.

On February 4, 2009, Time Warner posted a $16.03 billion loss for the final quarter of 2008, compared with a $1.03 billion profit for the same three months of 2007.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/05/2483470.htm?section=justin Time Warner reports huge loss]</ref>

==Commercial properties==
Time Warner Inc. owns several large properties in New York City; certain buildings in the Rockefeller Center complex and adjacent office towers house its main offices; one of which houses a [[CNN]] news studio. In late 2003, Time Warner finished construction of a new twin-tower complex, designed to serve as additional office space, facing [[Columbus Circle]] on the southwestern edge of [[Central Park]]. Originally called the AOL Time Warner Center, the {{convert|755|ft|m|adj=on}}, 55-floor mixed-use property was renamed [[Time Warner Center]] when the company itself was renamed.

==Board of directors==
As of June 24, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timewarner.com/corp/management/board_directors/index.html |title=Board of Directors - Management - Our Company |publisher=Time Warner |date=2011-08-12 |accessdate=2011-12-27}}</ref>
*[[Jeffrey L. Bewkes]] - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc.
*[[James Barksdale]] - Chairman and President, Barksdale Management Corporation
*[[William P. Barr]] - Former Attorney General of the United States
*[[Stephen F. Bollenbach]] - Former Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, [[Hilton Hotels Corporation]]
*[[Frank J. Caufield]] - Co-Founder and Partner, [[Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers]]
*[[Robert C. Clark]] - Distinguished Service Professor, [[Harvard University]]
*[[Mathias Döpfner]] - Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, [[Axel Springer AG]]
*[[Jessica P. Einhorn]] - Dean, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), [[Johns Hopkins University]]
*[[Fred Hassan]] - Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, [[Schering-Plough Corporation]]
*[[Michael A. Miles]] - Special Limited Partner, [[Forstmann Little & Company]]
*[[Ken Novack]] - Senior Counsel, [[Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo]], PC
*[[Deborah Wright]] - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, [[Carver Bancorp]], Inc.

==Senior executives==
===Time Warner Inc.===
[[Jeffrey Bewkes|Jeffrey L. Bewkes]], [[Chairman]] and [[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]]

And six executive vice presidents, most with additional, functional titles:
*Paul T. Cappuccio, [[General Counsel]]
*Patricia Fili-Krushel, Administration
*[[Gary Ginsberg|Gary L. Ginsberg]], Corporate [[Marketing]] and [[Communications]]
*John K. Martin, [[Chief Financial Officer]]
*Carol A. Melton, Global Public Policy
*[[Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson]] <ref>[http://www.timewarner.com/corp/management/corp_executives/index.html Senior Corporate Executives], company website. Retrieved 2010-07-27.</ref>

===Subsidiaries===
*Bill Nelson, [[Chairman]] and [[CEO]] of [[HBO|Home Box Office]]
*[[Ann S. Moore]], [[Chairman]] and [[CEO]] of [[Time Inc.]]
*John Huey, [[Editor-In-Chief]] of [[Time Inc.]]
*[[Philip I. Kent]], [[Chairman]] and [[CEO]] of [[Turner Broadcasting System]]
*[[Barry Meyer]], [[Chairman]] and [[CEO]] of [[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.]]
*[[Alan F. Horn]], [[President]] and [[Chief Operating Officer]] of [[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.]]

==Competition==

Time Warner faces industry competition from traditional media companies such as [[Vivendi]], [[CBS Corporation]], [[Sony]], [[Viacom]], [[The Walt Disney Company]], [[NBCUniversal]], and [[News Corporation]]. Time Warner's and many of their competitions business may be severely impacted by the increasing viewership of feature films, television programming and other content online with low ad-income, which decreases company revenues.<ref>[[ValueWiki:TWX|Time Warner profile]]</ref>

Box office receipts have been rising while the growth rate of DVD sales have recently been declining, which affects Warner Bros.' growth prospects and revenues.<ref>[http://google.brand.edgar-online.com/?sym=TWX Recent 10Q Report]</ref>

==Past names==
{{multicol}}
* Time Inc. (1922–1990)
* Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. (1923–1967)
* Seven Arts Productions Inc. (1957–1967)
* Kinney National Company (1966–1972)
* Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1967–1970)
{{col-break}}
* Warner Communications (1972–1990)
* Time Warner (1990–1992, 2003–present)
* Time Warner Entertainment (1992–2001)
* AOL Time Warner Inc. (2001–2003)
{{multicol-end}}

==See also==
{{Portal box|New York City|Companies|United States}}
{{multicol}}
* [[Time-Life]] - former direct marketing (books, music, video) subsidiary;
*[[Ted Turner]]
*[[Steve Case]]
* [[Reel Works Teen Filmmaking]] - a documentary youth program sponsored by Time Warner
{{col-break}}
* [[List of conglomerates]]
* [[List of United States companies]]
* [[List of assets owned by Time Warner]]
{{col-end}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.timewarner.com}}
*[http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/search/profile.aspx?id=M000010&sec=facilities A complete list of Time Warner media facilities] and [http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/search/profile.aspx?id=M000010&sec=influence a detailed report on their campaign contributions and lobbying] from the [[Center for Public Integrity]]
*[http://www.ketupa.net/time.htm Ketupa - Time Warner] profile
*[http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/timewarner.asp Columbia Journal Review's Who Owns What for Time Warner]
*[http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/jan-june00/aol_01-10.html Early analysis of the Time Warner-AOL merger]
*[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/102/102518.html Yahoo! - Time Warner Inc. Company Profile]
*[http://seekingalpha.com/transcripts/for/twx Time Warner's most recent conference call transcripts]

