title: Dana Plato

text: When Plato made a brief appearance on "The Gong Show", she was spotted by a producer who helped cast her as Kimberly Drummond—the older sister of adopted brothers Arnold and Willis Jackson—on the NBC sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes". The series debuted in 1978 and became an immediate hit. Plato appeared regularly on the show throughout its run, notably top-billed for four years. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her work on the program, and also was part of two TV Land Award nominations given to its cast. In 1984, following the birth of her son Tyler, Plato was dismissed from her starring role due to both that and struggles in her personal life, which producers felt would negatively impact their "wholesome family comedy". She made a one episode appearance on season 8 episode 12 of "The Love Boat". Thereafter, Plato appeared recurringly on "Diff'rent Strokes" from 1985 to 1986, the show's end; in season 8, the episode which aired on January 17, 1986, was Plato's final appearance on the show, which showed her character suffering from bulimia. CBC News described her performance in the episode as a "series highpoint".


title: Dana Plato

text: In 1981, Plato appeared in the television special "A Step in Time", which earned her a second Young Artist Award nomination. In 1983, she starred in the television film "High School U.S.A." as Cara Ames, alongside "Diff'rent Strokes" co-star Todd Bridges, who played Otto Lipton. In spite of the film being met with a mixed response from critics and viewers alike, it gained popularity at the time of its premiere, particularly for its cast. Plato attempted to establish herself as a serious actress but found it difficult to achieve success; she had breast implants and modeled for a June 1989 "Playboy" pictorial, and started taking roles in such B-movies as "Bikini Beach Race" (1989) and "Lethal Cowboy" (1992).


title: Dana Plato

text: In 1992, Plato starred in the video game "Night Trap", becoming one of the first celebrities to appear in a video game. She was eager to work on the game, and Rob Fulop—one of the designers of "Night Trap"—said that he and Plato had enjoyed working together. She made little effort to hide the fact that the project was a step-down compared to her previous career ventures. The game was a moderate success, but is considered a pioneering title because it was the first to use live actors. "Night Trap" received mixed to negative reviews upon release, and in retrospective has continued to polarize critics and audiences. It is best remembered for the controversy it created over the violence and sexuality, along with that surrounding "Mortal Kombat", which had eventually led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).


title: Dana Plato

text: Toward the end of her career, Plato chose roles that were erotic; she appeared nude in "Prime Suspect" (1989) and "Compelling Evidence" (1995), and in the softcore erotic drama "Different Strokes: The Story of Jack and Jill...and Jill" (1998), the title of which was changed after filming in order to tie it to Plato's past. Following her appearance in the film, in the same year, Plato appeared in a cover story of the lesbian lifestyle-magazine "Girlfriends".


title: Dana Plato

text: Plato's last works include "Desperation Boulevard" (1998), in which she appears as herself and which appears to be based on her life; "Silent Scream" (1999), in which she appears as Emma Jones; and "Pacino Is Missing" (2002), which was released after her death, in which she appears as an attorney.


title: Dana Plato

text: In December 1983, Plato moved in with her boyfriend, rock guitarist Lanny Lambert. The couple married on April 24, 1984, and their only child, Tyler Edward Lambert, was born on July 2, 1984. When it was revealed that she was pregnant, she was written out of "Diff'rent Strokes". Her co-star Conrad Bain revealed that she was happy about her baby and that she would no longer be alone, stating in an interview with "People" magazine: "She deliberately got pregnant while doing the series, when I spoke to her about it, she was enthusiastic about having done that... [saying that] 'When I get the baby, I will never be alone again.'" On May 6, 2010, two days before the eleventh anniversary of Plato's death, her 25-year-old son Tyler committed suicide.


title: Dana Plato

text: Plato separated from Lambert in January 1988, the same week her mother died of scleroderma. In desperation, she signed over power of attorney to an accountant who disappeared with the majority of her money, leaving her with less than $150,000. She claimed the accountant was never found nor prosecuted despite an exhaustive search, and that he had also stolen more than $11 million of other people's money. During her March 1990 divorce, Plato lost custody of her son to Lambert and was given visitation rights. She thereafter became engaged to Fred Potts, a filmmaker, but the romance ended. She was later married to actor and producer Scott Atkins (Scotty Gelt) in Vancouver for one month before the marriage was annulled. Before her death, Plato was engaged to her manager Robert Menchaca, with whom she lived in a motor home in Navarre, Florida.


title: Dana Plato

text: On February 28, 1991, Plato entered a video store, produced a pellet gun, and demanded the money in the cash register. After she left with the money, the clerk called 9-1-1 and said, "I've just been robbed by the girl who played Kimberly on "Diff'rent Strokes"." Approximately fifteen minutes after the robbery, Plato returned to the scene and was immediately arrested. She had stolen $164. Entertainer Wayne Newton posted her $13,000 bail, and Plato was given five years' probation. She subsequently became a subject of the national debate surrounding troubled child stars, particularly given the difficulties of her "Diff'rent Strokes" co-stars Todd Bridges and Gary Coleman.


title: Dana Plato

text: In January 1992, Plato was arrested a second time, for forging a prescription for diazepam. She served thirty days in jail for violating the terms of her probation and immediately entered a drug rehabilitation program. Plato later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she struggled with poverty and unemployment. At one point she worked at a dry-cleaning store, where customers reported being impressed by her lack of airs.


title: Dana Plato

text: On May 7, 1999, the day before she died, Plato appeared on "The Howard Stern Show". She spoke about her life, discussing her financial problems and past run-ins with the law. She admitted to being a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, but claimed she had been sober for more than ten years by that point and was not using any drugs, with the exception of prescribed painkillers due to the recent extraction of her wisdom teeth. Many callers to the show insulted Plato and questioned her sobriety, which angered and provoked her, and she defiantly offered to take a drug test on the air. Some callers, as well as host Howard Stern, came to Plato's defense, though Stern also referred to himself as "an enabler" and sarcastically offered Plato drugs. Although she allowed a hair to be cut for the test, Stern later claimed she asked for it back after the interview.


title: Dana Plato

text: On May 8, 1999, Plato and Menchaca were returning to California and stopped at Menchaca's mother's home in Moore, Oklahoma, for a Mother's Day visit. Later on in the visit, Plato said that she felt unwell and took a few doses of a hydrocodone / acetaminophen painkiller (Lortab), along with the muscle-relaxant carisoprodol (Soma), and went to lie down inside her Winnebago motor home with Menchaca, which was parked outside the house. Upon waking up, Menchaca and their family discovered that Plato had died in her sleep – initially assumed an accidental overdose but later ruled a suicide based on Plato's long history of substance use. Plato's body was cremated and her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.


title: Dana Plato

text: In 2000, Fox broadcast a television movie based on Plato, titled "After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped". The film was focused on her life and work after the show, including her death. It featured actors who at the time were unknown, as well as Bridges, who made a cameo appearance. In 2006, NBC aired the television film "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Diff'rent Strokes", which was based on the lives of the child stars who had worked on the show. At the end of the film, where Bridges and Coleman appear, they stand near Plato's grave.


title: Dana Plato

text: On November 7, 2019, Plato's 55th birthday, Bridges commented on Twitter about their friendship, leaving a tribute to Plato: "You were the one person I could always talk to. You were one of my best friends. I will never forget you and love you forever. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dana Plato R.I.P you are free my friend."


title: Kate Siegel

text: Kate Gordon Siegelbaum, known professionally as Kate Siegel ( ), is an American actress and screenwriter. She is best known for her collaborations with her husband, filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in his films "Oculus" (2013), "Hush" (2016; she also wrote the screenplay with him), "" (2016), and "Gerald's Game" (2017), as well as in his television series "The Haunting of Hill House" (2018), "The Haunting of Bly Manor" (2020) and "Midnight Mass" (2021). She has been dubbed a "scream queen" due to her work in horror films and television.


title: Kate Siegel

text: Siegel was born in Silver Spring, Maryland. She attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland, and graduated from Syracuse University in 2004. Siegel is Jewish. Siegel said in 2008 she was bisexual and had been in relationships with other women before. She married director Mike Flanagan in early 2016. They have two children: a son, Cody, and a daughter, Theodora, named after Siegel's character in "The Haunting of Hill House". She is stepmother to Flanagan's eldest son from a previous relationship. She attended high school with stand-up comedian and actress Whitney Cummings.


title: Kate Siegel

text: Siegel made her acting debut in the film "The Curse of The Black Dahlia", which was released on January 23, 2007. That same year she went on to star in "Hacia La Oscuridad" which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28, 2007. She also appeared in "Steam" alongside Ruby Dee and Chelsea Handler. In 2008, Siegel appeared in the short film "Knocked Down" which was directed by Ted Collins. In 2009, she made her television debut in "Ghost Whisperer" as Cheryl. In 2010, she appeared in "Numb3rs" as Rachel Hollander. She then appeared in an episode of "Castle". That same year she appeared in the drama-thriller "Wedding Day".


title: Kate Siegel

text: In 2013, Siegel appeared in "Man Camp". That same year she appeared in "Oculus", a horror film written and directed by Flanagan. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2013, and was released in April 2014. She also appeared in an episode of "Mob City". In 2014, she appeared in "Demon Legacy".


title: Kate Siegel

text: In November 2015, it was revealed that she and Flanagan would be adapting the young adult novel "13 Days to Midnight" into a film.


title: Kate Siegel

text: In 2016, Siegel starred as a deaf-mute woman beset by a killer in the horror-thriller "Hush", a film on which she also made her screenwriting debut, co-writing with Flanagan. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 12, 2016, and was released on Netflix on April 8, 2016. In July 2016, she starred in a commercial for Stelara psoriasis medication. That same year, Siegel appeared in "", also directed by Flanagan, which was released on October 21, 2016.


title: Kate Siegel

text: In 2017, Siegel starred alongside Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood in the film adaptation of Stephen King's "Gerald's Game", which was also directed by Flanagan. The film was released on September 29, 2017, by Netflix.


