Venezuelan crisis of 1895

The Venezuelan crisis of 1895 occurred over Venezuela's longstanding dispute with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland about the territory of Essequibo and Guayana Esequiba, which Britain claimed as part of British Guiana and Venezuela saw as Venezuelan territory. As the dispute became a crisis, the key issue became Britain's refusal to include in the proposed international arbitration the territory east of the "Schomburgk Line", which a surveyor had drawn half-a-century earlier as a boundary between Venezuela and the former Dutch territory ceded by the Dutch in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814, later part of British Guiana. The crisis ultimately saw Britain accept the United States' intervention in the dispute to force arbitration of the entire disputed territory, and tacitly accept the US right to intervene under the Monroe Doctrine. A tribunal convened in Paris in 1898 to decide the matter, and in 1899 awarded the bulk of the disputed territory to British Guiana.

The dispute had become a diplomatic crisis in 1895 when a lobbyist for Venezuela William Lindsay Scruggs sought to argue that British behaviour over the issue violated the 1823 Monroe Doctrine and used his influence in Washington, DC, to pursue the matter. US President Grover Cleveland adopted a broad interpretation of the Doctrine that forbade new European colonies but also declared an American interest in any matter in the hemisphere. British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury and the British ambassador to Washington, Julian Pauncefote, misjudged the importance the American government placed on the dispute, prolonging the crisis before ultimately accepting the American demand for arbitration of the entire territory.

By standing with a Latin American nation against European colonial powers, Cleveland improved relations with the United States' southern neighbors, but the cordial manner in which the negotiations were conducted also made for good relations with Britain. However, by backing down in the face of a strong US declaration of a strong interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, Britain tacitly accepted it, and the crisis thus provided a basis for the expansion of US interventionism in the Americas. Leading British historian Robert Arthur Humphreys later called the crisis "one of the most momentous episodes in the history of Anglo-American relations in general and of Anglo-American rivalries in Latin America in particular."

## Background

By 1895, the dispute between Britain and Venezuela over the territory of Guayana Esequiba, which Britain claimed as part of British Guiana and Venezuela saw as Venezuelan territory, had lasted for half a century. The territorial claims, originally those of the Spanish Empire, inherited by Venezuela after its independence in 1830, and of the Dutch Empire, inherited by the United Kingdom with the acquisition of the Dutch territories of Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice in 1814, had remained unsettled over previous centuries. Over the course of the 19th century, Britain and Venezuela had proved no more able to reach an agreement until matters came to a head in 1895, after seven years of severed diplomatic relations.

The basis of the discussions between Venezuela and the United Kingdom lay in Britain's advocacy of a particular division of the territory deriving from a mid-19th-century survey that it had commissioned. That survey originated with German naturalist Robert Schomburgk's four-year expedition for the Royal Geographical Society in 1835 to 1839, which resulted in a sketch of the territory with a line marking what he believed to be the western boundary claimed by the Dutch. He was thus commissioned by the British government to carry out a survey of Guiana's boundaries. The result was the "Schomburgk Line", which he established partly to follow natural divisions and partly to distinguish territory of Spanish or Venezuelan occupation from that which had been occupied by the Dutch. The line went well beyond the area of British occupation and gave British Guiana control of the mouth of the Orinoco River.

In 1844, Venezuela declared the Essequibo River the dividing line; a British offer the same year to make major alterations to the line and cede the mouth of the Orinoco and much associated territory was ignored. No treaty between Britain and Venezuela was reached, and after an 1850 agreement not to encroach on disputed territory, the matter largely rested until 1876, when diplomatic exchanges resumed. Schomburgk's initial sketch, which had been published in 1840, was the only version of the "Schomburgk Line" published until 1886. That led to accusations by US President Grover Cleveland that the line had been extended "in some mysterious way".

In October 1886, Britain declared the line to be the provisional frontier of British Guiana, and in February 1887 Venezuela severed diplomatic relations. Proposals for a renewal of relations and settlement of the dispute failed repeatedly, and by summer 1894, diplomatic relations had been severed for seven years, the dispute having dragged on for half a century. In addition, both sides had established police or military stations at key points in the area, partly to defend claims to the Caratal goldfield of the region's Yuruari basin, which was within Venezuelan territory but claimed by the British. The mine at El Callao, started in 1871, was once one of the richest in the world, and the goldfields as a whole saw over a million ounces exported between 1860 and 1883. The gold mining was dominated by immigrants from the British Isles and the British West Indies, giving an appearance of almost creating a British colony on Venezuelan territory.

## History

Its first settlers were Guayan Indians and Kamaracotos, coming from the savanna of the Divina Pastora and Tupuquen located to the left margin of the river Yuruari. They fed on hunting, fishing, and agriculture. Tumeremo was founded on January 26, 1788 under the name of "Mission of Our Lady of Bethlehem of Tumeremo" by the Capuchin monks of Catalonia, among them: Fray Mariano de Perafita, Fray Bonaventura de Carrocera, Fray Joaquín María de Martorell, Fray Ramón Pruna and Fray Tomas de Santa Eugenia. Tumeremo means "Painted Snake", in the dialect of the first Indians who inhabited those lands. The friars establish several missions and an agricultural emporium based on livestock and cotton cultivation.

On 24 February 1781 a group of British privateers captured Essequibo and Demerara in Dutch Guyana, but did not stay. In March, two sloops of a Royal Navy squadron under Admiral Lord Rodney accepted the surrender of "Colony of Demarary and the River Essequebo". From 27 February 1782 to February 1783 the French occupied the colony after compelling Governor Robert Kinston to surrender. The peace of Paris, which occurred in 1783 restored these territories to the Dutch.

In 1796 it was permanently occupied by the British and by 1800, Essequibo and Demerara collectively held around 380 sugarcane plantations.

At the Peace of Amiens (1802), the Netherlands received the Essequibo colony for a short time, from 1802 to 1803, but after that the British again occupied it during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1812 Stabroek was renamed by the British as Georgetown. Essequibo became official British territory on 13 August 1814 as part of the Treaty of London and was merged with the colony of Demerara.

But it also became involved in one of Latin America's most persistent border disputes because the new colony had the Essequibo river as its west border with the Spanish Captaincy General of Venezuela. Although Spain still claimed the region, the Spanish did not contest the treaty because they were preoccupied with their own colonies' struggles for independence war.

During the Campaign of Guayana, in 1817 General Manuel Piar fought against the royalists to seize the missions of Spanish Guyana. After releasing Tumeremo, the Spanish survivors were imprisoned and sentenced to death. From there, the city was a strategic site and barracks for the patriot soldiers commanded by Simón Bolívar.

From 1830 many indigenous and other populations began to emerge around Tumeremo.

On 21 July 1831, Demerara-Essequibo was united with Berbice to create British Guiana with the Essequibo River as its west border, although many British settlers lived west of the Essequibo. In 1894, a group of British settlers who came from the British Guyana tried to establish themselves near Tumeremo in what is now Sifontes Municipality. General Domingo Antonio Sifontes claimed the area on 2 March 1894 near El Dorado, where Venezuela established a military position. After expelling the settlers from the area, Sifontes became a local hero in recognition of his defense of Venezuelan sovereignty.

Venezuela had in the course of the dispute repeatedly appealed to the US and to the Monroe Doctrine, but the US government had declined to involve itself. That changed after Venezuela obtained the services of William Lindsay Scruggs. Scruggs, a former US ambassador to Colombia and Venezuela, was recruited in 1893 by the Venezuelan government to operate on its behalf in Washington D.C. as a lobbyist and legal attache. Scruggs had apparently resigned his ambassadorship to Venezuela in December 1892 but had been dismissed by the US for bribing the President of Venezuela. As a lobbyist, Scruggs published an October 1894 pamphlet, British Aggressions in Venezuela:, or the Monroe Doctrine on Trial in which he attacked "British aggression" and claimed that Venezuela was anxious to arbitrate over the Venezuela-British Guiana border dispute. Scruggs also claimed that British policies in the disputed territory violated the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. For much of the 19th century, it had only rarely been invoked by the United States, but a "paradigm shift in U.S. foreign relations in the late nineteenth century" saw Americans more actively support their increasingly-significant economic interests in Central and South America. The "'new diplomacy' thrust the United States more emphatically into the imperial struggle". It was in that context that Scruggs sought to draw on the Doctrine in Venezuela's interests.

## Crisis

Scruggs collaborated with Georgian compatriot Representative Leonidas Livingston to propose House of Representatives Resolution 252 to the third session of the 53rd United States Congress. The bill recommended Venezuela and the United Kingdom settle the dispute by arbitration. President Grover Cleveland signed it on February 22, 1895, after passing both houses of the United States Congress. The vote had been unanimous.

On April 27, 1895, the Royal Navy occupied the Nicaraguan port of Corinto, after a number of British subjects, including the vice-consul, had been seized during disturbances, shortly after the former protectorate of the Mosquito Coast had been incorporated into Nicaragua. The British demanded an indemnity of £15,000. US Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham thought the demands harsh, but also that they should be met. US public opinion, however, was outraged at the British military activity in the US sphere of influence.

In July 1895, new Secretary of State Richard Olney (succeeding Gresham, who died in office at the end of May) sent a document to London which became known as "Olney's twenty-inch gun" (the draft was 12,000 words long). The note reviewed the history of the Anglo-Venezuelan dispute and of the Monroe Doctrine, and it firmly insisted on the application of the Doctrine to the case, declaring that "today the United States is practically sovereign on this continent, and its fiat is law upon the subjects to which it confines its interposition." The President, the Secretary of State, and the US public "had been brought to believe that Britain was in the wrong, that the vital interests of the United States were involved, and the United States must intervene." The note had little impact on the British government, partly because Joseph Chamberlain, at the Colonial Office, thought it possible that the colony had a major gold-bearing region around the Schomburgk line and partly because the British rejected the idea that the Monroe Doctrine had any relevance for the boundary dispute. A reply to Olney's note directly challenged his interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine:

> The Government of the United States is not entitled to affirm as a universal proposition, with reference to a number of independent States for whose conduct it assumes no responsibility, that its interests are necessarily concerned in whatever may befall those States, simply because they are situated in the Western Hemisphere."

