What is "countdown"

1953, American English, in early use especially of launches of rockets or missiles, from count (v.) + down.

n. 1 A count backward in fixed units to the time of some event, especially the launch of a space vehicle 2 The acts of preparation carried out during this period 3 (context slang English) A radio or television program counting down the top songs of a given week, usually in reverse order ending with the No. 1. vb. (context nonstandard English) To count down

n. counting backward from an arbitrary number to indicate the time remaining before some event (such as launching a space vehicle)

Countdown is a British game show involving word and number puzzles. It is produced by ITV Studios and broadcast on Channel 4. It is presented by Nick Hewer, assisted by Rachel Riley, with regular lexicographer Susie Dent. It was the first programme to be aired on Channel 4, and 73 series have been broadcast since its debut on 2 November 1982. With over 6,000 episodes, Countdown is one of the longest-running game shows in the world, along with the original French version, Des chiffres et des lettres (Numbers & Letters), which has been running on French television continuously since 1965. Countdown was initially recorded at The Leeds Studios for 27 years, before moving to Granada Studios in 2009, and then over to MediaCityUK in Salford Quays in 2013.

The programme was presented by Richard Whiteley for over 20 years, until his sudden death in June 2005. It was then presented by Des Lynam until the end of 2006, Des O'Connor until the end of 2008, and Jeff Stelling until the end of 2011; Nick Hewer has presented the show since 2012. Carol Vorderman, the show's co-host, who had also been on the programme since it began, left the show in December 2008, at the same time as Des O'Connor. She was replaced by Rachel Riley. Cathy Hytner originally placed letters on the board for the letters games before this was taken over by Vorderman.

A celebrity guest features in every programme, and provides a brief interlude midway between the two advertisement breaks. The two contestants in each episode compete in three disciplines: ten letters rounds, in which the contestants attempt to make the longest word possible from nine randomly chosen letters; four numbers rounds, in which the contestants must use arithmetic to reach a random target number from six other numbers; and the conundrum, a buzzer round in which the contestants compete to solve a nine-letter anagram. During the series heats, the winning contestant returns the next day until he or she loses or has accumulated eight wins (known as an Octochamp). The best eight contestants are invited back for the series finals, which are decided in knockout format. Contestants of exceptional skill have received national media coverage, and the programme as a whole is widely recognised and parodied within British culture.

Countdown is a New Zealand full-service supermarket chain and subsidiary of Progressive Enterprises, itself a subsidiary of Australia's Woolworths Limited. It is the largest single supermarket chain in New Zealand in terms of number of stores, though the Four Square chain owned by co-operative rival Foodstuffs - with operations mainly as grocery stores or smaller supermarkets in rural communities - is larger, with 275 franchised shops.

A countdown is the backward counting to indicate the remaining time before an event occurs.

Countdown may also refer to:

The MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown is a two-hour music video program block, that airs on Canadian music television station MuchMusic. Countdown is one of the oldest programs that continues to be aired on MuchMusic since its debut. Originally sponsored by Coca-Cola, it was known for the first several years as the Coca-Cola Countdown.

Countdown is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Robert Altman, based on the novel The Pilgrim Project by Hank Searls. It stars James Caan and Robert Duvall as astronauts vying to be the first American to walk on the Moon as part of a crash program to beat the Soviet Union.

Countdown is a point-and-click adventure game released by Access Software for MS-DOS in 1990. The player plays as Mason Powers, a CIA agent who wakes up in a Turkish mental hospital, suffering from partial amnesia and accused of murdering his supervisor. Powers must escape the hospital, find out who framed him, piece together his memory, and prevent terrorists from blowing up a peace conference.

1. redirect countdown (disambiguation)#Literature

Countdown, in comics, may refer to:

• Countdown (Polystyle Publications), a British boys comic of the early 1970s
• Countdown to Final Crisis, a DC comics series
• DC Countdown, the name originally listed for Countdown to Infinite Crisis

A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the term "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and even "E-minus" for events that involve spacecraft that are already in space, where the "T" could stand for "Test" or "Time", and the "E" stands for "Encounter", as with a comet or some other space object. Other events for which countdowns are commonly used include the detonation of an explosive, the start of a race, the start of the New Year, or any anxiously anticipated event. An early use of a countdown once signaled the start of a Cambridge University rowing race. The first known association with rockets was in the 1929 German science fiction movie Frau im Mond (English: Woman in the Moon) written by Thea von Harbou and directed by Fritz Lang in an attempt to increase the drama of the launch sequence of the story's lunar-bound rocket.

