Question: Why did Clara go mental at Doc for saying he was from the future? He'd dropped a few hints! He'd told her he has an interest in science, he had a huge refrigerator in his building, he had another big thing covered up under a sheet, he said he read Jules Verne when he was a boy despite it only been recently published. Was she not even a little bit curious? Doc could have easily stopped her during her rant saying he can prove it but didn't.
Brian Katcher
26th Aug 2019
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
13th Jun 2005
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Answer: I thought he was freaking out, realizing the picture was made of thousands of tiny dots (pointillism).
12th Aug 2019
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Question: What did Rooney mean when he told Grace to "go soak your head"?
Answer: It's an old insult, somewhat equivalent to 'buzz off'.
6th Aug 2019
King of the Hill (1997)
Question: The Monsignor Martinez - in addition to being a priest, is he supposed to be a vigilante? Or a mercenary?
Answer: I get the impression he's some sort of master criminal, though the specific details are left up to the viewer's imagination.
16th Jul 2019
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
Question: Why does Oliver Gates come up with ridiculous reasons for the people he defends whenever they commit murder? In the episode "Hate", Sean Webster was killing Muslims and Oliver claims that his hatred was genetic but, it was found out that Sean had been raised to hate Muslims after his dad left his mom and married a muslim. In the episode "Game" a guy is murdering people the exact same way that's done in a video game when it's clear the suspect is using the video game as a scapegoat for his crimes.
Answer: His clients are guilty and won't take a plea. He's using desperate defenses in hopes of swaying a juror or two. Also makes for better television. "Temporary insanity" isn't nearly as compelling as "the video games made me do it."
16th Jul 2019
Monk (2002)
Mr. Monk Paints His Masterpiece - S6-E14
Question: How come Monk's Painting of Natalie isn't shown for the rest of the scene?
Answer: It was apparently embarrassing and ridiculous, enough that Natalie tried to burn it. It's funnier if you let the viewer image what it looked like.
24th Jun 2019
Army of Darkness (1992)
Answer: Yes, I recall a college friend being shocked to see his textbook on screen.
2nd Jun 2019
Beetlejuice (1988)
Question: When Adam and Barbara start to age and die near the end of the movie, I don't get how they didn't "die" again. How did they end up completely fine at the end?
Answer: Otho is attempting to exorcise them (remember how the afterlife janitor said exorcism was death for the dead), but Beetlejuice interrupted the ceremony, restoring them.
Answer: It's not completely clear what was happening to them but it's somewhere along the lines of the ritual making them corporeal or even partially resurrecting them but the ritual wasn't done properly so their bodies started to decay. Beetlejuice reversed that process and turned them back into ghosts.
28th May 2019
Office Space (1999)
Question: While recognizing that this film is entirely fictitious, how likely is it that an IT firm in 1999 would have allowed a former employee access to the premises after being laid off, never mind continue to send him a paycheck as with Milton Waddams? I myself was fired the following year and got the walk of shame treatment ("you have 5 minutes to clear your desk - the taxi's waiting outside") which at the time already seemed pretty standard.
Answer: They never told Milton he was fired, they just cruelly cut off his paycheck, figuring he'd eventually get fed up and leave (he'd actually been laid off years ago, but a payroll glitch kept him getting a paycheck). The management is hoping if they're cruel enough, he'll stop showing up.
This is actually the reverse of what happened. The glitch caused him to continue to receive a paycheck, even though he'd been laid off. The "Bobs" corrected the glitch, so he would no longer receive a paycheck. In an effort to avoid confrontation, they chose not to say anything to him, hoping he'd realise it and leave on his own.
Answer: Simply because he is basically invisible to them. Anyone can walk into that place, no guard outside, no key-card required. Nobody cared. At least you got a taxi.
Exactly. These things can happen. It depends on the place and how they operate. As recently as January 2024, I read about one young woman who went into a Kroger grocery store and worked for six hours, as an experiment. She has also done this at Target and Walmart. She wears clothes that look like a real employee's.
25th May 2019
Shrek 2 (2004)
24th May 2019
Robin Hood (1973)
Question: Sir Hiss is secretly tasked with looking for Robin Hood, and hides in a balloon. Wouldn't he sufficate if the balloon was inflated?
Answer: Yes. He also wouldn't float. But it's a cartoon about a talking fox, so don't worry too much about realism.
19th May 2019
Aladdin (1992)
Question: Two questions. 1) Why does the Sultan pick on Iago all the time - force feeding him stale crackers and when he's on the magic carpet, chasing after him? 2) Why is the Sultan so rough with the magic carpet? When he goes for a ride on it after Aladdin shows up at the palace as Prince Ali, he rides it around the palace in such a reckless manner that when he's finished, the carpet can barely walk.
