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Dirk Gently (TV Series)
''Dirk Gently'' is a British comic science fiction detective television series based on characters from the novel ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'' by Douglas Adams. The series was created by Howard Overman and stars Stephen Mangan as holistic detective Dirk Gently and Darren Boyd as his sidekick Richard MacDuff. Recurring actors include Helen Baxendale as MacDuff's girlfriend Susan Harmison, Jason Watkins as Dirk's nemesis DI Gilks and Lisa Jackson as Dirk's receptionist Janice Pearce. Unlike most detective series ''Dirk Gently'' features broadly comic touches and even some science fiction themes such as time travel and artificial intelligence. Dirk Gently operates his Holistic Detective Agency based on the "fundamental interconnectedness of all things", which relies on random chance methods to uncover connections between seemingly-unrelated cases. He claims that he follows the principles of quantum mechanics. Although the majority of his clients suspect he may be a co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comic Science Fiction
Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science-fiction (SF) genre's conventions for comedy, comedic effect. Comic science fiction often mocks or satirizes standard SF conventions – such as alien invasion of Earth, interstellar travel, or futuristic technology. It can also satirize and criticize present-day society. An early example was the ''Pete Manx'' series by Henry Kuttner and Arthur K. Barnes (sometimes writing together and sometimes separately, under the house pen-name of Kelvin Kent). Published in ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'' in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the series featured a time travel in fiction, time-traveling carnival barker who uses his con-man abilities to get out of trouble. Two later series cemented Kuttner's reputation as one of the most popular early writers of comic science fiction: the ''Gallegher'' series (about a drunken inventor and his narcissistic robot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration of two loudspeakers (or stereo headphones) in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing. Because the multi-dimensional perspective is the crucial aspect, the term ''stereophonic'' also applies to systems with more than two channels or speakers such as quadraphonic and surround sound. Binaural recording, Binaural sound systems are also ''stereophonic''. Stereo sound has been in common use since the 1970s in entertainment media such as broadcast radio, recorded music, television, video cameras, cinema, computer audio, and internet. Etymology The word ''stereophonic'' derives from the Greek language, Greek (''stereós'', "firm, solid") + (''phōnḗ'', "sound, tone, voice") and i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech recognition, computer vision, translation between (natural) languages, as well as other mappings of inputs. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' of Oxford University Press defines artificial intelligence as: the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages. AI applications include advanced web search engines (e.g., Google), recommendation systems (used by YouTube, Amazon and Netflix), understanding human speech (such as Siri and Alexa), self-driving cars (e.g., Tesla), automated decision-making and competing at the highest level in strategic game systems (such as chess and G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Time Travel
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a widely recognized concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. The idea of a time machine was popularized by H. G. Wells' 1895 novel '' The Time Machine''. It is uncertain if time travel to the past is physically possible, and such travel, if at all feasible, may give rise to questions of causality. Forward time travel, outside the usual sense of the perception of time, is an extensively observed phenomenon and well-understood within the framework of special relativity and general relativity. However, making one body advance or delay more than a few milliseconds compared to another body is not feasible with current technology. As for backward time travel, it is possible to find solutions in general relativity that al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Science Fiction Themes
The following is a list of articles about recurring theme (narrative), themes in science fiction. Overarching themes *First contact (science fiction), First contact with aliens *Artificial intelligence in fiction, Artificial intelligence **Machine rule/Cybernetic revolt/AI takeover *Extraterrestrials in fiction *End of humanity: Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction *The future **Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction: Apocalypses or worldwide disasters and Post-apocalypse, new societies that develop after the event *History **Alternate history (fiction), Alternate history **Scientific prediction of the future (e.g. Psychohistory (fictional), psychohistory) *Human fears: List of science fiction horror films *Language **Alien languages (e.g. Klingon language, Klingon, Hutt (Star Wars), Huttese) **The Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis (e.g. ''Babel 17'', ''The Languages of Pao'') **Universal translators (e.g. Babel fish) *Military science fiction, Military/conflicts **Interstellar war ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lisa Jackson (actress)