title: Kate Siegel

text: In 2018, Siegel had a starring role as Theodora Crain in the Netflix supernatural horror series "The Haunting of Hill House", based on Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel of the same name. She also narrated the podcast "Calling Darkness" and has been a voice actor for "The NoSleep Podcast".


title: Kate Siegel

text: Siegel portrayed Erin Greene in Netflix's "Midnight Mass" which was written and directed by Flanagan, and co-starred her cast-mate from "The Haunting of Hill House", Henry Thomas.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova (, Putina, Путина; born 31 August 1986) is a Russian scientist, manager, and former acrobatic dancer. She is the second daughter of Russian president Vladimir Putin.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: Tikhonova heads the Innopraktika company, which unites two initiatives of Moscow State University: the National Intellectual Development Foundation (NIDF) and the National Intellectual Reserve Centre (NIRC). She is also Deputy Director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: Tikhonova was born in Dresden, East Germany, the younger of two daughters of Vladimir Putin and Lyudmila Putina (née Shkrebneva). The family moved to Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the spring of 1991. She attended Peterschule (), a German gymnasium in Saint Petersburg. Later, during violent gang wars involving the Tambov Gang while it was taking control of Saint Petersburg's energy trade, she and her sister Maria were sent by their father, who feared for their safety, to Germany where their legal guardian was former Stasi officer Matthias Warnig, who had worked with their father in Dresden as part of a KGB cell and established the Dresdner Bank branch in Saint Petersburg. After her family moved to Moscow, she attended German School Moscow. She dropped the Putin surname and took the patronymic name of her maternal grandmother, Yekaterina Tikhonovna Shkrebneva, as her surname.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: After taking entrance exams along with her sister Maria in July 2005, Tikhonova began her university studies at Saint Petersburg State University where its rector Lyudmila Verbitskaya was a close friend of her father. Although she was very interested in Chinese studies, she studied Japanese history, majoring in Asian studies under the university's dean, ; she graduated in June 2009. Tikhonova graduated from Moscow State University with a specialization in Japan. She has a master's degree in physics and mathematics.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: Tikhonova is the director of Innopraktika, a $1.7 billion development project to create a science center at Moscow State University. Innopraktika is competing with the Skolkovo Innovation Center and is referred to by Stanislav Belkovsky as being the "anti-Skolkovo". In February 2020, Innopraktika announced that Tikhonova was appointed head of a new artificial intelligence institute at Moscow State University.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: In May 2019, she defended her dissertation and received a degree in physics and mathematics. The scientific work was called "Mathematical problems of correcting the activity of vestibular mechanoreceptors". This was preceded by a series of scientific publications in collaboration with well-known scientists. The rector of the Moscow State University Viktor Sadovnichiy was the scientific supervisor.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: In December 2019, Tikhonova became a member of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Mass Sports under the Government of the Russian Federation.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: In July 2022, she became co-chair of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs's import substitution coordination council.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: In the mid-2010s, Tikhonova was fond of acrobatic rock'n'roll – a rare, non-Olympic sport, in the world ranking of which there are only about two hundred people. She and partner Ivan Klimov came in fifth place at a 2013 world championship event in Switzerland. In 2014, at the Russian Championship, the pair took second place. In the World Federation, Tikhonova at one time held the post of Vice President for Expansion & Marketing. Then, acrobatic rock and roll began to gain popularity in Russia. From 2016 to 2019, in the Moscow region, at the sports school where Tikhonova studied, an acrobatic rock and roll center was built for 2 billion rubles.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: On 6 April 2022, because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tikhonova was sanctioned by the United States due to her being an adult child of Vladimir Putin. The United States Department of the Treasury stated, "Tikhonova is a tech executive whose work supports the [Government of the Russian Federation] and defense industry." On 8 April, the United Kingdom and the European Union also imposed sanctions on Tikhonova. On 12 April, Japan imposed sanctions on her. On 21 November, she was sanctioned by New Zealand.


title: Katerina Tikhonova

text: In 2013, Tikhonova married businessman Kirill Shamalov, the son of Nikolay Shamalov, a co-owner of Rossiya Bank. He is vice-president of Sibur Holding, which is a Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company headquartered in Moscow. The Russian government holds 38% of the shares of the gas company. At the time, the couple was estimated to hold assets worth around $2 billion. In January 2018, Bloomberg News reported that Tikhonova and Shamalov had separated.


title: Dot product

text: In mathematics, the dot product or scalar product is an algebraic operation that takes two equal-length sequences of numbers (usually coordinate vectors), and returns a single number. In Euclidean geometry, the dot product of the Cartesian coordinates of two vectors is widely used. It is often called the inner product (or rarely projection product) of Euclidean space, even though it is not the only inner product that can be defined on Euclidean space (see Inner product space for more).


title: Dot product

text: Algebraically, the dot product is the sum of the products of the corresponding entries of the two sequences of numbers. Geometrically, it is the product of the Euclidean magnitudes of the two vectors and the cosine of the angle between them. These definitions are equivalent when using Cartesian coordinates. In modern geometry, Euclidean spaces are often defined by using vector spaces. In this case, the dot product is used for defining lengths (the length of a vector is the square root of the dot product of the vector by itself) and angles (the cosine of the angle between two vectors is the quotient of their dot product by the product of their lengths).


title: Dot product

text: The name "dot product" is derived from the centered dot " · " that is often used to designate this operation; the alternative name "scalar product" emphasizes that the result is a scalar, rather than a vector, as is the case for the vector product in three-dimensional space.


title: Dot product

text: The dot product may be defined algebraically or geometrically. The geometric definition is based on the notions of angle and distance (magnitude) of vectors. The equivalence of these two definitions relies on having a Cartesian coordinate system for Euclidean space.


title: Dot product

text: In modern presentations of Euclidean geometry, the points of space are defined in terms of their Cartesian coordinates, and Euclidean space itself is commonly identified with the real coordinate space R. In such a presentation, the notions of length and angles are defined by means of the dot product. The length of a vector is defined as the square root of the dot product of the vector by itself, and the cosine of the (non oriented) angle between two vectors of length one is defined as their dot product. So the equivalence of the two definitions of the dot product is a part of the equivalence of the classical and the modern formulations of Euclidean geometry.


title: Dot product

text: where Σ denotes summation and "n" is the dimension of the vector space. For instance, in three-dimensional space, the dot product of vectors and is:


title: Dot product

text: Expressing the above example in this way, a 1 × 3 matrix (row vector) is multiplied by a 3 × 1 matrix (column vector) to get a 1 × 1 matrix that is identified with its unique entry:


title: Dot product

text: In Euclidean space, a Euclidean vector is a geometric object that possesses both a magnitude and a direction. A vector can be pictured as an arrow. Its magnitude is its length, and its direction is the direction to which the arrow points. The magnitude of a vector a is denoted by formula_8. The dot product of two Euclidean vectors a and b is defined by


title: Dot product

text: In particular, if the vectors and are orthogonal (i.e., their angle is or 90°), then formula_10, which implies that


title: Dot product

text: At the other extreme, if they are codirectional, then the angle between them is zero with formula_12 and


title: Dot product

text: The scalar projection (or scalar component) of a Euclidean vector a in the direction of a Euclidean vector b is given by


title: Dot product

text: The dot product, defined in this manner, is homogeneous under scaling in each variable, meaning that for any scalar "α",


title: Dot product

text: These properties may be summarized by saying that the dot product is a bilinear form. Moreover, this bilinear form is positive definite, which means that


title: Dot product

text: The dot product is thus equivalent to multiplying the norm (length) of b by the norm of the projection of a over b.


title: Dot product

text: The vectors e are an orthonormal basis, which means that they have unit length and are at right angles to each other. Hence since these vectors have unit length


title: Dot product

text: where "a" is the component of vector a in the direction of e. The last step in the equality can be seen from the figure.


title: Dot product

text: which is precisely the algebraic definition of the dot product. So the geometric dot product equals the algebraic dot product.


title: Dot product

text: The dot product fulfills the following properties if a, b, and c are real vectors and "r" is a scalar.


title: Dot product

text: Given two vectors a and b separated by angle "θ" (see image right), they form a triangle with a third side . The dot product of this with itself is:


title: Dot product

text: Its value is the determinant of the matrix whose columns are the Cartesian coordinates of the three vectors. It is the signed volume of the parallelepiped defined by the three vectors, and is isomorphic to the three-dimensional special case of the exterior product of three vectors.


title: Dot product

text: This identity, also known as "Lagrange's formula", may be remembered as "ACB minus ABC", keeping in mind which vectors are dotted together. This formula has applications in simplifying vector calculations in physics.


title: Dot product

text: In physics, vector magnitude is a scalar in the physical sense (i.e., a physical quantity independent of the coordinate system), expressed as the product of a numerical value and a physical unit, not just a number. The dot product is also a scalar in this sense, given by the formula, independent of the coordinate system. For example:


title: Dot product

text: For vectors with complex entries, using the given definition of the dot product would lead to quite different properties. For instance, the dot product of a vector with itself could be zero without the vector being the zero vector (e.g. this would happen with the vector a = [1 i]). This in turn would have consequences for notions like length and angle. Properties such as the positive-definite norm can be salvaged at the cost of giving up the symmetric and bilinear properties of the dot product, through the alternative definition


title: Dot product

text: where formula_39 is the complex conjugate of formula_40. When vectors are represented by column vectors, the dot product can be expressed as a matrix product involving a conjugate transpose, denoted with the superscript H:


title: Dot product

text: In the case of vectors with real components, this definition is the same as in the real case. The dot product of any vector with itself is a non-negative real number, and it is nonzero except for the zero vector. However, the complex dot product is sesquilinear rather than bilinear, as it is conjugate linear and not linear in a. The dot product is not symmetric, since


title: Dot product

text: The complex dot product leads to the notions of Hermitian forms and general inner product spaces, which are widely used in mathematics and physics.