{{Time Warner}}
{{TBS}}
{{Warner Bros.}}
{{New Line}}
{{Atlanta Braves owners}}

[[Category:Publishing companies established in 1990]]
[[Category:Entertainment companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Telecommunications companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Internet companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Companies based in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Magazine companies of the United States|Time Warner, Inc.]]
[[Category:Time Warner| ]]
[[Category:Turner Broadcasting System]]
[[Category:Atlanta Braves owners]]
[[Category:Multinational companies based in New York City]]
[[Category:Publicly traded companies based in New York City]]
[[Category:Article Feedback 5 Additional Articles]]

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Fern der Heimat

2012-02-26T00:52:37Z

149.101.1.117: /* Plot */

{{Infobox Simpsons episode
| episode_name = At Long Last Leave
| image =
| image_caption =
| episode_no = 500
| prod_code = PABF07
| airdate = February 19, 2012
| show runner = [[Al Jean]]
| writer = [[Michael Price (writer)|Michael Price]]
| director = [[Matthew Nastuk]]
| blackboard = [[Bart Simpson|Bart]]'s earned a day off (written by [[Milhouse Van Houten|Milhouse]])
| couch_gag = A frame-by-frame montage of every previous couch gag pulls back into a [[photomosaic]] of the number "500", then ends with [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] strangling Bart, both of whom are wearing tuxedos.
| guest_star = [[Julian Assange]] as himself [[Kelsey Grammer]] as [[Sideshow Bob]] [[Alison Krauss|Allison Krauss and Union Station]] [[Jackie Mason]] as Rabbi Krustofski
| commentary =
| season = 23
}}
"'''At Long Last Leave'''" is the fourteenth episode of the [[The Simpsons (season 23)|23rd season]] of the American animated sitcom ''[[The Simpsons]]'', and the 500th episode overall. It aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] in the [[United States]] on February 19, 2012. In this episode, the [[Simpson family]] discovers that everyone in [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]] has grown tired of them and are secretly planning to have them thrown out of the city. The family then gets forcibly evicted from Springfield to a rugged place called the Outlands. After a while, Springfield residents see that they need the Simpsons. They develop the city and abandon Springfield.

==Plot==
After being advised of a citywide nuclear safety drill, the Simpson family gets a warning to hide in their cellar for safety for 3 hours. After a while of being bored, [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]]'s curiosity brings the family out to see the empty city. As the family heads throughout the empty, deserted Springfield, they see an unusual amount of cars at the City Hall. The family goes in and sees that everyone in Springfield has gathered together for a secret town meeting and have voted unanimously to kick the Simpson family out of Springfield forever.

When the Simpsons take the stage to defend themselves (unsuccessfully), [[Mayor Quimby]] reveals that Springfield has gone bankrupt due to the constant cleaning up of the family's shenanigans over the years ranging from [[Homer Simpson|Homer]]'s drunk shenanigans, [[Bart Simpson|Bart]]'s various pranks, Lisa's environmental concerns, and [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] never crying once. [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] delivers a heart-felt plea to the residents to let the family live in the one place they call home, but to no avail as Quimby declares her the "worst Simpson" for always trying to see the family in a positive light. [[Ned Flanders]] arrives uninvited to the meeting and tries to defend the family, but Mayor Quimby triggers a battering-ram that knocks Ned out of the building and sends him crashing into the hood of his car. A big celebration is held by the city's population as the Simpsons are officially evicted from Springfield. As the family drives out into the middle of nowhere at night with no place to stay, they come across a county called "The Outlands," a dirty, run-down rotten place where there are no rules and regulations and people only have to worry about the complete lack of modern life--and coyotes. The Simpsons settle in there, getting used to their new life. They also meet [[Julian Assange]]: Creator of WikiLeaks who is their unfriendly next-door neighbor tending to his WikiLeaks Headquarters (with its security code of 1-2-3-4).

While the rest of the family gets used to their new home, Marge cannot and becomes homesick for Springfield. Homer sneaks her back into the city one night under the disguise of [[Mr. Burns]] and [[Waylon Smithers|Smithers]], and they spend the night getting drunk in the city and having sex in their old abandoned home. However, [[Chief Wiggum]] has seen through their disguises, and rallies the people of Springfield to the Simpson home to capture Homer and Marge. Marge is initially angry at the mob, but she stuns them by saying that she doesn't WANT to live in Springfield or deal with them anymore, having found a place to live where they can be accepted for who they are and love each other without worry of hate and judgment from others. Marge and Homer march through the visibly disillusioned crowd and return to The Outlands.

Back in their new home, the family finally gets fully used to their gritty life, when Bart discovers [[Lenny and Carl]] sneaking in. They tell the family they long to start a new life in the Outlands, away from Springfield. Soon, [[Moe Szyslak|Moe]], Mayor Quimby, and all other Springfield residents show up, wishing to abandon their lives in Springfield and start over in the Outlands. Soon, all of Springfield moves out to the Outlands to start new lives with the Simpsons, and they begin rebuilding their new city there (re-named Springfield). [[Principal Skinner]] however is left behind in the now-deserted Springfield....until Bart picks him up in an Outlands-made helicopter and flies him to the Outland, making him hit everything in sight on the way there. Skinner remarks, "It's good to be wanted."

