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After Midnight Project (commonly abbreviated "AMP") was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. As of 2012, they no longer perform together.
After Midnight Project began in 2004 in Los Angeles, California. They are known for their energetic live shows, extensive touring, and close connection to fans. They are also featured in the end credits with their song "Take Me Home" for the game Prey. With the release of their EP, The Becoming, in 2007, they caught the attention of Universal Motown and were signed. They entered the studio with renowned producer, John Feldmann, upon being signed, to record their debut full-length album, Let's Build Something to Break, which was released on August 11, 2009. The album's first single, "Take Me Home" entered the airwaves in June 2009.[1] AMP performed on the Vans Warped Tour in preparation for the release of that album. In 2009 band did multiple interviews and autograph signings for Music Saves Lives.
The band also revealed as early as December 2009 that they would be performing on the entire 2010 Warped Tour.
After Midnight Project toured all through 2009 and 2010 with bands such as Chevelle, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Papa Roach, Thirty Seconds to Mars, 10 Years, Story Of the Year and more. The band played numerous radio shows while supporting their hit single, "Take Me Home", which reached number 25 on alternative rock radio. After losing their drummer, Danny Morris, and bass player, T.J. Armstrong, they found Ryan Folden (The Agony Scene/Burn Halo) and bass player Travis and finished off the summer of 2010 playing the entire Vans Warped Tour. Lead singer Jason Evigan commented on line-up changes: "Our drummer quit, he has three kids, and our buddies in Papa Roach immediately said, “We have a guy for you,” and it was Ryan. And then our buddies in Chevelle recommended Travis when our bass player pretty much couldn’t come back to the band because of some legal issues."[2]
The band announced they would be releasing their first live album entitled, "Live at Bamboozle" on February 22, 2011.
In March 2011, the band embarked on a brief tour with Hawthorne Heights ahead of their new EP release.
After Midnight Project left their label, Universal Motown, and independently released an eight song EP entitled, You Belong on April 1, 2011. The first single, "Hourglass" was released on March 1, 2011.You Belong was released early to fans on March 24, 2011.
Following the release of their new EP, After Midnight Project went on an indefinite hiatus so that lead singer, Jason Evigan, could get married.
The band officially split in 2012. However, in September 2013, they announced a one time reunion show scheduled for March 2014. The reunion show never took place, with no updates since.
The Xbox 360 features an online service, Xbox Live, which was expanded from its previous iteration on the original Xbox and received regular updates during the console's lifetime. Available in free and subscription-based varieties, Xbox Live allows users to play games online; download games (through Xbox Live Arcade) and game demos; purchase and stream music, television programs, and films through the Xbox Music and Xbox Video portals; and access third-party content services through media streaming applications. In addition to online multimedia features, it allows users to stream media from local PCs. Several peripherals have been released, including wireless controllers, expanded hard drive storage, and the Kinectmotion sensing camera. The release of these additional services and peripherals helped the Xbox brand grow from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia, turning it into a hub for living-room computing entertainment.[21][22][23][24]
Launched worldwide across 2005–2006, the Xbox 360 was initially in short supply in many regions, including North America and Europe. The earliest versions of the console suffered from a high failure rate, indicated by the so-called "Red Ring of Death", necessitating an extension of the device's warranty period. Microsoft released two redesigned models of the console: the Xbox 360 S in 2010,[25] and the Xbox 360 E in 2013.[26] Xbox 360 is the ninth-highest-selling home video game console in history, and the highest-selling console made by an American company. Although not the best-selling console of its generation, the Xbox 360 was deemed by TechRadar to be the most influential through its emphasis on digital media distribution and multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live.[24][27]
The Xbox 360's successor, the Xbox One, was released on November 22, 2013.[28] On April 20, 2016, Microsoft announced that it would end the production of new Xbox 360 hardware, although the company will continue to support the platform.[7] On August 17, 2023, Microsoft announced that on July 29, 2024, the Xbox 360 game marketplace will stop offering new purchases and Microsoft Movies & TV app will no longer function (the console will still be able to download previously purchased content, run it, and enter multiplayer sessions).[29][30]
Known during development as Xbox Next, Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS or NextBox,[31] the Xbox 360 was conceived in early 2003.[32] In February 2003, planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsoft's Vice President J Allard.[32] That month, Microsoft held an event for 400 developers in Bellevue, Washington to recruit support for the system.[32] Also that month, Peter Moore, former president of Sega of America, joined Microsoft. On August 12, 2003, ATI signed on to produce the graphics processing unit for the new console, a deal that was publicly announced two days later.[33] Before the launch of the Xbox 360, several Alpha development kits were spotted using Apple'sPower Mac G5 hardware. This was because the system's PowerPC 970 processor was running the same PowerPC architecture that the Xbox 360 would eventually run under IBM's Xenon processor. The cores of the Xenon processor were developed using a slightly modified version of the PlayStation 3's Cell Processor PPE architecture. According to David Shippy and Mickie Phipps, the IBM employees were "hiding" their work from Sony and Toshiba, IBM's partners in developing the Cell Processor.[34]Jeff Minter created the music visualization program Neon which is included with the Xbox 360.[35]
The Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005, in the United States and Canada;[5] December 2, 2005, in Europe and December 10, 2005, in Japan. It was later launched in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Russia. In its first year in the market, the system was launched in 36 countries, more countries than any other console has launched in a single year.[36]
In 2009, IGN named the Xbox 360 the sixth-greatest video game console of all time, out of a field of 25.[37] Although not the best-selling console of the seventh generation, the Xbox 360 was deemed by TechRadar to be the most influential, by emphasizing digital media distribution and online gaming through Xbox Live, and by popularizing game achievement awards.[24]PC Magazine considered the Xbox 360 the prototype for online gaming as it "proved that online gaming communities could thrive in the console space".[21] Five years after the Xbox 360's debut, the well-received Kinect motion capture camera was released, which set the record of being the fastest selling consumer electronic device in history, and extended the life of the console.[38]Edge ranked Xbox 360 the second-best console of the 1993–2013 period, stating "It had its own social network, cross-game chat, new indie games every week, and the best version of just about every multiformat game ... Killzone is no Halo and nowadays Gran Turismo is no Forza, but it's not about the exclusives—there's nothing to trump Naughty Dog's PS3 output, after all. Rather, it's about the choices Microsoft made back in the original Xbox's lifetime. The PC-like architecture meant the early EA Sports games ran at 60fps compared to only 30 on PS3, Xbox Live meant every dedicated player had an existing friends list, and Halo meant Microsoft had the killer next-generation exclusive. And when developers demo games on PC now they do it with a 360 pad—another industry benchmark, and a critical one."[39]
The Xbox 360 began production only 69 days before launch, on September 14, 2005,[46][47] and Microsoft was not able to supply enough systems to meet initial consumer demand in Europe or North America, selling out completely upon release in all regions except in Japan.[48][49][50][51] Forty thousand units were offered for sale on auction site eBay during the initial week of release, 10% of the total supply.[52] By year's end, Microsoft had shipped 1.5 million units, including 900,000 in North America, 500,000 in Europe, and 100,000 in Japan.[53]
In May 2008, Microsoft announced that 10 million Xbox 360s had been sold and that it was the "first current generation gaming console" to surpass the 10 million figure in the US.[54] In the US, the Xbox 360 was the leader in current-generation home console sales until June 2008, when it was surpassed by the Wii.[55][56][57] By the end of March 2011, Xbox 360 sales in the US had reached 25.4 million units.[41] Between January 2011 and October 2013, the Xbox 360 was the best-selling console in the United States for these 32 consecutive months.[58] By the end of 2014, Xbox 360 sales had surpassed sales of the Wii, making the Xbox 360 the best-selling 7th-generation console in the US once again.[59] In Canada, the Xbox 360 has sold a total of 870,000 units as of August 1, 2008.[60]
In Europe, the Xbox 360 has sold seven million units as of November 20, 2008.[61] The Xbox 360 took 110 weeks to reach 2 million units sold in the UK, generating £507m in revenue.[42] Sales in the United Kingdom would reach 3.2 million units by January 2009, per GfKChart-Track.[62] The 8 million unit mark was crossed in the UK by February 2013.[63] Sales of the Xbox 360 would overtake the Wii later that year, topping 9 million units, making the Xbox 360 the best-selling 7th-generation console in the UK, as well as making it the third best-selling console of all time in the region, behind the PS2 and Nintendo DS.[64][42][43] Over 1 million units were sold in Spain across the console's lifecycle.[65]
The Xbox 360 crossed the 1 million units sold in Japan in March 2009,[66] and the 1.5 million units sold in June 2011.[67] Lifetime sales of the Xbox 360 in Japan stand at 1,616,218 million units. While the Xbox 360 has sold poorly in Japan, it improved upon the sales of the original Xbox, which had total sales of 474,992 units.[44] Furthermore, the Xbox 360 managed to outsell both the PlayStation 3 and Wii the week ending September 14, 2008, as well as the week ending February 22, 2009, when the Japanese Xbox 360 exclusives Infinite Undiscovery[68] and Star Ocean: The Last Hope,[69] were released those weeks, respectively. Ultimately, Edge magazine would report that Microsoft had been unable to make serious inroads into the dominance of domestic rivals Sony and Nintendo; adding that lackluster sales in Japan had led to retailers scaling down and in some cases, discontinuing sales of the Xbox 360 completely.[70] The significance of Japan's poor sales might be overstated in the media in comparison to overall international sales.[71]
The Xbox 360 sold much better than its predecessor, and although not the best-selling console of the seventh generation, it is regarded as a success since it strengthened Microsoft as a major force in the console market at the expense of well-established rivals.[27] The inexpensive Wii did sell the most console units but eventually saw a collapse of third-party software support in its later years, and it has been viewed by some as a fad since the succeeding Wii U had a poor debut in 2012.[24][72][73][74][75] The PlayStation 3 struggled for a time due to being too expensive and initially lacking quality games,[76] making it far less dominant than its predecessor, the PlayStation 2, and it took until late in the PlayStation 3's lifespan for its sales and games to reach parity with the Xbox 360. TechRadar proclaimed that "Xbox 360 passes the baton as the king of the hill – a position that puts all the more pressure on its successor, Xbox One".[24]