title: Dot product

text: The self dot product of a complex vector formula_44, involving the conjugate transpose of a row vector, is also known as the norm squared, formula_45, after the Euclidean norm; it is a vector generalization of the "absolute square" of a complex scalar (see also: squared Euclidean distance).


title: Dot product

text: The inner product generalizes the dot product to abstract vector spaces over a field of scalars, being either the field of real numbers formula_46 or the field of complex numbers formula_47. It is usually denoted using angular brackets by formula_48.


title: Dot product

text: The inner product of two vectors over the field of complex numbers is, in general, a complex number, and is sesquilinear instead of bilinear. An inner product space is a normed vector space, and the inner product of a vector with itself is real and positive-definite.


title: Dot product

text: The dot product is defined for vectors that have a finite number of entries. Thus these vectors can be regarded as discrete functions: a length- vector is, then, a function with domain , and is a notation for the image of by the function/vector .


title: Dot product

text: This notion can be generalized to continuous functions: just as the inner product on vectors uses a sum over corresponding components, the inner product on functions is defined as an integral over some interval (also denoted ):


title: Dot product

text: Generalized further to complex functions and , by analogy with the complex inner product above, gives


title: Dot product

text: Inner products can have a weight function (i.e., a function which weights each term of the inner product with a value). Explicitly, the inner product of functions formula_51 and formula_52 with respect to the weight function formula_53 is


title: Dot product

text: A double-dot product for matrices is the Frobenius inner product, which is analogous to the dot product on vectors. It is defined as the sum of the products of the corresponding components of two matrices A and B of the same size:


title: Dot product

text: Writing a matrix as a dyadic, we can define a different double-dot product (see ,) however it is not an inner product.


title: Dot product

text: The inner product between a tensor of order "n" and a tensor of order "m" is a tensor of order , see Tensor contraction for details.


title: Dot product

text: The straightforward algorithm for calculating a floating-point dot product of vectors can suffer from catastrophic cancellation. To avoid this, approaches such as the Kahan summation algorithm are used.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: The Cloverfield Paradox is a 2018 American science fiction horror film directed by Julius Onah and written by Oren Uziel, from a story by Uziel and Doug Jung, and produced by J. J. Abramss Bad Robot Productions. It is the third film in the "Cloverfield" franchise, following "Cloverfield" (2008) and "10 Cloverfield Lane" (2016). It stars Daniel Brühl, Elizabeth Debicki, Aksel Hennie, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Chris O'Dowd, John Ortiz, David Oyelowo, and Zhang Ziyi. It follows an international group of astronauts aboard a space station who, after using a particle accelerator to try to solve Earth's energy crisis, must find a way home when the planet seemingly vanishes.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: The film is based on "God Particle", a spec script from Oren Uziel, which had the main plot of the space-station crew but was unconnected to "Cloverfield". The script was acquired by Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot in 2012. It was planned as part of Paramount's low-budget InSurge distribution label but, following the folding of that label, its production was expanded as a Paramount-distributed film. Only during production did Abrams decide to link the film to "Cloverfield", adapting Uziel's screenplay and adding scenes to establish the connection, after the same approach was used to alter "10 Cloverfield Lane" from its original script, "The Cellar". Abrams saw the particle accelerator accident as a cinematic means for future events to cause changes in the past, narratively linking the "Cloverfield" franchise together.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: Once announced as a yet-to-be-named "Cloverfield" film in late 2016, the film's release was delayed several times. A surprise trailer aired during Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018, advertising the film's final title and its release on Netflix, which had purchased rights for the film from Paramount. The release occurred immediately after the game. While the unique marketing tactics were praised, the film itself received generally negative reviews, with many considering it the weakest of the "Cloverfield" films.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: In 2028, Earth is suffering from a global energy crisis. The space agencies of the world prepare to test the Shepard particle accelerator aboard the orbiting Cloverfield Station, which would provide Earth with infinite energy, while conspiracy theorists fear it will create the "Cloverfield Paradox", opening portals to parallel universes allowing their horrors to threaten Earth. Among the crew is Ava Hamilton, a British engineer who frets about leaving her husband Michael potentially for years, as their relationship struggles since the loss of their children to a house fire. The crew is rounded out by American commander Kiel, German physicist Ernst Schmidt, Brazilian medical doctor Monk Acosta, Irish engineer Mundy, Russian engineer Volkov, and Chinese engineer Tam.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: After about two years of unsuccessful attempts to activate the Shepard, the crew achieves a seemingly stable beam, but it overloads and creates a power surge on the station. After restoring basic power, they find that Earth has vanished from view, and the gyroscope that aids in the station's navigation is missing. As the crew works on repairs, strange events begin to occur, including the discovery (and subsequent rescue) of an unfamiliar woman called Mina Jensen fused with wires inside a wall. Volkov's eyeballs begin moving of their own accord; he begins conversing with his own reflection in a mirror and is compelled to craft a gun using an on-board 3D printer. He uses the gun to threaten the crew, but as he does so he convulses and dies, and the station's worm colony bursts out of him. Jensen tells Hamilton not to trust Schmidt, who Jensen claims to be a spy sent by the German government to keep the Shepard shut down. Mundy's arm gets pulled into a solid wall and is severed clean off, without bleeding or pain. They find the arm roaming of its own volition. When they recognize it is trying to write something, it instructs them to "cut Volkov open". Once they do, they find the missing gyroscope. They finally locate Earth and begin restoring their communications, but transmissions state the station was destroyed and fell to Earth two days prior.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: The crew determine the particle beam overload has activated the Cloverfield Paradox, which is the cause of the strange events, and also moved the station to a parallel universe in which Jensen replaced Tam as the station's engineer, Schmidt is a spy, and Hamilton, (though still working on the mission), has remained on Earth, where her children are still alive. Believing the Paradox can be reversed and they can return to their own universe if they reactivate the Shepard, the crew starts making repairs. Tam is trapped in a chamber that floods with water, and then explodes, freezing the water and Tam. Meanwhile, Hamilton decides to return to parallel Earth with Jensen in order to prevent the fire that killed her children. As they prepare, Mundy is killed in an explosion caused by a strange magnetic field, destabilizing part of the Shepard and threatening to tear the whole station apart. Kiel sacrifices himself to save the station, leaving Hamilton in charge.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: On Earth, Michael has woken up to discover a wave of destruction ravaging the planet, witnessing the silhouette of a giant monster in the distance. On his way to offer assistance at the local hospital, he stops to help a young girl named Molly at a dockyard. After finding the hospital was destroyed, he takes her to the underground shelter of a friend and tends to her wounds.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: With the Shepard ready to activate again, Hamilton prepares to leave with Jensen, but Jensen suddenly knocks her out. Jensen kills Monk with Volkov's gun, wounds Schmidt, and insists the station must stay in her universe to keep the Shepard there. Regaining consciousness, Hamilton uses the gun to shoot out a window, ejecting Jensen into space. Hamilton decides to return to their universe with Schmidt and makes a recording she sends to her alternate universe self, with the plans for the Shepard and in which she stresses of the importance of her family. Hamilton and Schmidt reverse the universe shift and use Tam's modifications to finally make the Shepard work. After reporting in, the two eject themselves in an evacuation capsule towards Earth.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: Michael learns from mission control of the station's reappearance and his wife's return to Earth, but he lambasts them for returning to Earth in light of the ongoing situation. As the capsule re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, a giant monster bursts through the top of a cloud layer, letting out a roar as the screen cuts to black.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: Additionally, Donal Logue cameos as Mark Stambler, a conspiracy theorist discussing the "Cloverfield Paradox", the brother of Howard Stambler who was the conspiracy theorist portrayed by John Goodman in "10 Cloverfield Lane". Suzanne Cryer, who appeared as Leslie in "10 Cloverfield Lane", also appears in a brief cameo role as a newscaster who interviews Stambler. Simon Pegg and Greg Grunberg, both of whom have frequently worked with Abrams on other films and television series, provide vocal cameos as Radio Voice and Joe, respectively. Oyelowo and Logue previously portrayed Kiel and Stambler in the film's ARG campaign.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: The film was announced in November 2012, under the title "God Particle", based on a script by Oren Uziel and to be directed by Julius Onah. With J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions as the production studio, it was set to be released under Paramount's InSurge label, limiting the film's budget to $5–10 million. At this stage, the film was established to take place on a space station in Earth's orbit and a resulting incident that causes the crew to find Earth has gone missing. Uziel said that his script had been a spec script he wrote about one year after finishing up a similar spec script for "Shimmer Lake". The pick-up of the film occurred around the same time that Paramount and Bad Robot bought the rights to the spec script "The Cellar" by Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken, which ultimately was reworked during production to become "10 Cloverfield Lane" (2016), adding in elements to tie that script to the first "Cloverfield" film; however, when Uziel wrote his screenplay for "God Particle" it had not been attached to "Cloverfield". When Bad Robot acquired the script, J. J. Abrams had already put some thought for how it could fit into "Cloverfield" but had not come up with a way prior to filming. Abrams liked that with the script, "how something in the future could be an origin for something in the past" to establish origin stories for the other "Cloverfield" works. Abrams said that the script had "the DNA" that made it a potential "Cloverfield" film, and was looking for it to be a spiritual sequel to the original.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: In March 2015, Paramount decided to close the InSurge label; "The Cellar" had been moved under the main Paramount label, but "God Particle"s fate was unclear. By February 2016, Paramount confirmed it would release the film under its own label, with a planned February 2017 release date.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: In March 2016, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and David Oyelowo were confirmed to be cast in the film.<ref name="/Film Cast"></ref> In April, "Variety" reported that John Krasinski was in early talks to join the film to play one of the astronauts, but had a possible conflict due to a commitment with a television series. In May, Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Brühl, Chris O'Dowd, Zhang Ziyi, John Ortiz, and Aksel Hennie were announced as members of the cast. Cinematographer Dan Mindel was confirmed to join the film from his résumé.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: The film was shot in Los Angeles, California, where it received tax credits under the state's film incentive program. While filming in Los Angeles, the project was shot under the titles of "God Particle" and "Clean Pass". Filming began on June 10, 2016, and wrapped on September 23, 2016. According to Uziel, it was during production that he came to learn that the film was being connected to "Cloverfield", requiring him to rewrite a few scenes for additional shooting. Uziel speculated that the decision to connect to "Cloverfield" was due to the difficulty in marketing a stand-alone science-fiction film at the time, and felt the connection between the films was more of an anthology series similar to "The Twilight Zone", with each movie dealing with how people with complex relations deal with an other-worldly dilemma. The scenes set on Earth were added during production only after they found test audiences wanted to know what was happening on Earth during events on the space station. The final shot of the monster, similar to the creature Clover seen in the first "Cloverfield" movie, was a shot that the production team came to recognize as a further way to link the films. Among some of the film's Easter eggs includes a figurine of a "Slusho!" mascot aboard the station; the drink brand had been featured in "Cloverfield"s viral marketing.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: The visual effects were provided by Atomic Fiction and supervised by Ryan Tudhope, Russell Earl, Jason Snell, Stefano Trivelli and Pauline Duvall with the help of Industrial Light & Magic and Base FX.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: Shortly after filming in October 2016, "The Wrap" learned from insiders of the connection of "God Particle" to "Cloverfield", though neither Paramount nor Bad Robot commented on this discovery. However, by December 2016, Paramount affirmed the film's connection; the title "God Particle" had been dropped in favor of listing the film as "2017 "Cloverfield" movie".