By 17 December 1895, Cleveland delivered an address to the United States Congress reaffirming the Monroe Doctrine and its relevance to the dispute. The address asked Congress to fund a commission to study the boundaries between Venezuela and British Guiana, and declared it the duty of the United States "to resist by every means in its power as a willful aggression upon its rights and interests" any British attempt to exercise jurisdiction over territory the United States judged Venezuelan. The address was perceived as direct threat of war with the United Kingdom if the British did not comply, but Cleveland had not committed himself to accepting the commission's report or specified any details on how the commission would act. Despite the public belligerence, neither the British nor the American governments had any interest in war.

On December 18, 1895, Congress approved \$100,000 for the United States Commission on the Boundary Between Venezuela and British Guiana. It was formally established on 1 January 1896. Historian George Lincoln Burr, who contributed to the commission's historical research, argued shortly after the Commission concluded its work that it made a major contribution to clarifying issues of historical fact in the dispute. The commission's work, he wrote, helped the disputing parties to focus on issues of fact supportable by evidence (as opposed to mere assertions), and by the time the Arbitration process was under way, the commission's own view of historical facts was largely accepted by the parties "so that their main issue [was] now in the main one of law, not of fact."

## Arbitration

In January 1896, the British government decided in effect to recognise the US right to intervene in the boundary dispute and accepted arbitration in principle without insisting on the Schomburgk line as a basis for negotiation. Negotiations between the US and Britain over the details of the arbitration followed, and Britain was able to persuade the US of many of its views, even as it became clear that the eventual report of the Boundary Commission would likely be negative towards the British claims. An agreement between the US and the UK was signed on 12 November 1896. Cleveland's Boundary Commission suspended its work in November 1896, but it still went on to produce a large report.

The agreement provided for a tribunal with two members representing Venezuela (but chosen by the US Supreme Court), two members chosen by the British government, and fifth member chosen by those four, who would preside. Venezuelan President Joaquín Crespo referred to a sense of "national humiliation", and the treaty was modified so that the Venezuelan President would nominate a tribunal member. However it was understood that his choice would not be a Venezuelan, and in fact, he nominated the Chief Justice of the United States. Ultimately, on 2 February 1897, the Treaty of Washington between Venezuela and the United Kingdom was signed, and ratified several months later.

After the US and Britain had nominated their arbitrators, Britain proposed that the disputing parties agree on the presiding fifth arbitrator. There were delays in discussing that and in the interim, Martens was among the names of international jurists suggested by the US. Martens was then chosen by Venezuela from a shortlist of names submitted by Britain. The Panel of Arbitration thus consisted of:

1. Melville Weston Fuller (Chief Justice of the United States)
2. David Josiah Brewer (Member of the US Supreme Court)
3. Sir Richard Henn Collins (Lord Justice of Appeal)
4. Lord Herschell (former Lord Chancellor), replaced upon his death by Charles Russell (Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales)
5. Friedrich Martens (diplomat of Russia and jurist)

Venezuela's senior counsel was former US President Benjamin Harrison, assisted by Severo Mallet-Prevost, Benjamin F. Tracy, James R. Soley, and José María Rojas. Britain was represented by its Attorney General, Richard Webster, assisted by Robert Reid, George Askwith and Sidney Rowlatt, with Sir Frederick Pollock preparing the original outline of Britain's argument. The parties had eight months to prepare their case, another four months to reply to the other party's case, and another three months for the final printed case. The final arguments were submitted in December 1898, with the total evidence and testimony amounting to 23 volumes.

Britain's key argument was that prior to Venezuela's independence, Spain had not taken effective possession of the disputed territory and said that the local Indians had had alliances with the Dutch, which gave them a sphere of influence that the British acquired in 1814. After fifty-five days of hearings, the arbitrators retired for six days. The American arbitrators found the British argument preposterous since American Indians had never been considered to have any sovereignty. However, the British had the advantage that Martens wanted a unanimous decision, and the British threatened to ignore the award if it did not suit them. They were also able to argue a loss of equity since under the terms of the treaty lands occupied for 50 years would receive title, and a number of British gold mines would be narrowly lost to that cutoff if their lands were awarded to Venezuela.

## Outcome

Sitting in Paris, the Tribunal of Arbitration finalized its decision on 3 October 1899. The award was unanimous but gave no reasons for the decision, merely describing the resulting boundary, which gave Britain almost 90% of the disputed territory. The Schomburgk Line was, with small deviations, re-established as the border between British Guiana and Venezuela. The first deviation from the Schomburgk line was that Venezuela's territory included Barima Point at the mouth of the Orinoco, giving it undisputed control of the river and thus the ability to levy duties on Venezuelan commerce. The second was drawing the border at the Wenamu River rather than the Cuyuni River, giving Venezuela a substantial territory east of the line that Britain had originally refused to include in the arbitration. However, Britain received most of the disputed territory and all of the gold mines.

The reaction to the award was surprise, the award's lack of reasoning being a particular concern. Though the Venezuelans were keenly disappointed with the outcome, they honoured their counsel for their efforts (their delegation's Secretary, Severo Mallet-Prevost, received the Order of the Liberator in 1944), and abided by the award.

The Anglo-Venezuelan boundary dispute asserted for the first time a more outward-looking American foreign policy, particularly in the Americas, marking the United States as a world power. That was the earliest example of modern interventionism under the Monroe Doctrine in which the USA exercised its claimed prerogatives in the Americas.

## Aftermath

The Olney–Pauncefote Treaty of 1897 was a proposed treaty between the United States and Britain in 1897 that would have required arbitration of major disputes. The treaty was rejected by the US Senate and never went into effect.

The 1895 dispute between the US and Britain over Venezuela was peacefully resolved through arbitration. Both nations realized that a mechanism was desirable to avoid possible future conflicts. US Secretary of State Richard Olney in January 1897 negotiated an arbitration treaty with the British diplomat Julian Pauncefote. President William McKinley supported the treaty, as did most opinion leaders, academics, and leading newspapers. The main opposition came from Irish-Americans, who held a very negative view of Britain because of its treatment of Ireland.

In the US Senate, however, a series of amendments exempted important issues from any sort of arbitration. Any issue that was not exempted would need two thirds of the Senate before arbitration could begin. Virtually nothing was left of the original proposal, and the Senate in May 1897 voted 43 in favor to 26 opposed, three votes short of what was needed. The Senate was jealous of its control over treaties and was susceptible to a certain deep-rooted Anglophobia.

Despite its disappointment with the award of Paris Tribunal of Arbitration, Venezuela abided by it. However, half a century later, the publication of an alleged political deal between Russia and Britain led Venezuela to reassert its claims. In 1949, the US jurist Otto Schoenrich gave the Venezuelan government the Memorandum of Severo Mallet-Prevost (Official Secretary of the U.S./Venezuela delegation in the Tribunal of Arbitration), written in 1944 to be published only after Mallet-Prevost's death. That reopened the issues, with Mallet-Prevost surmising a political deal between Russia and Britain from the subsequent private behaviour of the judges. Mallet-Prevost said that Martens had visited England with the two British arbitrators in the summer of 1899 and had offered the two American judges a choice between accepting a unanimous award along the lines ultimately agreed or a 3-2 majority opinion even more favourable to the British. The alternative would have followed the Schomburgk Line entirely and given the mouth of the Orinoco to the British. Mallet-Prevost said that the American judges and Venezuelan counsel were disgusted at the situation and considered the 3-2 option with a strongly-worded minority opinion but ultimately went along with Martens to avoid depriving Venezuela of valuable territory to which it was entitled.

As a result of Mallet-Prevost's claims, Venezuela revived its claim to the disputed territory in 1962. In 2018, Guyana has applied to the International Court of Justice to get a declaration that the 1899 Award is valid and binding upon Guyana and Venezuela and that the boundary established by that Award and the 1905 Agreement is valid.

## See also

- The Monroe Doctrine (1896 film) – US propaganda film

Political crisis in Venezuela in the 19th century

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury


Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (also known as Wall Street 2 or Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps) is a 2010 American drama film directed by Oliver Stone, a sequel to Wall Street (1987). It stars Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon and Eli Wallach in his final film role.

The film takes place in New York City, 23 years after the original, and revolves around the 2008 financial crisis. Its plot centers on a supposedly reformed Gordon Gekko, played by Douglas, and follows his attempts to repair his relationship with his daughter Winnie (Mulligan), with the help of her fiancé, Jacob Moore (LaBeouf).

Principal photography took place in New York City between September and November 2009. After having its release date moved twice, Money Never Sleeps was released theatrically worldwide on September 24, 2010, by 20th Century Fox. Prior to its official release, many journalists connected to the financial industry were reportedly shown advance screenings of the film.

Despite opening to positive reception at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, Money Never Sleeps received mixed reviews from critics. Though failing to meet its critical expectations, the film was successful at the box office, topping the United States's ranking during its opening weekend, and earning a worldwide total of \$134 million in ticket sales, and more than \$15 million on DVD.

## Plot

In 2001, former corporate raider Gordon Gekko is released from prison after serving time for insider trading and securities fraud.

By 2008, Gekko has begun promoting his new book Is Greed Good?, warning about a coming economic downturn. His estranged daughter, Winnie, runs a small, non-profit news website and is dating Jacob "Jake" Moore, a top prop trader at Keller Zabel Investments (KZI). Jake, a protégé of KZI managing director Louis Zabel, has been raising money for Dr. Masters and his fusion research project, which might create abundant clean energy. Jake is also financially assisting his mother, Sylvia, who has quit nursing to speculate in residential real estate.