The Xbox 360's advantage over its competitors was due to the release of high-profile games from both first party and third-party developers. The 2007 Game Critics Awards honored the platform with 38 nominations and 12 wins – more than any other platform.[77][78] By March 2008, the Xbox 360 had reached a software attach rate of 7.5 games per console in the US; the rate was 7.0 in Europe, while its competitors were 3.8 (PS3) and 3.5 (Wii), according to Microsoft.[79] At the 2008 Game Developers Conference, Microsoft announced that it expected over 1,000 games available for Xbox 360 by the end of the year.[80] As well as enjoying exclusives such as additions to the Halo franchise and Gears of War, the Xbox 360 has managed to gain a simultaneous release of games that were initially planned to be PS3 exclusives, including Devil May Cry 4,[81]Ace Combat 6,[82]Virtua Fighter 5,[83]Grand Theft Auto IV,[84]Final Fantasy XIII,[85]Tekken 6,[86]Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance,[87] and L.A. Noire.[88] In addition, Xbox 360 versions of cross-platform games were generally considered superior to their PS3 counterparts in 2006 and 2007, due in part to the difficulties of programming for the PS3.[89]
TechRadar deemed the Xbox 360 as the most influential game system through its emphasis of digital media distribution, Xbox Live online gaming service, and game achievement feature.[24] During the console's lifetime, the Xbox brand has grown from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia, turning it into a hub for "living-room computing environment".[90][22][23]
Microsoft announced the successor to the Xbox 360, the Xbox One, on May 21, 2013.[91] On April 20, 2016, Microsoft announced the end of production of new Xbox 360 hardware, though the company will continue to provide hardware and software support for the platform as selected Xbox 360 games are playable on Xbox One.[92] The Xbox 360 continued to be supported by major publishers with new games well into the Xbox One's lifecycle. New titles were still being released in 2018.[93] The Xbox 360 continues to have an active player base years after the system's discontinuation. Speaking to Engadget at E3 2019 after the announcement of Project Scarlett, the next-generation of Xbox consoles after the Xbox One, Phil Spencer stated that there were still "millions and millions of players" act
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Enter Shikari are a British rock band formed in St Albans in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and drummer Rob Rolfe. In 2003, guitarist Rory Clewlow joined the band to complete its current line-up, and it adopted its current name. In 2006, they performed to a growing fanbase at Download Festival as well as a sold-out concert at the London Astoria. Their debut studio album, Take to the Skies, was released in 2007 and reached number 4 in the Official UK Album Chart, and has since been certified gold in the UK. Their second, Common Dreads, was released in 2009 and debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number 16;[2] while their third, A Flash Flood of Colour, was released in 2012 and debuted on the chart at number 4. Both have since been certified silver in the UK. The band spent a considerable amount of time supporting the latter release through the A Flash Flood of Colour World Tour, before beginning work on a fourth studio album, The Mindsweep, which was released in 2015. Their fifth studio album The Spark was released in 2017. Their sixth album Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible was released in April 2020. Their seventh and latest album, A Kiss for the Whole World, was released on 21 April 2023 which gave them their first-ever No. 1 album.[3]
Enter Shikari have their own record label, Ambush Reality. However, they have also signed distribution deals with several major labels to help with worldwide distribution. Their eccentric musical style combines influences from rock music genres with those from various electronic music genres.
In 1999 a band named Hybryd formed, consisting of Rou Reynolds on guitar and vocals, Chris Batten on bass guitar, and Rob Rolfe on drums. They released an EP called Commit No Nuisance, which featured the tracks "Perfect Pygmalion", "Look Inside", "Torch Song", "Honesty Box" and "Fake". In 2003, with the addition of guitarist Rory Clewlow, Hybryd became Enter Shikari. The band was named after Shikari, a boat belonging to Reynolds' uncle. In a 2011 interview, Rolfe explained that: "Shikari is a Hindi word for hunter."[4] After the band's line-up and name change, Reynolds focused his musical efforts on vocals and electronics instead of guitar.[5]
During 2003 and 2004, the band released three demo EPs (Nodding Acquaintance, Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour and Sorry You're Not a Winner) that were available from their gigs and their website, featuring original versions of some songs that were eventually re-recorded for their debut album, Take to the Skies. They would frequently make appearances at their local music venue, The Pioneer Club, where they would play alongside other local bands.[6][7] They had another demo EP planned for release in 2005 (no such EP materialised, although recordings surfaced online). For this the first versions of "Return To Energiser" and "Labyrinth" were recorded. Early versions of "OK Time for Plan B" and "We Can Breathe in Space" were also recorded around this time but it's unclear if these were destined for the EP. It was at this time that Kerrang! Radio's Alex Baker picked up on the band, and as he didn't have a physical release to play, he streamed "OK Time For Plan B" off the band's Myspace page, straight onto the airwaves.
In August 2006 they released a video of the single "Mothership" which became the single of the week on the iTunes Store. Their first physical single featured re-recorded versions of "Sorry You're Not a Winner/OK Time for Plan B", which had previously been featured on one of the demo EPs. It was released on 30 October 2006. It was limited to 1000 copies of each format and sold out within the first week of release. In mid January 2007, Enter Shikari's first single, "Mothership", entered the UK singles chart for one week at number 151, on Downloads only (despite its physical formats not being eligible for charts [at the band's request]). This was followed a week later by "Sorry You're Not a Winner/OK Time for Plan B", which charted at number 182 on the singles chart (despite its physical formats being ineligible for charts [at the band's request]) and number 146 in the Download Chart. In addition "Sorry You're Not a Winner/OK Time for Plan B" featured on the EA Sports video game titles NHL 08 and Madden 08. Enter Shikari secured a spot on the Gibson/Myspace stage at 2006's Download Festival.
They also had interviews with popular music press such as Kerrang! and Rock Sound. On 4 November 2006, they became only the second unsigned band to ever sell out London Astoria (the first being The Darkness).
They also made the NME's "New Noise 2007", a list of the bands it considers most likely to achieve success in the coming year (previous years lists have included the likes of Arcade Fire, Hot Chip and Bloc Party).
The next single released was "Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour", on 5 March 2007. This was the band's second single to be released from their forthcoming debut album. It contained a re-recorded version of the song "Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour". It reached 27 in the Official UK chart.
The band released a compilation album titled The Zone just after the debut album, this contained various demo tracks and previously released singles.
The band's debut album, Take to the Skies, was released on 19 March 2007 and on 25 March it reached number 4 in the UK Official Album Charts. It contained re-recordings of many of the songs that had featured on the demo EPs and singles that were released prior to the release of the album.
Enter Shikari had performed over 500 times by 2007 and played on the Gibson/MySpace stage at 2006's Download Festival. On 14 May 2007, Enter Shikari started their first North America tour. This was followed by three more North American tours.
On 13 May 2008, the band released the first in a series of videos called "Enter Shikari: In the 'Low". The videos, posted on the band's YouTube page, showcased the band as they recorded their new single, "We Can Breathe In Space, They Just Don't Want Us To Escape", and demoed new material. One of the new songs set to feature on the album was "Step Up", which was first performed at Milton Keynes Pitz on 28 June 2008, the warm up show to Projekt Revolution the following day.
Enter Shikari live at Heaven in London in 2009. From left to right: Clewlow, Rolfe, Reynolds and Batten.
It was confirmed by NME that Enter Shikari had finished working on their second album, Common Dreads, in March 2009 and announced that they would tour the UK and Europe during 2009. They also made available a free download of a new song, "Antwerpen", from their website.[10] On 15 April 2009 "Juggernauts" was played on Radio 1 as Zane Lowe's "Hottest Track in the World" and was released as a single on 1 June 2009 with "All Eyes on the Saint" as its B side. The band also had help from musician Danny Sneddon who helped with the recording of "Juggernauts".[11] On 1 May Kerrang featured their track-by-track of the album. Metal Hammer were the first to review the album online with a track-by-track.[12]
Common Dreads was released through Ambush Reality on 15 June 2009 and debuted at No. 16 on the UK top 40 album chart. The second single to be released from Common Dreads was "No Sleep Tonight".[13] The 7-inch vinyl, CD single and MP3 download was released on 17 August 2009. A slightly modified version of the song "Wall" was released as a radio single, and a video for the song "Zzzonked", made of clips of a live show played at Norwich UEA, was also released.
A 2-disc version of Common Dreads was released in January 2010.[14] Frontman Rou Reynolds announced that "we've got a different artist for each single from Hospital Records to do drum "n" bass remixes so we'll be releasing that as a 12". Then we're doing the same thing with (dubstep label) True Tiger who've done a dubstep remix of each single." However it was later said in a Radio 1 interview that in fact they were only having their main singles remixed.
The single "Thumper"[15] was released on 19 January 2010, on BBC Radio One, as well as the new single "Tribalism", which was first played on Radio 1 on 16 February 2010. These songs come off the new B-sides and remixes album Tribalism, which was released on 22 February 2010.
Throughout February–March 2010, Enter Shikari joined the Australian summer festival Soundwave along with other bands such as A Day to Remember and Architects, playing shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The band then continued to tour Japan with A Day to Remember and Escape the Fate and in April–May 2010, they served as a support act, along with August Burns Red and Silverstein on A Day to Remember's Toursick.
On 14 June 2010, Enter Shikari announced that they had returned to the studio to do a "one off new track" called "Destabilise" which was released as a download on 26 October 2010, and a limited edition coloured 7-inch vinyl on 29 November 2010.
In mid-2011, the band released another one-off single called "Quelle Surprise" before releasing the first single, "Sssnakepit" and "Gandhi Mate, Gandhi" in September and December, respectively, off their third album.
The band released A Flash Flood of Colour on 16 January 2012, and played three album release shows in London, Kingston upon Thames, and Leeds.
At the end of the first week of the album being released, the album reached number four in the U.K charts.