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: Alongside the renaming, Paramount reslotted the film's release from February 2017 to October 2017, to give more time for post-production. The film suffered two additional delays. In July 2017, it was announced the release had been delayed another three months to February 2018. In January 2018, the release was moved for a third time, to April 20, 2018. The reason for these latter delays was not given.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: In mid-January 2018, the "Cloverfield" alternative reality game (ARG), which had been used for both of the previous films, was relaunched, and provided some hints how this film would be tied to the other two.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: In late January 2018, "The Hollywood Reporter" stated that Netflix was interested in picking up the film from Paramount, following a similar deal the streaming service had worked out for the film "Annihilation". According to the "Reporter", Paramount's chairman Jim Gianopulos felt the film's budget (which had ballooned to over $40 million from an initial $5 million) was too large for the film to be profitable with a traditional theatrical release and that it still needed work done, and "while Abrams expressed an intent to get down to business in post-production, it was too little, too late". In March 2018, Paramount's COO Andrew Gumpert affirmed that Paramount, after reviewing the finished film with Abrams, had doubted the commercial viability of a theatrical release, and that "there was an ability for us to be fiscally prudent and monetize" by selling the rights to Netflix, exposing the film to a much larger audience. Following the film's release, "The Hollywood Reporter" stated that Netflix paid more than for the rights, with negotiations starting in late December 2017 and completed by mid January 2018; this offer made the film immediately profitable to Paramount. The studio retains China and home entertainment release rights. According insiders speaking to "The Wrap", Paramount executives believed handing off the release to Netflix was an easy way to get instant return on the film, and the surprise reveal and release a good way to keep in line with the mystique of the franchise. This said, they clarified that they still have intentions of having theatrical releases for future films in the series.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: Around this time, speculation of the film being named "Cloverfield Station" arose, though this was not confirmed by Paramount. Further speculation circulated in Hollywood sources that work on the film was actually complete and that its first trailer would be revealed soon; "10 Cloverfield Lane" had a similar surprise trailer.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: The events of the preceding month culminated on February 4, 2018, where, during a surprise advertisement during Super Bowl LII, Netflix announced it had acquired the premiere rights for the film, now titled "The Cloverfield Paradox", which would be available on the service immediately after the game. The actors themselves were not aware of this arrangement until the day of the Super Bowl and were told of the title, the advertisement, and the release that day during a morning conference call.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: On November 28, 2018, Paramount announced that the film would be receiving a DVD and Blu-ray release on February 5, 2019.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: According to review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a score of from critics, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus states: "Brilliant casting is overshadowed by a muddled mix of genres and storylines that scratch more heads than sci-fi itches in "The Cloverfield Paradox"." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 37 out of 100, based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews."


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: John DeFire of "The Hollywood Reporter" called the film a "trainwreck of a sci-fi flick bent on extending a franchise that should have died a peaceful death almost exactly one decade ago." Writing for Deadline Hollywood Dino-Ray Ramos said, "The Super Bowl trailer for "Paradox" gave the impression the movie would reveal the origin of the monster that appeared in the 2008 movie and was later on hinted at in the critically acclaimed 2016 follow-up — but it barely did that. Instead, it stalls the franchise as a pastiche of sci-fi cinema veiled in clever marketing."


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: Cinemablend gave it a positive review, granting it 4 of 5 stars; the review noted that the ensemble cast "helps keep the wheels in motion, with a perpetual motion that never lets up", and that Ava's storyline provides a "human anchor" for the film's narrative.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: While the film received negative reviews, the marketing approach of announcing the film during the Super Bowl and premiering it hours later was seen as a novel move by Netflix. IGN noted that this strategy could only work for a film in an established franchise, whereas most new films would need a significant marketing period to draw in viewers. Even knowing that the film might be a critical flop, Netflix would have been able to grab attention due to hype from the Super Bowl, and attention that the "Cloverfield" series had already had.


title: The Cloverfield Paradox

text: According to Nielsen ratings based on subscription video on demand, nearly 785,000 viewers watched "The Cloverfield Paradox" on the night of Super Bowl LII; by three days, over 2.8 million had watched it, and 5 million after a week. These ratings were not as strong as Netflix's "Bright", released 6 weeks earlier, which had 11 million viewers within 3 days. The film did not significantly draw viewers from the episode of "This is Us" on NBC after the Super Bowl game, which had been extensively marketed ahead of the night, and which drew 27 million that evening.


title: Audi A4

text: The Audi A4 is a line of compact executive cars produced since 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.


title: Audi A4

text: The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first generation A4 succeeded the Audi 80. The automaker's internal numbering treats the A4 as a continuation of the Audi 80 lineage, with the initial A4 designated as the B5-series, followed by the B6, B7, B8, and the B9. The B8 and B9 versions of the A4 are built on the Volkswagen Group MLB platform shared with several models and brands across the Volkswagen Group.


title: Audi A4

text: The Audi A4 automobile layout consists of a front-engine design, with transaxle-type transmissions mounted at the rear of the engine. The cars are front-wheel drive, or on some models, "quattro" all-wheel drive.


title: Audi A4

text: The A4 is available as a sedan and station wagon. Historically, the second (B6) and third generations (B7) of the A4 also included a convertible version. For the fourth generation (B8) and onwards, the convertible, along with a new coupé and 5-door liftback variant, was spun-off by Audi into a new nameplate called the Audi A5.


title: Audi A4

text: The first generation Audi A4 (known internally as the "Typ" 8D) debuted in October 1994, with production starting November 1994 and European sales commencing in January 1995 for the 1995 model year. North American sales later began in September 1995 for the 1996 model year. It was built on the Volkswagen Group B5 (PL45) platform, which it shared with the fourth generation Volkswagen Passat (B5, "Typ" 3B). It had a front-mounted longitudinal engine and front-wheel drive. Many variations of the A4 were also available with Audi's quattro four-wheel drive system. The A4 was initially introduced as a four-door saloon/sedan; the Avant (estate/wagon) was introduced in November 1995 and went on sale in February 1996.


title: Audi A4

text: Development began in 1988, with the first design sketches being created later that year. By 1991, an exterior design by Imre Hasanic was chosen and frozen for November 1994 production by 1992. The interior design was later finalized in 1992, with pilot production commencing in the first half of 1994. Development concluded in the third quarter of 1994, preceding November 1994 start of production.


title: Audi A4

text: A wide range of engines were available in European markets, between 1.6 and 2.8 litres for petrol engines; and a 1.9-litre diesel engine available with Volkswagen Group's VE technology, capable of achieving a or . The 2.6 and 2.8-litre V6 engines which had been carried over from the old 80/90 proved popular, although in North America, the 2.8-litre engine was the only V6 that was available there until 1997. A 2.4-liter version was developed especially for the Thai market, where import duty jumped from 60 to 100 percent on cars of over 2,400 cc displacement.


title: Audi A4

text: The Audi A4 was the first model in the Volkswagen Group to feature the new 1.8-litre 20v engine with five valves per cylinder, based on the unit Audi Sport had developed for their Supertouring race car. A turbocharged 1.8T version produced and torque. Moreover, a quattro GmbH special edition of the B5 1.8T was later available in Germany and Europe, for which the engine's power output was raised to and . Five-valve technology was also added to a reengineered V6 family of engines in 1997, starting with the 2.8-litre V6 30v, which now produced , followed by a 2.4-litre V6 which was a downsize from the previous 2.6 litre, engine, but with a power increase to .


title: Audi A4

text: Audi also debuted their new tiptronic automatic transmission on the B5 platform, based on the unit Porsche developed for their 964-generation 911. The transmission is a conventional automatic gearbox with a torque converter offering the driver a fully-automatic operation or manual selection of the gear ratios.


title: Audi A4

text: The B5 marked Audi's continued move into the midsize luxury car segment, having started this trajectory notably with later model years of the preceding Audi 80/90 B4. Despite initial mechanical problems, overall build and assembly quality were lauded both by the automotive press and within Audi and Volkswagen, and at the time, parent company Volkswagen declared the B5 the company-wide build quality benchmark for all its other models.


title: Audi A4

text: The Audi A4 B5 saw nearly constant minor changes and alterations throughout its seven-year run. Moreover, a significant facelift was introduced for the 1998 B5 model year at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show, with sales beginning in Europe in early 1998. The 2.8-litre 30-valve V6 engine replaced the 2.8-litre 12-valve. A 2.5-litre V6 Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel engine with was standard on the Quattro. A six-speed manual gearbox was available, as well as the new high-performance Audi S4, now part of the A4 lineup (the previous S4 had been an Audi 100). Cosmetic updates included new rear lights, headlights, door handles, and another minor exterior/interior changes.


