Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

Question: Does the word 'Ahab' mean anything?

Answer: Captain Ahab is the main character in the book "Moby Dick" where he's obsessed at finding the white whale that bit his leg off.

Bishop73

So are there any similarities between the 'Ahab' rocket's mission and the Moby Dick Ahab character other than the shared name?

It doesn't seem so, but often times "Ahab" is used to describe someone vigilantly set about completing a task, or in this case an object (although it's usually said without regards to how everything ended for Ahab).

Bishop73

Answer: In Hebrew, "Ahab" means "uncle" or "my father's brother." In the bible, Ahab was an idol-worshiping ruler in the "Book of Kings." In literature, Ahab was the revenge-obsessed captain in Moby Dick whose sole purpose was to kill the white whale. The Ahab drone had a singular target like Captain Ahab, so that might be the inspiration for it being called that.

raywest

Question: During the song "Some Things Never Change", Elsa was making things with her magic for the kids. A boy was given an ice bear doll and the next little girl whispered to Elsa who made some kind of tool made of ice for her. What was that?

Bunch Son

Chosen answer: It's called a "sextant." It's a celestial navigation tool used by sailors.

Bishop73

Show generally

Question: How can they fit inside those balls and why do they fight each other? Why listen to those who captured them? Why doesn't Pikachu ever evolve?

Rob245

Answer: To answer the first question, the ball is actually a gateway. They are not exactly inside the ball, but more like it opens up a sort of pocket dimension and kinda stores the creatures as data. In some cases, the balls even teleport the pokemon to the professor. For the second question, it's unclear exactly but there is a lot of "training" that goes into it. And I can't exactly answer the last question other than to say Pikachu doesn't want to. Several times in the series Ash even tries to get him to evolve, but Pikachu refuses. Resulting in over time he's actually a very above average power Pikachu.

Quantom X

It's not any kind of gateway or pocket dimension. When captured by a Pokeball, Pokemon are converted into a form of energy for storage and transfer.

LorgSkyegon

Must be getting my animes mixed up then, lol.

Quantom X

Question: Realistically what would happen when Cheryl cashed that check?

Answer: What happened in real life was the bank informed her a few days later that the check was counterfeit, and she called the local sheriff who called in the FBI agents investigating the case. It was part of his capture, as before her they were looking for someone considerably older.

LorgSkyegon

Answer: Start to end Malcolm: 11 - 17 Francis: 16 - 23 Reese: 13 - 19 Dewey: 7 - 13.

Answer: There's no explanation. He may not have completely adjusted to living there or gotten around to getting new clothing. He was also still a member of Star Fleet and would wear his uniform until he formally resigned. TV shows back then were cheaply made and rather lax about details like that. They may simply have deemed it unnecessary to change McCoy's costume. It could also be interpreted as foreshadowing that he would return to Star Fleet. Also, in all the Star Trek series, miscellaneous characters would often wear only one outfit, even though the story may take place over many days. In the early days of TNG, Counselor Troi wore the same outfit in nearly every episode until she started wearing a uniform later in the series. The practical logistical reason for a character wearing one costume is that it maintains continuity for the post-production editing process.

raywest

Answer: Another part of why the change was that it's cold in Canada in the winter and the old costume didn't protect her from it, whereas the new one is nice and warm.

Answer: I can't say for certain, so I'm surmising that the change was to "catch up" with the other Arrowverse shows, particularly Arrow and The Flash, whose lead characters have undergone various upgrades and redesigns of their superhero suits over the years; after four seasons, Kara's probably just felt a little stale. And I believe the change in hairstyle was Melissa Benoist's personal decision and had nothing to do with the character.

Cubs Fan

Answer: I think it's the Boston take on conning someone. Like if someone believes a story someone tells them like if they're in New York then the teller wants to sell the person the Brooklyn Bridge. Basically Carla sees Diane's gullible here and would like to con her for money.

Rob245

Question: In the first half of the movie, the problem that needs to be solved is where the known route starts. Indy finds out when he finds the second, complete shield in Venice and deciphers it later. When exactly do the Nazis find out? He has told Marcus Brody, but not Elsa, because he does not fully trust her. The Nazis find the diary, but not the rubbing. They don't "extract" the information from the Joneses when they are captured in Austria, at which time Indy confidently states that Marcus has a two day head start (unless the Nazis know something that Indy doesn't). But they are already waiting for him in Iskenderun when he arrives. (No indication is ever given that Marcus is being followed in Venice; at any rate, no-one pays much attention to him, because all eyes are on Indy.) When and how do the Nazis discover where to go?

Spiny Norman

Answer: There is one theory to answer my own question. It could be that the room where Jones Sr. Is kept is "wired" (seen and mentioned), and Indy is saying out loud that the mystery city is in fact Alexandretta. Only, he KNOWS that it's wired. So that would be spectacularly stupid after all the safety precautions he took.

Spiny Norman

Answer: They don't know Alexandretta is the city when they set out to capture Brody; he travels to Iskenderun (modern Alexandretta) himself, and the Nazis capture him there. They probably sent his description, and orders to capture him, to all their agents in Hatay (whose leader is sympathetic); as we see, Brody is very easy to spot, and naïve enough to be captured with relative ease (he also contacts Sallah in advance of going there, leaving a further trail). At that point, it's not difficult for them to deduce that the starting point on the map is the city that Brody has traveled to.

