Question: What was so wrong with Marty and Doc returning to the future and stopping Old Biff from stealing the DeLorean? If they stopped Old Biff from stealing it, he wouldn't be able to go back in time to give his younger self the almanac.
Bishop73
16th Aug 2023
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Answer: To use Doc's example in the film, think of time as a linear straight line. Beginning at the point where the past was changed (i.e. Old Biff giving the almanac to his younger self in 1955), time would then continue linearly; therefore, traveling to the future from 1985-A would result in visiting the future of 1985-A. That's why Doc and Marty had to go back to 1955 to get the almanac back; once the anomaly was corrected (i.e. the almanac removed from where it didn't belong), the 1985-A timeline would vanish and time would resume its course the way it should in the original 1985 timeline.
15th Aug 2023
South Park (1997)
City on the Edge of Forever (a.k.a. Flashbacks) - S2-E7
Question: Why is there a "missing" flyer for Macaulay Culkin?
Answer: I think it's just a joke about how out of work and the limelight he had been. This episode aired in 1998. From '88-'94, Macaulay had been in 14 movies, 3 TV shows, 2 music videos, and appeared on over a dozen shows as himself (SNL host, late-night talk show guest, etc). After "Ritchie Rich" in 1994, he wasn't in anything or on TV. So he was nowhere to be found for 4 years. Although, prior to the airing of this episode, he did appear in Sonic Youth's "Sunday" music video. But I think this episode was created before the release of the video.
12th Aug 2023
Pleasantville (1998)
12th Sep 2019
The Facts of Life (1979)
Question: Tootie takes her driving test. The instructor tells Tootie to make a U-Turn and as she's halfway into it, the car stops. I think it was because the car ran out of gas. Because of this, Tootie fails the driving test. Why would the instructor fail Tootie? It wasn't her fault the car ran out of gas.
Answer: I didn't see that episode. When you take your driving test, you have to provide the car for the test, and the car has to be in good working condition. They check for that (blinkers working, etc.) So if the car runs out of gas, yes, it is your fault for not making sure the car had enough gas before the test.
Just saw the episode, and the car wasn't Tootie's. It belonged to the driving school.
You should watch the episode again because it didn't belong to a driving school. (She wasn't even in one). It was a hearse from Natalie's job at the funeral home.
Answer: Tootie didn't say she failed, just that she had to take the test twice because the instructor "wanted to make sure [she] belonged on the streets." It was even brought up that they maybe they should get gas and he said to go. So it wasn't about running out of gas, but all the distractions and antics that had occurred. Although it seems like an exaggerated line as a joke. Earlier she said you only get two chances (meaning to pass). If she had in fact failed this second time, it doesn't seem like the instructor would retest her right away. And if he did, why wouldn't she have been retested right away The First Time instead of having to schedule a 2nd test?
7th Aug 2023
General questions
What show had a joke about a male character going through a gay phase, and he was shown watching "Caroline in the City" (the joke being that only a gay man would watch)?
Answer: There's a cutaway gag in "Family Guy" (S01E06, "The Son Also Draws") where Peter tells Lois he's tricked people before. Then he says, "Remember that time I pretended to be gay?" and it cuts to him watching TV with the "Caroline in the City" title card showing.
31st Jul 2023
Over The Top (1987)
Question: Wouldn't betting on yourself be illegal? I get that betting on yourself to lose would be a no-no, but wouldn't betting on yourself at all be against gambling rules?
Answer: Short answer is no, it's not illegal. For example, boxers are allowed to bet on themselves. There may be leagues or clubs that prohibit their players (and even staff) from any form of gambling, not just betting on themselves or their team. But it doesn't mean it's illegal. Some casinos or bookies may not take players' bets unless it's a straight bet to win, as opposed to a player betting he'll win in the 6th round.
26th Jul 2023
Avatar (2009)
Question: In the many shots of the sky above Pandora, we see a variety of seemingly nearby moons around the planet. I'm no astrophysicist, but it seems to me that many orbiting objects would result in a chaotically unstable situation which could not be expected to long endure. Any astrophysicists out there?
Answer: My bad on the planet/moon thing. You make excellent points, but again, those other moons in Pandora's sky are huge and appear very close. Gravity effects would have to be substantial and disruptive on the entire moon system. Thanks for correcting me.
Answer: Not an astrophysicist, but to be clear, Pandora is not a planet. It's one of 14 moons orbiting a gas giant (Polyphemus). Thus, it would be the planet and the sun's gravitational pull that would most affect Pandora, in terms of tides. Since the other moons aren't in orbit of Pandora, their pull would be significantly less and would have minimal effect, but would presumably cause more eclipses than what we have on Earth. Pandora also has an atmosphere, which helps provide stability and allowed for life to develop. There are moons in our solar system with atmospheres and bodies of water, which in theory could support life. But it's unlikely that the reason life hasn't developed on these moons is because of some chaotically unstable situation.