title: Audi A4

text: In mid-1998, the 1.8 20vT engine available outside Europe had its power output raised to . The previous KKK K03 turbocharger, although fundamentally unchanged, received revisions on the turbine side to prevent cracking due to heat. The 12-valve V6 was replaced by the 30-valve unit which had been available in Europe for two years.


title: Audi A4

text: A further facelift took place across the A4 and S4 platform in February 1999 as a 1999.5 model; changes were largely cosmetic but affected many components, such as both front and rear bumpers, the front and rear lights, the center console, and door handles. This facelift was known at Audi as a "Grosse Produktaufwertung" ("Major Product Upgrade"), as was also signified by facelift cars now carrying the denomination "8D2".


title: Audi A4

text: In 1999 Audi also debuted an even higher performance "RennSport" model (rennsport literally translates as "racing sport"), the RS4 Avant, like its predecessor RS2, available only in the Avant bodystyle.


title: Audi A4

text: In the Euro NCAP safety and crash tests, the Audi B5 A4 received 3 stars for front- and side-impact protection, but the last star is flagged to indicate that the driver may be subjected to a high risk of chest injury in the side impact.


title: Audi A4

text: In 1997, Audi was the first European car manufacturer to put a hybrid vehicle into mass production, the third generation Audi duo, then based on the A4 Avant.


title: Audi A4

text: The next A4, internally designated "Typ" 8E, debuted on 10 October 2000, now riding on the Volkswagen Group B6 (PL46) platform. The car's new styling was developed under Peter Schreyer between 1996 and 1998, inspired by the Bauhaus design language of the C5 (second-generation) Audi A6 introduced in 1997. The 1.6-litre base model powerplant remained unchanged, but most other petrol/gasoline engines received either displacement increases, or power upgrades. The 1.8-litre 20-valve Turbo was now available in two additional versions, with or , this one with a standard six-speed manual gearbox, while the naturally aspirated 1.6-litre inline-four engine and 2.8-litre V6 were replaced by 2.0-litre, and all-aluminium alloy 3.0-litre units, still with five valves per cylinder, the most powerful of which was capable of and of torque. The 1.9 Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) engine was upgraded to , with Pumpe Düse (Unit Injector) (PD) technology, and was now available with quattro permanent four-wheel drive, while the 2.5 V6 TDI high-end model was introduced with and standard quattro. This generation of quattro consisted of default of 50:50 front to rear dynamic torque distribution. A Bosch ESP 5.7 Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) system, with anti-lock braking system (ABS), brake assist, and electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) were standard across the range.


title: Audi A4

text: For 2002, Audi increased power in the 1.8 Turbo engines to and – the 190 PS variant designated by a red 'T' on the boot lid. Available with four wheel drive and in the 2.5 TDI intermediate version to . A 2.0 engine with Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) was also available. A year later, Audi reintroduced the S4, now powered by a 4.2 L V8 engine, as well as an A4 Cabriolet convertible variant ("Typ" 8H), finally replacing the 80-based Audi Cabriolet which had been discontinued in 2000. It included an electro-hydraulic operated roof, which lowered in under 30 seconds and incorporated some styling changes, such as body-coloured lower bumper and sill panels, which later found their way to the saloon version. The Audi A4 Cabriolet version was co-developed and manufactured by Karmann.


title: Audi A4

text: Audi introduced a continuously variable transmission developed by LuK, named multitronic, which replaced the dated conventional automatic transmission on front-wheel drive models. There have been widespread complaints from consumers around the world that the transmission box is prone to electronic glitches as well as mechanical problems.


title: Audi A4

text: Borrowing from the Audi A6, the boot was redesigned to remove the extension of the top edge with a smoother fold line. The rear light assemblies now formed part of the top line, these styling cues were eventually borrowed by other European as well as Asian manufacturers.


title: Audi A4

text: A sport package named 'Ultra Sport' was introduced in the North American market shortly before the B6 was replaced by the B7. It included aluminium interior trim and door sills, "S line" steering wheel, front and rear spoilers, side skirts, and quattro GmbH designed 18-inch RS4 alloy wheels.


title: Audi A4

text: The Audi A4 (B6 & B7) passed the Euro NCAP safety and crash tests, and was awarded the following car safety ratings:<ref name="euroncap.com/"></ref>


title: Audi A4

text: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded both the B6 & B7 a "Good" rating in the frontal crash test; the B7 was not retested since the front portion is structurally the same.


title: Audi A4

text: Audi introduced a heavily facelifted A4 in late 2004, with the internal designation of B7. Although given a new platform designation, the B7 was essentially a heavily facelifted and revised version of the B6, with revised steering settings, suspension geometry, new internal combustion engine ranges, navigation systems and chassis electronics (including a new advanced Bosch ESP 8.0 Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) system). The front grille assembly changed to a tall trapezoidal shape in the same manner as the C6 (third-generation) Audi A6; however, the dashboard and interior were virtually unchanged from the B6 aside from minor detailing.


title: Audi A4

text: Audi's internal platform nomenclature uses PL46 (passenger car longitudinal platform, size 4, generation 6) for both B6 and B7 chassis. The Typ" 8E and Typ" 8H internal designations are also carried over from the B6 A4 range, but now have an additional identifying suffix – 8EC for the saloon, 8ED for the Avant, and 8HE for the Cabriolet.


title: Audi A4

text: The engine lineup received many additions. The 2005 introduction of Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) on the 2.0 TFSI and 3.2 V6 FSI petrol/gasoline engines, as well as other refinements, increased power output to and , respectively. These engines both use a four-valve per cylinder configuration. The prior 5-valve design was incompatible with the FSI direct injection system (due to the siting of the fuel injector, now discharging directly into the combustion chamber). The 2.0 Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel engine now combined Pumpe Düse (Unit Injector) (PD) technology with 16 valves, while the larger 2.5 TDI V6 diesel was superseded by a 3.0 V6 TDI, offering a model during the year 2005 which was upgraded to a model in 2006. A 2.7 V6 TDI was added later.


title: Audi A4

text: Torsen T-2 based quattro permanent four-wheel drive remained as an option on most A4 models. Audi retired its 5-speed manual transmissions in favour of a new Getrag 6-speed. As before, multitronic continuously variable transmission (CVT), now with selectable 'seven-speeds', was an option on front-wheel drive models, whilst a conventional ZF 6HP 6-speed tiptronic automatic transmission was an option on the quattro four-wheel drive models.


title: Audi A4

text: In addition to the Audi S4, which carried over the powertrain from the B6 S4 – Audi reintroduced the quattro GmbH developed Audi RS4 (RS for "RennSport") to the lineup, for the first time on the saloon/sedan and Cabriolet body, and with a naturally aspirated, but high-revving 4.2-litre V8 FSI engine. Another inclusion on the RS4 was the latest generation Torsen T-3 Quattro 4WD system, which uses a 'default' asymmetric 40:60 front-rear dynamic torque distribution bias. This new asymmetric center differential was initially only available on the RS4 but was added a year later on the S4. The remainder of the B7 A4 range still used the T-2 50:50 default dynamic split center diff.


title: Audi A4

text: A variant, developed by quattro GmbH, was first introduced in May 2005, named "Audi A4 DTM Edition". It was inspired by Audi's race cars of the 2004 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and was reintroduced in 2006 as a regular option. The 2.0T FSI engine received revised software mapping to the ECU, which increased the output to and of torque. It was available with front-wheel drive, or Quattro four-wheel drive.


title: Audi A4

text: The B7 Cabriolet model arrived later than the other two body variants, being first shown in late 2005 and with sales beginning in February 2006. New on the Cabriolet was an entry-level 2.0 TDI version, which was not offered with the Multitronic CVT gearbox. The Cabriolet version was produced by Karmann until February 2009.


title: Audi A4

text: In 2007 Audi introduced a version of the B7 named the 'Special Edition', which built on the S-Line specification and also included the black optics pack, the RS4 style 8J X 18 '7-arm double-spoke' design alloy wheels, Two-tone Graphite/Black Volterra leather, 3-spoke sports leather/Alcantara multi-function steering wheel with gear knob and hand brake handle in Alcantara with silver stitching, ventilated cross-drilled front disc-brakes, black tailpipes and black roof rails (Avant model only). It also had a power increase of 20 PS, giving an output of 220 PS on the 2.0T model.


title: Audi A4

text: According to 2007 Swedish vehicle inspection data, the Audi A4 Avant with diesel engine is the most reliable vehicle available on the market, with vehicle inspection rejection rate of 0.0% in three-year-old category.


title: Audi A4

text: When the successor B8 A4 range was introduced, the B7 series A4 was restyled and rebadged as the SEAT Exeo in 2008 with changes to the front and rear plus interior trim from the A4 Cabriolet. The entire Audi B7 A4 production line from Audi's Ingolstadt plant was dismantled and sent to Volkswagen Group's SEAT factory in Martorell, Spain.


title: Audi A4

text: The Audi A4 offers many standard safety features, including Bosch ESP 8.0 Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) with anti-lock braking system (ABS), side airbags in the seats, 'sideguard' curtain airbags, and its optional quattro four-wheel drive system. It also received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) "Top Safety Pick For 2007". EuroNCAP crash test results from the B6 apply to the B7 model.


title: Audi A4

text: Audi released the first official pictures of the B8 series A4 in August 2007 and unveiled the car to the public at the September 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. Saloon/sedan and Avant (estate/wagon) models are offered. The Avant was unveiled to the public at the March 2008 Geneva Motor Show. For North America's destined models, the B8 continued in production for the 2016 model year, while Europe began deliveries on the 2016 B9 model.