In the early stages of the downturn predicted by Gekko, KZI's stock loses more than half its value. Louis Zabel tries to arrange a bailout for KZI from other Wall Street banks, but is blocked by Bretton James, head of rival firm Churchill Schwartz (Church), which KZI had refused to help during the dot-com bubble years earlier. Despondent, Zabel commits suicide by jumping in front of a subway train. A distraught Jake proposes marriage to Winnie, who accepts.

Jake attends a lecture given by Gekko and introduces himself. Gekko tells him that KZI's collapse started when James spread rumors of KZI having toxic debt. Jake and Gekko arrange a trade: Jake will try to reconcile Winnie's and Gekko's relationship, and Gekko will gather information to destroy James for his actions against KZI and for providing evidence against Gekko years ago. In revenge, Jake illegally manipulates the market by spreading rumors about the nationalization of an Equatorial Guinea oil field which Church has invested in. The company loses \$120 million, but James gives Jake a job, impressed by his initiative. Jake further impresses James when he convinces Chinese investors to invest in the fusion project through Church.

Jake attends a \$10,000-a-seat fundraiser with Winnie, buying a seat for Gekko to facilitate a "chance" meeting. Gekko confronts James about what he did to him and to KZI. James replies that no one cares what Gekko thinks anymore. Gekko also bumps into Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), who, following his release from jail, turned Bluestar Airlines into a huge success, sold it for millions, and retired to play golf and become a philanthropist. Gekko follows Winnie outside, where she explains why she blames him for everything that went wrong, stemming from his affairs and her brother Rudy's suicide. Gekko claims he worked, from prison, to get the best therapists and even paid off a drug dealer to stop selling to Rudy, who died from an overdose. Winnie forgives him.

As the financial crisis accelerates, James and Church's chairman Julius Steinhardt advise federal regulators to buy their multi-billion-dollar subprime loans. As the real estate market collapses, Jake helps out Sylvia with his own money. Shortly after Winnie informs Jake that she is expecting their first child, Jake learns that James is diverting the Chinese investment into underperforming solar panels, which are not a threat to his large position in fossil fuels. Gekko soon informs Jake that James had secretly made huge profits betting against subprime loans yet still accepted the fed's massive bailout.

Gekko proposes using a \$100 million trust account, which he hid in Switzerland for Winnie in the 1980s, to fund the fusion research. She signs the money over to Jake, not knowing he would entrust it to Gekko to complete the investment. When Gekko betrays them by leaving the country with the money, Winnie breaks up with Jake. Gekko sets up a hugely successful investment company in London, capitalized by the \$100 million. Jake visits him to propose a new trade: Winnie gets her money back, and Gekko can participate in his grandchild's life. Gekko refuses.

Jake pieces together all the details of James's dealings, from KZI's collapse through to the unnecessary government bailout of Church. He gives the information to Winnie, telling her that revealing it will bring her website publicity and credibility. When Winnie runs the story, James finds himself under intense government scrutiny and is fired by his company's board, who then turn to Gekko's firm for a partnership, which recently posted a \$1.1 billion return on investment.

Late one night, when Jake fails to make amends with Winnie, Gekko appears, apologizes and tells them that he has anonymously deposited \$100 million into the fusion research account, convincing her to give both him and Jake another chance. One year later, Gekko, Sylvia, and other family and friends attend the first birthday party of Louis, Jake and Winnie's son.

## Cast

- Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko
- Shia LaBeouf as Jacob "Jake" Moore
- Josh Brolin as Bretton James
- Carey Mulligan as Winnie Gekko
- Susan Sarandon as Sylvia Moore
- Eli Wallach as Julius "Julie" Steinhardt
- Frank Langella as Louis "Lou" Zabel
- Austin Pendleton as Dr. Masters
- Sylvia Miles as Dolores, The Realtor
- Vanessa Ferlito as Audrey
- John Buffalo Mailer as Robby
- Jason Clarke as New York Fed Chief
- Oliver Stone as Investor
- Charlie Sheen as Bud "Buddy" Fox
- Donald Trump as himself (deleted scene)
- Anthony Scaramucci as himself
- Maria Bartiromo as herself, Newscaster Cameo
- Becky Quick as herself, Squawk Box Host Cameo
- Jim Cramer as Cameo Appearance
- Ali Velshi as Cameo Appearance
- Waltrudis Buck as Annica

## Characters

Michael Douglas reprises his role as Gordon Gekko, which won him an Academy Award after the original film. Gekko has recently been released from prison and, after a failed attempt to warn business leaders of the imminent economic downturn, he decides to try to rebuild a relationship with his estranged daughter Winnie.

Shia LaBeouf portrays Jacob "Jake" Moore, an ambitious, young proprietary trader who works for Keller Zabel Investments, and is in a relationship with Winnie. LaBeouf's role in the film has been said to be a role similar to that of Charlie Sheen's in the original. The young actor said he was able to relate to his character's background and found similarities in their motivations. Initially the actor was intimidated by the idea of working on a film that was going to stretch his dramatic abilities and came to the film set with a different approach, which was that if he disappointed his fans twice, his career was finished after making two recently panned sequels.

LaBeouf stated that, during his first meeting with Stone, the director was "really expedient about killing any ego or conceit on my part", saying not to worry because Tom Cruise "was not an actor" when he first worked with him either, which LaBeouf considered "a knife to [his] heart". LaBeouf said that he did not know what a credit derivative is or what a CP, LP, or LVC were, commenting "You gotta know ticker names." To prepare for the film he traded with different firms, playing with up to \$1 million, and became so interested in trading that he began studying for the Series 7 Exam.

Josh Brolin plays Bretton James, head of the Churchill Schwartz investment bank, whom Jacob blames for the death of his mentor. Bretton has been described as being a villain. Bretton is presented as a "new style" version of Gekko in the film. Javier Bardem was in final talks to play the character; in July 2009 it was confirmed that he had turned down the project in favor of a film adaptation of the book Eat, Pray, Love, with Julia Roberts. The actor, acknowledging that every character had both good and bad in them, viewed Bretton as being on a "higher level," adding that he liked the ambition his character had and that he was an opportunist.

Carey Mulligan was cast as Winnie Gekko, Gordon's estranged daughter and Jacob's fiancée. Winnie has not spoken to her father since his imprisonment; she blames Gordon for the suicide of her drugged-out brother, Rudy. The character has been said to be the "moral center of the story" and described as being liberal, and to some extent passive. Mulligan is British and had to speak with an American accent for her role. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was her first major studio film. When she first met Stone for the role she explained that she did not want her character to be a "token girlfriend;" both agreed to work to make sure that would not happen. During the same encounter Stone learned that she had short hair, and he initially discussed having her wear a wig, but Mulligan said she did not feel like herself when wearing the hairpiece. Stone trusted her and made an exception. According to Mulligan, Stone cast her in the Wall Street sequel based on her performance in An Education (2009).

Frank Langella was cast as Louis Zabel. His death "ultimately leads the characters to discover the shady practices" of James's bank. Susan Sarandon portrays Sylvia Moore, Jacob's real-estate agent mother who is just as consumed by greed as Gekko is, but in a different sense. Audrey, a "tough, intelligent trader in the Wall Street trenches", is portrayed by Vanessa Ferlito. John Buffalo Mailer plays Jacob's Long Island financier friend, Robby and Eli Wallach plays the part of Jules Steinhardt, a Churchill Schwartz top executive and Wall Street patriarch who considers the current economic climate to be like the 1929 stock market crash. Pressman deemed the actor's role as the "crier of doom," who, "reveals just how much more devastating things can be today." Charlie Sheen reprised his role of Bud Fox, Gekko's former protégé, whom he meets briefly at a cocktail party. Sylvia Miles reprised her role as a real estate agent from the first film.

Television actress Natalie Morales, Vanity Fair magazine editor Graydon Carter, economist Nouriel Roubini, financier Warren Buffett and director Stone's mother have minor roles in the film. Jim Cramer also makes a brief appearance after Stone cast him because he was a former hedge fund manager. Stone, who had a cameo in the first film, plays a similarly brief role in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. He wanted to give the young LaBeouf "some older connections" that would "give it weight" in the movie. Donald Trump and Julianne Michelle played minor parts, but Trump's scene was cut from the final version (it is instead available on the DVD). Stone said the scene was too "distracting" for the ending. Program host Neil Cavuto appears in the sequel for several seconds. A longer scene that involved him was cut; a representative for Stone clarified that his decision was an aesthetic, not political, choice. Roger Hendricks Simon, a director-actor, landed a part acting as a thinly veiled version of former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg. Like Trump's part, his scenes were not included but are in the film's DVD version.

## Production

### Development

In early 2007, The New York Times reported that a sequel to Wall Street, then tentatively titled Money Never Sleeps, had entered pre-production and was in the early stages of development with a screenplay by Stephen Schiff of The New Yorker. Shortly after the film was confirmed, Douglas was reported to be interested in reprising his role as Gordon Gekko, depending on the script. In October 2008, 20th Century Fox announced that it had officially green-lit the film and would serve as a distributor. In the same month it was announced that Allan Loeb had been approached to write a script that was being referred to as a "page one rewrite", meaning that he would be starting "from scratch". Shortly after the film had entered pre-production it was announced that both Charlie Sheen and Daryl Hannah would not be involved with the sequel for unknown reasons. Despite stating that Sheen was not going to return, Stone confirmed he would briefly reprise his role as Bud, which would be worked into the script.

Around May 2007, The New York Times reported that Stone had turned down the opportunity to direct the film, even after months of being pressured to do so by Douglas, among others. However, in April 2009 Fox confirmed that Stone would be returning as both director and producer, alongside Douglas and Edward R. Pressman. Stone stated that he reconsidered passing on directing the film after the stock market crash. The film was co-produced by Eric Kopeloff with Alessandro Camen and Celia D. Costas serving as executive producers. In addition to screenwriter Loeb, the film's overall writer is Schiff. Bryan Burrough received credit as a consultant, and may have done uncredited work on the story.

