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"Ok, next question. This one has nothing to do with sports." Ah, a football game would have had SOMETHING to do with sports. When Square Soft was pretty new, they were about to go broke. They took one last chance- they made an RPG. Those are the games with the characters, stats, levels, with the characters in a party. Computer RPGs resemble tabletop RPGs, pencil and paper RPGs. They made one last game, and called it "FINAL Fantasy." It took off, and Square became known for their quality JRPGs- Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, Beyond the Beyond, Legend of Legaia, Romancing Saga, Shadow Madness, Grandia, Valkyrie Profile, etc. They're best known for the Final Fantasy series. The supposed sequel to the game is "Final Fantasy 2"- which makes no sense. As each number went up, it made less sense. That series started on the NES, went through the SNES, and then the Playstations, through the current one, as well as PC versions of the games. Many, many people have played at least ONE of the "Final Fantasy" games, despite having never seen "Final Fantasy" and possibly never knowing anything about it other than it was an early RPG. For the record, the first game for the Sony Playstation that really took off was "Final Fantasy 7." At the time, it was the 4th FF game to make it to the US market. FF 4 and FF 6 had been renumbered "FF 2" and "FF 3" accordingly. Later, the missing games were released in pairs for the Playstation. There have been movies as well as all sorts of games, and the franchise is still selling well.

Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy

It is, of course, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "I'm not really bad. I'm just drawn that way." George

John Madden Football? George

No. There are a lot of giveaway lines for this movie, but I'll try to hold off on them until necessary. (And "An Officer and a Gentleman" was about the Navy, not the Army.) "Do you ever dream about who you're gonna be?" "Who I'm gonna be?" "Yeah." "Aren't-aren't I going to be me?" "What's your sole purpose in this army?" "To do whatever you tell me, drill sergeant!" "God damn it! You're a god damn genius! This is the most outstanding answer I have ever heard. You must have a goddamn I.Q. of 160. You are goddamn gifted, Private. Listen up, people..." "Quiet, quiet! He's gonna say something! [pause] "I'm pretty tired... I think I'll go home now." "Dear God, make me a bird. So I could fly far. Far, far away from here." George

9 to 5 ? Or maybe the one with the guy behind the curtain. Wiz of Oz

Some home video games are more famous than others, and some video game companies are more famous than others. In the 1980s, a new video game company was teetering on the brink of non-existence. They did a "Hail Mary" pass, where they worked on one game-an early RPG- and if it tanked, the company was probably going to fold, and a man who later became known for video game soundtrack composing would have left that field. They titled the video game accordingly. Sales for the game took off, and catapulted the company into the spotlight. They made many other home video games afterwards, including a number of my favorite RPGs , for a number of home console formats and PCs. Among the video games they made was a considerable number that would appear to be sequels- despite most of them having no connection to the games numbered before them nor after them. That series is incredibly famous among home video games, and well-known across different platforms. (Fans of the "series" all have their own favorites, and may not be interested in many of the others in the "series.") The names are excellent marketing despite that- although an argument can be made that virtually all of them have titles that make no sense- except for the original. They're still making these games, and one was released in 2023 and another in 2024. (For the curious, the original company is still making them- although they had a merger with Enix in the decades since they started, and that's obvious from the current name of the company.) I'm looking for the name of the first game, the one that started the franchise, that saved the fledgling company, that is famous despite most of the people who've heard of it never having played it or possibly even SEEN it.

The home version they released was in 1975. You are correct that it doesn't meet the requirements of the answer. But you've probably heard this game's name in the decades since it was released.

"Hi, HO! Hi, HO! Hi, ho, hi, ho, it's off to work we go."

Wild swing here.... "An Officer and A Gentleman"?????