title: Audi A4

text: The B8 A4 is built on a variant of the Audi Modular Longitudinal Platform, a platform that is also used in the Audi A5 coupé. While prior A4 chassis were limited in wheelbase due to the relationship between the engine, transmission and front axle, the MLP allows for a reduced front overhang, resulting in a greater wheelbase length without the same increase in overall length. This effectively redistributes the centre of gravity slightly rearwards, improving handling by better balancing vehicle mass between the front and rear axles. The estimated static front:rear weight ratio of the B8 A4 is approximately 55:45, depending on body style and engine. The relocation of the steering rack in front of the axle also improves handling over previous A4 platforms. Key to the implementation of MLB is the novel mounting of the differential in front of the clutch. This is achieved by driving the flywheel/clutch remotely by means of a 'top hat' shaped drive plate, between which the differential lay shaft passes, whilst power transmission to the final drive is via an inclined transfer shaft which runs the length of the transmission unit. Whilst the platform retains Audi's "overhung" engine mounting position, the front axle is now 152mm further forward than the previous B6/B7 generation platform. The transfer shaft, however, has the effect of creating a large "bulge" on one side of the transmission tunnel, which on right-hand drive versions forces the pedals to be badly offset, which has attracted criticism from the British motoring press in particular.


title: Audi A4

text: The B8 A4 has increased in wheelbase by and in length by over the prior B7, which has allowed for increased rear seating legroom. Although the overall dimensions have increased, the curb weight has dropped some 10%. The boot (trunk) has also increased to for the saloon (sedan) version. The A4 Avant will have a maximum capacity of with the rear seats folded down.


title: Audi A4

text: Reception has been mixed, with praise for the Audi A4's increased size, giving it best-in-class rear legroom and trunk space in the compact executive car segment. Its inline-4 2.0 TFSI engine, while efficient providing plenty of torque, was considered lacking and less refined compared to 6-cylinder engines of lighter rivals who posted faster acceleration times. However, the Audi S4 sports sedan has been well-received for its V6 3.0 TFSI engine's power and efficiency.


title: Audi A4

text: During a model, cycle changes are made to integrate new technologies and to keep the model competitive. These changes are referenced based on the model year (MY) of the car.


title: Audi A4

text: In Australia, the B8 has undergone 2 revisions leading to three variants, the B8, B8 MY10 and B8 MY11.


title: Audi A4

text: Audi released the first official pictures of the B8 series A4 in August 2007 and unveiled the car to the public at the September 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. Saloon/sedan and Avant (estate/wagon) models are offered.


title: Audi A4

text: The A4L is a long-wheelbase version for the Chinese market, with a longer wheelbase and length. The vehicle was presented at the 2008 Guangzhou Motor Show. The production version then went on sale in January 2009. Launch models included a 2.0 TFSI with and the 3.2 FSI with .


title: Audi A4

text: The A4 Allroad Quattro features a wider track, increased ground clearance, Quattro permanent four-wheel drive, a distinctive radiator grille, stainless steel underbody guards and roof rails.


title: Audi A4

text: The quattro permanent four-wheel drive system uses the latest Torsen T-3 centre differential, with a default 40:60 front to rear asymmetric torque distribution ratio (used first on the B7 RS4) as standard. (Previous A4 Quattro models split torque with a default front:rear 50:50). The additional torque bias applied to the rear wheels helps mimic the driving dynamics of rear-wheel drive cars.


title: Audi A4

text: Audi was reported to stop offering 3.2L V6 models in 2010 model year, but still offers them as of August 2011 (Germany).


title: Audi A4

text: All petrol engines use Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI), and all diesel engines use the common rail fuel delivery (with a pressure of ), with piezo injectors of their Turbocharged Direct Injection engines.


title: Audi A4

text: With the 2012 facelift (the B8.5) came additional 163ps TDIe and TDI Ultra engines, the latter requiring the addition of adblue allowing for cleaner running, both of which fell into the lower emissions tax bracket for the UK, yet presenting a significant performance improvement over the base 136ps and mid-range 143ps models.


title: Audi A4

text: In 2009, Audi announced the seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission as an option for A4 in the UK and European markets.


title: Audi A4

text: All A4L models include Speed 8 multitronic continuously variable/manual transmission, except for A4L 3.2 FSI quattro, which includes Tiptronic automatic transmission.


title: Audi A4

text: Volkswagen settled a class-action lawsuit in 2013 involving the failures of the CVT transmission in its Audi A4 and A6 automobiles for model years 2002–2006.


title: Audi A4

text: It includes a common rail TDI diesel engine rated at and , a stop-start system and regenerative braking. It can achieve a fuel consumption of 3.99L/100 km (58.95 mpg) and CO output of 105 g/km. It can accelerate 0- in 10.7 seconds, with top speed of .


title: Audi A4

text: Other features include electric motor-based power steering, revised aerodynamics, low-rolling-resistance 225/45R17 tires, and electric actuation of the rear brakes.


title: Audi A4

text: The facelift model Audi A4 came in 2011. It features redesigned LED headlamps and taillights, front air dam with fog lamps, and closely set twin exhausts. Interior changes include Bluetooth connectivity for audio streaming (nav equipped models only) and a redesigned ignition key. Controls for air-conditioning, infotainment, and power windows gain chrome clasps. Other detail interior changes include larger steering column stalk switches first seen in the D4-series Audi A8 and a simplified layout for the HVAC control panel – for example the temperature setting for the heated seats is now directly set by a single button and is no longer controlled using the MMI dial. The A4 includes a radio with eight speakers as standard, while the MMI navigation system with voice dialogue is optional. A new "Drive Select System" allows drivers to choose comfort, dynamic, individual, or efficiency modes for fuel-efficiency. The power output of the 1.8 TFSI engine is 170 BHP and 320 Nm of torque – up 10 BHP and 70 Nm from the previous versions. Electromechanical power steering is standard.


title: Audi A4

text: In Europe, the wide range of Audi A4 saloon and Avant estate are available with the 1.8 TFSI, 2.0 TFSI gasoline engine, as well as 2.0 TDI, 2.0 TDIe, and 3.0 TDI diesel motor. Trim levels are Attraction, Ambition, and Ambiente. In the UK, the A4 range is offered in SE, SE Technik, Technik, S line, and Black Edition model grades. All-wheel-drive Quattro is offered in most engine and grade combinations.


title: Audi A4

text: For North America, the facelift model Audi A4 sedan is only offered with a 2.0 TFSI gasoline engine. Model grades are Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige. The Avant was discontinued, leaving the Allroad Quattro as the only station wagon body style. For the 2016 model year, the A4 and S4 continued in B8 production. The B9 A4 would not reach the North American market until the 2017 model year, while the S4 variant would not be available until the 2018 model year.


title: Audi A4

text: The fifth-generation of the A4 was revealed in June 2015 when pre-production versions were released to the motoring press, with the official launch occurring at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2015. This generation of the A4 is the fifth to carry the A4 badge and is commonly referred to as the B9, representing the ninth generation of the Audi 80/A4 series, which were originally (but no longer) based on the B platform. The B9 is slightly larger than the outgoing B8, but Audi claims the new A4 is around lighter than its predecessor.


title: Audi A4

text: Seven engines are available from launch, three petrol, and four diesel. All are available in both the A4 Saloon and A4 Avant. The figures below are for the saloon only.


title: Audi A4

text: Audi Sport re-entered the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series in 2004 (after having privateer teams run the Abt Sportsline Audi TT-R) with a V8 engined silhouette racing car resembling the A4 saloon, known as the Audi A4 DTM. A4 DTM cars are identified by Audi Sport "R"-prefix designations.


title: Steven Universe

text: Steven Universe is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe (Zach Callison), who lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, mineral-based aliens named Garnet (Estelle), Amethyst (Michaela Dietz), and Pearl (Deedee Magno Hall)—in the fictional town of Beach City. Steven, who is half-Gem, has adventures with his friends and helps the Gems protect the world from their own kind. The pilot was first shown in May 2013, and the series ran for five seasons, from November 2013 to January 2019. The TV film "" was released in September 2019, and an epilogue limited series, "Steven Universe Future", ran from December 2019 to March 2020.


title: Steven Universe

text: The themes of the series include love, family, and the importance of healthy interpersonal relationships. Sugar based the lead character on her younger brother Steven, who was an artist for the series. She developed "Steven Universe" while she was a writer and storyboard artist on "Adventure Time", which she left when Cartoon Network commissioned her series for full production. The series is storyboard-driven; the show's storyboard artists were responsible for writing the dialogue and creating the action in addition to drawing the storyboards. Books, comics and video games based on the series have been released.


title: Steven Universe

text: The series has developed a broad fanbase and has been critically acclaimed for its design, music, voice acting, characterization, prominence of LGBTQ themes and science fantasy worldbuilding. The series won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids & Family Program in 2019, becoming the first animated series to win the award. It also received a Peabody Award for Children's & Youth Programming in 2019. It was nominated for five Emmy Awards and five Annie Awards.


title: Steven Universe

text: "Steven Universe" is set in the fictional town of Beach City, Delmarva, where the Crystal Gems live in an ancient beachside temple and protect humanity from monsters and other threats. The Gems are ageless alien warriors who project female humanoid forms from magical gemstones at the core of their being. The Crystal Gems comprise Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Steven—a young, half-human, half-Gem boy who inherited his gemstone from his mother, the Crystal Gems' former leader Rose Quartz. As Steven tries to understand his gradually expanding range of powers, he spends his days accompanying the Gems on their missions, as well as interacting with his father Greg, his best friend Connie, his magical pet lion, and the other residents of Beach City. He explores the abilities inherited from his mother, which include fusion—the ability of Gems to merge their bodies and abilities to form new, more powerful personalities.


title: Steven Universe

text: The series' first season gradually reveals that the Crystal Gems are fugitives from a great interstellar empire. During their missions they visit ruins that were once important to Gem culture but have been derelict for millennia. The Gems are cut off from the Gem homeworld, and Steven learns that many of the monsters and artifacts they encounter are Gems who were corrupted by a Gem weapon of mass destruction and can no longer maintain rational, humanoid form. By the end of the first season, Steven learns that, millennia ago, the Gem empire intended to sterilize the Earth to incubate new Gems, but Rose Quartz led her supporters, the Crystal Gems, in a violent and apparently successful rebellion against this genocidal plan. The discovery and release of Lapis Lazuli, a Gem trapped on Earth for millennia, puts the Crystal Gems at risk from the Gem empire once more, leading to the arrival of hostile envoys Peridot and Jasper.