The episode ended with a [[title card]] stating: 
"Thanks for 500 Shows. 
All we ask is that you go out 
and get some fresh air 
before logging on the Internet 
and saying how much this sucked."<ref>{{cite web|last=Landin|first=Kathy|title=‘The Simpsons’ 500th Episode Offers a Secret Message to Fans|url=http://thefw.com/the-simpsons-500th-episode-final-message/|publisher=The FW}}</ref>

==Production==
[[File:Julian Assange 20091117 Copenhagen 1 cropped to shoulders.jpg|thumb|[[Julian Assange]], the founder of website [[WikiLeaks]], appeared in the episode.]]
"At Long Last Leave", which is the 500th episode of ''The Simpsons'', was written by [[Michael Price (writer)|Michael Price]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Ledesma |first=Chris |url=http://simpsonsmusic500.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/the-500th-episode-scoring-session/ |title=The 500th Episode Scoring Session |publisher=Simpsons Music 500 |date=2012-02-05 |accessdate=2012-02-14}}</ref> ''The Simpsons'' [[show runner]] [[Al Jean]] has described it as "a tribute to people who love the show."<ref name=Schneider/> Being a fan of musical theater, Price titled the episode in reference to the [[Cole Porter]] song "[[At Long Last Love (song)|At Long Last Love]]".<ref name=Harrison/> Price did not write "At Long Last Leave" with the intention of it becoming the 500th episode; that decision was made afterwards when the staff members realized the story offered an opportunity for a look-back at the history of the Simpson family. He said in an interview with Channel Guide Magazine that he was "deeply honored" when his episode was selected for the milestone.<ref name=Harrison>{{cite news|last=Harrison|first=Stacey|title=“Simpsons” writer Michael Price talks about writing the show’s 500th episode|url=http://www.channelguidemagblog.com/index.php/2012/02/17/simpsons-writer-michael-price-talks-about-writing-the-shows-500th-episode/|accessdate=2012-02-17|date=2012-02-17|pblisher=Channel Guide Magazine}}</ref> As acknowledged by Price in that interview, the plot of the episode features similarities to the 2007 film ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'', in which the Simpsons are forced to flee to Alaska after Homer angers the townspeople in Springfield by polluting a lake. However, Price commented that "I think it’s different from the movie in that it sort of does reference back the entire history of the show, the collective experience of Springfield vis-a-vis the Simpsons, whereas the movie they were forced to run away due to that very specific thing".<ref name=Harrison/> He further noted that despite the similarities "we [the staff] liked it enough to go with it anyway."<ref name=Harrison/> The plot was first announced to the press at the [[San Diego Comic-Con International|Comic-Con]] convention in [[San Diego]], [[California]] on July 23, 2011, during a panel with the cast and crew of ''The Simpsons''.<ref name="Snierson07-23">{{cite news|last=Snierson|first=Dan|title=10 things we learned about 'The Simpsons' at Comic-Con|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/07/23/simpsons-comic-con-season-23/|accessdate=2011-12-09|newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=2011-07-23}}</ref>

The episode features several guest appearances.<ref name="Snierson-assange"/> American musician [[Alison Krauss]] and her band Union Station recorded a [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]] version of the [[The Simpsons Theme|''Simpsons'' theme song]] that is played in the episode and over the closing credits.<ref>{{cite news|title='The Simpsons' 500th Episode Preview|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/the-simpsons-500-episode-preview_n_1247159.html|accessdate=2012-02-14|newspaper=[[The Huffington Post]]|date=2012-02-01}}</ref><ref name=Schneider>{{cite news|last=Schneider|first=Michael|title=The Simpsons Get Exiled From Springfield in Their 500th Episode|url=http://www.tvguide.com/News/Simpsons-500-Episode-1043493.aspx|accessdate=2012-02-17|newspaper=[[TV Guide]]|date=2012-02-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Betts|first=Stephen L.|title=Alison Krauss & Union Station Rework 'Simpsons' Theme Song|url=http://www.theboot.com/2012/02/17/alison-krauss-and-union-station-simpsons-song/|publisher=The Boot ([[AOL]])|accessdate=2012-02-17|date=2012-02-17}}</ref> [[Kelsey Grammer]] and [[Jackie Mason]] also made cameo guest appearances, returning as [[Sideshow Bob]] and Rabbi Krustofski, respectively.