In Summer 2012's Kerrang! Awards, the band scooped "Best Live Band" for the second time, along with Rou Reynolds winning 'Hero of the Year.' They were also nominated for best album, but lost out to Mastodon.[22]
In November 2012 the band announced the launch of their own beer "Sssnakepit", a 5% lager brewed in conjunction with Signature Brew, which was launched in Manchester and sold on the "A Flash Flood of Christmas" tour at venues across the UK.[23]
In April 2013, the band released a non-album single named "The Paddington Frisk", later announcing that it was part of a then unnamed three track EP due for release later that year (Rat Race EP). On 5 June 2013, the band announced via their official Twitter that they were recording a video for the new single "Radiate", which was first played by Zane Lowe on his Radio 1 show on 10 June. The song was his Single of the Week.[25] 5 months later, "Rat Race" was released, the three tracks were then amalgamated into the Rat Race EP, along with a trance remix of "Radiate" created by Reynolds' side project – Shikari Sound System.
The band headed out on an extensive tour of the UK and Ireland throughout April and May, purposefully playing in towns that don't usually get shows, as a thank you to those fans who usually have to travel to larger cities all the time to see bands. Support for the tour was Hacktivist. This tour was the first time the songs "The Paddington Frisk" was played, as well as "Juggernauts" b-side "All Eyes on the Saint" from 2009
In late 2012, bassist Chris Batten said that the band will begin working on their fourth studio album after their current touring has finished sometime in 2013. However, Batten also affirmed that the album would not be ready for release in that year.[26]
On 12 January 2016, a single called "Redshift" premiered on Annie Mac's show on BBC Radio 1.[34] Another new single called "Hoodwinker" premiered on Daniel P. Carter's show on BBC Radio 1 on 9 October 2016.[35][non-primary source needed]
On 25 August 2016, the band announced a live album for their February 2016 Alexandra Palace show.[36] It was initially due for release on 4 November 2016, however it was delayed until 18 November 2016 due to manufacturing issues.[37]
On 8 November 2016, Enter Shikari were announced as headliners for Slam Dunk Festival 2017.[38]
On 1 August 2017, Enter Shikari announced their new album The Spark with its lead single "Live Outside". The album was released on 22 September.[39]
To promote the album, the band toured UK, Europe, Japan, and North America on their The Spark World Tour.
On 15 February 2019, the band released a pair of limited edition live albums, Take to the Skies. Live in Moscow. May 2017 and Live at Alexandra Palace 2 both of which were recorded in 2017 on their Take to the Skies 10 Year Anniversary Tour and their The Spark World Tour.[40]
In 2018 the band embarked on an extensive tour of the UK, Europe, and Scandinavia, entitled "Stop the Clocks", during which they performed a new song of the same name.[41] The band released the song as a single on 12 August 2019 shortly before their performances at the 2019 Reading and Leeds Festivals where they played 5 different sets across the weekend.[42] Following this, the band resumed their Stop the Clocks tour with a twelve-date American leg, which singer Rou Reynolds said would "bring the whole "Spark-era" full circle."[43]
Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible (2020–2022)[edit]
In an interview with Kerrang while the band was in Australia for Good Things Festival, they revealed their next album will be the "most definitive Shikari record to date" and will feature something from every album.[44]
On 10 February 2020, a new single called "The Dreamer's Hotel", stylised as { The Dreamer's Hotel }, premiered on Annie Mac's show on BBC Radio 1.[45][non-primary source needed][non-primary source needed] The same day, they announced that their new album would be called Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible and would release on 17 April 2020.[46] An accompanying music video was released for The Dreamer's Hotel on 5 March 2020, almost a month after the initial release. The video features an unusual use of over-the-top rainbow effects, fitting with the rainbow motif of the album.[47] "The King" was the album's second single, released on 8 March 2020. Frontman Rou described this track as a "lesson in patience and forgiveness" to Kerrang as they have worked on this single song for such a long time.[48] "T.I.N.A." was the third single released on 22 March 2020. The title stands for "there is no alternative". Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible hit No. 2 on the UK album charts on 30 April 2020,[citation needed] 13 days after its release on 17 April. This was the band's fifth album to reach Top 10 and the third consecutive major album.
On 16 April 2021, they released Moratorium (Broadcasts from the Interruption) without advance notice. It includes songs from their past two albums that have been reworked, re-imagined, recorded live or as acoustic renditions.[49]
On 24 November 2021 through 10 February 2022, Enter Shikari headed out for a brief European tour with a sold-out headline show at Alexandra Palace.[50] On 16 July 2022, the band released their film, Live at Vada, directed by Tom Pullen.[51]
On 17 November 2022, band released a new song named "Bull", recorded in collaboration with Cody Frost.[52] The official music video released the same day.[53]
Simultaneously with the release of the single, "(Pls) Set Me on Fire", the band's seventh album's title was revealed on 12 January 2023 as A Kiss for the Whole World. The album was released on 21 April 2023, and went straight in at Number 1 on the Official UK Album Charts - their first to do so.[54]
Musical style, lyrical themes and influences[edit]
Enter Shikari's lyrics, written by frontman Rou Reynolds, are often politically charged. In a 2015 interview, Kerrang! Magazine wrote: "With Shikari a rare, political voice on the UK rock scene, Rou remains baffled by bands 'labelling themselves as punk that aren't speaking about anything of importance'. 'To us it's second nature,' he says. 'It's what this music is for. If you take out the social commentary, it's not punk, it's just noisy pop.'" At the same time, Reynolds "[doesn't] care if people don't read the lyrics" and only "appreciate Shikari as a noisy pop group". Although not all of the band's lyrics are political, "even when [Enter Shikari write] a love song, [Reynolds wants] to make sure [they] reclaim the love song from all the shit, vapid love songs on the charts." He also stated that the band's general message is that "if we base our lives around love and unity, then that's all that matters."[72]
Enter Shikari's lyrics have also centred around more personal themes throughout their career, such as lead singer Rou Reynolds' anxiety, depression, mental illness, self-pity and the loss of a loved one or idolised celebrity figure. Their album The Spark in particular delves more into personal issues within the band, with Reynolds stating in an interview with The Independent, regarding lyrical themes: "What I was trying to do with this album in marrying the personal and the political is to ensure that human vulnerability is laid bare, and to not be afraid to speak about emotions." He elaborates by stating that "I don't think I could have done it [writing more personal lyrics] before this record. So much happened over those two years [since the release of their previous album], globally and in my personal life, so before. I was kind of comfortable. I have a very finely attuned cringe muscle, I don't like writing about things that have been written about a thousand times. Some of it is maybe even a self-confidence thing, feeling as though I don't have much to offer in terms of art that helps other people. But seeing as 2015 was the year of hell for me, it wasn't just that I wanted to write a more personal record, I had to. There was no way of not doing it".[75]
Transformers is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, such as vehicles and animals. The franchise encompasses toys, animation, comic books, video games and films. As of 2011, it generated more than ¥2 trillion ($25 billion) in revenue,[1] making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
The franchise began in 1984 with the Transformers toy line, comprising transforming mecha toys from Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change toylines rebranded for Western markets.[2] The term "Generation 1" covers both the animated television series The Transformers and the comic book series of the same name, which are further divided into Japanese, British and Canadian spin-offs, respectively. Sequels followed, such as the Generation 2 comic book and Beast Wars TV series, which became its own mini-universe. Generation 1 characters have been rebooted multiple times in the 21st century in comics from Dreamwave Productions (starting 2001), IDW Publishing (starting in 2005 and again in 2019), and Skybound Entertainment (beginning in 2023). There have been other incarnations of the story based on different toy lines during and after the 20th century. The first was the Robots in Disguise series, followed by three shows (Armada, Energon, and Cybertron) that constitute a single universe called the "Unicron Trilogy".
A live-action film series started in 2007, again distinct from previous incarnations, while the Transformers: Animated series merged concepts from the G1 continuity, the 2007 live-action film and the "Unicron Trilogy". For most of the 2010s, in an attempt to mitigate the wave of reboots, the "Aligned Continuity" was established. In 2018, Transformers: Cyberverse debuted, once again, distinct from the previous incarnations.
Classic Transformers franchise logo used until 2014Spider-Man battles Megatron on the cover of The Transformers #3.
Generation One is a retroactive term for the Transformers characters that appeared between 1984 and 1993. The Transformers began with the 1980s Japanese toy lines Micro Change and Diaclone. They presented robots able to transform into everyday vehicles, electronic items or weapons. Hasbro bought the Micro Change and Diaclone toys, and partnered with Takara.[4]Marvel Comics was hired by Hasbro to create the backstory; editor-in-chief Jim Shooter wrote an overall story, and gave the task of creating the characters to writer Dennis O'Neil.[5] Unhappy with O'Neil's work (although O'Neil created the name "Optimus Prime"), Shooter chose Bob Budiansky to create the characters.[6]
The Transformersmecha were largely designed by Shōji Kawamori, the creator of the Japanese mecha anime franchise Macross (which was adapted into the Robotech franchise in North America).[7] Kawamori came up with the idea of transforming mechs while working on the Diaclone and Macross franchises in the early 1980s (such as the VF-1 Valkyrie in Macross and Robotech), with his Diaclone mechs later providing the basis for Transformers.[8]
The primary concept of Generation One is that the heroic Optimus Prime, the villainous Megatron, and their finest soldiers crash-land on prehistoric Earth in the Ark and the Nemesis before awakening in 1985, Cybertron hurtling through the Neutral zone as an effect of the war. The Marvel comic was originally part of the main Marvel Universe, with appearances from Spider-Man and Nick Fury, plus some cameos,[9] as well as a visit to the Savage Land.[10]
The Transformers TV series began around the same time. Produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions, later Hasbro Productions, from the start it contradicted Budiansky's backstories. The TV series shows the Autobots looking for new energy sources, and crash landing as the Decepticons attack.[11] Marvel interpreted the Autobots as destroying a rogue asteroid approaching Cybertron.[12]Shockwave is loyal to Megatron on the TV series, keeping Cybertron in a stalemate during his absence,[13] but in the comic book, he attempts to take command of the Decepticons.[14] The TV series would also differ wildly from the origins Budiansky had created for the Dinobots,[15][16] the Decepticon turned Autobot Jetfire[17] (known as Skyfire on TV[18]), the Constructicons (who combine to form Devastator),[19][20] and Omega Supreme.[19][21] The Marvel comic establishes early on that Prime wields the Creation Matrix, which gives life to machines. In the second season, the two-part episode The Key to Vector Sigma introduced the ancient Vector Sigma computer, which served the same original purpose as the Creation Matrix (giving life to Transformers), and its guardian Alpha Trion.