Mako Conan the Barbarian Sandahl Bergman George

"Do you ever dream about who you're gonna be?" "Who I'm gonna be?" "Yeah." "Aren't-aren't I going to be me?" "What's your sole purpose in this army?" "To do whatever you tell me, drill sergeant!" "God damn it! You're a god damn genius! This is the most outstanding answer I have ever heard. You must have a goddamn I.Q. of 160. You are goddamn gifted, Private. Listen up, people..." George

Video games started to become popular when I was in grad school. I remember playing a number of them in arcades, but the only one available for home use was Pong by Atari. That doesn't seem to meet any of the requirements in your post, though. George

The following is a flyer I created and have distributed to students and folks who've attended my presentations. Help yourself. What Do You Know About Cults? What is a cult? “An ideological organization held together by charismatic relationships and demanding total commitment.” ~ Benjamin Zablocki, PhD, “Cults: Theory and Treatment Issues.” http://www.icsahome.com/articles/cultspsymanipsociety-langone How do cults recruit? Promises and pressure What are some warning signs? Charismatic, authoritarian, self-proclaimed leader with no check on power Deceptive recruiting (often sincere) Critical inquiry viewed as “persecution” Organized psychological manipulation Emotional, sexual, and financial exploitation Inner circle of loyal followers with secret beliefs/behavior No meaningful economic transparency How do cults undermine freedom? Demand loyalty to cult leader/ideology Disallow freedom of religion (theirs is the only right one) Intimidate to prevent free thought Control personal goals Destabilize freedom of association How can we respond to recruiters? ABCD A - Always research group B - Be firm when refusing recruitment C - Challenge appealing promises D - Don’t tolerate deception, even from a friend Warning: An imbalance of power is an opportunity for abuse. Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International By Charlene L. Edge. Memoir. Paperback and eBook at major booksellers & indie bookstores “… A frank, in-depth account of one woman’s struggles in a controlling organization.” — Kirkus Reviews Gold medal winner - Florida Authors and Publishers Association, 2017 On Book Riot’s list of “100 Must-Read Books About Life in Cults and Oppressive Religious Sects” What it’s about: After a family tragedy struck, teenaged Charlene rejected Catholicism, family, and friends to join what became one of the largest fundamentalist cults in America: The Way International led by Victor Paul Wierwille. After promotion to the inner circle of biblical researchers, Charlene discovered secrets: Wierwille’s plagiarism, misuse of Scripture, and sex abuse. Amid chaos at The Way’s headquarters, Charlene escaped. Why Undertow matters: Each year about 50,000 to 100,000 people enter or leave high-control groups called “cults” (data: The International Cultic Studies Association). Movies like Going Clear and The Path have captured the nation’s attention. Undertow is a personal story about cult recruitment and fear-based manipulation by an authoritarian, charismatic leader. The fundamentalist mindset, espousing certainty about God and the meaning of the Bible, causes untold divisions in families and communities. Undertow shows this pain from an insider’s perspective and that healing is possible. A taste of Undertow: “I gulped down Doug’s words without doing any critical thinking, not pressing him to prove what he said. He was so sincere that I clung to his assertions, like ‘believing equals receiving,’ as if they were heaven-sent.” CHARLENE L. EDGE spent 17 years in The Way (1970–1987). Later she earned a B.A. in English from Rollins College and worked for more than a decade as writer in the software industry. She is a published poet and essayist and a member of the Florida Writers Association, the Authors Guild, and the International Cultic Studies Association. She lives in Florida with her husband, Dr. Hoyt L. Edge. She blogs at: http://charleneedge.com