Australian activist [[Julian Assange]] — the founder of [[WikiLeaks]] — appears as himself.<ref name="Snierson-assange">{{cite news|last=Snierson|first=Dan|title=WikiLeaks' Julian Assange to guest on 'The Simpsons'|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/01/30/simpsons-wikileaks-julian-assange/|accessdate=2012-01-30|newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=2012-01-30}}</ref> Many of his lines were written by Australian author [[Kathy Lette]], who is one of Assange's friends. According to Lette, "Julian and ''The Simpsons'' producers asked me to rewrite his scene and dialogue. I guess they just wanted me to add a little Aussie irony to the script. Julian does not suffer from an irony deficiency! I used to write a sitcom for Columbia Pictures, the long-running series ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'', so the producers knew I could fire off a quip or two."<ref name=eveningstandard>{{cite news|title=Kathy Lette puts words in Julian’s mouth|url=http://londonersdiary.standard.co.uk/2012/02/kathy-lette-puts-words-in-julians-mouth.html|accessdate=2012-02-19|newspaper=[[Evening Standard]]|date=2012-02-17}}</ref> In 2010, Swedish authorities issued a [[European Arrest Warrant]] to extradite Assange from Britain to Sweden for questioning in relation to sexual assault allegations made against him there. Assange was arrested in England, before being freed on conditional bail until a decision would be made as to whether or not he should be extradited to Sweden.<ref>{{cite news|last=[[Reuters]]|title=Assange to guest star on ‘The Simpsons’|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/329904/assange-to-guest-star-on-the-simpsons/|accessdate=2012-01-31|newspaper=[[The Express Tribune]]|date=2012-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Wikileaks' Julian Assange seeks Supreme Court hearing|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15739437|accessdate=2012-01-30|newspaper=''[[BBC News]]''|date=2011-11-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Wikileaks' Julian Assange to be extradited to Sweden|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12564865|accessdate=2012-01-30|newspaper=''[[BBC News]]''|date=2011-02-24}}</ref> Assange recorded his lines over the phone while under house arrest in England.<ref name="Snierson-assange"/> Jean, who directed Assange's performance from Los Angeles, only acquired a phone number to call and received no information about the whereabouts of the activist.<ref name="Snierson-assange"/> According to Jean in an interview with ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', ''The Simpsons'' creator [[Matt Groening]] had found out through a rumor that Assange wanted to appear on the show. Casting director [[Bonnie Pietila]] was therefore given the task to get contact with Assange and make sure the guest appearance could happen.<ref name="Snierson-assange"/> The episode features no reference to Assange's legal situation at the time of his recording. Jean commented that "He’s a controversial figure, and there’s a good reason he’s controversial. There was discussion internally whether or not to have him on the show, but ultimately we went ahead and did it."<ref name="Snierson-assange"/> Groening has said in an interview that "We [the staff] dare ourselves to do things and Julian Assange was a dare."<ref>{{cite news|title=First Look At The Simpsons 500th Episode|url=http://news.sky.com/home/showbiz-news/article/16170481|accessdate=2012-02-15|date=2012-02-15|publisher=[[Sky News]]}}</ref>

==Promotion==
To promote the 500th episode milestone, the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]], which airs ''The Simpsons'', attempted to break the [[Guinness World Record]] for longest continuous television viewing by arranging a marathon screening of the show's episodes at [[Hollywood and Highland Center|Hollywood & Highland]].<ref name="Day"/><ref name=Fienberg/> The record of 86 hours, six minutes, and 41 seconds was set in 2010 when three people watched all episodes of the Fox show ''[[24 (TV series)|24]]'' in a row.<ref name="Day"/> A hundred fans were selected to participate in the ''Simpsons'' marathon, which was also a contest to determine which fan could last the longest into the marathon.<ref name="Day">{{cite news|last=Day|first=Patrick Kevin|title='Simpsons' marathon set to celebrate the show's 500th episode|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/01/simpsons-marathon-set-to-celebrate-the-shows-500th-episode.html|accessdate=2012-01-31|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=2012-01-27}}</ref> The screening started on February 8, 2012 with the first episode of the series, and ended on February 12 with the eleventh episode of the eleventh season.<ref name=Fienberg/> At that point, 86 hours and 37 minutes had passed, which meant the record was broken. The only two remaining fans—Jeremiah Franco and Carin Shreve—were crowned the winners of the contest and each won US$10,500.<ref name=Fienberg>{{cite web|last=Fienberg|first=Daniel|title='Simpsons' marathon sets record, spans 10-plus seasons|url=http://www.hitfix.com/articles/simpsons-marathon-sets-record-spans-10-plus-seasons|publisher=[[HitFix]]|accessdate=2012-02-13|date=2012-02-13}}</ref> They also got to attend the 500th Episode Celebration party held on February 13 for the cast and crew of ''The Simpsons''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Snierson|first=Dan|title=Meet the two brave souls who watched 86 hours and 37 minutes of 'The Simpsons' in a row|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/02/14/simpsons-marathon/|accessdate=2012-02-14|newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=2012-02-14}}</ref>

==Release==
The episode aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 19, 2012.<ref name=Snierson-assange/><ref name=Fienberg/> It was viewed by 5.79 million viewers, <ref name=ratings2>{{cite web|last=Eckstein|first=David|title=TV ratings: CBS wins night, 'Once Upon a Time' brings strong numbers|url=http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/02/tv-ratings-cbs-wins-night-once-upon-a-time-brings-strong-numbers.html|publisher=Zap2it}}</ref> making it the highest viewed program that night on Fox's Animation Domination line up with ''[[Family Guy]]'' having 5.04 million viewers, ''[[Napoleon Dynamite (TV series)|Napoleon Dynamite]]'' and ''[[American Dad!]]'' tying with 4.44 million viewers and ''[[The Cleveland Show]]'' finishing last with 2.06 million viewers.