10th Sep 2007
Rush Hour (1998)
Question: When Sang calls the Consul for the second time and says, "You have 29 minutes left", he says something in Chinese and hangs up. What exactly did he say in Chinese?
Answer: He is saying, "You must go there alone".
Google Translator says something else for "You must go there alone." I don't think this is correct. Does anyone know the real answer?
He says "go by yourself." The original answer seemed to explain what he was saying, not the direct translation.
24th Jul 2023
Family Guy (1999)
25th Jul 2023
Family Guy (1999)
And Then There Were Fewer - S9-E1
Question: Near the end, did Diane pretend that she was the killer in order to find out who the killer was, which turned out to be Angela, Peter's boss?
Answer: Diane was always the killer. I don't know why you keep thinking Angela, Peter's boss, was in this episode or the killer. Diane had framed Tom Tucker as the killer, and in the morning, he was arrested. As everyone prepares to leave, Lois deduces Diane was the real killer because she already had her dress for her solo debut on the news. She couldn't have known Tom Tucker was going to be arrested unless she was the one who framed him. It ends with Stewie secretly killing Diane because he's the only one that gets to kill Lois.
22nd Jul 2023
Timecop (1994)
Question: It is revealed that same matter cannot occupy the same space. Walker carries his other self to safety after being knocked out. Wouldn't this break those rules?
Answer: At what point does Walker carry himself? Present day Walker is knocked out while outside the house. Future Walker kills the guy and then goes into the house. Unless you're talking about a deleted scene, future Walker never moves or touches present day Walker. Future Walker carries his wife to safety and lays her next to the knocked out Walker.
22nd Jul 2023
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Question: What does Shredder say to Leonardo when we first see them fighting on the roof?
Answer: Which part are you talking about? After they mention Splinter's name? Shredder says he had a name, implying Splinter is dead. Leo says "you lie" to which Shredder says "do I?" When Shredder pins Leo down, he looks at the other Turtles and says to them "he dies. Weapons." Meaning he'll kill Leo if the others don't disarm themselves.
Not from that part, I mean from the first time they face off. As Leo does his double sword slash at Shredder, you can hear Shredder say something, but it's unintelligible and not on the closed captions.
When it's just Shredder and Leo fighting, neither are saying anything. They're just grunting.
Answer: Shredder says, "How did you get this strong?". If you find the clip on YouTube, it's captioned.
Yes! I hear it now! Thank you.
22nd Jul 2023
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Question: On several occasions (just after he kills Mortiana, for example), Azeem calls Robin something which sounds like 'Sadji'. What is he actually saying, and what does it mean?
Answer: At the end, he says "sadiq", which is an Arabic word for "friend". I don't think he used it any other time, though. Remember that Azeem was only with Robin to fulfill his vow to save his life, not because they were friends. At the end, Azeem acknowledges they're friends even though his vow is fulfilled. If there's another scene where you heard the word, I'd be interested in knowing which one.
He says it when he asks Robin to help him when he is performing the caesarean, and just before Will comes back towards the end when they are covering Duncan. Not sure if there are any more.
20th Jul 2023
Charade (1963)
19th Jul 2023
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Question: Was there any particular reason as to why the taxi cab in 2015 was built upon a Citroën DS? It would've been 60 years old in 2015, so it doesn't scream "futuristic car".
Answer: In real life, it was because the DS looked similar to a drawing one of the artists had come up with. But it does have a unique and futuristic look to it since it wasn't really a popular car or seen that often in the 80s in the UK. Since it wasn't meant to be the star of the show, they built off a working, existing car rather than design and build a working, unique car. If you're talking about in the Back to the Future universe, the taxi was meant to be a brand new model. It's even possible the taxi company retrofitted 60-year-old cars the same way people build hot rods out of old cars. Here's an inside look at the taxi. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb9Gtd-ycto.
19th Jul 2023
American Yakuza (1993)
Question: Why does Nick/David reply with 'Steven' when asked his real name at the end of the film? I'm assuming I'm missing something; surely this isn't a mistake that nobody picked up on because that would be enormous.
Answer: I've listened several times, but it sounds like he says "it's David." I think the actor trying to use a soft, sad voice makes it come across as "Steven," and whoever did the closed caption put "Steven."
8th Oct 2020
Rush Hour (1998)
Question: If Rush Hour 1 and Rush Hour 3 are just over 3 years apart, how does Soo Yung age 10 years between the two movies?
Answer: To my knowledge, "Rush Hour 3" is supposed to take place roughly 10 years after the first movie, given she's all grown up and is around 20/21 years old.
Answer: At the end of "Rush Hour 2", Isabella is heading to New York. Lee and Carter then decided to go to New York too. At the beginning of "Rush Hour 3", when Carter is talking to Lee, Carter says Lee is still mad at him because of what happened in New York. He then says, "It was 3 years ago." Lee brings up Isabella, indicating it was the same New York trip. This is the only indication the film takes place roughly 3 years after the first one, but just seems to be a mistake. When Geneviève takes off her wig and Carter thinks she's a man, he says, "I'm Brokeback Carter." "Brokeback Mountain" was a 2004 film, so more than 3 years have passed.