What Do You Know About Cults? What is a cult? “An ideological organization held together by charismatic relationships and demanding total commitment.” ~ Benjamin Zablocki, PhD, “Cults: Theory and Treatment Issues.” http://www.icsahome.com/articles/cultspsymanipsociety-langone How do cults recruit? Promises and pressure What are some warning signs? Charismatic, authoritarian, self-proclaimed leader with no check on power Deceptive recruiting (often sincere) Critical inquiry viewed as “persecution” Organized psychological manipulation Emotional, sexual, and financial exploitation Inner circle of loyal followers with secret beliefs/behavior No meaningful economic transparency How do cults undermine freedom? Demand loyalty to cult leader/ideology Disallow freedom of religion (theirs is the only right one) Intimidate to prevent free thought Control personal goals Destabilize freedom of association How can we respond to recruiters? ABCD A - Always research group B - Be firm when refusing recruitment C - Challenge appealing promises D - Don’t tolerate deception, even from a friend Warning: An imbalance of power is an opportunity for abuse. Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International By Charlene L. Edge. Memoir. Paperback and eBook at major booksellers & indie bookstores “… A frank, in-depth account of one woman’s struggles in a controlling organization.” — Kirkus Reviews Gold medal winner - Florida Authors and Publishers Association, 2017 On Book Riot’s list of “100 Must-Read Books About Life in Cults and Oppressive Religious Sects” What it’s about: After a family tragedy struck, teenaged Charlene rejected Catholicism, family, and friends to join what became one of the largest fundamentalist cults in America: The Way International led by Victor Paul Wierwille. After promotion to the inner circle of biblical researchers, Charlene discovered secrets: Wierwille’s plagiarism, misuse of Scripture, and sex abuse. Amid chaos at The Way’s headquarters, Charlene escaped. Why Undertow matters: Each year about 50,000 to 100,000 people enter or leave high-control groups called “cults” (data: The International Cultic Studies Association). Movies like Going Clear and The Path have captured the nation’s attention. Undertow is a personal story about cult recruitment and fear-based manipulation by an authoritarian, charismatic leader. The fundamentalist mindset, espousing certainty about God and the meaning of the Bible, causes untold divisions in families and communities. Undertow shows this pain from an insider’s perspective and that healing is possible. A taste of Undertow: “I gulped down Doug’s words without doing any critical thinking, not pressing him to prove what he said. He was so sincere that I clung to his assertions, like ‘believing equals receiving,’ as if they were heaven-sent.” CHARLENE L. EDGE spent 17 years in The Way (1970–1987). Later she earned a B.A. in English from Rollins College and worked for more than a decade as writer in the software industry. She is a published poet and essayist and a member of the Florida Writers Association, the Authors Guild, and the International Cultic Studies Association. She lives in Florida with her husband, Dr. Hoyt L. Edge. She blogs at: http://charleneedge.com

Part of TWI's history is how a wide-spread American belief helped shape VPW's teachings: that America was founded to be a Christian nation. VPW used non-biblical sources (of course) to back up his belief in this. The belief today is held by most Christian Nationalists in America. Many ago, I examined this belief in a paper I wrote for a creative writing class at what was then called Valencia Community College in Orlando, FL. I've attached my paper here for anyone interested in the fundamentalist aspect of TWI. It's the fundamentalism aspect of Wierwille's teachings that you see when he calls Scripture "inerrant" and that is "fits like a hand in a glove." He made it LOOK that way using fundamentalist methods of interpretation that he took from other mens' work. Note - my name at the time I wrote the attached paper was Charlene Bishop. I was still married to my first husband, T*m Bish*p, from the Rye, NY fellowship. We married the day after we graduated from the Second Corps in 1973. In Undertow, I gave Tim the alias of Ed. We divorced in 1991. Cheers! Fund to Freedom_C_Edge.pdf

Indeed. George

Jon Stewart Elijah Wood Louis Black Danny Masterson Summer Phoenix Usher Bebe Neuwirth Piper Laurie Famke Janssen Salma Hayek Josh Hartnett Clea DuVall Jordana Brewster

"Well, I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man."

"War of the Worlds."

"The Martians had no resistance to the bacteria in our atmosphere to which we have long since become immune. Once they had breathed our air, germs, which no longer affect us, began to kill them. The end came swiftly. All over the world, their machines began to stop and fall. After all that men could do had failed, the Martians were destroyed and humanity was saved by the littlest things, which God, in His wisdom, had put upon this Earth." George

I can picture the actor from The Flash, but I don't know his name. George

Yeah

Of course! Your turn, George!