In 1986, the cartoon became the film The Transformers: The Movie, which is set in the year 2005. It introduced the Matrix as the "Autobot Matrix of Leadership", as a fatally wounded Prime gives it to Ultra Magnus; however, as Prime dies he drops the matrix, which is then caught by Hot Rod who subsequently becomes Rodimus Prime later on in the film. Unicron, a Transformer who devours planets, fears its power and re-creates a heavily damaged Megatron as Galvatron, as well as Bombshell or Skywarp becoming Cyclonus, Thundercracker becoming Scourge and two other Insecticons becoming Scourge's huntsmen, the Sweeps. Eventually, Rodimus Prime takes out the Matrix and destroys Unicron.[22] In the United Kingdom, the weekly comic book interspliced original material to keep up with U.S. reprints,[23] and The Movie provided much new material. Writer Simon Furman proceeded to expand the continuity with movie spin-offs involving the time travelling Galvatron.[24][25] The Movie also featured guest voices from Leonard Nimoy as Galvatron, Scatman Crothers as Jazz, Casey Kasem as Cliffjumper, Orson Welles as Unicron and Eric Idle as the leader of the Junkions (Wreck-Gar, though unnamed in the movie). The Transformers theme tune for the film was performed by Lion with "Weird Al" Yankovic adding a song to the soundtrack.
The third season followed up The Movie, with the revelation of the Quintessons having used Cybertron as a factory. Their robots rebel, and in time the workers become the Autobots and the soldiers become the Decepticons. (Note: This appears to contradict background presented in the first two seasons of the series.) It is the Autobots who develop transformation.[26] Due to popular demand,[27] Optimus Prime is resurrected at the conclusion of the third season,[28] and the series ended with a three-episode story arc. However, the Japanese broadcast of the series was supplemented with a newly produced OVA, Scramble City, before creating entirely new series to continue the storyline, ignoring the 1987 end of the American series. The extended Japanese run consisted of The Headmasters, Super-God Masterforce, Victory and Zone, then in illustrated magazine form as Battlestars: Return of Convoy and Operation: Combination. Just as the TV series was wrapping up, Marvel continued to expand its continuity. It follows The Movie's example by killing Prime[29] and Megatron,[30] albeit in the present day. Dinobot leader Grimlock takes over as Autobot leader.[31] There was a G.I. Joe crossover[32] and the limited series The Transformers: Headmasters, which further expanded the scope to the planet Nebulon.[33] It led on to the main title resurrecting Prime as a Powermaster.[34]
In the United Kingdom, the mythology continued to grow. Primus is introduced as the creator of the Transformers, to serve his material body that is planet Cybertron and fight his nemesis Unicron.[35] Female Autobot Arcee also appeared, despite the comic book stating the Transformers had no concept of gender, with her backstory of being built by the Autobots to quell human accusations of sexism.[36]Soundwave, Megatron's second-in-command, also breaks the fourth wall in the letters page, criticising the cartoon continuity as an inaccurate representation of history.[37] The UK also had a crossover in Action Force, the UK counterpart to G.I. Joe.[38] The comic book features a resurrected Megatron,[39] whom Furman retconned to be a clone[40] when he took over the U.S. comic book, which depicted Megatron as still dead.[41] The U.S. comic would last for 80 issues until 1991,[42] and the UK comic lasted 332 issues and several annuals, until it was replaced as Dreamwave Productions, later in the 20th-Century.
In 2009, Shout! Factory released the entire G1 series in a 16-DVD box set called the Matrix of Leadership Edition.[43] They also released the same content as individual seasons.[44]
It was five issues[45] of the G.I. Joe comic in 1993 that would springboard a return for Marvel's Transformers, with the new twelve-issue series Transformers: Generation 2, to market a new toy line.
This story reveals that the Transformers originally breed asexually, though it is stopped by Primus because it produced the evil Swarm.[46] A new empire, neither Autobot nor Decepticon, is bringing it back, however. Though the year-long arc wrapped itself up with an alliance between Optimus Prime and Megatron, the final panel introduces the Liege Maximo, ancestor of the Decepticons.[47] This minor cliffhanger was not resolved until 2001 and 2002's Transforce convention when writer Simon Furman concluded his story in the exclusive novella Alignment.[48]
The story focuses on a small group of Maximals (the new Autobots), led by Optimus Primal, and Predacons, led by Megatron, 300 years after the "Great War". After a dangerous pursuit through transwarp space, both the Maximal and Predacon factions end up crash landing on a primitive, uncivilized planet similar to Earth, but with two moons and a dangerous level of Energon (which is later revealed to be prehistoric Earth with an artificial second moon, taking place sometime during the 4 million year period in which the Autobots and Decepticons were in suspended animation from the first episode of the original Transformers cartoon), which forces them to take organic beast forms in order to function without going into stasis lock.[49] After writing this first episode, Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio learned of the G1 Transformers and began to use elements of it as a historical backstory to their scripts,[50] establishing Beast Wars as a part of the Generation 1 universe through numerous callbacks to both the cartoon and the Marvel comic. By the end of the first season, the second moon and the Energon are revealed to have been constructed by a mysterious alien race known as the Vok.
The destruction of the second moon releases mysterious energies that make some of the characters "transmetal" and the planet is revealed to be prehistoric Earth, leading to the discovery of the Ark. Megatron attempts to kill the original Optimus Prime,[51] but at the beginning of the third season, Primal manages to preserve his spark. In the two-season follow-up series, Beast Machines, Cybertron is revealed to have organic origins, which Megatron attempts to stamp out.
After the first season of Beast Wars (comprising 26 episodes) aired in Japan, the Japanese were faced with a problem. The second Canadian season was only 13 episodes long, not enough to warrant airing on Japanese TV. While they waited for the third Canadian season to be completed (thereby making 26 episodes in total when added to season 2), they produced two exclusive cel-animated series of their own, Beast Wars II (also called Beast Wars Second) and Beast Wars Neo, to fill in the gap. Dreamwave retroactively revealed Beast Wars to be the future of their G1 universe,[52] and the 2006 IDW comic book Beast Wars: The Gathering eventually confirmed the Japanese series to be canon[53] within a story set during Season 3.[54]
Beast Wars contained elements from both the G1 cartoon series and comics. Attributes taken from the cartoon include Transformers that were female, the appearance of Starscream (who mentions being killed off by Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie), and appearances of the Plasma Energy Chamber and Key to Vector Sigma. The naming of the Transformer ship, the Ark (and reference to 1984, the year the Transformers on board are revived), the character Ravage being shown as intelligent, and Cybertron having an organic core are elements taken from the comics.
In 2011, Shout! Factory released the complete series of Beast Wars on DVD.[55]
In 2001, Dreamwave Productions began a new universe of annual comics adapted from Marvel, but also included elements of the animated. The Dreamwave stories followe the concept of the Autobots defeating the Decepticons on Earth, but their 1997 return journey to Cybertron on the Ark II[56] is destroyed by Shockwave, now ruler of the planet.[57] The story follows on from there and was told in two six-issue limited series, then a ten-issue ongoing series. The series also adds extra complexities such as not all Transformers believing in the existence of Primus,[58] corruption in the Cybertronian government that first led Megatron to begin his war,[59] and Earth having an unknown relevance to Cybertron.[57][60]
Three Transformers: The War Within limited series were also published. These are set at the beginning of the Great War, and identify Prime as once being a clerk named Optronix.[61]Beast Wars was also retroactively stated as the future of this continuity, with the profile series More than Meets the Eye showing the PredaconMegatron looking at historical files detailing Dreamwave's characters and taking his name from the original Megatron.[52] In 2004, this real life universe also inspired three novels[62] and a Dorling Kindersley guide, which focused on Dreamwave as the "true" continuity when discussing in-universe elements of the characters. In a new twist, Primus and Unicron are siblings, formerly a being known as the One. Transformers: Micromasters, set after the Ark's disappearance, was also published. The real life universe was disrupted when Dreamwave went bankrupt in 2005.[63] This left the Generation One story hanging and the third volume of The War Within half finished. Plans for a comic book set between Beast Wars and Beast Machines were also left unrealized.[64]
Throughout the years, the G1 characters have also starred in crossovers with fellow Hasbro property G.I. Joe, but whereas those crossovers published by Marvel were in continuity with their larger storyline, those released by Dreamwave and G.I. Joe publisher Devil's Due Publishing occupy their own separate real life universes. In Devil's Due, the terrorist organization Cobra is responsible for finding and reactivating the Transformers. Dreamwave's version reimagines the familiar G1 and G.I. Joe characters in a World War II setting, and a second limited series was released set in the present day, though Dreamwave's bankruptcy meant it was cancelled after a single issue. Devil's Due had Cobra re-engineer the Transformers to turn into familiar Cobra vehicles, and released further mini-series that sent the characters travelling through time, battling Serpentor and being faced with the combined menace of Cobra-La and Unicron. During this time, Cobra teams up with the Decepticons. IDW Publishing has expressed interest in their own crossover.[65]
The following year, IDW Publishingrebooted the G1 series from scratch within various limited series and one shots. This allowed long-time writer of Marvel and Dreamwave comics, Simon Furman to create his own universe without continuity hindrance, similar to Ultimate Marvel. This new continuity originally consisted of a comic book series titled The Transformers with a companion series known as The Transformers: Spotlight. The main series was broken up into several story arcs. Eventually, with IDW Publishing losing sales, the series was given a soft reboot. Beginning with All Hail Megatron, the series was set in a new direction, discarding the miniseries and Spotlight format with ongoing comics. By 2012 the series had split into three ongoing series; The Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye, The Transformers: Robots in Disguise (which later changed in 2015 to "The Transformers") and The Transformers: Till All Are One. In 2022, it was announced that IDW lost the publishing rights to Transformers.[66]
In January 2006, the Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club comic wrote a story based on the Transformers Classics toy line, set in the Marvel Comics universe, but excluding the Generation 2 comic. Fifteen years after Megatron crash-lands in the Ark with Ratchet, the war continues with the characters in their Classics bodies.[67]
IDW Publishing introduced The Transformers: Evolutions in 2006, a collection of mini-series that re-imagine and reinterpret the G1 characters in various ways. To date, only one miniseries has been published, Hearts of Steel, placing the characters in an Industrial Revolution-era setting. The series was delayed as Hasbro did not want to confuse newcomers with too many fictional universes before the release of the live-action film.[68]
Transformers: Kiss Players (トランスフォーマー キスぷれ, Toransufōmā Kisu Pure), shortened to Kiss Players (キスぷれ, Kisu Pure), is a Japanese Transformers franchise which began in 2006 to 2007 as was helmed by artist and writer Yuki Ohshima. By virtue of being the only Transformers toyline and fiction released in Japan by Takara between the conclusion of Cybertron and the live-acti
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from BBC Three to BBC Two to BBC One, and acquiring American financing in its fourth series when it became a co-production of BBC One and Starz. Torchwood is aimed at adults and older teenagers, in contrast to Doctor Who's target audience of both adults and children. As well as science fiction, the show explores a number of themes, including existentialism, LGBTQ+ sexuality, and human corruptibility.