14th Jul 2023
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Question: At the start, she was to drive the truck to get gas. She never got there, and yet was able to drive all over. How?
Answer: Furiosa was not getting gas for the war rig; it is presumably fully fuelled. Furiosa was to fill the tank with gas to bring it back to be used for other vehicles.
If you're going to get gas, why have a full tank in the war rig? Put enough in it to be able to get to Gas town, pulling the attached round tank. Fill the round tank and fill up the war rig. Return with lots of gas in a full round tank and a full war rig.
I believe there is some confusion here with how the gas tank system works on the war rig. The truck itself has its own gas tank; the tank that is being towed is completely separate. It's exactly the same as real-life gas trucks.
Why does that question even need to be answered? You're going to use gas going there and coming back. It doesn't matter if the war rig was full or not when it left. Assuming they're going to be gassing the war rig up once they get there to collect the gas, it's going to come back with the exact same amount of gas no matter what. So it really makes no difference whatsoever. Also, what happens if they get delayed along the way? If they only have enough gas to get to Gas Town, but something happens, they'll just get stuck.
I agree, it's not very smart to fill the war rig with just enough gas to get to town. But it sounds like they're saying take whatever you can out of the war rig, and you'd have that much extra gas when they get back. For example, if the rig held 25 gallons and only needed 5 gallons to get to town, you can take out 20 gallons. The rig then arrives in town empty, fills up, and comes back with 20 gallons in the tank. So now you have 40 gallons instead of just 20 (plus whatever the tank holds).
I think the big point is what Furiosa was planning. She filled the gas tank of the truck up to be able to go further with it; she wasn't planning on getting the gas anyway.
Ok, I can understand that... but I still don't see why it's a question that needs to be answered, hahaha. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see why every tiny detail needs an explanation or answer, especially when it doesn't really matter for the story.
Answer: What she did most likely took months of planning. Who she could trust to help her. How exactly she could smuggle the girls out, and most importantly, gaining the trust of the boss to the point where he believed she was his obedient slave who could never betray him.
Answer: Nobody knew the war rig was full of gas. They thought she was going to fill the tanker and come back, not smuggle out the girls.
Sorry, can't believe that. The boss guy controlled everything. He would know where and how much gas there was. Also, lowering the truck empty would be a lot different than lowering it fully loaded.
The truck was supposed to be empty when it left. She was taking an empty tank to be filled, but smuggled the wives inside. It weighed probably 300 pounds more than it was supposed to, but that would be imperceptible to the people operating the elevator. The war rig likely weighs several tons.
It's not empty, it is filled with water. The wives were hiding in the tractor.
14th Jul 2023
The Twilight Zone (1959)
A Nice Place to Visit - S1-E28
Question: Rocky and Pip are leaving the flat. Rocky has already told the "girls" to wait in the other room. Right before they leave, Rocky goes back to the room the girls are in, pushes the door open, says he'll be back in a few minutes, and then gets a strange, quizzical look on his face, as if he's confused about something. A moment later, when he and Pip leave, as he reaches the door, he still has the same quizzical look on his face. Any idea why he gives this look? I thought it might be an editing error.
Answer: Pip had basically told Rocky that they were the only two real people in the place, and the girls were like props in a movie (as Rocky put it). I took his look of confusion as "What does Pip mean? These girls aren't real?" And as he was leaving, he couldn't shake the thought and was confused again. But there's also a part of me that thinks since the girls weren't involved in Rocky's story at the time, they were just sitting there doing nothing, just waiting, and Rocky found their lack of movement weird. And when leaving, he thinks "Did I see what I think I saw?" But that is just my thought, knowing what the twist is.
14th Jul 2023
The Suicide Squad (2021)
Question: Why aren't Katana, Deadshot, and Killer Croc in this?
Answer: It's a combination of various reasons. Will Smith wasn't available to reprise his Deadshot role, so there was a shift in the story. King Shark was intended to be in the first film, but the CGI was too extensive, so they went with Killer Croc. In this film, they took the opportunity to bring in King Shark as the "monster" character. But, this film isn't really a sequel or reboot. Basically, this is a new storyline with new characters, and many of the previous characters are just not in the film, with no exposition on what happened to them, and they may not even be part of this film's "universe." The fact that some of the actors play the same character in both films only serves to muddle the concept of this film not really being a part of the previous film's continuity.
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Answer: As Doc explained, they'd be traveling to an alternate future. A future where old Biff already has the almanac, and thus, the alternate old Biff wouldn't have a need to steal the DeLorean to give his younger self the almanac. (I believe there've been discussions on here about why did old Biff then return to the same future Doc and Marty were in instead of the alternate future, and it's implied he basically fades out of existence.)
Bishop73