At the time of the film's announcement the plot details were kept under wraps, but Loeb later confirmed that its plot would primarily focus on Gekko, recently released from prison and re-entering a much more "chaotic" financial world than the one he once oversaw from the previous film. Its budget was reported to be between \$60 million (\$50 million with the tax credits) and \$70 million. Money Never Sleeps was being used as the film's working title before being renamed Wall Street 2 at the director's request and finally changed to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. As part of research for the film, Douglas and Stone had a dinner meeting with Samuel D. Waksal, the founder of the bio-pharmaceutical company ImClone Systems, who spent five years in federal prison for securities fraud. LaBeouf, along with Stone, discussed the financial collapse with multiple hedge fund managers.

Early in mid-2009, Stone took LaBeouf to a party organized by Nouriel Roubini, a New York University economics professor and chairman of his own consulting firm. There, Stone and LaBeouf discussed the financial collapse with Roubini and also discussed hedge fund managers who were clients of Roubini's firm. Roubini said that "in this financial crisis it was the traditional banks and the investment banks that had a larger role in doing stupid and silly things than the hedge funds." Stone also said that he had conversations with Jim Chanos, a prominent hedge fund manager who had urged him to focus less on hedge funds and more on the banking system. Chanos said, "there was a much more important story, a bigger story, in what happened with the system."

### Writing

In October 2008, 20th Century Fox confirmed that Allan Loeb, who is a licensed stock broker, had been selected to re-write the script. Stanley Weiser had worked on a treatment for a sequel set in the present with Gekko being released from jail; the second part would be set in China. The studio felt that the material was dated, and put the project in turnaround. Stone had a falling out with Pressman, the producer, and began work on W. with Weiser. Weiser's treatment for Wall Street Two was discarded and the film began taking shape from an original script by Stephen Schiff. It was reported that Aaron Sorkin had turned down the opportunity to work on the film's script.

During December 2008, while still in the process of drafting, Loeb said that he had been riveted by the Bernard Madoff headlines and showed interest in referencing him in the film, noting: "the thing that is so crazy about this story is that Ponzi schemes seem to be the simplest low-class scam," and "but this was carried out in the highest echelon of high finance. You couldn't even get in to see this guy unless you had \$2 million to invest." Stone clarified that Madoff will not be mentioned in the film, commenting that he considered Madoff's actions to be "a crook running a Ponzi scheme" which is "legal robbery." The filmmaker returned to the project in April on the strength of this script, feeling Loeb's draft was "so great" that he did not feel the need to touch it, although he did have the option.

Sometime in early June, Loeb reportedly handed in his second draft of the film to Fox, and in July, was finalizing the screenplay. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is based in four locations; New York, London, the United Arab Emirates, and an Asian country. One of the character consultants to the new film will be billionaire Vincent Tchenguiz. Pressman said that Tchenguiz had modeled Gekko but did admit that Gekko was "partly Milken" and that Gekko will be a more outwardly altruistic figure but, admits, "a leopard doesn't change its spots, despite appearances." Pressman said of the origin of the film's subtitle: "Wall Street was New York-centric. Today the markets are much more global, hence the title of the new film, Money Never Sleeps." He described Gekko's involvement in the film as being "larger than life".

It was reported that Loeb had taken advice from a "number of real Wall Street movers and shakers" to ensure "horrifying accuracy" for the film's script. Of the re-writes done to script, Stone said: "We sort of started over with the story of a young man who is at the center of it, and how he needs Gordon Gekko's help to navigate those waters." In a reference to the GEICO Gecko commercial, which was suggested by New York Governor David Paterson, Gekko says "even a caveman could do it" in the movie. At the request of Mulligan and LaBeouf, the filmmaker cut some dialogue from the character's break-up scenes, which he at first was initially hesitant to do.

Stone said that the film will provide more of a social commentary and admitted that he had never expected high finance to "serve again as a tableau for his storytelling". He also added that its plot will showcase the unemployment rate at an all-time high and the "our national debt ever climbing." Discussing the difference between Wall Street and its sequel, the director explained, "In the other movie, Charlie Sheen is corrupt at the beginning and he finds a path to integrity. In this movie, it starts out the other way. Shia and Carey are idealists. And their idealism is being threatened." A writer for USA Today believed that the film's story line "attempts to put the complicated financial schemes that led to the worldwide economic collapse on a human scale."

### Filming

A shift in location in the sequel reflected some of the changes in the world since then: while the New York Stock Exchange and its trading floor had featured heavily in the first film, they are less prominent in the second. Instead, more time is spent at the Federal Reserve Building, reflecting its new position as a "bulwark of the system" according to Stone. The location provided a link to the contemporary crisis the film examines, since September 2008 it has been an important site for meeting on the crisis.

Although August 10 was reportedly the start date, principal photography began on September 9. The filmmaker continued to make additions to the script and meet with financial consultants about the project whilst filming. Mulligan was able to film all of her scenes in 15 days. Stone said that the filming on location process was similar to the first film. While filming, LaBeouf said that Douglas was an "opened wound on the set" due to his oldest son's arrest in July for drug trafficking, adding that Stone filmed a "struggling" Douglas.

Charlie Sheen was able to shoot his scene in one day and described being on set with the director and Douglas as strange, with Stone adding that it was difficult for the actor. Sheen reportedly had trouble remembering his lines and required some prodding to remember his cue during the party scene in which Gekko encounters Fox. Although eager to meet him, LaBeouf did not interact with Sheen on set per request. Regarding working with the director, who has a reputation for being demanding on his cast, Douglas described him as being mellow, but acknowledged that "it's still always a workout with him." "Everyone was very friendly, but the scene work felt dangerous," LaBeouf recalls of the on-set atmosphere. "These guys aren't going to coddle you. Douglas was the one who comforted me. And I've never gone deeper with a director than Oliver. He's the Easter bunny and Orson Welles in one man." The young actor further discussed Stone's work ethic on-set with him, saying:

> We'd be on the street [filming], and Oliver would just say, "Go to that bar, get fucked-up, and come back." I'd walk over, get smashed, and go back to work. He would really fuck with me when I was smashed. I get aggressive when I'm smashed, and he'd film that. He would just open you up completely, make you fucking naked – and then call, "Action!"

Douglas filmed the opening scene, which is Gekko being released from Sing Sing maximum-security prison, in Ossining, Westchester County, on September 18. Stone felt that the prison scene was a "key plot element" because there is no one there to meet Gekko, who returns to society as an outsider. Regarding there being no scenes that show Gekko adjusting to the modern world, the director clarified that there is "very little space to do those kind of tricks in this movie" because of how modern the world is becoming on a monthly basis. Filming took place in Fordham University for the classroom scenes on October 10 and 11. Brolin and Stone found extras simply by asking workers, at places like RdV, if they would like to be a part of the sequel.

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the film was released on September 21, 2010, through Todo Mundo. The album features numerous songs by David Byrne, including several tracks from his 2008 collaboration with Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.

### Track listing

1. "Prison" (Craig Armstrong)
2. "Home" (David Byrne and Brian Eno)
3. "Life Is Long" (David Byrne and Brian Eno)
4. "Sleeping Up" (David Byrne)
5. "Strange Overtones" (David Byrne and Brian Eno)
6. "Money" (Craig Armstrong)
7. "My Big Nurse" (David Byrne and Brian Eno)
8. "Helicopter Reveal" (Craig Armstrong)
9. "Tiny Apocalypse" (David Byrne)
10. "Lazy" (David Byrne)
11. "I Feel My Stuff" (David Byrne and Brian Eno)
12. "This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)" (Talking Heads)
13. "Dekha" (ft. song by Ali Zafar)

## Release

### Marketing

The film was screened out of competition during May 2010 at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Pressman thought that Cannes would be the "perfect platform to launch a film that speaks of today's economic dilemma". It was met with positive reviews from film critics at the festival, although numerous reviewers "objected to an ending deemed somewhat pat". A spokesperson for Fox said that Stone had changed the ending since its screening at Cannes. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps opened The Ischia Global Film and Music Fest, held during July 11–18. Michael Corkery of The Wall Street Journal reported that numerous journalists involved in the financial industry had been invited to see advance screenings of the film. To promote Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, several cast members visited the NASDAQ Market site in Times Square, on September 20 and presided over the NASDAQ Opening Bell.

Also on September 20, the movie's New York premiere was held at the Ziegfeld Theater in midtown Manhattan. According to Deadline Hollywood the film originally had a February 2010 release date, but it was later given an April 23, 2010, release. In March 2010, the film's release date was pushed back to September 24. Brolin stated that he hoped that audiences would wonder about the ethics of the banking industry, asking "How much is enough?," he concluded, "There used to be a ceiling. Now there's no ceiling". Surveys indicated that the main audience for the movie would be older adults who remembered the first film.

### Box office

Money Never Sleeps opened at a total of 3,597 theaters in the United States, earning \$6.9 million on its first day and \$19 million in its opening weekend in the US, averaging \$5,330 per theatre and becoming the number one movie at the box office, although falling short of studio estimates. Nonetheless, it still marked one of the best openings for a Stone film. Despite an increase of screens for its second weekend, Money Never Sleeps saw a 47% decrease on its earnings, falling to third place at the box office and making slightly over \$10 million for the weekend.

During the October 8–10 weekend it had a further decrease, falling almost 55%, earning over \$4 million and dropping to seventh place at the box office. In its fourth week of domestic release it fell under the top ten at the box office with a revenue of more than \$1 million, after suffering a 48% decrease. Domestically, the film made \$52.4 million, and has grossed over \$134.7 million worldwide.