"At Long Last Leave" has received generally positive reviews from television critics. Matt Roush of ''[[TV Guide]]'' wrote favorably about the episode, describing it as a "keeper" and highlighting the "dazzling opening sequence". He concluded: "From opening chalkboard joke to the final snarky salute to the eternal (if not forever gracious) fan, ''The Simpsons'' once again delivers the goods, proving itself to be a classic for our age and for the ages."<ref name=Roush>{{cite news|last=Roush|first=Matt|title=Weekend TV Reviews: Simpsons' 500th, Downton Finale, a New Race and More|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/tv/tvguide/article/Weekend-TV-Reviews-Simpsons-500th-Downton-3339109.php|accessdate=2012-02-17|newspaper=[[TV Guide]]|date=2012-02-17}}</ref> [[HitFix]]'s [[Alan Sepinwall]] also commended "At Long Last Leave", writing that "like many latter-day ''Simpsons'' outings, [it] features a story we've seen variations on several times before (including in ''The Simpsons Movie''), but also features many funny jokes that affirm my belief that I'm happier to live in a world that keeps giving us new ''Simpsons'' episodes [...] than I will be in the one where that inevitably stops."<ref name=Sepinwall>{{cite web|last=Sepinwall|first=Alan|title=Best. Episode. Ever? Pick your 'Simpsons' favorite|url=http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/best-episode-ever-pick-your-simpsons-favorite|publisher=[[HitFix]]|accessdate=2012-02-17|date=2012-02-17}}</ref> Sepinwall praised the couch gag as being "marvelous", noting that it "actually made me choke up a bit."<ref name=Sepinwall/> ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]'' critic James Poniewozik commented that "At Long Last Leave" was an "all right" episode, noting that certain gags felt "forced by the writers’ room". Poniewozik, who thinks the quality of ''The Simpsons'' declined at the end of the 1990s, added however that "a few moments made me bark out loud and realize why I loved the show in the first place."<ref name=Poniewozik>{{cite news|last=Poniewozik|first=James|title=TV Weekend: The Simpsons At 500|url=http://entertainment.time.com/2012/02/17/tv-weekend-the-simpsons-at-500/|accessdate=2012-02-17|newspaper=[[Time (magazine){{!}}TIME]]|date=2012-02-17}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Portal|The Simpsons}}
* {{IMDb episode|id=2061517}}

[[Category:The Simpsons (season 23) episodes]]
[[Category:2012 television episodes]]

[[fr:At Long Last Leave]]
[[ru:At Long Last Leave]]

Fern der Heimat

2012-02-26T00:41:37Z

149.101.1.117: /* Plot */

{{Infobox Simpsons episode
| episode_name = At Long Last Leave
| image =
| image_caption =
| episode_no = 500
| prod_code = PABF07
| airdate = February 19, 2012
| show runner = [[Al Jean]]
| writer = [[Michael Price (writer)|Michael Price]]
| director = [[Matthew Nastuk]]
| blackboard = [[Bart Simpson|Bart]]'s earned a day off (written by [[Milhouse Van Houten|Milhouse]])
| couch_gag = A frame-by-frame montage of every previous couch gag pulls back into a [[photomosaic]] of the number "500", then ends with [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] strangling Bart, both of whom are wearing tuxedos.
| guest_star = [[Julian Assange]] as himself [[Kelsey Grammer]] as [[Sideshow Bob]] [[Alison Krauss|Allison Krauss and Union Station]] [[Jackie Mason]] as Rabbi Krustofski
| commentary =
| season = 23
}}
"'''At Long Last Leave'''" is the fourteenth episode of the [[The Simpsons (season 23)|23rd season]] of the American animated sitcom ''[[The Simpsons]]'', and the 500th episode overall. It aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] in the [[United States]] on February 19, 2012. In this episode, the [[Simpson family]] discovers that everyone in [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]] has grown tired of them and are secretly planning to have them thrown out of the city. The family then gets forcibly evicted from Springfield to a rugged place called the Outlands. After a while, Springfield residents see that they need the Simpsons. They develop the city and abandon Springfield.

==Plot==
After being advised of a citywide nuclear safety drill, the Simpson family gets a warning to hide in their cellar for safety for 3 hours. After a while of being bored, [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]]'s curiosity brings the family out to see the empty city. As the family heads throughout the empty, deserted Springfield, they see an unusual amount of cars at the City Hall. The family goes in and sees that everyone in Springfield has gathered together for a secret town meeting and have voted unanimously to kick the Simpson family out of Springfield forever.

When the Simpsons take the stage to defend themselves (unsuccessfully), [[Mayor Quimby]] reveals that Springfield has gone bankrupt due to the constant cleaning up of the family's shenanigans over the years ranging from [[Homer Simpson|Homer]]'s drunk shenanigans, [[Bart Simpson|Bart]]'s various pranks, Lisa's environmental concerns, and [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] never crying once. [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] delivers a heart-felt plea to the residents to let the family live in the one place they call home, but to no avail as Quimby declares her the "worst Simpson" for always trying to see the family in a positive light. A big celebration is had by the city's population as the Simpsons are officially evicted from Springfield. As the family drives out into the middle of nowhere at night with no place to stay, they come across a county called "The Outlands," a dirty, run-down rotten place where there are no rules and regulations and the people who live there are bad, uneducated people. The Simpsons settle in there, getting used to their new life. They also meet [[Julian Assange]]: Creator of WikiLeaks who is their unfriendly next-door neighbor tending to his WikiLeaks Headquarters (with its security code of 1-2-3-4).