Torchwood follows the exploits of a small team of alien-hunters who make up the Cardiff-based, fictional Torchwood Institute, which deals mainly with incidents involving extraterrestrials. Its central character is Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), an immortal con-man from the distant future; Jack originally appeared in the 2005 series of Doctor Who. The initial main cast of the series consisted of Gareth David-Lloyd, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori, and Eve Myles. Their characters are specialists for the Torchwood team, often tracking down aliens and defending the planet from alien and human threats. In its first two series, the show uses a time rift in Cardiff as its primary plot generator, accounting for the unusual preponderance of alien beings in Cardiff. In the third and fourth series, Torchwood operate as fugitives. Gorman and Mori's characters were written out of the story at the end of the second series. Recurring actor Kai Owen was promoted to the main cast in series three, in which David-Lloyd was written out. Subsequently, American actors Mekhi Phifer, Alexa Havins and Bill Pullman joined the cast of the show for its fourth series.
The first series premiered on BBC Three and on BBC HD in 2006 to mixed reviews, but viewing figures broke records for the digital channel. It returned in 2008 where it aired first on BBC Two, receiving a higher budget; its uneven tone, a criticism of the first series, was largely smoothed out, and the show attracted higher ratings and better reviews. The third series' episodes worked with a higher budget, and it was transferred to the network's flagship channel, BBC One, as a five-episode serial titled Torchwood: Children of Earth. Although Children of Earth was broadcast over a period of five consecutive summer weeknights, the show received high ratings in the United Kingdom and overseas. A fourth series, co-produced by BBC Wales, BBC Worldwide and US premium entertainment network Starz aired in 2011 under the title Torchwood: Miracle Day. Set both in Wales and the United States, Miracle Day fared less well with critics than Children of Earth, although it was applauded by some for its ambition. The series entered an indefinite hiatus after Miracle Day due to Davies' personal circumstances.
All four televised series have been broadcast in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America. Owing to the early popularity of Torchwood, various tie-in media were produced,[7] including audio dramas, novels and comic strips. From its inception, the BBC invested in a heavy online presence for the series, with an alternate reality game running alongside the show's first two series, and an animated Web series running alongside its fourth. The BBC continued to approve and commission licensed spin-offs after the show's conclusion, including an audio series continuation from Big Finish Productions (2015–present).
On 21 February 2020, all 41 televised episodes returned to the BBC's online streaming service, BBC iPlayer. In the United States, the entire series was made available on HBO's new streaming service, HBO Max, upon its launch in May 2020.
Before the revival of Doctor Who, Russell T Davies began to develop an idea for a science-fiction/crime drama in the style of American dramas, in particular those created by Joss Whedon like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.[8][9] This idea, originally titled Excalibur, was abandoned until 2005, when BBC Three Controller Stuart Murphy invited Davies to develop an after-watershed science fiction series for the channel.[9] During the production of the 2005 series of Doctor Who, the word "Torchwood", an anagram of "Doctor Who", had been used as a title ruse for the series while filming its first few episodes to ensure they were not intercepted.[10] Davies connected the word "Torchwood" to his earlier Excalibur idea and decided to make the series a Doctor Who spin-off.[9] Subsequently, the word "Torchwood" was seeded in Doctor Who episodes and other media that aired in 2005 and 2006.
Because Torchwood is shown after the watershed – that is, after 9 pm – it has more mature content than Doctor Who. Davies told SFX:
We can be a bit more visceral, more violent, and more sexual, if we want to. Though bear in mind that it's very teenage to indulge yourself in blood and gore, and Torchwood is going to be smarter than that. But it's the essential difference between BBC One at 7 pm, and BBC Three at, say, 9 pm. That says it all – instinctively, every viewer can see the huge difference there.[11][12]
According to Barrowman: "I don't do any nude scenes in series one; they're saving that for the next series! I don't have a problem with getting my kit off, as long as they pay me the right money."[13] Davies also joked to a BBC Radio Wales interviewer that he was "not allowed" to refer to the programme as "Doctor Who for grown-ups".[14] The first series includes content rarely seen or heard in the Doctor Who franchise, including sex scenes and use of profanity in several episodes.[15][16]
BBC Three described Torchwood as the centrepiece of its autumn 2006 schedule,[17] and the successful first series led to a second series on BBC Two and a third on BBC One in 2009.[18]
Although Torchwood was originally intended to be sci-fi aimed at adults, the character Captain Jack Harkness, who had previously been introduced in Doctor Who, proved popular with young audiences. Davies decided to create alternative edits of the second series to be "child-friendly", removing overt sexuality and swearing. These edits to the shows enabled it to be broadcast at 7 pm (pre-watershed).[19][20]
The first three series of Torchwood were produced in-house by BBC Wales. The Head of Drama at the time of the first series, Julie Gardner, served as executive producer alongside Davies. The first two episodes of series 1 of Torchwood premiered on 22 October 2006 on BBC Three and BBC HD. Series 2 premiered on BBC Two and BBC HD on 16 January 2008.[21] The third series, Torchwood: Children of Earth, began shooting on 18 August 2008 and comprised a five-episode mini-series that aired over five consecutive days at 9 pm on BBC One from 6 July 2009,[22][23][24][25] and 9 pm on BBC America HD and BBC America from 20 July 2009.[26] Davies and Gardner stayed on as executive producers and Peter Bennett produced the series.[27][28]
Davies expressed concern that the third series was aired in a summer evening graveyard slot.[29] Lead actor John Barrowman felt that the show had been mistreated by BBC executives, despite what he felt was the programme's proven popularity and success.[18]
In August 2009, Davies stated that the fourth series was "ready to go",[30] and that he had the next series planned out, stating, "I know exactly how to pick it up. I've got a shape in mind, and I've got stories. I know where you'd find Gwen and Rhys, and their baby, and Jack, and I know how you'd go forward with a new form of Torchwood." At the time, he stated he would prefer for series four to be another mini-series, though he had no qualms about doing another thirteen-episode run.[31] A November 2009 article posted on Eve Myles's website stated that shooting for the fourth series was to begin in January 2011.[32]
Subsequently, Davies looked to US networks to finance future series of the programme. He was turned down by one of the United States' major television networks, Fox;[33] some had speculated the Fox project could have been a spin-off or a reboot.[34] Later, Davies succeeded in striking a deal with US premium cable network Starz.[35] The production of the fourth series was not officially announced until June 2010:[36][37] a ten-episode mini-series co-produced between BBC Wales, Starz and BBC Worldwide,[36] airing summer 2011.[38]
As with the third, the fourth series was given its own title: Torchwood: Miracle Day.[39] Shortly after the broadcast of Miracle Day in March 2012, the chief executive officer of Starz, Chris Albrecht, announced that he was remaining in touch with the BBC regarding a further series of Torchwood, though it would depend on Davies being free from his other commitments.[40] However, by 2012 the show had entered an indefinite hiatus due to Davies' return to the UK after his partner became ill.[41][42][43]
Series one of Torchwood was filmed from May 2006 until November 2006. For the second series,[21] lead writer Chris Chibnall wrote the opening episode and the three final episodes.[46][citation needed] Both Catherine Tregenna and Helen Raynor wrote two episodes for the second series.[47] The other episodes were written by James Moran, Matt Jones, J. C. Wilsher, Joseph Lidster, P.J. Hammond and Phil Ford. Russell T Davies was initially announced as writing two episodes, but due to commitments to Doctor Who, he no longer anticipated writing any Torchwood episodes.[48] For series three, Davies returned and wrote the first and last episodes, co-wrote episode three with James Moran and plotted the overall story arc himself.[28]John Fay wrote episodes two and four.[49]
For the fourth series, Miracle Day, Davies secured several popular US television writers, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Jane Espenson; The X-Files, Star Trek: Enterprise and Supernatural writer John Shiban; and House writer Doris Egan. Additionally, both Davies and John Fay returned to write episodes.[39] In continuing the series Davies chose to keep Torchwood more focused on the human condition than its science fiction backdrop. He drew inspiration from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, noting that "the best metaphors in Buffy came down to, 'What's it like to be in high school, as a kid?'" He felt the fourth series of Torchwood to be "about us and our decisions and our lives, and how we live with each other and how we die with each other".[50] The depiction of human nature in the fourth series led to a sequence which many felt to be evocative of the Holocaust. Jane Espenson noted that as a series Torchwood "is willing to go to horrible places". She stated that in storylining Miracle Day, the writers "didn't want to flinch away from what mankind can do."[51]
The first block of series two, consisting of episodes by Raynor and Tregenna, was directed by Andy Goddard. Colin Teague directed the second block, which consists of episode two by Moran and episode four by Tregenna, with Ashley Way directing the third block, consisting of the series two premiere by Chibnall and the sixth episode of the series, by JC Wilsher.[46]Euros Lyn directed all five episodes of the third series, Children of Earth.[28]
In June 2010, a BBC News report confirmed that the fourth series would have 10 episodes.[52] Filming began in January 2011. Unlike the previous series, this series' directors did not direct in blocks but in specific episodes.[53] The series four directors included Bharat Nalluri,[54]Billy Gierhart,[54]Guy Ferland[54] and Gwyneth Horder-Payton.[54]
Richard Stokes produced series 1 and 2 of Torchwood; Originally, James Hawes (a Doctor Who director) was lined up as the producer, but he later withdrew from this project.[45][55] Series 3 was produced by Peter Bennett.[56] Series 4 was produced by Kelly A Manners,[57] with UK filming produced by Brian Minchin, producer of Series 4 and 5 of The Sarah Jane Adventures.[58][59] The series also shares Doctor Who's production designer, Edward Thomas.[60][61] Music for the series was composed by Ben Foster[62] and Doctor Who's composer Murray Gold,[63] with composer Stu Kennedy assisting on Series 4.[64]
Title card for the Torchwood miniseries, Children of Earth (series 3)
Episodes of the show's first two series are preceded by a voice-over monologue by Barrowman as Harkness, establishing the show's premise.[65] The show's theme tune plays over this monologue and the title sequence.[66] The theme was written by Doctor Who composer Murray Gold.[63]
The opening sequence was re-done specifically for series 2, episode 5 "Adam", adding the titular character to the existing scenes. This reflected the in-universe story of Adam psychically inserting himself into the team members' memories as a long-standing member of the team.[67]
For Children of Earth, a recap of the last episode was played at the beginning of each episode, followed by a title card. The theme was not featured in this, instead only featuring over the end credits.