title: Steven Universe

text: In the second season, Peridot allies with and eventually joins the Crystal Gems to prevent Earth's destruction by a Gem "geo-weapon" buried in the planet. During the third season, Lapis Lazuli decides to live on Earth with Peridot; Jasper is defeated and captured; and Steven learns that his mother assassinated one of the Gem empire's matriarchs, Pink Diamond. In the fourth season, as Steven wrestles with his conflicted feelings about his mother's actions, the Gem empire leaders Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond begin to turn their full attention to Earth. In the fifth and final season, Steven learns that in fact his mother "was" Pink Diamond, who faked her death to assume the identity of Rose Quartz; he uses this revelation to persuade the other Diamonds to try to take responsibility for and fix the damage they have caused.


title: Steven Universe

text: In 2011, after former Cartoon Network vice-president of comedy animation Curtis Lelash asked the staff for ideas for a new series, Rebecca Sugar—an artist working for the network's series "Adventure Time"—described her initial ideas for what would become "Steven Universe", and the project was chosen for development. While developing her show, Sugar continued working on "Adventure Time". The series evolved from a short story written by Sugar entitled "Ballad of Margo and Dread", about a sensitive child helping teenagers with problems they cannot verbalize.


title: Steven Universe

text: Cartoon Network executives commissioned the show after the crew's art presentation, and Sugar became the first non-binary person to create a show independently for the network. Prior to coming out as non-binary, she was described as the first woman to do so. Before a production team had been appointed, Sugar tried to alter elements of the show's plot and developed the character's identity so her crew would have the freedom she did when she worked for "Adventure Time".


title: Steven Universe

text: When Sugar's show was commissioned, she resigned from her role as a storyboard artist on "Adventure Time" to focus on her own series. Sugar focused the pilot short on the main characters and their personalities to demonstrate the series' humor. The pilot is a slice-of-life episode that does not involve major events because the series' world was still in development. Sugar and her production team focused the plot on interaction between the Crystal Gems and Steven. Sugar strove to make her pilot distinctive in terms of its artistic and aesthetic detail but was hampered by the time limit imposed upon her by Cartoon Network. The problems with the pilot helped Sugar develop the show's concept; she said, "to know that there is so much more that you can't see and the way that knowledge frustrates and excites and confuses and scares you".


title: Steven Universe

text: The title character Steven is loosely based on Steven Sugar, Rebecca's younger brother. During "Steven Universe" development, Sugar repeatedly asked her brother whether naming the show after him was a good idea; she stopped asking when it was commissioned. Her brother had no problem with it and trusted Sugar to use his name wisely. In an interview with the "New York Times," Sugar discussed developing the background of the show's protagonist, saying she wanted to base the character's viewpoint on her brother growing up "where you're so comfortable in your life because you get all the attention, but you also want to rise up and not be the little brother".


title: Steven Universe

text: When the original pilot was presented to Cartoon Network executives, they told the crew the series would air in 2013. Cartoon Network released the original pilot in May 2013. Sugar and her team panicked because the series was going to be very different from the pilot episode. The pilot was popular when it was released, engendering forum discussions in which people expressed their hopes of seeing it on the air soon. Those who knew Rebecca Sugar from "Adventure Time" were also interested. Positive reaction to the show reassured its crew.


title: Steven Universe

text: To prepare for the show's commissioning by Cartoon Network, Sugar began assembling a production crew. Jackie Buscarino was engaged as a producer in September 2012 and was tasked with hiring people and supervising the show's crew. During this period of development, Sugar and her team were moved to a building behind the main Cartoon Network studio and based on the same floor as the crew of "The Powerpuff Girls" CGI special. Some artists who had worked on the special, such as colorist Tiffany Ford and art directors Kevin Dart, Ellie Michalka and Jasmin Lai, were later invited to join the "Steven Universe" team. Cartoon Network also provided Sugar with a list of suggested writers; when she saw Ben Levin and Matt Burnett (former writers for "Level Up") on the list she immediately asked them to join her team because she was familiar with their work. Freelance artist Danny Hynes, whom the former supervising director Ian Jones-Quartey knew from his own project "Lakewood Plaza Turbo", became the show's lead character designer. Steven Sugar was assigned as the background designer after his work on the original pilot, and was assisted by Dart, Michalka, Lai, background painter Amanda Winterston and others.


title: Steven Universe

text: During the art presentation, Jones-Quartey, Guy, Hynes and Steven Sugar created artwork that differed from their previous work. Jones-Quartey wanted to work with something new, retaining elements of the show's previous project. He worked with Elle Michalka, who later took over his role as background painter for the presentation, to create concept art for an "action-comedy" series. Around this time, Jones-Quartey added stars to the series' logo because he saw them as a versatile symbol. He later said he over-used them, and they were criticized at the art presentation. The art presentation's drawings were by Rebecca Sugar, Jones-Quartey, Hynes, Paul Villeco (a writer and storyboard artist) and Steven Sugar. Michalka did the painting.


title: Steven Universe

text: During the development of the "Steven Universe" pilot, Sugar focused much attention on the design of the world, adding notes to her drawings. Inspired by the idea of foreign figures (Gems) living human lives, she drew many sketches depicting their world and history. The series' design was also inspired by her and her brother's interest in video games, comics and animation. After the series was commissioned, Sugar decided to redesign everything to make the series "flexible and simple" for future production staff to add ideas of their own. During this time, the art director was Kevin Dart, followed by Jasmin Lai, Elle Michalka, and Ricky Cometa. Dart's artistic style has remained a great influence on the show long after his departure. Steven Sugar praised Dart's work and was inspired by him in college years, saying Dart had more ideas for the art than he did.


title: Steven Universe

text: In the pilot, only two locations appeared (the Temple and the Big Donut). The Temple was designed by Ian Jones-Quartey, Steven Sugar, Ben Levin, Matt Burnett, Tom Herpich and Andy Ristaino. The Temple's dual faces were based on Guy Davis' ideas. Steven Sugar designed the rest of Beach City for the series; he was painstaking in his attention to detail. Sugar also designed people, houses, cars, buildings and restaurants. Because of Rebecca Sugar's redesigned drawings, the two original locations had to be redrawn.


title: Steven Universe

text: To find inspiration for the show's backgrounds, the Sugars and Jones-Quartey went to their favorite beaches. The series' setting, Beach City, is loosely based on Delaware beaches Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach and Dewey Beach, all of which Rebecca Sugar visited as a child. Steven Sugar drew Beach City with a boardwalk lined with a variety of shops. He wanted it to have a "specific style" so viewers could believe it was based on a real location; he drew the roads and shops consistently oriented with the Temple and a water tower. The concept for the primary setting was inspired by Akira Toriyama's "Dr. Slump", which features a small environment in which the recurring characters live where they work. Steven Sugar made the boardwalk the focus of "Steven Universe"s human world.


title: Steven Universe

text: During the early stages of production, Sugar worked on character appearance and personality development simultaneously; during this process of conception, she was heavily inspired by fantasy television characters she and her brother used to draw when they were younger. Lead character designer Danny Hynes, influenced by the design of Mickey Mouse by Disney artists, wanted the characters to be standardized, simple and recognizable. He proposed 24 human characters to the crew; Rebecca and Steven Sugar drew 22 designs—13 of which were made official. The coloring was done by Jones-Quartey. Rebecca Sugar merged several characters during the pilot development; supporting characters Lars and Sadie were originally created when she was in college. The Pizza family was based on Jones-Quartey's Ghanaian family, and Ronaldo was created by Ben Levin and Matt Burnett. Guy Davis, a childhood friend of the Sugars, designed the early monsters and Gem architecture.


title: Steven Universe

text: Making a character "look alive" was always a priority in their design; according to Jones-Quartey, a character's emotions should be clearly delineated. The character design team's mission is for the characters to resemble a classic cartoon such as 1940s Disney cartoons, "Dragon Ball Z" or the works of Osamu Tezuka and Harvey Kurtzman. In drawing the characters for each episode, the crew has two weeks to make modifications. Character names and some designs were inspired by types of food, and some characters were redesigned because the pilot revealed discrepancies between appearances and personalities. Sugar planned for the characters' designs to receive visual benchmarks so the show's artists can draw them consistently. Sugar aimed to make the designs for her characters simple, flexible and consistent so the production team members would not become bogged down by over-complex details. This redesigning meant the appearances of the characters in the pilot episode differs substantially from their depiction in the television series.


title: Steven Universe

text: Sugar wanted the Gems to resemble humans; she developed the Crystal Gems to ride a roller coaster of family life with Steven, whom they would treat like a brother. She wanted their gems to reflect their personalities; Pearl's perfect smoothness, Amethyst's coarseness and Garnet's air of mystery. According to Sugar, the Gems are "some version of me ... neurotic, lazy, decisive". Their facial designs were influenced by Wassily Kandinsky, who taught at the Bauhaus and encouraged his students to pair three primary colors—red, yellow and blue—with the three basic shapes—square, triangle and circle. Because of the characters' personalities, Garnet is square, Amethyst is a sphere and Pearl is a cone. Sugar wanted to give the Gems a superpower similar to those of classic cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny. The Gems' ability to shape-shift is a reference to older cartoons such as Tex Avery's work for MGM, where characters would change at will. Although the Crystal Gems are intended to be serious characters, the writers wanted them to be "funny and weird" as well.


title: Steven Universe

text: According to Sugar, production for "Steven Universe" began while she was working on "Adventure Time", her last episode for which was "Simon & Marcy". Working on both series simultaneously became impossible; she also encountered difficulty in the production of the episode "Bad Little Boy". Cartoon Network executives authorized the "Steven Universe" production crew to begin working after their pre-production presentation, for which the crew were well-prepared. The episodes "Cheeseburger Backpack" and "Together Breakfast" were developed at this time. Although Sugar works as executive producer on the series' art, animation and sound, she considers herself "the most hands on" at the storyboarding stage.