While the rest of the family gets used to their new home, Marge cannot and becomes homesick for Springfield. Homer sneaks her back into the city one night under the disguise of [[Mr. Burns]] and [[Waylon Smithers|Smithers]], and they spend the night getting drunk in the city and having sex in their old abandoned home. However, [[Chief Wiggum]] has seen through their disguises, and rallies the people of Springfield to the Simpson home to capture Homer and Marge. Marge is initially angry at the mob, but she stuns them by saying that she doesn't WANT to live in Springfield or deal with them anymore having found a place to live where they can be accepted for who they are and love each other without worry of hate and judgment from others. Marge and Homer march through the visibly disillusioned crowd and return to The Outlands.

Back in their new home, the family finally gets fully used to their gritty life, when Bart discovers [[Lenny and Carl]] sneaking in. They tell the family they long to start a new life in the Outlands, away from Springfield. Soon, [[Moe Szyslak|Moe]], Mayor Quimby, and all other Springfield residents show up, wishing to abandon their lives in Springfield and start over in the Outlands. Soon, all of Springfield moves out to the Outlands to start new lives with the Simpsons, and they begin rebuilding their new city there (re-named Springfield). [[Principal Skinner]] however is left behind in the now-deserted Springfield....until Bart picks him up in an Outlands-made helicopter and flies him to the Outland, making him hit everything in sight on the way there. Skinner remarks, "It's good to be wanted."

The episode ended with a [[title card]] stating: 
"Thanks for 500 Shows. 
All we ask is that you go out 
and get some fresh air 
before logging on the Internet 
and saying how much this sucked."<ref>{{cite web|last=Landin|first=Kathy|title=‘The Simpsons’ 500th Episode Offers a Secret Message to Fans|url=http://thefw.com/the-simpsons-500th-episode-final-message/|publisher=The FW}}</ref>

==Production==
[[File:Julian Assange 20091117 Copenhagen 1 cropped to shoulders.jpg|thumb|[[Julian Assange]], the founder of website [[WikiLeaks]], appeared in the episode.]]
"At Long Last Leave", which is the 500th episode of ''The Simpsons'', was written by [[Michael Price (writer)|Michael Price]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Ledesma |first=Chris |url=http://simpsonsmusic500.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/the-500th-episode-scoring-session/ |title=The 500th Episode Scoring Session |publisher=Simpsons Music 500 |date=2012-02-05 |accessdate=2012-02-14}}</ref> ''The Simpsons'' [[show runner]] [[Al Jean]] has described it as "a tribute to people who love the show."<ref name=Schneider/> Being a fan of musical theater, Price titled the episode in reference to the [[Cole Porter]] song "[[At Long Last Love (song)|At Long Last Love]]".<ref name=Harrison/> Price did not write "At Long Last Leave" with the intention of it becoming the 500th episode; that decision was made afterwards when the staff members realized the story offered an opportunity for a look-back at the history of the Simpson family. He said in an interview with Channel Guide Magazine that he was "deeply honored" when his episode was selected for the milestone.<ref name=Harrison>{{cite news|last=Harrison|first=Stacey|title=“Simpsons” writer Michael Price talks about writing the show’s 500th episode|url=http://www.channelguidemagblog.com/index.php/2012/02/17/simpsons-writer-michael-price-talks-about-writing-the-shows-500th-episode/|accessdate=2012-02-17|date=2012-02-17|pblisher=Channel Guide Magazine}}</ref> As acknowledged by Price in that interview, the plot of the episode features similarities to the 2007 film ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'', in which the Simpsons are forced to flee to Alaska after Homer angers the townspeople in Springfield by polluting a lake. However, Price commented that "I think it’s different from the movie in that it sort of does reference back the entire history of the show, the collective experience of Springfield vis-a-vis the Simpsons, whereas the movie they were forced to run away due to that very specific thing".<ref name=Harrison/> He further noted that despite the similarities "we [the staff] liked it enough to go with it anyway."<ref name=Harrison/> The plot was first announced to the press at the [[San Diego Comic-Con International|Comic-Con]] convention in [[San Diego]], [[California]] on July 23, 2011, during a panel with the cast and crew of ''The Simpsons''.<ref name="Snierson07-23">{{cite news|last=Snierson|first=Dan|title=10 things we learned about 'The Simpsons' at Comic-Con|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/07/23/simpsons-comic-con-season-23/|accessdate=2011-12-09|newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=2011-07-23}}</ref>

The episode features several guest appearances.<ref name="Snierson-assange"/> American musician [[Alison Krauss]] and her band Union Station recorded a [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]] version of the [[The Simpsons Theme|''Simpsons'' theme song]] that is played in the episode and over the closing credits.<ref>{{cite news|title='The Simpsons' 500th Episode Preview|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/the-simpsons-500-episode-preview_n_1247159.html|accessdate=2012-02-14|newspaper=[[The Huffington Post]]|date=2012-02-01}}</ref><ref name=Schneider>{{cite news|last=Schneider|first=Michael|title=The Simpsons Get Exiled From Springfield in Their 500th Episode|url=http://www.tvguide.com/News/Simpsons-500-Episode-1043493.aspx|accessdate=2012-02-17|newspaper=[[TV Guide]]|date=2012-02-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Betts|first=Stephen L.|title=Alison Krauss & Union Station Rework 'Simpsons' Theme Song|url=http://www.theboot.com/2012/02/17/alison-krauss-and-union-station-simpsons-song/|publisher=The Boot ([[AOL]])|accessdate=2012-02-17|date=2012-02-17}}</ref> [[Kelsey Grammer]] and [[Jackie Mason]] also made cameo guest appearances, returning as [[Sideshow Bob]] and Rabbi Krustofski, respectively.