Countdown was a long-running popular weekly Australian music television show broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 8 November 1974 until 19 July 1987. It was created by Executive Producer Michael Shrimpton, producer/director Robbie Weekes and record producer and music journalist Ian "Molly" Meldrum. Countdown was produced at the studios of the ABC in the Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea.

Countdown was the most popular music program in Australian TV history. It was broadcast nationwide on Australia's government-owned broadcaster, the ABC, and commanded a huge and loyal audience. It soon exerted a strong influence on radio programmers because of its audience and the amount of Australian content it featured. The first half-hour episode went to air at 6.30pm on Friday, 8 November 1974, but for most of the time it was on air, it also gained double exposure throughout the country by screening a new episode each Sunday evening, and then repeating it the following Saturday evening. The majority of performances on the show were lip synched.

Molly Meldrum, the program's talent co-ordinator, began appearing on-air in 1975, presenting the "Humdrum" music news segment and conducting interviews. Meldrum soon became the "face" of Countdown. He appeared regularly on-air until 1986. Another attraction to the program was the local and international acts who would host an episode - usually performing as well. During the show, Meldrum would interview them (while co-hosting) or have a chat with them before the show went out with the number 1 single of the week. In October 2014, Meldrum published his autobiography, "The Never, Um, Ever Ending Story".

"Countdown" is the 23rd episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise and is the 76th overall episode. It first aired on May 19, 2004, on the UPN network within the United States. Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship, Enterprise, registration NX-01. Season three of Enterprise features an ongoing storyline that follows an attack on Earth by aliens called the Xindi, a group of aliens that did not appear in preceding series.

In this episode, Captain Jonathan Archer ( Scott Bakula) convinces the Xindi-Aquatics to aid him in his fight against the Xindi-Reptilians and Insectoids alliance to prevent Earth's destruction by their superweapon. In the midst of a battle between the two Xindi factions, an away team is sent to rescue Ensign Hoshi Sato ( Linda Park), previously captured by the Reptilians. However, the superweapon departs for Earth, with Archer in pursuit on-board a Xindi vessel.

"Countdown" was the first collaboration between writers André Bormanis and Chris Black, and was directed by former Star Trek: Voyager actor Robert Duncan McNeill. It was shot over eight days, with additional sets built for the Xindi-Reptilian vessel and the interior of the superweapon. Critics praised the change in the dynamic between Major Hayes ( Steven Culp) and Malcolm Reed ( Dominic Keating). Roughly 3.5 million viewers watched "Countdown" on its first broadcast.

"Countdown" is the second and final single from the album Separations by British band Pulp. The song was re-recorded for the single release. The CD single cover stated the same track listing as 12" single but the tracks were reversed.

Countdown was the title strip in the British comic of the same name published by Polystyle in the early 1970s.

It was an original science-fiction story - one of the few strips in the comic not to be based on a television series. Instead it was based, in its visual design (but not its storyline), on the 1968 MGM film 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Countdown is a young adult novel series by Daniel Ehrenhaft under the pen name Daniel Parker. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the series chronicles the year 1999 in short novels which represent individual months of the year. The series begins with January and follows the lives of its main characters through December.

"Countdown" is the 21st episode of the ABC series FlashForward.

Countdown is a 2011 caper film that takes the audience on an entertaining journey through the underbelly of South Korea. Starring two of the country's top actors Jeon Do-yeon and Jung Jae-young, this highly assured debut feature by Huh Jong-ho premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.

Countdown is a 2012 Thai thriller film written and directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya. The film was selected as the Thai entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. The film was remade in 2015 in Kannada as Ringmaster.