## Reception

The film's reception was mixed. Review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 55%, based on a sample of 234 reviews, with an average rating of 5.97/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "It's more entertaining than many sequels, but with Oliver Stone directing, a terrific cast, and a timely storyline that picks up where the original left off, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps should be better." By comparison, Wall Street (1987) had achieved a 79% positive rating. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News awarded it five out of five stars saying that it is a sharp sequel that is worthy of its investment. He also saluted the cast's performance and noted that Douglas gives Gekko "uncounted layers as he fakes, deals and fuels fire". Matthew Toomey of Australia's 612 ABC Radio Brisbane gave it a B-rating and said that Douglas is the film's "biggest positive", finding LaBeouf to be unconvincing in his role. Christy Lemire, in The Canadian Press, claimed that the film ultimately "goes soft and loses its way" and described the contrast in its final scenes as being "laughable". Furthermore, the subplot between LaBeouf and Mulligan's characters was criticized as unneeded and pointed out that their relationship leads viewers to wonder why Winnie, who despises Gekko, would be involved with a man who does exactly the same thing as him, which she condemns; however, Lemire acknowledged that the movie is an uncommon sequel that seems to be both relevant and necessary and said that it proves that "greed can still be good". Film critic Colin Newton of the Brisbane Sunday Mail felt that the plot lacked the enthusiasm of the first film. Along the same lines, Village Voice contributor Nick Pinkerton pointed out that the Wall Street sequel did not have the "clean, fable-like arc" formula of its predecessor.

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter said that the film succeeded in being one of the better sequels in a while, but that Stone "gets too fancy here and there", the film's "heavy reliance on multiple screens, graphics and digital tricks makes it feel like one is watching CNN with all its computer-screen busyness." Roger Ebert, reviewing the movie in the Chicago Sun-Times, noted that it ended with a better conclusion when Stone had edited the film after its Cannes viewing, but still felt it was a little too long. He considered the film to be sophisticated and said its photography was aesthetically pleasing but stated he wanted it to be "outraged." In The Guardian Peter Bradshaw gave the film two out of five stars, commenting that "despite the pious waffle about market craziness being like cancer, no one is ever shown enduring the actual misery of losing money." Writing for Time magazine, Richard Corliss stated that the film has the "drive, luxe and sarcastic wit of the snazziest Hollywood movies." David Edelstein, writing in New York Magazine, described the film as being "full of promise, with minuscule returns." He concluded that, like Stone's other recent work, it is difficult to distinguish what the project's focus is supposed to be.

Joe Morgenstern from The Wall Street Journal wrote that the movie manages to keep a hold on its audience's attention. He thought that Douglas measured up to Gekko's standards in the film, believing that he was the only actor to sustain a "sense of nasty fun", and felt that LaBeouf's effectiveness was within the range of the film-maker's direction, but was unimpressed with Brolin's portrayal of James. He concluded that the script takes an unconvincing jab at Gekko's "spiritual regeneration," which was due to a scene that he considered to be "inherently illogical and emotionally inert." The Daily Telegraph's David Gritten said that Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps lacked the "punch" of the original film and was annoyed by the number of cameos throughout the film. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps received three out of five stars from Stephen Lambrechts of IGN Australia. Lambrechts felt that Stone's growth as a film director might mirror Gekko's as a person; having had used time to calm down over the years and settle into a more relaxed state of being. He concluded that the film's final result is not "quite the incendiary attack that it could have been, but it still has plenty to say while also managing to be an entertaining crowd pleaser."

In contrast to the film's detractors, BoxOffice journalist Pete Hammond said the film was "brilliantly cast" and labeled it a "crackerjack powerhouse of a movie that shines a light on the financial machinations". He stated that Douglas does not lose any of the substance of Gekko and LaBeouf is firm as Jacob. The writer predicted the Wall Street sequel's box office performance would be brisk, while the prospects were assured on DVD. Andrew O'Hehir's of Salon.com reviewed the film from Cannes, calling it an "ambitious, uneven, surprisingly talky melodrama, which mixes a quasi-documentary approach to the crash of 2008 with the story." O'Hehir's considered the film to express a more "personal, intimate sense of moral hazard". Marshall Fine, writing in the Huffington Post, viewed the film as an "overstuffed blend of agitprop and melodrama" that contains a cautionary story pertaining to unchecked capitalism. He considered Stone to be proclaiming a message of the "cancerous effects of greed". Bill Goodykoontz of Arizona Republic admitted that he was not surprised to see that the sequel is not as effective as its predecessor, though it was an engaging film at the top of its game when it is hostile, and less satisfying during romantic parts. He ended by saying that it is not a "great movie", but explained that it is an "effective commentary on what greed cost" everyone. CEO of Tullett Prebon, Terry Smith, one of the largest inter-dealer money brokers in the world, reviewed the movie for Today on BBC Radio 4. He gave it three out of five saying that, although it was "a little bit corny in some respects", it puts the events of the credit crunch into context and that "it rings reasonably true," capturing some of the activities, the moods and the individuals quite well."

### Accolades

## Home media

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 21, 2010, in the US. Since then it has made more than \$15.5 million in DVD sales revenue, selling more than 983,000 units.

## See also

- 2010 in film
- Cinema of the United States
- List of American films of 2010

2010 film by Oliver Stone

Films scored by Craig Armstrong (composer)


The Eleventh Hour (Doctor Who)

"The Eleventh Hour" is the first episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 3 April 2010. The episode, written by then-new head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith, saw a complete change in cast and production crew.

In the episode, the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) crashes his timeship, the TARDIS, into the small English village of Leadworth, where he meets a young Scottish girl named Amelia Pond (Caitlin Blackwood). The Doctor is forced to leave in order to repair damage to the TARDIS caused during his recent regeneration and crash, but promises Amelia he will return in five minutes. However, he arrives twelve years late and is confronted by the grown-up Amelia, now known as Amy (Karen Gillan), who does not trust him. He attempts to gain her trust to help return the shape-shifting alien Prisoner Zero to the galactic police, the Atraxi, before they destroy the Earth for harbouring Prisoner Zero.

The episode is the first to be led by Moffat, alongside executive producer Piers Wenger, after Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner stepped down after David Tennant's final two-part Christmas episode, "The End of Time". It is also the starring appearances of Smith as the Doctor, Gillan as his new companion and Arthur Darvill as Amy's boyfriend Rory Williams, who would later become a main cast member. The show's tradition is for the Doctor to rest after he regenerates, but Moffat decided to have him save the world instead. The episode sets up the main story arc of the series by introducing the cracks in the universe. "The Eleventh Hour" was seen by 10.08 million viewers in the UK, the highest rated premiere since "Rose". It also achieved popularity on the online BBC iPlayer and on BBC America in the United States. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who welcomed Smith, Gillan and Darvill into the series.

## Plot

The newly regenerated Eleventh Doctor crash-lands his TARDIS in the English village of Leadworth. The Doctor leaves the TARDIS to self-repair while the Scottish girl Amelia Pond helps him recover. She shows him a crack in her bedroom wall that he recognises as a tear in space-time, leading to an Atraxi prison. The Atraxi alert him to the escape of Prisoner Zero. Before he can respond, he must take the TARDIS for a short trip to help its repairs, and promises Amelia he will be back in five minutes. She packs a suitcase and waits for him.

The Doctor returns twelve years later. He is accosted by an adult Amelia, now going by Amy, who has been ridiculed by the townsfolk for her fascination with her "raggedy doctor". The Doctor sees a door hidden by a perception filter in Amy's home, and finds Prisoner Zero inside. They flee before it attacks. The Atraxi arrive in Earth's orbit and, speaking through all communication devices, demand they turn over Zero or they will destroy the Earth.

Searching for Zero, which is able to take the form of any unconscious being that it has telepathically linked to, they run across Amy's boyfriend Rory, who helps spot Zero posing as one of the coma patients in his care. The Doctor directs Amy and Rory to the hospital, while he gate-crashes an online meeting of experts discussing the Atraxi warning to give them instructions. Amy and Rory corner Zero at the hospital, and the Doctor arrives as the experts execute his plan, broadcasting "zero" to the Atraxi, who trace the origin of the message to a mobile phone in the hospital. To hide from the Atraxi, Zero knocks out Amy and takes the form of Amelia. The Doctor speaks to Amy's subconscious to force Zero to take its native form, allowing the Atraxi to recapture it. Zero warns the Doctor as it is taken away "silence will fall". As the Atraxi leave Earth, the Doctor declares that he is Earth's protector and cautions them not to threaten the planet again.

Intending to take the repaired TARDIS for a short test run, the Doctor returns to Amy's house two years later. While Amy is still bitter over the Doctor's original disappearance and suspicious of his offer to travel with her, she agrees to his offer, so long as the time machine can return tomorrow morning.

## Production

### Background and casting

"The Eleventh Hour" marked several production changes. Steven Moffat succeeded Russell T Davies as executive producer and head writer. Piers Wenger and Beth Willis replaced Julie Gardner as executive producer. A new logo was incorporated into a new title sequence with a new variation of the theme tune, composed by Murray Gold. By the end of "The Eleventh Hour", the Doctor has a new sonic screwdriver and the TARDIS sported a new interior and exterior, similar to the one used from 1963 to 1966. The previous TARDIS interior was shown at the beginning of "The Eleventh Hour"; the Time Rotor on the console had to be rebuilt due to the explosive special effects that were used in "The End of Time".

"The End of Time" saw the end of David Tennant's tenure as the Tenth Doctor and his regeneration into Matt Smith. Moffat was originally looking to cast a middle-aged actor, but he and Wenger went with the 26-year-old Smith in what they considered an easy decision. Karen Gillan was cast as the Doctor's new companion Amy Pond; she had previously appeared in the fourth series episode "The Fires of Pompeii" and was suggested to Moffat by casting director Andy Pryor. Gillan auditioned for the role in both her natural Scottish and English accents. Only after Gillan was cast was Amy made Scottish.