A new theme arrangement and opening credit sequence was introduced with Series 4 (though a musical motif, or "sting", from the original theme is still audible in numerous scenes). Although each episode of Miracle Day has a published individual title, Torchwood: Miracle Day is the only on-screen title used.
The series is set in Cardiff, Wales, and follows a rogue covert agency called Torchwood which investigates extraterrestrial incidents on Earth and scavenges alien technology for its own use. This Torchwood, led by Captain Jack Harkness, is a small, independent organisation, but began as the Cardiff branch of the larger Torchwood Institute, then-defunct, which began in the Victorian era. (Its origins were outlined in the Doctor Who episode "Tooth and Claw", and Harkness's long connection to it is covered in flashback scenes in a Torchwood series 2 episode.) As the opening monologue explains, the organisation is separate from the government, outside the police, and beyond the United Nations. Their public perception is as merely a 'special ops' group. The events of the first series take place sometime after the Doctor Whoseries two finale, in which the Torchwood Institute's London headquarters was destroyed. This format was maintained for the first two series.
Series three, a miniseries, saw the Cardiff headquarters destroyed and the team temporarily operating as fugitives in England's capital city of London, its membership declining and the organisation thoroughly broken over the course of the serial. Series four starts with Torchwood fully disbanded. Jack has left Earth after the events of series three, and a pregnant Gwen has retired to be with her family. The group is then unofficially reformed, this time operating primarily in the United States, joined by two fugitive CIA agents who have been framed for treason, during Miracle Day.
Unlike its parent programme, Torchwood centres on a team instead of a single character with companions. The show initially depicts a small team of alien-hunters known as Torchwood Three, based in Cardiff. The team is made up of five operatives led by Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), formerly a time-traveling "Time Agent" and con man from the distant future who has lived on Earth as an immortal since the 19th century. Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), the female lead, joins the team in the first episode; she is originally an audience surrogate, but later grows into a more morally complicated character. The original cast is filled out by Torchwood medical officer Owen Harper (Burn Gorman), computer specialist Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori), and general factotum-cum-administrator Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). Toshiko and Owen are killed off in the second series finale, as is Ianto in the show's third series. Recurring characters are Rhys Williams (Kai Owen), Gwen's live-in boyfriend and later husband; and Andy Davidson (Tom Price), Gwen's former police partner. Kai Owen becomes a main cast member in the programme beginning with the third series; his character is initially unaware of Gwen's activities with Torchwood, but later becomes her close confidant and the team's ally. Price appears in all four series.
Prior to the programme's debut, publicity materials featured Indira Varma as Suzie Costello among the regular cast members, giving the impression that she would appear throughout the series. However, Suzie was killed off at the end of the first episode with Gwen taking her place on the team,[68] Suzie reappearing only once more as an antagonist. In the first two series, Paul Kasey regularly appears under heavy prosthetics, portraying, as in
Resident Evil 5[b] is a 2009 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a major installment in the Resident Evil series, and was announced in 2005—the same year its predecessor Resident Evil 4 was released. Resident Evil 5 was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in March 2009 and for Windows in September 2009. It was re-released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in June 2016. The plot involves an investigation of a terrorist threat by Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance agents Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar in Kijuju, a fictional region of West Africa. Chris learns that he must confront his past in the form of an old enemy, Albert Wesker, and his former partner, Jill Valentine.
The gameplay of Resident Evil 5 is similar to that of the previous installment, though it is the first in the series designed for two-player cooperative gameplay. It has also been considered the first game in the main series to depart from the survival horror genre, with critics saying it bore more resemblance to an action game. Motion capture was used for the cutscenes, and it was the first video game to use a virtual camera system. Several staff members from the original Resident Evil worked on Resident Evil 5. The Windows version was developed by Mercenary Technology.
Resident Evil 5 received a positive reception, despite some criticism for its control scheme. The game received some complaints of racism, though an investigation by the British Board of Film Classification found the complaints were unsubstantiated.[4] As of December 2023, when including the original, special and remastered versions, the game had sold 13.4 million units.[5] It is the best-selling game of the Resident Evil franchise when not including remakes,[c] and the original version remained the best-selling individual Capcom release until March 2018, when it was outsold by Monster Hunter: World. A sequel, Resident Evil 6, was released in 2012.
In 2009,[6] five years after the events of Resident Evil 4, Chris Redfield, now an agent of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), is dispatched to Kijuju in West Africa. He and his new partner Sheva Alomar are tasked with apprehending Ricardo Irving before he can sell a bio-organic weapon (BOW) on the black market. When they arrive, they discover that the locals have been infected by the parasites Las Plagas (those infected are called "Majini") and the BSAA Alpha Team have been killed. Chris and Sheva are rescued by BSAA's Delta Team, which includes Sheva's mentor Captain Josh Stone. In Stone's data Chris sees a photograph of Jill Valentine, his old partner, who has been presumed dead after a confrontation with Albert Wesker. Chris, Sheva and Delta Team close in on Irving, but he escapes with the aid of a hooded figure. Irving leaves behind documents that lead Chris and Sheva to marshy oilfields, where Irving's deal is to occur, but they discover that the documents are a diversion. When Chris and Sheva try to regroup with Delta Team, they find the team slaughtered by a BOW; Sheva cannot find Stone among the dead. Determined to learn if Jill is still alive, Chris does not report to headquarters.[7]
Continuing through the marsh, they find Stone and track down Irving's boat with his help. Irving injects himself with a variant of the Las Plagas parasite and mutates into a huge octopus-like beast. Chris and Sheva defeat him, and his dying words lead them to a nearby cave. The cave is the source of a flower used to create viruses previously used by the Umbrella Corporation, as well as a new strain named Uroboros. Chris and Sheva find evidence that Tricell, the company funding the BSAA, took over a former Umbrella underground laboratory and continued Umbrella's research. In the facility, they discover thousands of capsules holding human test subjects. Chris finds Jill's capsule, but it is empty. When they leave, they discover that Tricell CEO Excella Gionne has been plotting with Wesker to launch missiles with the Uroboros virus across the globe; it is eventually revealed that Wesker hopes to take a chosen few from the chaos of infection and rule them, creating a new breed of humanity. Chris and Sheva pursue Gionne but are stopped by Wesker and the hooded figure, who is revealed to be a brainwashed Jill. Gionne and Wesker escape to a Tricell oil tanker; Chris and Sheva fight Jill, subduing her and removing the mind-control device before she urges Chris to follow Wesker.[7]
Chris and Sheva board the tanker and encounter Gionne, who escapes after dropping a case of syringes; Sheva keeps several. When Chris and Sheva reach the main deck, Wesker announces over the ship's intercom that he has betrayed Gionne and infected her with Uroboros. She mutates into a giant monster, which Chris and Sheva defeat. Jill radios in, telling Chris and Sheva that Wesker must take precise, regular doses of a serum to maintain his strength and speed; a larger or smaller dose would poison him. Sheva realizes that Gionne's syringes are doses of the drug. Chris and Sheva follow Wesker to a bomber loaded with missiles containing the Uroboros virus, injecting him with the syringes Gionne dropped. Wesker tries to escape on the bomber; Chris and Sheva disable it, making him crash-land in a volcano. Furious‚ Wesker exposes himself to Uroboros and chases Chris and Sheva through the volcano. They fight him, and the weakened Wesker falls into the lava before Chris and Sheva are rescued by a helicopter, which is piloted by Jill and Stone. As a dying Wesker attempts to drag the helicopter into the volcano, Chris and Sheva fire rocket-propelled grenades at Wesker, killing him.[8] In the game's final cutscene, Chris wonders if the world is worth fighting for. Looking at Sheva and Jill, he decides to live in a world without fear.[7]
The first player controls Chris Redfield, while a second player can control Sheva Alomar. Players are controlled from an over-the-shoulder perspective.
