Willy Russell

William "Willy" Russell (born 23 August 1947) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best-known works are Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine, Blood Brothers and Our Day Out.

Early life

Willy Russell was born and brought up in Whiston, Lancashire, near Liverpool, an only child of working-class parents with a troubled marriage. His mother was a nurse and later worked in a warehouse. His father worked sometimes in the mines, in a factory, or managing a fish and chips shop and had increasing problems with alcohol and valium. After leaving school with one O-Level in English, he initially became a ladies' hairdresser and ran his own salon. He then undertook a variety of jobs, wrote songs and ran a folk club and danced. He went to night school and then became a school teacher, but soon he was writing plays full-time. In 1969, he married Annie Seagroatt, the daughter of a middle-class family, and the couple eventually had a son, Rob, and two daughters, Rachel and Ruth.

Career

Sunday

Sunday (ⁱ/ˈsʌndeɪ/ or /ˈsʌndi/) is the day of the week following Saturday but before Monday. For most Christians, Sunday is observed as a day of worship and rest, holding it as the Lord's Day and the day of Christ's resurrection. Sunday is a day of rest in most Western countries, part of 'the weekend'. In some Muslim countries and Israel, Sunday is the first work day of the week. According to the Hebrew calendars and traditional Christian calendars, Sunday is the first day of the week, and according to the International Organization for Standardization ISO 8601 Sunday is the seventh and last day of the week. No century in the Gregorian calendar starts on a Sunday, whether its first year is considered to be '00 or '01. The Jewish New Year never falls on a Sunday. (The rules of the Hebrew calendar are designed such that the first day of Rosh Hashanah will never occur on the first, fourth, or sixth day of the Jewish week; i.e., Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday).

Etymology

Sunday, being the day of the Sun, as the name of the first day of the week, is derived from Hellenistic astrology, where the seven planets, known in English as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon, each had an hour of the day assigned to them, and the planet which was regent during the first hour of any day of the week gave its name to that day. During the 1st and 2nd century, the week of seven days was introduced into Rome from Egypt, and the Roman names of the planets were given to each successive day.

Stargate Atlantis (season 3)

The third season of Stargate Atlantis, an American-Canadian television series, began airing on July 21, 2006 on the US-American Sci Fi Channel. The third season concluded after 20 episodes on February 5, 2007 on the Canadian The Movie Network. The series was developed by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, who also served as executive producers. Season three regular cast members include Joe Flanigan, Torri Higginson, Jason Momoa, Rachel Luttrell, Paul McGillion, and David Hewlett as Dr. Rodney McKay.

Cast

Episodes

Production

Sunday (Australian TV program)

Sunday was an Australian current affairs, arts and politics program, broadcast nationally on Sunday mornings on the Nine Network Australia. The program covered a range of topical issues including local and overseas news, politics, and in-depth stories on Australia and the world, plus independent film reviews, independent arts features, and independent music reviews. Its final show was aired on Sunday, 3 August 2008.

History

The announcement of the launch of the private and independent breakfast television and Canberra-produced politics program on 22 October 1981 inspired controversy, as it was then practice to fill the spot with religious programming. The advent and ongoing success of Sunday was a significant milestone in Australian television, as it for the first time offered a credible alternative/rival to the dominant influence of the ABC's flagship current affairs program Four Corners, which had premiered 20 years earlier. Sunday was often referred to as the "baby" of network boss Kerry Packer, although rival media outlets have characterised it as "an expensive indulgence".