The young Amy, known as Amelia, was played by Karen Gillan's real-life cousin Caitlin Blackwood. Though Gillan recommended Blackwood, the young actor first had to undergo rigorous auditions, lacking any formal acting experience. "The Eleventh Hour" was also the debut of Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams, who became a regular in the sixth series. Moffat stated that what stood out about Darvill's audition was "just how funny" he was. EastEnders star Nina Wadia was chosen for the part of the doctor at the Leadworth Hospital. Wadia speculated that she was cast because she had worked with Adam Smith before. Patrick Moore appears as himself in the video conference with a brief speaking part, though not all his lines survived the final cut. The man above Moore is the brother of Adam Smith. Marcello Magni, who played a man Prisoner Zero impersonates that barks like his dog, had already worked as a canine impersonator. Academy Award-winning actor Olivia Colman and The Umbrella Academy star Tom Hopper make pre-stardom appearances in small roles (as one of Prisoner Zero's forms, and Jeff, respectively). Arthur Cox, who played Mr. Henderson, previously played Cully in The Dominators in 1968.

### Writing

The title of the episode is a play on words, referring both to the introduction of the eleventh Doctor and to the fact that he was nearly too late, the connotation of the phrase. In the DVD commentary, Moffat said it was originally titled The Doctor Returns, and that it was the most difficult script he had ever written, as he had to introduce a new Doctor, a new companion, convince the audience that it was both a new and an old show, and deliver a fast-paced story. While traditionally the Doctor rests after he regenerates, Moffat thought it would be fun to make him save the world instead. He described it as a comedy of a man whose day keeps getting worse and worse. Believing that London and companions from London had become a cliché and the audience had become bored with it, Moffat set the episode in the fictional village of Leadworth. Moffat, a Scot, debated whether to locate the episode in a village in Scotland. He ultimately decided on England, in keeping with the notion of Amelia as an unconventional girl.

Throughout the episode, the Doctor behaves erratically, as he gradually gets used to his new body and tastes while developing a new personality. Willis stated that he "finally clicks into place" after picking out his new outfit. The rooftop scene was not in the original script; the Doctor simply ran away from the ward and returned to the TARDIS. Moffat felt that he did not really have a formal introduction, and that more could be made of the costume, as many previous Doctors had picked theirs out quietly. The main story arc is the Doctor meeting the grown-up Amy. Moffat felt that over time the relationships between the Doctor and his companions had become too adult. He wanted to create a childlike relationship like that between Peter Pan and Wendy, rather than boyfriend and girlfriend. He believed this was the kind of relationship viewers had with the Doctor, regardless of their age. When the Doctor returns for Amy, she is a very different person from the seven-year-old he had met before. Moffat explains that she developed a tough element and had become distrustful and cynical due to him not returning as promised, forcing her to accept that he was an imaginary friend. Rory was completely in love with Amy, but Amy wanted adventures before admitting she loved him, too. Moffat described Rory as someone who had grown up in the shadow of Amy's imaginary Doctor.

Moffat was inspired by a crack in his son's bedroom wall and developed the idea into the main story arc for the fifth series. He thought that a child might think that something interesting lived inside such a crack. The hidden room in Amelia's house was based on Moffat's recurring childhood dream of a nonexistent hidden room in his grandmother's house. Moffat was keen to give the monster a giant eyeball, and commented that the Atraxi's design — a giant eyeball on a star — was easy for children to draw, as he used to draw Doctor Who monsters as a child. These aspects reflect Doctor Who's "domestically-scaled menace" principle. Moffat wrote a scene that explained Prisoner Zero's crime, but cut it because he figured no one would care.

The opening sequence, in which the Doctor barely hangs onto the crashing TARDIS as it flies over London, was later added to the script to bridge from the conclusion of "The End of Time" to the TARDIS's crash into Amy's garden. Moffat thought it would be funny if they showed him hanging out of the TARDIS and nearly crashing into London, which would start an episode set in a small town in a big way. Moffat also referenced the scene from A.A. Milne's The House at Pooh Corner, where Tigger claims to like everything, but then proceeds to reject all food offered to him until he finally finds that he likes extract of malt. Moffat's variant had the newly regenerated Doctor reject a variety of foods, with the exception of fish fingers with custard, offered to him by the young Amy. Moffat felt that appealing to children was important to the show's success. The scene where the Doctor creates the virus using Jeff's laptop was originally set in a classroom where the Doctor used the students' computers; this was changed for production reasons. In the episode, the Doctor snaps his fingers to open the TARDIS, a trick his previous incarnation learned from River Song in "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead". He also repeats the lines "wibbley-wobbley, timey-wimey" and "some cowboys in here" from the Moffat-written episodes "Blink" and "The Girl in the Fireplace".

### Filming and effects

The read-through for the episode took place in September 2009. Though it is the first episode of the series, "The Eleventh Hour" was not the first to be shot. It was filmed in the third production block, after the completion of episodes 2–5. As Smith was aware of how his Doctor would act in the following episodes, he used this one to establish the character. The plan was to retain traces of Smith's predecessor, but the executive producers wanted Smith to be "stranger". The episode was directed by Adam Smith, who was attracted to the "brilliant script" and working with Matt Smith after seeing him on stage. Smith was asked to direct "the same but make it a bit different – the producers didn't want it to be radically different, but they did want it to be different". The goal was to make it more "cinematic" and magical, and Smith took inspiration from E.T. and Tim Burton's work.

Amelia's house was designed to appear "spooky but ordinary" and reminiscent of a castle. Most scenes based in Leadworth were filmed in Llandaff village in Cardiff on 29 September, 5–7 October, and 20 November 2009. Photographs were taken on 5 October for the stop-frame animation sequence representing the Doctor's thought process. As the stills were taken by members of the crew and not computers the result was not perfect, which Adam Smith thought provided an "organic" feel. Plagued by torrential rain, the crew returned on 20 November to shoot the final Leadworth scenes. The production crew heavily dressed the area, adding flowers, street signs and souvenirs specific to Leadworth.

The Doctor hanging out of the TARDIS was filmed with Smith in front of a greenscreen, while the aerial footage of London was achieved with a helicopter. Smith stated that the scene was hard to visualise as it relied heavily on computer-generated images. Nearly every scene in the sequence is a visual effects shot, including a 3-D TARDIS flying over London and a CG Doctor hanging out of the TARDIS in the aerial shots. Moffat realised that the Millennium Dome was visible in the final footage, and so the scene could not be set in 1996 before it had been built. Instead of a reshoot, Moffat explained that the TARDIS could be just about to go back in time and materialise in Amelia's garden. In post-production, 30 tracks of sound effects, music composed by Murray Gold specifically for the sequence, and Smith's "grunting and groaning" were added. The primarily music-led sequence was produced by Nikki Wilson, who receives a "special thanks" credit.

While Amelia waits for the Doctor in the garden, the camera returns to her house where something, presumably Prisoner Zero, darts past the camera. It is actually Smith in footage intended for the finale, "The Big Bang", but when it did not fit into that episode it was recycled here. Originally the scene where the Doctor confirms that he is the man she remembers by showing her the apple she gave him that day was cut due to pacing issues and that the fact had been established in a previous scene. The previous scene was then cut and the apple scene returned. Due to the rain, the scene where the Doctor tries to gain the Atraxi's attention with his sonic screwdriver had to be simplified. Adam Smith based the style of the confrontation on a Western film. The destruction of the sonic screwdriver shortly after was achieved with a spark effect concealed inside the screwdriver, activated by an electrical charge that reached the screwdriver by an electrical wire that ran up Smith's sleeve and connected to a receiver. Special effects head Danny Hargreaves then used a remote control to activate the device. Contrary to reports, the effect did not injure Smith. The "fish fingers and custard" scene was shot in 12 takes. The fish fingers were actually a breaded coconut-flavoured food item; Smith estimated that he had eaten some 14 of them.

## Broadcast and reception

"The Eleventh Hour" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 3 April 2010. Overnight figures reported that 8 million watched the episode on BBC One and the simulcast on BBC HD. Final consolidated figures rose to 9.59 million on BBC One and 494,000 on BBC HD, making the final rating for the episode 10.08 million viewers, the most-watched premiere since "Rose" and the eighth highest rated episode since Doctor Who's 2005 return. The episode was second for the entire week on BBC One and number four for the week across all channels. The episode earned an Appreciation Index of 86, considered "excellent".

The episode was also popular on BBC's online iPlayer. Within one week of broadcast, "The Eleventh Hour" received 1.27 million hits on BBC's online iPlayer service, the record for most requests in a week. It went on to become the most requested episode of 2010 with 2.241 million views; Doctor Who was named the most watched programme of the year on the service.

"The Eleventh Hour" was first broadcast in the US on BBC America on 17 April 2010 and in Canada on the same date on Space. It set a record for BBC America, with an average of 1.2 million viewers and 0.9 million in the adults aged 25–54 demographic. The episode aired in Australia on 18 April on ABC1. It could also be viewed on ABC's website iView two days prior to the television air date, on 16 April. The show was broadcast two weeks after airing in Britain, as the BBC required a fortnight to edit down the Doctor Who Confidential: Cut Down. There was no room for the accompanying Doctor Who Confidential due to the hour-long running time, but ABC holds the rights and has made it available on iView. The episode aired in New Zealand on 2 May on Prime.

### Critical reception

"The Eleventh Hour" received positive reviews from critics. Benji Wilson, for The Daily Telegraph, wrote "It was ridiculous but it felt right: mad, alien, brand-new but very old. A+ to the casting director. A+ to Smith". He also said that Gillan "110 per cent nailed it". Though he compared Prisoner Zero's low-budget CGI makeup to a "draught excluder", he said that Moffat "turned a weakness into a strength" by having Prisoner Zero take the form of humans.