The Dutch music show Countdown was a popular music show from 1978 to the early 1990s, broadcast by the (in that time public) broadcasting system Veronica. It ranked as the top music show in the whole of Europe. Due to the popularity this show, the career of one of its hosts throughout the entire period, Adam Curry, rose like a star. Other hosts included Simone Walraven, Jasper Faber, Erik de Zwart and Wessel van Diepen. A special English-language edition of Countdown was produced for pan-European music channel Music Box in 1987, with presenters Adam Curry and Erik de Zwart.

Countdown was a British comic published weekly by Polystyle Publications – ultimately, under several different titles – from 1971 to 1973. The pages in each issue were numbered in reverse order, with page 1 at the end – a gimmick which was derived from the comic's title in order to create a " countdown" to the number one every week.

Under the title Countdown, the comic ran for 58 weeks, beginning with the issue cover-dated 20 February 1971. It was re-launched as TV Action + Countdown from issue 59 in 1972, dropping many of the original strips from Countdown and substituting new ones based on contemporary television programmes. After 100 issues, its title became simply TV Action. The final issue, number 132, was cover-dated 25 August 1973.

Initially it was a high-quality (but expensive) publication, featuring full-colour art on the cover and on many of the inside pages, and was printed on coated paper. From issue 59, Countdown dropped the glossy printing that had distinguished it, and reverted to cheap newsprint-quality paper, also abandoning the photogravure printing that had also been a feature until then.

Countdown was unusual in carrying both weekly serials and complete stories, rotating the latter among the various TV programmes that it featured. In addition, it carried a totally original strip, " Countdown", drawn by John M. Burns and including spacecraft designs from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Another remarkable feature of Countdown was the inclusion of non-fiction articles about current space exploration, mostly written by Arnold Kingston. These included a level of technical detail more typical of the technical trade journals aimed at adult professionals: for example, in a 1971 issue of Countdown, the fourth installment of a series on Unmanned satellites, entitled Space Lighthouses explained the Doppler effect and gave details of US and Soviet navigation satellite programmes.

Countdown (also known as Personal Number, ) is a Russian action movie directed by Yevgeny Lavrentyev with a $7 million budget, which was huge for Russia of that time, and released in Moscow in December 2004.

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation assisted the shooting. Former Deputy FSB Director Vladimir Anisimov was hired consultant. The movie was sponsored by Sibneft and Channel 1.

Despite its dubious artistic qualities, Countdown dramatizes many real life political concerns. In the very beginning the plot of the movie closely follows details of the independent investigation of the 1999 Russian apartment bombings described in the book Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within by Yury Felshtinsky and Alexander Litvinenko, representing them as parts of the plan masterminded and sponsored by exiled tycoon Pokrovsky (obvious hint at Boris Berezovsky in real life) and aimed to discredit Russian security services. As this plan has failed, Pokrovsky assisted by some terrorists organizes a hostage taking in a Moscow circus (very similar to Moscow theater hostage crisis in real life) in order to return to Russia, acting as a saver of the hostages during negotiations. However, he fails to do so. The movie also depicts the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia as a place where an important Islamic militant hides, which was a common allegation by Russian authorities in real life around that time, and depicts destruction of a base of terrorists and allies of Pokrovsky in Qatar which might hint at the assassination of Zelimkhan Yandarbiev. Overall, the movie was widely considered propaganda.

Countdown (originally known as 6:42) is a 2016 American action film starring Dolph Ziggler, Katharine Isabelle and Kane in his feature film debut. The film is directed by John Stockwell and written by Richard Wenk and Michael Finch and produced by WWE Studios. It was released direct-to-video and Digital HD by Lionsgate on April 5, 2016.

"Countdown" is the sixth by Japanese singer Hyde, and the first single from his second solo album Faith.

It was released on 5 October 2005, and was Hyde's first solo single since 2003. This is the first single co-produced by Hyde and K.A.Z and charted at #1 on the Oricon ranking charts the week it was released.

The B-side to this single is "Evergreen (Dist.)", a rock version of Hyde's very first solo single that was also featured on his first solo album, Roentgen (released March 27, 2002). Countdown also featured in Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, a Nintendo DS game.