Resident Evil 5 is a third-person shooter with an over-the-shoulder perspective.[9] Players can use several weapons including handguns, shotguns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and grenade launchers, as well as melee attacks. Players can make quick 180-degree turns to evade enemies.[10] The game involves boss battles, many of which contain quick time events.[11]
As in its predecessor Resident Evil 4, players can upgrade weapons with money and treasure collected in-game and heal themselves with herbs, but cannot run and shoot at the same time.[11] New features include infected enemies with guns and grenades,[10] the ability to upgrade weapons at any time from the inventory screen without having to find a merchant, and the equipping of weapons and items in real-time during gameplay.[11] Each player can store nine items. Unlike the previous games, the item size is irrelevant; a herb or a grenade launcher each occupy one space, and four items may be assigned to the D-pad.[9] The game features puzzles, though fewer than previous titles.[12][13]
Resident Evil 5 is the first game in the Resident Evil series designed for two-player cooperative gameplay.[14] The player controls Chris, a former member of the fictional Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS) and member of the BSAA, and a second player can control Sheva, who is introduced in this game. If a person plays alone, Sheva is controlled by the game's artificial intelligence (AI). When the game has been completed once, there is an option to make Sheva the primary character.[11] Two-player mode is available online or split screen with a second player using the same console. A second player joining a split screen game in progress will make the game reload the last checkpoint (the point at which the game was last saved); the second player joining an online game will have to wait until the first player reaches the next checkpoint, or restarts the previous one, to play.[9] In split-screen mode, one player's viewpoint is presented in the top half of the screen, and the other in the bottom half, but each viewpoint is presented in widescreen format, rather than using the full width of the screen, resulting in unused space to the left and right of the two windows.[10] If one player has critical health, only their partner can resuscitate them, and they will die if their partner cannot reach them. At certain points, players are deliberately separated. Players can trade items during gameplay, although weapons cannot be traded with online players.[9] The game's storyline is linear, and interaction with other characters is mostly limited to cutscenes.[12][13]
A version of the Mercenariesminigame, which debuted in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, is included in Resident Evil 5.[15] This minigame places the player in an enclosed environment with a time limit. Customized weapons cannot be used and players must search for weapons, ammunition, and time bonuses while fighting a barrage of enemies,[11] to score as many points as possible within the time limit.[16] The minigame multiplayer mode was initially offline only; a release-day patch needed to be downloaded to access the online multiplayer modes.[17]Mercenaries is unlocked when the game's story mode has been completed.[16]
Producer Jun Takeuchi (pictured in 2010) supervised the game's development.
Resident Evil 5 was developed by Capcom and produced by Jun Takeuchi, who directed Onimusha: Warlords and produced Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. Keiji Inafune, promotional producer for Resident Evil 2 and executive producer of the PlayStation 2 version of Resident Evil 4, supervised the project. Production began in 2005 and at its peak, over 100 people were working on the project.[18] In February 2007, some members of Capcom's Clover Studio began working on Resident Evil 5 while others were working on Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, which debuted for the Wii.[19][20] Yasuhiro Anpo, who worked as a programmer on the original Resident Evil, directed Resident Evil 5.[21] He was one of several staff members who worked on the original game to be involved in Resident Evil 5's development.[22] The game's scenario was written by Haruo Murata and Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, based on a story idea by concept director Kenichi Ueda.[23] Takeuchi announced that the game would retain the gameplay model introduced in Resident Evil 4, with "thematic tastes" from both Resident Evil 4 and the original Resident Evil.[24]
While previous Resident Evil games are mainly set at night, the events of Resident Evil 5 occur almost entirely during the day. The decision for this was a combination of the game being set in Africa and advances in hardware improvements which allowed increasingly detailed graphics.[25] On the subject of changes to Jill and Chris's appearance, production director Yasuhiro Anpo explained that designers tried "to preserve their image and imagined how they would have changed over the passage of time". Their new designs retained the character's signature colors; green for Chris and blue for Jill. Sheva was redesigned several times during production, though all versions tried to emphasize a combination of "feminine attraction and the strength of a fighting woman".[26] The Majini were designed to be more violent than the "Ganado" enemies in Resident Evil 4.[27]
The decision for cooperative gameplay was made part-way through development, for a new experience in a Resident Evil game.[14] Despite initial concern that a second player would dampen the game's tension and horror, it was later realized that this could actually increase such factors where one player had to be rescued.[28] The decision to retain wide-screen proportions in two-player mode was made to avoid having the first player's screen directly on top of the second, which might be distracting, and the restriction on simultaneously moving and shooting was retained to increase player tension by not allowing them to maneuver freely. Takeuchi cited the film Black Hawk Down as an influence on the setting of Resident Evil 5 and his experience working on Lost Planet: Extreme Condition as an influence on its development.[14] When questioned as to why the game was not being released on the Wii, which was the most popular gaming console at that time, Takeuchi responded that although that may have been a good decision "from a business perspective", the Wii was not the best choice in terms of power and visual quality, concluding that he was happy with the console choices they had made.[29]
Resident Evil 5 runs on version 1.4 of Capcom's MT Framework engine[30] and scenes were recorded by motion capture. It was the first video game to use a virtual camera system,[31] which allowed the developers to see character movements in real time as the motion-capture actors recorded.[32] Actors Reuben Langdon, Karen Dyer and Ken Lally portrayed Chris Redfield, Sheva Alomar and Albert Wesker respectively.[33][34][35] Dyer also voiced Sheva,[36] while Chris's voice was performed by Roger Craig Smith.[37] Dyer's background training in circus skills helped her win the role of Sheva, as Capcom were searching for someone who could handle the physical skills her motion capture required. She performed her own stunts, and worked in production on the game for over a year, sometimes working 14 hours a day.[36] All of the human character motions were based on motion capture, while the non-human characters in the game were animated by hand.[38]
Kota Suzuki was the game's principal composer and additional music was contributed by Hideki Okugawa, Akihiko Narita and Seiko Kobuchi.[23] The electronic score includes 15 minutes of orchestral music, recorded at the Newman Scoring Stage of 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles with the 103-piece Hollywood Studio Symphony. Other orchestral music and arrangements were by Wataru Hokoyama, who conducted the orchestra.[39] Capcom recorded in Los Angeles because they wanted a Hollywood-style soundtrack to increase the game's cinematic value and global interest. Resident Evil 5's soundtrack features an original theme song, titled "Pray",[40] which was composed by Suzuki and sung by Oulimata Niang.[41]
Capcom announced Resident Evil 5 on July 20, 2005,[42] and the company showed a brief trailer for the game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in July 2007.[43] The full E3 trailer became available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store that same month.[44][45] A new trailer debuted on Spike TV's GameTrailers TV in May 2008, and on the GameTrailers website.[46] A playable game demo was released in Japan on December 5, 2008, for the Xbox 360,[2] in North America and Europe for the Xbox 360 on January 26, 2009, and on February 2 for the PlayStation 3.[47] Worldwide downloads of the demo exceeded four million for the two consoles; over 1.8 million were downloaded between January 26 and January 29.[48]
In January 2009, D+PAD Magazine reported that Resident Evil 5 would be released with limited-edition Xbox 360 box art; pictures of the limited-edition box claimed that it would allow two to sixteen players to play offline via System Link.[49] Although Capcom said that their "box art isn't lying", the company did not provide details.[50] Capcom soon issued another statement that the box-art information was incorrect, and System Link could support only two players.[49] Microsoft released a limited-edition, red Xbox 360 Elite console which was sold with the game. The package included an exclusive Resident Evil theme for the Xbox 360 Dashboard[51] and a download voucher for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix from Xbox Live.[52]
Resident Evil 5 was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2009, alongside a dedicated Game Space on PlayStation Home. The space, Resident Evil 5 "Studio Lot" (Biohazard 5 "Film Studio" in Japan), had as its theme the in-game location of Kijuju. Its lounge offered Resident Evil 5-related items for sale, events and full game-launching support. Some areas of the space were available only to owners of Resident Evil 5.[53] A Windows version was released in September 2009. This version, using Nvidia's 3D Vision technology through DirectX 10, includes more costumes and a new mode in the Mercenaries minigame.[54][55]Resident Evil 5 was re-released on Shield Android TV in May 2016,[56] and was re-released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One the following month, with a physical disc copy following in America that July.[57] It was also released for Nintendo Switch on October 29, 2019.[58]
Shortly before the release of Resident Evil 5, Capcom announced that a competitive multiplayer mode called Versus would be available for download in several weeks.[59] Versus became available for download in Europe and North America on April 7, 2009, through the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store.[60] Versus has two online game types: "Slayers", a point-based game challenging players to kill Majini, and "Survivors", where players hunt each other while dodging and attacking Majini. Both modes can be played by two-player teams.[60] The Windows version of Resident Evil 5 originally did not support downloadable content (DLC).[61]
During Sony's press conference at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show Capcom announced that a special edition of the game, Biohazard 5: Alternative Edition, would be released in Japan for the PlayStation 3 in the spring of 2010.[62] This edition supports the PlayStation Move accessory and includes a new scenario, "Lost in Nightmares", where Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine infiltrate one of Umbrella Corporation co-founder Oswell E. Spencer's estates in 2006.[63] Another special edition of the game, Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in North America and Europe. Gold Edition includes "Lost in Nightmares" and another campaign-expansion episode, "Desperate Escape", where players control Josh Stone and Jill Valentine as they assist Chris and Sheva.[64] The edition also includes the previously released Versus mode, four new costumes and an alternate Mercenaries mode with eight new playable characters, new items and maps. Like Alternative Edition, Gold Edition supports the PlayStation Move accessory with a patch released on September 14, 2010.[65] The Xbox 360 version of Gold Edition came in a DVD with a token allowing free download of all DLC, while the PlayStation 3 version had all of the new content on a single Blu-ray disc.[65] On November 5, 2012, Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition was placed on the PlayStation Network as a free download for PlayStation Plus users during that month.[66]
As part of the game's conversion to Steamworks, Gold Edition was released for Microsoft Windows on March 26, 2015. Owners of the game from Steam or as a boxed retail Games for Windows – Live can acquire a free Steamworks copy of the base game and purchase the new Gold Edition content.[67] The Steamworks version did not allow the use of Nvidia's 3D Vision technology or fan modifications, though Capcom later confirmed a way to work around these issues.[68] In 2023, an update was released for the Windows version that removed Games for Windows – Live, thus restoring the split screen co-op feature to the game.[69]
Resident Evil 5 received generally favourable reviews, according to review aggregatorMetacritic.[72][70][71] Reviewers praised the game's visuals and content. Corey Cohen of Official Xbox Magazine complimented the game's fast pace, and called the graphics gorgeous.[81] It was praised by Joe Juba and Matt Miller of Game Informer, who said that it had the best graphics of any game to date and that the music and voice acting helped bring the characters to life,[79] and Brian Crecente of Kotaku said it was one of the most visually stunning games he had ever played.[82]Adam Sessler of X-Play said the game's graphics were exceptional,[10] and Edge praised the gameplay as exhilarating and frantic.[77] For IGN, Ryan Geddes wrote that the game had a surprisingly high replay value,[11] and GameZone's Louis Bedigian said the game was "worth playing through twice in one weekend".[83]
While still giving favorable reviews of the game, several reviewers considered it t
The Pagani Zonda is a mid-enginesports car produced by Italian sports car manufacturer Pagani. It debuted at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show. Produced on commission in limited units, as of 2019 a total of 140 cars had been built, including development mules. Variants include a 2-door coupé and roadster variant, along with a third new variant being the barchetta. Construction is mainly of carbon fibre.