Daniel Martin of The Guardian called "The Eleventh Hour" "an absolute triumph" and the fact that "the story wisely doesn't waste too much time with an unstable regeneration". Though he praised Smith, he commented he was "still not feeling" the "Geronimo!" catchphrase. Radio Times reviewer Patrick Mulkern believed it was "obvious" that Smith's Doctor would be "up there with the greatest" and also praised Gillan, though he was unsure of the rescored theme tune. He also praised Moffat's script for "[offering] funny lines...directorial flourishes and a host of blink-and-miss star turns". Zap2it's Sam McPherson gave the episode an A+, saying that it was "definitely" his favourite and praised the debut of Smith, Gillan and the redesigned TARDIS. Paul Kerton, also of the site, praised Adam Smith for "[handling] the episode beautifully", the depth in Amy's character, and Matt Smith's take on the role. However, he thought the downside to the episode were the "slightly poor effects" and "somewhat lightweight story", and while he called the new title sequence "absolutely beautiful", he was unsure of the new variation of the theme tune.

Dave Golder of SFX magazine gave "The Eleventh Hour" five out of five stars, thinking that Moffat captured "the way children perceive the Doctor" and praising the debuts of Smith and Gillan. The A.V. Club reviewer Keith Phipps gave the episode an A−, explaining that he liked Smith "a lot" but was not sure if the Eleventh Doctor was separate enough from the Tenth yet. He called Gillan "instantly winning" and that the story was "no exception" from Moffat's typical "exceptionally strong narratives, keen sense of character, and efficient plotting". Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune stated that the episode "works" as an introduction, though it could be "almost too jokey at times". Though she felt the series was in good hands with Smith and Gillan, she derided the Atraxi for being "alarmingly static and ultimately uninteresting" and the story's "little substance". IGN's Matt Wales rated the episode 8 out of 10, praising it for easily fitting into the show's continuity, especially with Smith's portrayal of the Doctor. However, he thought the "calamity plot" was the "weakest link in an otherwise superb opening episode" and the "whole bunch of disparate elements ... never [gelled] into a satisfying whole". Though he said it was not perfect with "a saggy midsection and slightly naff CGI effects", he thought it was still "wondrous in so many ways". New York Times reviewer Mike Hale wrote that the episode worked like "a well-oiled piece of machinery", but it came across as "routine" with "none of the over-the-top exuberance" of Davies' run. While he noted that Gillan "looks promising", he felt that Smith was too much like Tennant and would "[need] to start shaping his own take on the role".

Den of Geek selected the episode as Doctor Who's highlight in their "Best TV Episodes of 2010" article. In 2011, after the airing of the next series, Digital Spy called the episode "still Smith and Moffat's finest hour". Digital Spy also named "The Eleventh Hour" the seventh best episode of the entire programme in 2013.

The episode attracted some criticism from viewers who complained that Amy's character and occupation as a kissogram was "too sexy" for a family programme. Gillan defended her character, claiming that girls Amy's age often wore short skirts and it showed the character had confidence, while executive producer Piers Wenger said, "The whole kissogram thing played into Steven's desire for the companion to be feisty and outspoken and a bit of a number. Amy is probably the wildest companion that the Doctor has travelled with, but she isn't promiscuous".

## Home media

"The Eleventh Hour" was released in Region 2 on DVD and Blu-ray with the following episodes "The Beast Below" and "Victory of the Daleks" on 7 June 2010. It was then re-released as part of the complete series five DVD on 8 November 2010.

### In print

Pearson Education published a novelisation of this episode by Trevor Baxendale for school literacy programs in May 2011.

Episode of Doctor Who

Television episodes set in Gloucestershire

Television episodes written by Steven Moffat


Sam & Max Hit the Road

Sam & Max Hit the Road is a graphic adventure video game released by LucasArts during the company's adventure games era. The game was originally released for MS-DOS in 1993 and for Mac OS in 1995. A 2002 re-release included compatibility with Windows. The game is based on the comic characters of Sam and Max, the "Freelance Police", an anthropomorphic dog and "hyperkinetic rabbity thing". The characters, created by Steve Purcell, originally debuted in a 1987 comic book series. Based on the 1989 Sam & Max comic On the Road, the duo take the case of a missing bigfoot from a nearby carnival, traveling to many American culture tourist sites to solve the mystery.

LucasArts began development of the game in 1992 with the intention to use new settings and characters after the success of the past Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island adventure titles. Series creator Steve Purcell, then a LucasArts employee, was one of the lead designers on the project. Sam & Max Hit the Road is the ninth game to use the SCUMM adventure game engine, and also integrated the iMUSE audio system developed by Michael Land and Peter McConnell. The game was one of the first to incorporate full voice talent; the two title characters were voiced by professional voice actors Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson while additional voices were provided by Irwin Keyes, Marsha Clark, Denny Delk, Tony Pope and Beth Wernick.

The game received critical acclaim on release, and was praised for its humor, voice acting, graphics, music and gameplay. It is now regarded as a classic point-and-click adventure game and is often considered one of the greatest video games of all time. Several attempts to produce sequels were cancelled, ultimately resulting in the franchise moving from LucasArts to Telltale Games. Since October 2014, after the acquisition of LucasArts by Disney, the game is being sold by GOG.com. The game was re-released on Steam by Disney Interactive in November 2018.

## Gameplay

Sam & Max Hit the Road is a 2D adventure game where the player controls the actions of Sam from a third-person perspective. The player uses Sam to explore the pre-rendered cartoon environments of the game and solve a series of puzzles using a simple point-and-click interface. The game's puzzles have logical solutions, although a number of them have far-fetched solutions due to the game's cartoon setting. Players can set the game's cursor in a particular mode to designate how Sam interacts with the environment: Sam can walk around an area, talk to other characters, look at objects, pick them up or otherwise try to use them. The cursor's graphic changes when it is hovered over an in-game entity that Sam can interact with. When talking to another character, the player is given a choice of subject areas to discuss, depicted in a conversation tree as icons at the base of the screen. In addition to specific topics involving the game's plot, Sam can inject unconnected exclamations, questions and non sequiturs into a conversation.

The game incorporates an inventory system for items that Sam picks up during the course of the game. Items can be used on other entities in the game world, or can often be combined with other inventory items to provide a new object necessary for solving a puzzle. Although Max's character will walk around the game's areas by his own will, Sam can also use Max at various points by using an inventory icon of Max's head on game objects—usually on characters where the solution to a problem involves violence. Sam and Max travel to different locations in the game using their black and white 1960 DeSoto Adventurer, which when clicked on in-game will present a map of the United States with all the available locations the pair can travel to shown. As the game progresses, the number of locations on the map increases.

In addition to the main game, Sam & Max Hit the Road includes several minigames. Some of these, such as a carnival game based on Whac-A-Mole but involving live rats, must be completed in order to receive new items and further the game's plot, while others, such as a car-themed version of Battleship, are entirely optional as to whether the player uses them. As with the majority of LucasArts adventure games, Sam & Max Hit the Road is designed so that the player characters cannot die or reach a complete dead-end.

## Plot

Sam and Max, the Freelance Police, are two comic book characters created by Steve Purcell, who act as private detectives and vigilantes. Sam & Max Hit the Road follows the pair on a case that takes them from their office in New York City across the United States. The game starts in a similar way to many of the comic stories, with Sam and Max receiving a telephone call from an unseen and unheard Commissioner, who tells them to go to a nearby carnival. At the carnival, they are told by the owners that their star attraction, a frozen bigfoot called Bruno, has been set free, and fled, taking their second attraction, Trixie the Giraffe-Necked Girl. Sam and Max set off to find Bruno and Trixie and bring them back. As the duo investigate the carnival, they learn that Bruno and Trixie are in love and that Trixie freed Bruno. The Freelance Police leave the carnival to pursue leads at various tourist traps throughout the country, such as The World's Largest Ball of Twine, a vortex controlled by giant subterranean magnets, and bungee jumping facilities at Mount Rushmore.

The pair learn that two other bigfoots used as tourist attractions in other parts of the country have been freed by Bruno, and that Bruno has been captured by Liverpudlian country western singer Conroy Bumpus, a cruel animal abuser who wishes to use Bruno in his performances. Sam and Max travel to Bumpus' home and rescue Bruno and Trixie, but Bruno then departs with Trixie to join a bigfoot gathering at an inn in Nevada. Following them, Sam and Max disguise themselves as a bigfoot to enter the party. Eventually the party is gatecrashed by Conroy Bumpus and his henchman Lee Harvey, who hope to capture the bigfoots. However, Sam manages to fool Bumpus and Harvey into donning their bigfoot disguise, and Max locks them in the inn's kitchen freezer.

Chief Vanuatu, leader of the bigfoots, in recognition of the pair's actions, makes the Freelance Police members of the bigfoot tribe and tells them of a spell that will make the world safe for bigfoots again, preventing their capture by humans. However, the chief requires help deciphering the spell's four ingredients, and asks for Sam and Max's help. Eventually, they discover that the ingredients are a vegetable resembling John Muir, hair restoration tonic, the tooth of a dinosaur, and a vortex contained within a snow globe. Combined with a live bigfoot sacrifice—which Max substitutes for frozen bigfoot-clad Bumpus and Harvey—the ingredients cause large trees to spring into existence, destroying towns and cities and covering the bulk of the west United States in forest. Content that their work is done, Sam and Max take the frozen ice block containing Bumpus and Harvey to the carnival. Believing that Bruno has been returned to them, the owners give a large reward of skee ball tickets to the Freelance Police, who then spend the end credits shooting targets at a carnival stall with real firearms.