Countdown is the name of the fictional character in the Transformers series. He was introduced as a toy in the United States in 1989, but his first appearance in fiction was in the Japanese Transformers: Zone series, in which he was called Moon Raider. He didn't appear in the U.S. Transformers fiction until his role as a main character in the Dreamwave Producations comics' Micromaster title. Since then, Hasbro released a new toy of the character in 2009. He is sometimes called "Autobot Countdown" for trademark purposes. Fun Publications has mentioned another character named Countdown in its Transformers stories, who is the evil mirror-universe counterpart of the original character.

"Countdown" is a song by Rush from their 1982 album Signals. Its lyrics are about the first launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia, which the band members watched from a VIP area called "Red Sector A" (the name was later used for a song on the band's next album, Grace Under Pressure). The song incorporates audio from voice communications between astronauts John W. Young and Robert Crippen and ground control along with commentary from the Kennedy Space Center Public Affairs Officer leading up to the launch.

The song incorporates a driving rhythm and heavy use of synthesizers, with Geddy Lee switching between his synthesizer on the verses and his Rickenbacker 4001 bass on the song's chorus. The lyrics paint a vivid account of the group's experiences witnessing the launch. The song closes the album, with its cautionary tales of man's reliance on technology, on a more positive, celebratory note.

The song was used as a wakeup song for astronauts during STS-109, which was the last successful flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. It was used again for astronaut Mike Fincke during STS-134, flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour on its final mission before retirement. Fincke described how his friends Greg Shurtz and NASA employee Ken Fisher chose the song because the band was inspired to write it after viewing the launch of STS-1. Fincke went on to say the song was played as a tribute to the space shuttle program, which has inspired people around the world.

This song, as printed in the liner notes of the Signals album, is dedicated to "the astronauts Young & Crippen and all the people of NASA for their inspiration and cooperation."

"Countdown" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her fourth studio album, 4 (2011). The song was written by Knowles, Terius Nash, Shea Taylor, Ester Dean, Cainon Lamb, Julie Frost, Michael Bivins, Nathan Morris and Wanya Morris, and produced by Beyoncé, Taylor and Lamb. The song's conception was brought about by Knowles desiring to mix musical styles of the 1990s with the 1970s. It was sent to radio on October 4, 2011 as the fourth single from 4.

Featuring a sample of " Uhh Ahh" by Boyz II Men, "Countdown" incorporates aspects of hip hop, funk, reggae and world music. According to the lyrics, the female protagonist delivers a message of monogamy for her lover, celebrating self-worthiness as well as appreciating him. The song received rave reviews from critics, who were surprised by its maturity and compared it to Beyoncé's earlier solo work and with Destiny's Child. The song finished second in 2011's Pazz & Jop critics' poll and was included on the list of the year's best songs by various critics and publications including Spin, Rolling Stone and The Guardian.

Following the leak of 4 in early June 2011, "Countdown" received minor rotation on radio that attributed to its debut at number 75 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it later peaked at number 12. It also peaked at number 71 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. It has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Countdown" peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart and number nine on the UK R&B Chart.

Adria Petty directed the accompanying music video, which was recorded whilst Knowles was pregnant in August 2011. The music video sees Beyoncé incorporate a mix of classic and modern dances, with references to pieces like that of Audrey Hepburn's appearance in Funny Face. Although well received by critics, the video faced controversy for the use of choreography from Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's 1983 ballet Rosas danst Rosas. Beyoncé performed "Countdown" on her 4 Intimate Nights with Beyoncé and Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live residency shows, as a video interlude on The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour and on the set list of The Formation World Tour.

Countdown is the third book in the Unstoppable series of the The 39 Clues franchise. It was written by Natalie Standiford. The cover features a broken Mayan artifact, as the book primarily takes place in Tikal, Guatemala. The book cover is also colored orange.

The back of the book states "Life or Death: The clock has run out for thirteen year-old Dan Cahill. As head of the most powerful family the world has ever known, he and his older sister, Amy, have been in the crosshairs for too long. Dan and Amy have always managed to stay a step ahead of their enemies, but it was only a matter of time until luck failed them. Now Dan is hopelessly trapped and nothing can save him. Nothing except unleashing an evil into the world even worse than the enemies closing in. As Dan hovers between life and death, Amy has a terrifying decision to makes. Just how far is she willing to go to save her little brother?"