title: Steven Universe

text: The episode outlines are passed to the storyboarders, who create the action for the episode and write its dialogue. The storyboards are animated, using paper drawings and the production crew's designs, by one of two Korean studios; Sunmin and Rough Draft and the production crew's designs.


title: Steven Universe

text: During storyboard meetings, artists draw their ideas on post-it notes, which are then attached to walls, table and boxes in the corners of their conference room. The drawings play a major role in forming episode ideas; Sugar looks at these designs and occasionally makes changes to key poses. Sugar likes to review and re-draw scenes and characters to add extra pathos and emotion to storyboards. Each episode's storyboards are created by two artists, each of whom writes half of the dialogue and draws panels similar to comic strips. This process can be quite complex; the storyboard artists must create the cinematography and focus on scenic design in a way similar to film production. After the panels are made, the thumbnail-storyboard artists draw mannerisms and dialogue based on their own experiences; Sugar draws "quintessential" scenes from her memories of hanging out with her brother after school. The storyboard artists then discuss their work with the rest of the crew and make any necessary changes. After the team discussion, the storyboard artists draw a revised board—based on the thumbnail board—on a full-size panel with notes. The storyboards are again discussed, corrected and finally approved.


title: Steven Universe

text: During the pilot development, Sugar wrote and sketched a number of plot ideas that later became episodes. The series' initial premise focused mostly on Steven's human side, rather than his magic side, but the premise was later changed. Sugar developed the Gems' history in conjunction with the pilot episode. While the first season of the show introduced the human and Gem characters and their relationships, Sugar began to plot and explore second-season storylines involving the Crystal Gems. Eventually, Sugar created a chart with taped printouts about a 2,000-year Gem and Earth history, with a number of events needing to be "fleshed out" for production. Although the series' overall plot is established, the writers improvise to arrive at its ending; according to Matt Burnett, the storylines will be resolved by the series' end. Sugar wanted the series to focus on comedy and positivity before exploring controversial subjects involving the main characters, thinking it was "more honest" to begin the show with happiness instead of action or drama.


title: Steven Universe

text: The writers—formerly Levin and Burnett—would write the premises and outlines while the storyboarders wrote and drew the episodes. Everyone would wait at least a day to get together and discuss. The writers write potential episode names on paper cards, which they pin on the conference-room wall to review what they have written and plan their meetings. They discuss episode pacing and vary each season's texture by balancing "lighter" and "heavier" story arcs. Changes in major-character appearances—such as Yellow Diamond—in a storyline can be difficult for the writers. According to Ben Levin, writing a season of "Steven Universe" is like a "jigsaw puzzle" because the writing team must assemble a number of plot ideas, which are discarded if they do not benefit character growth. After further discussion and questions about the writing, an idea becomes an episode. After discussing a season's proposed episodes the "puzzle" is complete, and they begin writing a major story arc or a season finale. Burnett said writing a season is like an algebraic equation "where one side is the season finale, and the x's and y's are the episodes we need for that solution to make sense"; he cited "Ocean Gem", "Steven the Sword Fighter", "Monster Buddies", "An Indirect Kiss" and "Serious Steven" as examples. Those episodes led to the season-one finale as a minor story arc. To develop new ideas for episodes, the writers play writing games. In one, a scenario with characters is drawn and passed to another writer. The second writer adds a few sentences before giving it to a third, until the drawing has a three-act story. Episodes such as "Island Adventure", "Future Boy Zoltron" and "Onion Friend" were written this way. The writers also play drawing games, which design new Gem characters and technological ideas. Burnett said he and Levin use fewer ideas from the storyboarders than they previously did; storyboarders change fewer things than they did before because the episodes have a "stronger continuity".


title: Steven Universe

text: According to Levin, he and Burnett try to balance the focus between the main characters—with Steven in the center—and the theme of episodes in their writing. The balance indicates Steven has the same interests on his human side as he does on his Gem side. Levin said the Gem mythology and drama would have been less interesting if Steven was not as well-developed in the first few episodes. Grateful to work on a show which is unafraid to be "sincere and vulnerable", he said if every episode was emotional the series would become formulaic; happy episodes balance out emotional ones. Levin said he and Burnett have found ways to integrate Steven's powers into the plot. The character's powers and home-world technology are revealed at a "measured (very slow) pace", satisfying the viewer and keeping the series clear of superhero territory.


title: Steven Universe

text: Before significant plotlines air, the writers reveal information relevant to a "climactic" episode for the audience. According to storyboard artist Hilary Florido, much of the series' action and magic are narrative climaxes, demonstrating the characters' discoveries, difficulties and views. Florido said if a character's evolution is not directly related to the plot, there is no drama. The crew is discouraged from breaking perspective involving episode development as they want the audience to know the protagonist's point of view. Although the writers could hint at future events, they prefer to focus on plot and develop Steven in real time. Levin said if the pilot tried to present Gem history in five minutes, the audience and protagonist would be equally confused.


title: Steven Universe

text: The production of background art begins after the approved storyboards are received. If the characters visit old locations, the pre-existing backgrounds are modified for authenticity; it is likely locations would change slightly over time. Steven Sugar likes to hide narrative bits in the backgrounds because he believes the key to world-building is "having a cohesive underlying structure to everything". Former art director Elle Michalka said the backgrounds' artistic style was inspired by French post-impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, whose apparent lack of focus belied detail and specificity. The art was also inspired by Tao Te Ching, whose work highlights the importance of empty spaces, "like the space within a vase as being part of the vase that makes it useful". During the painting phase, the painters see the lines as "descriptive bones" and color is used loosely, meaning the color is intentionally slightly off register, highlighting the distinction between color and line. The painters used "superimposed" watercolor texture before switching to Photoshop because the former made the backgrounds "very chunky". When painting the backgrounds, they use one primary and several secondary colors; Amanda Winterston and Jasmin Lai found suitable color combinations. After the primary backgrounds are painted, they are sent to the color stylist, who chooses colors for a character or prop from model sheets, matching and complementing the storyboard and background. The lines of the character or prop are rarely colored. The lines are removed when scenes need light effects. The coloring in early season-one episodes was experimental because the stylist would have difficulty if a storyboard's character and background mixed together or a bright character walked unchanged into a shadow. Mistakes became rare as the crew planned and checked storyboards. The primary backgrounds are made in Burbank; the secondary ones by Korean artists.


title: Steven Universe

text: After the crew finishes constructing an episode, the production team sends it to animators in Korea. The animation is produced by Sunmin Image Pictures and Rough Draft Korea. The production team and animators communicate by email and sometimes use video chat when animating a major episode. Before sending the episode to one of the studios, animation director Nick DeMayo and his team create a plan for the animators after reviewing the animatics. They then add character movements on exposure sheets to guide the animators. Mouth assignments for the characters, describing mouth shapes and timing for lip-syncing, follow. The episode is then sent to one of the animation studios. The black-and-white version is sent first, followed about two weeks later by the colored version. The animation is drawn and inked on paper, then scanned and colored digitally. The crew then arranges a "work print" meeting to discuss the episode and review it for errors. DeMayo notes any errors, removes them and sends the episode back to the animation studio or to Cartoon Network's post-production department to fix any remaining issues. Minor animation mistakes or omissions are fixed by the crew.


title: Steven Universe

text: American actor Zach Callison voices Steven. The role of Steven is his first lead role on television. For his audition, Callison spoke ten lines of dialogue from the pilot and sang the theme song while being recorded. Garnet, the Crystal Gem leader, is voiced by Estelle, a singer, songwriter and actor. Cartoon Network asked Estelle to take the part, her first voice-acting role. "Steven Universe" was also the first animation voice role for actor Michaela Dietz who voices Amethyst and The Party singer Deedee Magno who voices Pearl. Sugar wanted Tom Scharpling, whom she knew from his podcast "The Best Show with Tom Scharpling", to voice a character for one of her projects before "Steven Universe" was conceived. She approached Scharpling for the part of Greg Universe, who was originally named Tom. The Ruby Gems are voiced by Charlyne Yi, to whom Sugar wrote to say she was confident Yi would be perfect for the role. Grace Rolek, who voices Steven's friend Connie, was 16 years old when the series began; Rolek has been a voice actor in animated productions since the age of five or six.


title: Steven Universe

text: The show's four main voice actors—Callison, Dietz, Magno and Estelle—spend three to four hours recording per session; three to four weeks a month for ten months each year. Cast members record together or separately; they are often recording multiple episodes. Each recording session covers a new episode and includes retakes for that episode or previous ones if needed. In group recording sessions, a maximum of six actors stand in a semicircle. Sugar and voice director Kent Osborne attend the sessions, advising the actors about voicing the characters in specific situations. If they like a take, the production assistant marks it and gives it to the animation editor for the episode's rough cut. When a recording session begins, Sugar explains the storyboards and describes the sequences, character intention and the relationship between them; Osborne does the recording. Before the sessions, Sugar and the voice actors discuss new plot elements and shows them the advanced storyboards. Magno said she enjoys the group recording sessions because the funny faces the cast members make while recording lines requiring emotion or movement often cause them to laugh.


title: Steven Universe

text: "Steven Universe" features songs and musical numbers produced by Sugar and her writers, who collaborate on each song's lyrics. Multiple drafts of the theme song's lyrics were written. Sugar composed the extended theme song while waiting in line for a security check at Los Angeles International Airport. The series relies on leitmotifs for its soundtrack; instruments, genres and melodies are allotted to specific characters. The music is influenced by the works of Michael Jackson and Estelle; and Sugar has cited Aimee Mann as "a huge influence". Sugar writes songs for the series during her travels, accompanying herself on a ukulele. Not every episode features a song; according to Sugar, she uses them occasionally, to avoid forced creativity.