No, I'm sorry, but that second reply makes very little sense. Sure we can speculate that his phone call to Sallah was tapped. But speculation is not good enough. And there's no indication at all that Brody was being followed. In fact he's all but ignored. The idea that at every train station there would be nazi agents waiting is a bit impractical. Hatay is perhaps small enough to do that, but then we're just renaming the problem: how did the nazis know to go there, and not Syria, or Palestine, or Istanbul, or any other place once visited by crusaders? They can't watch out for every scholarly type in every train station in the entire Middle East.

Spiny Norman

Answer: There are several possibilities. Indy started trusting Elsa after their escape in Venice when he revealed the grail diary to her. He sent Marcus off to Iskenderun after, while he and Elsa rescued his father in the castle. It's possible Elsa asked him before they left Venice or on the way to the castle where Marcus was going and Indy revealed it. She could have slipped away when they stopped somewhere and called her superiors. The other possibility is Indy or Marcus called Donovan and let him know about their progress. Marcus could have told Donovan where he was headed.

Most of that is conjecture or speculation, though. I simply mean that we don't see or hear that happening. I've thought over my original question, and the only provable point is some extreme stupidity on the part of Indiana Jones himself. If he hadn't mentioned the town while he was in his dad's room (that he KNEW was 'bugged'), they wouldn't have known.

Spiny Norman

Answer: They capture Max Brody with the map shortly after they capture the Jones'. They learned through him.

lionhead

And WHERE do they capture him...? Right. So that's not it.

Spiny Norman

When wandering around Egypt alone with the map, Brody meets up with Sallah who tries to prevent him from being captured. He fails by accidentally leading him into a nazi controlled truck that takes him away and into the hands of Donovan. They have the map then.

lionhead

Brody is not "wondering around Egypt." We explicitly hear Indy instruct Salah and him to meet in Iskenderun before he left for Austria and that is where Brody descends from the train station. Or am I to believe, again, that the nazis have camouflaged truck traps in every town in the entire Middle East, just in case? No, they intercept Brody because they know where he's going to be. (Iskenderun, by the way, is nowhere near Egypt, it's not even on the same continent. I suggest you re-watch the relevant bit of the movie first).

Spiny Norman

Answer: He was probably irrelevant to the plot so he was not included.

Then why would Homer bring it to our attention that Bart is absent?

Ssiscool

It's called lampshade hanging. By drawing our attention to it the producers are letting us know they are aware it is an issue.

Yes, but even when the family is having dinner together, he's not there.

Brian Katcher

Question: Where was Truly was going prior to going in the duck pond the first two times? She changes her plans easily.

Answer: It seems those times were occasions when she was on her way to see her father, Lord Scrumptious, at his candy factory, or wherever he may be (like at the Potts' wargaming with Grandpa).

Scott215

Arena - S1-E19

Question: Why does Kirk order Sulu to warp out of orbit? If Enterprise is not damaged, they can stay and wait, surely?

Answer: Kirk is not taking any chances with the safety of his ship and crew, and neither the Humans or the Gorns had any idea the power of the alien making them fight possessed, so warping the ship out of possible danger would be a prudent (and logical) move.

Scott215

Question: Why did Alison give Max his phone number back?

Answer: It was her way of saying "No" to any future invites from Max. Also, she wanted the turndown to send a message to Max that it was final, and that way was to return the phone number.

Scott215

Thank you.

Question: Near the end, when Scrooge is in the toy shop buying lots of toys, the shopkeeper has a shocked look on his face throughout, especially at the bit where Scrooge asks how much all the things are all together. Is it shock because Scrooge is suddenly nice, shock because Scrooge is buying up most of the shop and he's got to add it all up in his head quick, or both?

Answer: Most likely because he's buying the shop's entire inventory. That would be shocking enough to explain his reaction.

Question: Was it a coincidence that Professor Plum's informant showed up to the mansion? Or was she lured there? This is never explained.

Answer: It is explained in the "real" ending. Wadsworth explains that he's eliminating his network of informants. Everyone killed was invited/lured to the house intentionally.

Answer: She did remember him and what had happened.

raywest

Answer: It appears that he was.

raywest

Answer: Yes.

Shipper

Answer: Shes had it on her all year. And better to have it in case she needs it and to stop people finding it by accident if left in her dorm.

Ssiscool

Answer: In the book, Hermione had to receive special permission from the Ministry of Magic to use the Time Turner and then had to abide by strict rules on how and when to use it and to keep its use a secret. As noted in the other answer, she would keep the Turner with her at all times to prevent it from being found and misused by other students (like the Weasley twins). For the purpose of the movie, Hermione is more prominently shown wearing it which is meant to be a clue to the audience about its existence and purpose.

raywest

Question: When Elliot grabs Gertie's doll and tosses it to Mike, he says, "Do it, Mike. We have to." What does Mike start doing with the doll that brings Gertie to tears?

Answer: It sounds like they're fake-threatening to damage the doll, like pulling its head off, or something to that effect. Naturally, Gertie would be upset.

raywest

Question: When Dorothy picked an apple off a tree, she was reproved by the tree himself. And the Scarecrow says, "It's just that she doesn't like little green worms." What does he mean by that?

Bunch Son

Chosen answer: He's insulting the tree by saying its apples are infested with worms.

Phaneron

Answer: He's tricking the tree by insulting it so that it will become angry and retaliate by throwing the apples at them, which it does, and Dorothy can then eat them, which was the intent all along.

raywest

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