Lisa Jackson (born 1 June 1979) is an English actress. Recent roles include Alice Butler in ''Holby City'', Ellie Thomas in ''Hoff the Record'', Portia in ''Toast of London'', Phyllis Stanwyck in ''Father Brown'', Lady Lushingham in ''Mr Selfridge'', Deborah in '' Panto!'', Imogen Moffat in the Channel 4 '' Comedy Showcase'' sitcom ''Campus'', Sandra in Mike Bartlett's ''Love, Love, Love'', Janice Pearce in BBC Four's ''Dirk Gently'' and Joan Helford in Rupert Goold's production of '' Time and the Conways'' at the National Theatre. Earlier in her career she appeared in Stephen Fry's film ''Bright Young Things''. She trained at LAMDA. From 6 April to 25 June 2016 she appeared in ''The Suicide'' at the National Theatre, starring Javone Prince Javone Prince is a British comedian and actor. He has appeared in many British comedy television shows, such as '' Horrible Histories'', ''Sorry, I've Got No Head'' and ''Little Miss Jocelyn.'' He also Featured in The Dumping Ground ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jason Watkins (actor)
Jason Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also played William Herrick in '' Being Human'', Gavin Strong in '' Trollied'', Simon Harwood in '' W1A,'' Gordon Shakespeare in the film series '' Nativity'', British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in Season 3 of ''The Crown'' and Detective Sergeant Dodds in ''McDonald & Dodds''. Early life Watkins was born in Windsor Road, Albrighton, Shropshire, where he lived until the age of seven, when his parents moved to Wolverhampton. His father Alan was a metallurgist and his mother a teacher at Albrighton's primary school. He credits his introduction to entertainment to taking lessons in clowning at Bridgnorth from mime artist Ben Benison, also a presenter on TV programme ''Vision On''. Career Stage Following his training at the Royal Academy of Dra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helen Baxendale
Helen Victoria Baxendale (born 7 June 1970) is an English actress of stage and television, known for her roles as Rachel Bradley in the British comedy drama '' Cold Feet'' (1997–2003), and Emily Waltham in the American sitcom '' Friends'' (1998–1999). Baxendale's early stage credits include ''The Soldiers'' at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre, which earned her a 1993 Ian Charleson Award nomination. Her other television credits include ''Cardiac Arrest'' (1994–1996), ''An Unsuitable Job for a Woman'' (1997–1999), '' Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years'' (2001), ''Cuckoo'' (2012–2019), and '' Noughts + Crosses'' (2020). Early life Baxendale was born on 7 June 1970 in Pontefract, West Riding of Yorkshire. Baxendale's parents were teachers at a comprehensive school, her sister is the screenwriter Katie Baxendale. She grew up in Shenstone, Staffordshire, and attended King Edward VI School, Lichfield. She wanted to be a ballet dancer and trained at the Elmhurst School for Danc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidekick
A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato, Shrek's Donkey and Puss in Boots, Mickey Mouse's Donald Duck and Goofy, Mario's Luigi and Yoshi, Sonic's Tails and Knuckles, Donkey Kong's Diddy Kong, Daffy Duck's Porky Pig, Captain America's Bucky and Batman's Robin. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of the late 19th century. The "kick" was the front pocket of a pair of trousers, believed to be the pocket safest from theft. Thus, by analogy, a "side-kick" was a person's closest companion.Morris, EvanWord Detective(December 20, 1999). One of the earliest recorded sidekicks may be Enkidu, who adopted a sidekick rol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dirk Gently
Dirk Gently (born Svlad Cjelli, also known as Dirk Cjelli) is a fictional character created by English writer Douglas Adams and featured in the books '' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'', ''The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul'' and '' The Salmon of Doubt''. He is portrayed as a pudgy man who normally wears a heavy old light brown suit, red checked shirt with a green striped tie, long leather coat, red hat and thick metal-rimmed spectacles. "Dirk Gently" is not the character's real name. It is noted early on in the first book that it is a pseudonym for "Svlad Cjelli". Dirk himself states that the name has a " Scottish dagger feel" to it. Holistic detective Dirk bills himself as a " holistic detective" who makes use of "the fundamental interconnectedness of all things" to solve the whole crime, and find the whole person. This involves running up large expense accounts and then claiming that every item (such as needing to go to a tropical beach in the Bahamas for three w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holistic
Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book '' Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/87726. Accessed 23 October 2019. While his ideas had racist connotations, the modern use of the word generally refers to treating a person as an integrated whole, rather than as a collection of separate systems. For example, well-being may be regarded as not merely physical health, but also psychological and spiritual well-being. Meaning The exact meaning of "holism" depends on context. Jan Smuts originally used "holism" to refer to the tendency in nature to produce wholes from the ordered grouping of unit structures. However, in common usage, "holism" usually refers to the idea that a whole is greater than the sum of its parts.J. C. Poynton (1987) SMUTS'S HOLISM AND EVO ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Television Series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed between shows. Television shows are most often scheduled for broadcast well ahead of time and appear on electronic guides or other TV listings, but streaming services often make them available for viewing anytime. The content in a television show can be produced with different methodologies such as taped variety shows emanating from a television studio stage, animation or a variety of film productions ranging from movies to series. Shows not produced on a television studio stage are usually contracted or licensed to be made by appropriate production companies. Television shows can be viewed live (real time), be recorded on home video, a digital video recorder for later viewing, be viewed on demand via a set-top box, or streamed over th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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