Australian activist [[Julian Assange]] — the founder of [[WikiLeaks]] — appears as himself.<ref name="Snierson-assange">{{cite news|last=Snierson|first=Dan|title=WikiLeaks' Julian Assange to guest on 'The Simpsons'|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/01/30/simpsons-wikileaks-julian-assange/|accessdate=2012-01-30|newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=2012-01-30}}</ref> Many of his lines were written by Australian author [[Kathy Lette]], who is one of Assange's friends. According to Lette, "Julian and ''The Simpsons'' producers asked me to rewrite his scene and dialogue. I guess they just wanted me to add a little Aussie irony to the script. Julian does not suffer from an irony deficiency! I used to write a sitcom for Columbia Pictures, the long-running series ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'', so the producers knew I could fire off a quip or two."<ref name=eveningstandard>{{cite news|title=Kathy Lette puts words in Julian’s mouth|url=http://londonersdiary.standard.co.uk/2012/02/kathy-lette-puts-words-in-julians-mouth.html|accessdate=2012-02-19|newspaper=[[Evening Standard]]|date=2012-02-17}}</ref> In 2010, Swedish authorities issued a [[European Arrest Warrant]] to extradite Assange from Britain to Sweden for questioning in relation to sexual assault allegations made against him there. Assange was arrested in England, before being freed on conditional bail until a decision would be made as to whether or not he should be extradited to Sweden.<ref>{{cite news|last=[[Reuters]]|title=Assange to guest star on ‘The Simpsons’|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/329904/assange-to-guest-star-on-the-simpsons/|accessdate=2012-01-31|newspaper=[[The Express Tribune]]|date=2012-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Wikileaks' Julian Assange seeks Supreme Court hearing|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15739437|accessdate=2012-01-30|newspaper=''[[BBC News]]''|date=2011-11-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Wikileaks' Julian Assange to be extradited to Sweden|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12564865|accessdate=2012-01-30|newspaper=''[[BBC News]]''|date=2011-02-24}}</ref> Assange recorded his lines over the phone while under house arrest in England.<ref name="Snierson-assange"/> Jean, who directed Assange's performance from Los Angeles, only acquired a phone number to call and received no information about the whereabouts of the activist.<ref name="Snierson-assange"/> According to Jean in an interview with ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', ''The Simpsons'' creator [[Matt Groening]] had found out through a rumor that Assange wanted to appear on the show. Casting director [[Bonnie Pietila]] was therefore given the task to get contact with Assange and make sure the guest appearance could happen.<ref name="Snierson-assange"/> The episode features no reference to Assange's legal situation at the time of his recording. Jean commented that "He’s a controversial figure, and there’s a good reason he’s controversial. There was discussion internally whether or not to have him on the show, but ultimately we went ahead and did it."<ref name="Snierson-assange"/> Groening has said in an interview that "We [the staff] dare ourselves to do things and Julian Assange was a dare."<ref>{{cite news|title=First Look At The Simpsons 500th Episode|url=http://news.sky.com/home/showbiz-news/article/16170481|accessdate=2012-02-15|date=2012-02-15|publisher=[[Sky News]]}}</ref>

==Promotion==
To promote the 500th episode milestone, the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]], which airs ''The Simpsons'', attempted to break the [[Guinness World Record]] for longest continuous television viewing by arranging a marathon screening of the show's episodes at [[Hollywood and Highland Center|Hollywood & Highland]].<ref name="Day"/><ref name=Fienberg/> The record of 86 hours, six minutes, and 41 seconds was set in 2010 when three people watched all episodes of the Fox show ''[[24 (TV series)|24]]'' in a row.<ref name="Day"/> A hundred fans were selected to participate in the ''Simpsons'' marathon, which was also a contest to determine which fan could last the longest into the marathon.<ref name="Day">{{cite news|last=Day|first=Patrick Kevin|title='Simpsons' marathon set to celebrate the show's 500th episode|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/01/simpsons-marathon-set-to-celebrate-the-shows-500th-episode.html|accessdate=2012-01-31|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=2012-01-27}}</ref> The screening started on February 8, 2012 with the first episode of the series, and ended on February 12 with the eleventh episode of the eleventh season.<ref name=Fienberg/> At that point, 86 hours and 37 minutes had passed, which meant the record was broken. The only two remaining fans—Jeremiah Franco and Carin Shreve—were crowned the winners of the contest and each won US$10,500.<ref name=Fienberg>{{cite web|last=Fienberg|first=Daniel|title='Simpsons' marathon sets record, spans 10-plus seasons|url=http://www.hitfix.com/articles/simpsons-marathon-sets-record-spans-10-plus-seasons|publisher=[[HitFix]]|accessdate=2012-02-13|date=2012-02-13}}</ref> They also got to attend the 500th Episode Celebration party held on February 13 for the cast and crew of ''The Simpsons''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Snierson|first=Dan|title=Meet the two brave souls who watched 86 hours and 37 minutes of 'The Simpsons' in a row|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/02/14/simpsons-marathon/|accessdate=2012-02-14|newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=2012-02-14}}</ref>