## Development

Sam & Max Hit the Road was developed by a small team at LucasArts with prior experience on their adventure games, including Sean Clark, Michael Stemmle, and Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell and his future wife Collette Michaud. Prior to being employed at LucasArts, Steve Purcell had developed the Sam & Max characters and started publishing stories about them around 1987. These had caught attention of some of the LucasArts developers; through a suggestion that LucasArts artist Ken Macklin, Purcell was brought into the team by art director Gary Winnick. Purcell helped to draw the cover art for Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, then helped with the character animations in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Sam and Max first appeared as video game characters as internal testing material for SCUMM engine programmers recently employed by LucasArts; Steve Purcell created animated versions of the characters and an office backdrop for the programmers to practice on. Soon after, Sam & Max comic strips by Steve Purcell were published in LucasArts' quarterly newsletter. After a positive reaction from fans to the strips and out of a wish to use new characters and settings after the success of the Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion franchises, LucasArts offered in 1992 to create a video game out of the characters.

The game was based on the 1989 Sam & Max comic On The Road, which featured the two on a journey across the United States. Several of the game's tourist traps were based on real locations experienced by the developers; Steve Purcell recollects a childhood visit to a "Frog Rock" - one of the locations featured in the game - and remembered thinking "That's it? It doesn't even look like a frog!" A chain of "Snuckey's" roadside stores and attractions was a tribute to the Stuckey's chain which Purcell and his family often stopped at during road trips.

LucasArts planned a relatively short timetable for Sam & Max of about eight months, and the team opted to use storyboarding for the first time at LucasArts to plan out the game. Sam & Max was one of the first games to include a full speech soundtrack and music, which for Steve Purcell was a "dream opportunity" to hear his creations speak. Steve Purcell describes casting Bill Farmer in the role of Sam as his audition tape "was very dry; he wasn't trying too hard to sell the lines". Actor Nick Jameson was cast to voice Max. The game's jazz score was composed by LucasArts' Clint Bajakian, Michael Land and Peter McConnell, and was incorporated into the game using Land and McConnell's iMUSE engine, which allowed for audio to be synchronized with the visuals. High quality versions of four of the game's tracks were included on the CD version of the game. Sam & Max Hit the Road was released simultaneously on floppy disk and CD-ROM; only the CD version of the game contained full in-game speech and music.

As the Sam & Max comics had a more adult tone, Steve Purcell expected LucasArts to cut back "the edgier material" from the game, but expressed that he was pleased with how LucasArts allowed him to stay close to his original vision for the game. The game's various minigames were included to allow players to take a break from solving the main game's puzzles and play something "short and silly". Sam & Max Hit the Road also signified a major change in development for games on the SCUMM engine. The user interface was entirely rehauled from that introduced in Maniac Mansion and built upon in subsequent games. Instead of selecting a verb function from a list at the bottom of the screen and clicking on an in-game entity, Sam & Max Hit the Road compressed all verb functions into the mouse cursor, which players could cycle through using the right-mouse button. The inventory was also moved off the main screen to a sub-screen accessible by a small icon on the screen. According to Steve Purcell, this cleared space on the screen to "expand on the excellent backgrounds and also made interaction much quicker and less laborious than LucasArts' previous adventure games" The conversation trees were also affected by this; Michael Stemmle proposed removing the text-based selection menu used in previous LucasArts' adventure games in favor of icons representing topics of discussion as "nothing would kill a joke worse than reading it before you hear it". Several of these innovations were retained for future LucasArts adventure games.

## Reception

According to Steve Purcell, Sam & Max Hit the Road was commercially successful. He remarked in 2000 that the numbers were never compared to Star Wars but it sold enough that it was considered a hit by most standards.

Sam & Max received a favorable reception from the gaming industry's press, holding a rating of 84% on the review aggregator site GameRankings. Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World in 1994 liked it "measurably less" than Day of the Tentacle. He compared the latter to a Looney Tunes cartoon and the former to an underground comic book, observing that Sam & Max's style of humor "can all be funny, but only to a point ... its main characters are basically jerks" and the story was unimportant "even to them". Ardai cited the completely optional and disconnected minigames as "contribut[ing] to the feeling that Sam & Max is more a computerized busybox ... than a unified, focused piece of fiction". He liked the graphics and simplified SCUMM interface, but concluded that "the whole is rather less than the sum of its parts ... Sam & Max affords a couple of hours of somewhat similar amusement" to Tentacle. Edge noted that "with most adventure games, its hard to feel anything for the character(s) you control", but stated that Sam & Max Hit the Road broke this mold by being "genuinely funny". The reviewer praised the game's graphics as "beautifully detailed" and the puzzles as "intricate to solve", but noted that a number of the minigames were "dismal". Joonas Linkola, writing for Adventure Gamers, echoed many of these comments, praising the cartoon-style graphics as "appropriately cheesy" and "colorful". On the subject of the game's humor, Linkola noted that "there are many visual jokes, but the backbone of the game is in its witty dialogue", and as such this gave the game a "replayability value" as players may pick up on jokes based on "verbal acrobatics, on the use of polysyllabic words, old English and other such oddities" that they missed the first time around. Linkola gave additional praise to the soundtrack and audio work, stating that the "very fitting voices ... adds to the comical duo's wisecracking attitude".

Allgame reviewer Steve Honeywell was also very positive with his comments, describing the plot as "interesting", the graphics as "appropriately cartoonish and fun" and the locations as "well-designed", but noting that above all "what makes Sam & Max Hit the Road work is the humor". On the game's puzzles, Honeywell stated that "some of the puzzles are pretty simple, while others are difficult in the extreme. One nice thing is the almost complete absence of red herring items. Everything you find can be put to use somewhere". As with other reviews, Allgame praised the audio work, noting that "the music is decent throughout the game, and the voice talent is stellar", closing with the comment that the game takes point-and-click adventures to "insane new heights in terms of both fun and comedy". GamersHell praised the graphics of the game as "superb" but noted that "it's not so friendly that it can only be played by kiddies". Although describing sound setup as "a bit tricky", the reviewer praised the voice acting as "very good" and the music as "top quality". Although the review noted that the game had "easy to use" interfaces and menus, it was critical of the fact that "at times it can be the frustrating 'hunt for the correct pixel' syndrome".

The game was one of four nominees for the 1994 Annie Award in the category Best Animated CD-ROM, although the award instead went to LucasArts' Star Wars: Rebel Assault. In 1994, PC Gamer US named Sam & Max the 8th best computer game ever.

In 1998, PC Gamer declared it the 10th-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "still the best graphic adventure for the PC, hands down".

Sam and Max Hit the Road has since come to be regarded as a classic adventure game title, and is regularly featured in listings of the top 100 games. In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked it as the 95th best game of all time, calling it "the adventure game that redefined 'wacky'". The same year, Next Generation ranked it 27th best game of all time, explaining that its "goofy charm" was the tiebreaker in the decision to include it on the list instead of other acclaimed LucasArts games such as Day of the Tentacle. In 1999, Next Generation listed Sam & Max Hit the Road as number 45 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that the game combined a bizarre plot with LucasArt's adventure game prowess and the robust SCUMM engine. In 2004, Adventure Gamers listed Sam & Max Hit the Road as the eighth-best adventure game of all time, describing it as "the most absurd and ridiculous game ever designed". IGN described Sam and Max Hit the Road in its 2007 top 100 games feature as "known more for its story and characters", noting that "the unusual and interesting gameplay is typically saddled in the shotgun position in fans' memories, but when you're driving a Porsche, even the trunk is a smooth ride". Writing for Adventure Classic Gaming in 2006, David Olgarsson noted that the game had "undoubtedly ... become [LucasArts'] most critically acclaimed adventure game of all time", citing the game's production values, graphical effects, challenging puzzles and story techniques as the reason for this, concluding that the game was an "enduring testament to adventure gaming's finest hours". In 2011, Adventure Gamers named Sam & Max the 28th-best adventure game ever released.

## Sequels

The first attempts at creating a sequel took place in September 2001 with Sam & Max Plunge Through Space. The game was to be an Xbox exclusive title, developed by Infinite Machine, a small company consisting of a number of former LucasArts employees. The story of the game was developed by series creator Steve Purcell and fellow designer Chuck Jordan and involved the Freelance Police travelling the galaxy to find a stolen Statue of Liberty. However, Infinite Machine went bankrupt within a year, and the project was abandoned.

At the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo convention, nearly a decade after the release of Sam & Max Hit the Road, LucasArts announced the production of a PC sequel, entitled Sam & Max: Freelance Police. Freelance Police, like Hit the Road, was to be a point-and-click graphic adventure game, utilizing a new 3D game engine. Development of Freelance Police was led by Michael Stemmle, one of the original designers of Sam and Max Hit the Road. Steve Purcell contributed to the project by writing the story and producing concept art. The original voice actors for Sam and Max, Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson, were also set to reprise their roles. In March 2004, however, quite far into the game's development, Sam & Max: Freelance Police was abruptly cancelled by LucasArts, citing "current market place realities and underlying economic considerations" in a short press release. The fan reaction to the cancellation was strong; a petition of 32,000 signatures stating the disappointment of fans was later presented to LucasArts.

After LucasArts' license with Steve Purcell expired in 2005, the Sam & Max franchise moved to Telltale Games, a company of former LucasArts employees who had worked on a number of LucasArts adventure games, including on the development of Freelance Police. Under Telltale Games, a new episodic series of Sam & Max video games was made. Like both Sam & Max Hit the Road and Freelance Police, Sam & Max Save the World was in a point-and-click graphic adventure game format, although it lacked the original voice actors for the characters. The first season ran for six episodes, each with a self-contained storyline but with an overall story arc running through the series. The first episode was released on GameTap in October 2006, with episodes following regularly until April 2007, and a special compilation on the Wii released in October 2008. A second season, Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space, began in November 2007 and ended in April 2008. This was also released as a compilation on the Wii. Originally expected to be released in 2009, a third season, Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, began in April 2010.

1993 video game

Video games developed in the United States