The Zonda was originally to be named the "Fangio F1" after Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio, but, following his death in 1995, it was renamed for the Zonda wind, a term for a hot air current above Argentina.[3]
The Zonda C12[4] debuted in 1999 at the Geneva Motor Show. It is powered by a 6.0 L (366 cu in) Mercedes-Benz M120 V12 engine having a power output of either 408 PS (300 kW; 402 hp) or 450 PS (331 kW; 444 hp)[5] at 5,200 rpm and 570–640 N⋅m (420–472 lb⋅ft) of torque at 4,200 rpm mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.
The C12 can accelerate to 97 km/h (60 mph) in 4.0 seconds and to 161 km/h (100 mph) in 9.2 seconds.
Only five cars were built with the 6.0 L
engine, though the C12 was still available in 2002 when the C12 S was introduced. One was used for crash testing and homologation, while another was a demonstrator and show car. The remainder were delivered to customers during the next three years. The crash test and homologation car having chassis number 001 was restored by Pagani's recently established restoration program called "Pagani Rinascimento" and was presented to the public at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show for the Zonda's 20th anniversary.[6][7]
The Zonda C12-S[8] uses a modified version of the M120 V12 engine used in the C12 enlarged to 7,010 cc (7.0 L; 427.8 cu in).[9] Tuned by Mercedes-AMG, the engine has a power output of 550 PS (405 kW; 542 hp) and is mated to a newly developed CIMA 6-speed manual transmission in order to handle the high power output produced by the engine.[10][11]
The C12-S can accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds, and to 161 km/h (100 mph) in 7.0 seconds. Lateral acceleration on the skidpad is 1.18 g (11.6 m/s²). The C12-S can reach a top speed of 208 mph (335 km/h).
Introduced in 2002 the Zonda S 7.3[12] used a new, larger naturally aspirated M120 V12 engine displacing 7,291 cc (7.3 L; 444.9 cu in) designed and manufactured by Mercedes-AMG having a power output of 555 PS (547 hp; 408 kW) at 5,900 rpm and 750 N⋅m (553 lb⋅ft) of torque at 4,050 rpm.[13] To better handle the power, traction control and ABS were made standard. Performance claims were unchanged from the Zonda C12-S.
In 2003, Pagani presented the Zonda Roadster,[14] an open top version of the Zonda S 7.3. Carrying the same components as the coupé, Pagani promised no loss of performance, a claim supported by the minimal weight gain of 30 kg (66 lb). A total of 40 roadsters were produced.[15]
The Zonda F[16] (or Zonda Fangio - named after Formula One driver Juan Manuel Fangio) debuted at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. It was the most extensive re-engineered variant of the Zonda yet, though it shared much with its predecessors including the 7.3 L Mercedes-AMGM297 V12 engine which through enhanced intake manifolds, exhaust and a revised ECU now had a power output of 602 PS (443 kW; 594 hp) at 6,150 rpm and 760 N⋅m (561 lb⋅ft) at 4,000 rpm. The transmission is largely the same as the C12 S but had stronger internals and differential gears. Zonda F has a top speed of 345 km/h (214 mph).
Production of the Zonda F was limited to 25 cars. It came equipped with an extra headlight and a new configuration of fog lights in the lower grille, new bodywork (revised front end, new rear spoiler, more aerodynamic vents all around) that improved the car's aerodynamics, and different side mirrors. Further enhancements over the "S" centered on optional carbon/ceramic brakes (measuring 380 mm) developed in conjunction with Brembo, OZ alloy wheels, Inconel exhaust system, hydroformed aluminium intake plenum, and a redesigned "Z preg" weave in the crash structure to improve rigidity and reduce weight.[17]
The Zonda Roadster F[18] debuted at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. Exterior wise, the roadster was similar to the coupé, but with a removable carbon fibre roof and canvas side curtains, weighing just 5 kg (11 lb) more than the coupé. Power output of the engine increased to 650 PS (478 kW; 641 hp) and 780 N⋅m (575 lb⋅ft) of torque. Production of the Roadster F was limited to 25 units.
The Roadster F maintained chassis rigidity without any gain in curb weight, eschewing conventional thinking by not strengthening the sills, a process which would have needed more than 35 kg (77 lb) of reinforcement. Pagani instead used racing car materials, and construction techniques, strengthening the firewall structure of the chassis tub together with billet alloy braces that connected the points where the roof rails would have joined. The windscreen was also strengthened for safety reasons. These techniques enabled the Roadster to have virtually the same weight as the coupé, 1,230 kg (2,712 lb).[19]
The Zonda Roadster F Clubsport is a lightweight version of the Zonda Roadster F. It has an extensive use of the new carbo-titanium material developed by Pagani as well as having an upgraded engine. It was tested by Top Gear'sThe Stig along with James May and achieved a lap time around their test track of 1:17.8, beating the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 tested during the same episode, but lost in a quarter mile drag race against the Veyron by nearly 2.5 seconds.[20] German racing driver Marc Basseng managed to lap the Zonda F Clubsport around the 20.8 kilometres (12.9 mi) Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:24.7.[21]
The Zonda Cinque[22] (Italian for five) was meant to be the last iteration of the Zonda, being a road-legal version of the Zonda R. Only five were built, hence the name, with deliveries set to June 2009 for all five cars. The Zonda Cinque was developed at the request of a Pagani dealer in Hong Kong.
The differences from other variants of the Zonda were the new 6-speed automated manual gearbox, resulting in shifts taking less than 100 milliseconds, dropping the 0–100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration time down to 3.4 seconds. The gearbox has three driving modes, namely Comfort, Sport and Race which optimises the gearbox for different driving conditions. The Cinque also had a revised form of carbon fibre called "carbo-titanium" which incorporates titanium in the weave to increase strength and rigidity. The suspension used magnesium and titanium components, and the 7.3-litre engine's power and torque were increased to 678 PS (499 kW; 669 hp) and 780 N⋅m (575 lb⋅ft). Revised bodywork, which included a longer front splitter, new sideskirts, rear diffuser, bumper canards, and a flatter underside as well as a roof-mounted air intake scoop, enabled the Cinque to generate 750 kg (1,653 lb) of down-force at 355 km/h (221 mph) and 1.45 G of cornering force.[23]
Zonda Cinque Roadster
The Zonda Cinque Roadster[24] had the same specifications as the coupé from which it was derived. Only five units were built, like the coupé.[25]
The Zonda Tricolore,[26] originally conceived as a one-off before production totaled three, was built as a tribute to the Frecce Tricolori, Italy's aerobatic team. It carried much of the body from the Zonda Cinque. The car was unpainted except for a clear blue lacquer, and red, white, and green stripes from the nose along the top of the car's surface. Unique to this car was a small wing placed behind the cockpit which reflected the tail wing of Frecce Tricolori's Aermacchi MB-339 PAN stunt plane. The three Tricolores were priced at £1.2 million. It was also 9.7 km/h (6 mph) faster than a standard Zonda at 354 km/h (220 mph).
The Zonda HP Barchetta was unveiled at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance as a present to the company's founder, Horacio Pagani for his 60th birthday as well as to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the Zonda. It has unique exterior design cues which makes it different from other Zondas produced with the most distinguishable features being the barchetta body style and rear wheel covers inspired by group C race cars, making it the first Pagani to ever use this styling. It also has a rear spoiler, air intakes and rear lights taken from the 760 series cars. Power comes courtesy of the 7.3 L (445 cu in) Mercedes-AMG V12 engine rated at 800 PS (588 kW; 789 hp) and 850 N⋅m (627 lb⋅ft) of torque making it the most powerful road legal Zonda ever produced. It borrows its seats and suspension from the Huayra BC along with its power output being identical to the BC with the only difference being that the BC has a Bi-turbo engine while the HP Barchetta is naturally aspirated. The wheels of the car also have different colour inlays with the wheels at the left having gold and the wheels at the right having blue inlays. Production is limited to just 3 units with one unit retained for Horacio Pagani's personal collection.[27] The Zonda HP Barchetta marks an end to the Zonda's production run.[28][29]
The Zonda One-Off Series is a custom line-up built for special customers, sometimes made as rebuilds of existing (and sometimes crashed) Zonda chassis. These models have a 7.3-litre M297 engine but with a power output of 760 PS (559 kW; 750 hp) and 780 N⋅m (575 lb⋅ft) of torque.
Development of the Zonda GR started in December 2002. Tom Weickardt, owner of American Viperacing, Toine Hezemans, owner of Carsport Holland, and Paul Kumpen, owner of GLPK Racing, incorporated a new company, Carsport Zonda, to develop a racing version of the Zonda. They secured exclusive rights to develop, build and sell competition versions of the Zonda from Horacio Pagani, and the first GR was completed at Carsport's facility in Modena within months.[clarification needed]
The Zonda GR is based on the Zonda S. It was built on the same carbon fibre chassis, with lightweight tube frames present on the front and rear. The bodywork was modified to include front and rear diffusers and louvers for improved aerodynamics. The car was 2 meters (6.6 ft) wide, in accordance with the regulations of the FIA and ACO. The car's weight was reduced to 1,100 kg (2,425 lb), and a new suspension system was designed. Along with new motorsport-oriented wheels and brakes. The engine was equipped with an enlarged radiator, two air intake restrictor plates, and the engine and gearbox also had new oil coolers. The resulting engine is rated at around 600 hp (447 kW; 608 PS) at 5,800 rpm and 580 lb⋅ft (786 N⋅m) of torque at 4,300 rpm with a redline increased to 7,500 rpm. Unrestricted, however, the 7.0 L V12 engine is capable of producing around 780 hp (582 kW; 791 PS) and 750 lb⋅ft (1,017 N⋅m) of torque. Performance figures include a 0 to 97 km/h (60 mph) acceleration time of 3.3 seconds.
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