==Release==
The episode aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 19, 2012.<ref name=Snierson-assange/><ref name=Fienberg/> It was viewed by 5.79 million viewers, <ref name=ratings2>{{cite web|last=Eckstein|first=David|title=TV ratings: CBS wins night, 'Once Upon a Time' brings strong numbers|url=http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/02/tv-ratings-cbs-wins-night-once-upon-a-time-brings-strong-numbers.html|publisher=Zap2it}}</ref> making it the highest viewed program that night on Fox's Animation Domination line up with ''[[Family Guy]]'' having 5.04 million viewers, ''[[Napoleon Dynamite (TV series)|Napoleon Dynamite]]'' and ''[[American Dad!]]'' tying with 4.44 million viewers and ''[[The Cleveland Show]]'' finishing last with 2.06 million viewers.

"At Long Last Leave" has received generally positive reviews from television critics. Matt Roush of ''[[TV Guide]]'' wrote favorably about the episode, describing it as a "keeper" and highlighting the "dazzling opening sequence". He concluded: "From opening chalkboard joke to the final snarky salute to the eternal (if not forever gracious) fan, ''The Simpsons'' once again delivers the goods, proving itself to be a classic for our age and for the ages."<ref name=Roush>{{cite news|last=Roush|first=Matt|title=Weekend TV Reviews: Simpsons' 500th, Downton Finale, a New Race and More|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/tv/tvguide/article/Weekend-TV-Reviews-Simpsons-500th-Downton-3339109.php|accessdate=2012-02-17|newspaper=[[TV Guide]]|date=2012-02-17}}</ref> [[HitFix]]'s [[Alan Sepinwall]] also commended "At Long Last Leave", writing that "like many latter-day ''Simpsons'' outings, [it] features a story we've seen variations on several times before (including in ''The Simpsons Movie''), but also features many funny jokes that affirm my belief that I'm happier to live in a world that keeps giving us new ''Simpsons'' episodes [...] than I will be in the one where that inevitably stops."<ref name=Sepinwall>{{cite web|last=Sepinwall|first=Alan|title=Best. Episode. Ever? Pick your 'Simpsons' favorite|url=http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/best-episode-ever-pick-your-simpsons-favorite|publisher=[[HitFix]]|accessdate=2012-02-17|date=2012-02-17}}</ref> Sepinwall praised the couch gag as being "marvelous", noting that it "actually made me choke up a bit."<ref name=Sepinwall/> ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]'' critic James Poniewozik commented that "At Long Last Leave" was an "all right" episode, noting that certain gags felt "forced by the writers’ room". Poniewozik, who thinks the quality of ''The Simpsons'' declined at the end of the 1990s, added however that "a few moments made me bark out loud and realize why I loved the show in the first place."<ref name=Poniewozik>{{cite news|last=Poniewozik|first=James|title=TV Weekend: The Simpsons At 500|url=http://entertainment.time.com/2012/02/17/tv-weekend-the-simpsons-at-500/|accessdate=2012-02-17|newspaper=[[Time (magazine){{!}}TIME]]|date=2012-02-17}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Portal|The Simpsons}}
* {{IMDb episode|id=2061517}}

[[Category:The Simpsons (season 23) episodes]]
[[Category:2012 television episodes]]

[[fr:At Long Last Leave]]
[[ru:At Long Last Leave]]

Telamonia dimidiata

2007-07-18T17:52:19Z

149.101.1.117: Male body length ranges from 8-9mm

{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = Two-Striped Telamonia
| image =
| image_caption =
| image_width = 250px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
| classis = [[Arachnid]]a
| ordo = [[Spider|Araneae]]
| subordo = [[Araneomorphae]]
| familia = [[Salticidae]]
| genus = ''[[Telamonia]]''
| species = '''''T. dimidiata'''''
| binomial = ''Telamonia dimidiata''
| binomial_authority = ([[Eugène Simon|Simon]], 1899)
| range_map =
| range_map_width = 250px
| synonyms =

''Viciria dimidiata'' 
''Phidippus pateli''

}}

The '''two-striped telamonia''' (''Telamonia dimidiata''), is a jumping [[spider]] found in various Asian [[tropical rain forest]]s, in foliage in wooded environments.

Females can reach a body length of 9–11 [[millimetre|mm]], males can reach a length of 8-9 mm.

They occur in [[Singapore]] (new record), [[Indonesia]], [[India]], [[Bhutan]].

In 2002, the spider became the subject of an email hoax claiming that it was a fatal spider found lurking under toilet seats in [[North Florida]]. This hoax was a rehashing of an older email circulated in 1999 with similar claims, except under the name ''South American Blush Spider (arachnius gluteus)'' - literally "butt spider". No such events ever occurred.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/insects/telamonia.asp |title=Urban Legends Reference Pages: Two-Striped Telamonia Spider |accessdate=2007-02-25 |publisher=[[Snopes]] }}</ref>

== Notes ==
<references/>

== External links ==
* [http://www.miiz.waw.pl/salticid/diagnost/telamon/dimidiat.htm Description]
* [http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/cactus.html Spider myths and hoaxes]

{{arachnid-stub}}

[[Category:Salticidae]]