Answer: Iago to him is just a parrot, not a sentient being like we know. He genuinely thinks Iago likes the cookies. The magic carpet is the one being rough, being in control since he is just giving the Sultan a thrill ride. It's trying to make a good impression for Aladdin by giving the Sultan a great time.
Answer: The Sultan is a goofy, clumsy guy who doesn't realise he's being rough.
25th Apr 2019
Happy Gilmore (1996)
5th Apr 2019
M*A*S*H (1972)
Question: Would the doctors really been able to drink alcohol and get drunk? They are on call 24 hours a day and may need to do surgery at any time.
Chosen answer: It's pretty much something that couldn't have happened in real life. They have no way of knowing when wounded might be coming and there have been many times when all four surgeons and all The Nurses were in the OR, and yet on multiple occasions, three or more doctors (as well as nurses) get sloppy drunk.
Answer: In some episodes, they ask Radar or he informs them that he received information that there would be no casualties coming in.
Also in real life there are strict rules in the military about alcohol, and different ways people observe them. Some would stay dry, only drinking when it was approved. Some would have an occasional drink, and their bosses might not care too much if they didn't cause any trouble. And some would be alcoholics who put other people's lives at risk.
29th Mar 2019
Venom (2018)
Question: Dora Skirth briefly mentioned to Eddie Brock and Carlton Drake about her family. Did she have a husband and/or children? Was she worried about what The Life Foundation would do to them? If she had a family, did they get compensated for being killed by Drake?
Answer: She told Eddie that she couldn't go to the police out of fear for her family, and Drake had kind of ominously mentioned her children when she said they weren't ready for human subjects. If it could be proved that Drake murdered her, they might have grounds for a lawsuit, especially if they could prove he was acting on behalf of the Life Foundation.
26th Mar 2019
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Question: Does Violet stay blue and Mike remain incredibly thin and tall after they leave the factory?
Answer: There is a scene at the end of the film showing the children leaving the factory. It shows the changes ARE permanent. Mike stays stretched and Violet stays blue. She is also impossibly flexible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBOvtKI73yc.
Answer: In the book, it's implied that they did.
26th Mar 2019
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Question: If Scott was under house arrest how could he have paid bills?
Answer: If you mean how did he afford to pay his bills, he makes money from his security firm.
Answer: Online.
13th Mar 2019
Annie (1982)
Question: What happened to the orphans at the end of Annie? Did they get adopted with Annie or are they still staying at the orphanage?
Answer: Molly gets adopted by Warbucks and becomes Annie's sister and the other orphans get adopted by other families while a reformed Miss Hannigan becomes a schoolteacher.
Answer: They are no longer at the orphanage since Miss Hannigan reformed and became a schoolteacher. So they are all adopted with Annie by "Daddy" Warbucks.
Answer: They're still staying at the orphanage, but it seems Mr. Warbucks is helping to fund them and Miss Hannigan has had a change of heart, so it's not so grim.
Answer: Annie and Molly both get adopted by Oliver Warbucks and become sisters ages 10 and 6 and live with the male family dog, Sandy and Oliver marries Grace Farrell and Grace becomes Annie and Molly's mom.
Answer: 10 year old Annie and six year old Molly and another orphan named Chloe get adopted by Oliver Warbucks and have the male family dog, Sandy and Oliver marries Grace Farrell and Grace becomes the girls' new mom.
24th Feb 2019
The Truman Show (1998)
Question: Was The Truman Show actually on the air since he was a baby? If so, what kind of entertainment would the audience at home be getting out of watching a baby every day for years? It seems like it would be a pretty boring show until Truman grew up and reached at least the age of 6 or 7.
Answer: They seem to imply the show was always on the air. However, they may have just shown 'best of' clips until he was walking and talking, or perhaps the show never took off in popularity until he developed a personality.
25th Feb 2019
The Truman Show (1998)
Question: Could Truman file a lawsuit against the people who turned his life into a TV show?
Answer: Anyone can file a lawsuit if they choose. The question is whether he would win. That would be questionable, given he was legally adopted by the studio. He was well cared for, so it would come down to the question of whether hiding the truth from someone and manipulating their entire life constitutes abuse.
Answer: I'm 100% sure he could sue and get financial compensation for his time, face, and name being used. They make a ton of money off him, he would be rich.
Answer: Yes.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: Because she thought he didn't like her and was making a bizarre excuse to avoid her. Come on. 'I'm a man from the future, so we can't be together ' sounds like a pretty flimsy excuse.
Brian Katcher