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: Why would the Skynet base where Connor obtains intelligence in the beginning have human friendly computers - i.e., computers with keyboards? Skynet does not need to type and look at a monitor, but can just communicate computer to computer.

Answer: It cannot be ruled out that there might be a human element to Skynet. This is hinted towards the end of the movie where Kyle notices human like figures in a window overlooking the collection of captives at the Skynet camp. We may learn more in the following Terminator movies (if they are made).

XIII

Question: After killing "Wild Bill," Percy is lying on the ground "puking" out Melinda's brain tumor that John Coffey placed into him. While Percy's spitting that out, one of the guards keeps yelling "Oh no!" I see nobody's lips moving to say that, so is that an audio error, or was the person not on the screen? Anyway, it really bothers me, but who was it who yells that?

Tricky

Chosen answer: The camera is only on three individual people (Paul, Percy and the dead Wild Bill) when you hear Dean saying "Oh no, oh no."

MovieFan612

Question: What does Loki mean when he says that he's "heard a rant like this before"? What rant?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: He's saying that Lucifer made a speech much like this one, questioning God's judgement, before starting the war in Paradise.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: Was Col. Frank Fitts really gay, or was he just testing Lester to see if he was gay? Also if he was gay, then how come he was so disgusted by it earlier in the film?

Answer: Frank was gay. As to why he was disgusted by it, he had probably been in complete denial about his true nature for years. Many gay people are torn over their sexual orientation. Adhering to a strict macho military image may have helped Frank mask his true feelings, and he probably considered gay people as being weak and loathsome, while denying he was one. When he acknowledged his own homosexuality, he, in effect, despised himself and considered his life a failure.

raywest

Question: Why did Vader stop Luke when he tried to strike at the Emperor with his lightsaber? I know he said earlier that he has to obey his master, but he keeps encouraging Luke to give in to the dark side. If he hadn't stopped Luke, Luke could have given in to his anger and killed the Emperor, and also rid Vader of the Emperor at the same time.

Answer: Because the Emperor probably wouldn't leave himself so open to attack without a trick up his sleeve (a personal shield, perhaps), and if Luke failed in this direct assault, as Vader is expecting him to do, he would have had to explain why he didn't do anything to defend the Emperor and would have been executed himself.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: It was still too early. While Luke was upset that the Rebels appeared to be losing, he was still relatively calm, and his attempt to strike the Emperor right then was still a rational choice made out of pragmatism, to bring him to justice. They need him to act on pure hatred so he can behold "the power" of the dark side, which they expect to be completely irresistible.

TonyPH

Death Has a Shadow - S1-E1

Question: Near the beginning of the show, when Peter catches Meg touching the thermostat and a couple of neighbors show up, why does one of the neighbors ask if his kid is there?

Answer: Peter said all fathers know when the thermostat is turned up, which is why all the neighbouring fathers arrived. The one just wants to know if it's his kid that touched it.

Xofer

Question: In "The Flesh Failures," they sing "life is around you and in you, except for Timothy Leary, deary". What does this mean?

Tingeling

Chosen answer: The word is "answer" not "except". "Life is around you and in you ... let the sunshine in" is an answer to Timothy Leary - probably to his "turn on, tune in, drop out".

Myridon

Chosen answer: The human body generates heat and a small degree of electricity. EKG and EEG machines for instance measure the electric activity in the heart and brain. It is thought that the energy generated by the human body could be harnessed to create power, obviously The Matrix is an evolution of that idea.

GalahadFairlight

Question: Was it on purpose that Strawberry Fields' death look similar to the one in Goldfinger?

Answer: Yes, they filmed it as a reference to Goldfinger.

Ssiscool

Answer: He doesn't have to, but he wants to. His adventures have left considerable scars on him, both physically and mentally. He could stay in the Shire, but he'd continue to suffer for the rest of his life. By going into the West with Gandalf and the Elves, he'll be able to live out his days peacefully, free from pain.

Tailkinker

Question: During the Battle of Hoth, why do the AT-AT Walkers have to land so far away? Couldn't a big ship just come right down close and destroy the base?

taylordan90

Chosen answer: They specifically had to come in under the deflector shield and destroy the generator before any ships could come in. That's why Vader doesn't show up until after the generator is taken out.

Garlonuss

Chosen answer: Because he's an idiot. From the story point of view, they needed the vault to actually be physically open so that the release of the virus would be a credible threat. Unfortunately, this required that Peter conveniently forget that he could simply walk through The Wall and use his telekinesis to tear the door open instead. Peter's increasingly large arsenal of abilities, where he ended up having pretty much any ability required for any situation, led to a situation where it became necessary to either have Peter apparently forget that he had a given power, as with the vault door scene, or become naively trusting, as with his refusal to scan Adam's mind to confirm his good intent. This problem, which simply made Peter look increasingly dumb as the show progressed, may well have been a key factor in the decision to severely reduce his ability during season three.

Tailkinker

Only The Good... - S8-E8

Question: If this wasn't supposed to be the last episode, was there any plan on how to explain Red Dwarf's survival, or were they just going to ignore the problem, like they do in "Back to Earth"?

Answer: The original idea was that they would do a feature film which would cover subsequent events, but, despite numerous attempts, they were never able to get it off the ground. By the time Back to Earth aired, years later, it was presumably decided that enough time had passed that it was no longer necessary to address the issue and instead focus on telling an entirely new story.

Tailkinker

Question: Why do all the members of Project Mayhem chant Bob's name after "Jack" says he has a name?

Satine

Chosen answer: Because they interpret what he's saying as Bob being elevated to a place of honor. Since none of them have names and now Bob has one, he must be special.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: Why did the T800 near the end destroy the 600 that was experimenting on Reese? It just seemed to be a bit out of "character" for the Terminator to unnecessarily kill one of its own kind.

Answer: Because the T-600's targeting system was damaged by Kyle shoving that steel rebar into its neck, and the T-600 was out of control just shooting anywhere and everywhere, presenting a danger to the T-800.

GalahadFairlight

Question: Is it important for the storyline of the movie that Emily (Gwyneth Paltrow) can understand the policeman, when he is speaking Arabic to his wife on the phone?

Answer: Not really. She being a linguist and able to speak the detective's language seems to create a bond of trust and understanding between them.

raywest

Chosen answer: Because he is indoors and the sunlight is not directly shining on him.

raywest

Question: In the first movie there was a song that played every time the creature was about to attack. Does anyone know why the filmmakers decided not to play that song in the second movie?

Answer: It could be any number of things. The artist in question could have refused to allow them to use the song. In The Fast And The Furious, they had the name "NOS" on the nitrous. But in all other films in the series it is known as "N2O" as NOS didn't want it in the films anymore.

Ssiscool

Answer: The song "Jeepers Creepers" was only relevant to the first movie, and not the second, because it foreshadowed the ending. The song didn't have anything to do with the creature about to strike, it had to do with a vision the resident psychic Jezelle (who only appears in the first film) saw involving the song, a vision that eventually came true. The song was a subtle hint about Darry's fate, which is why it played several times.

Question: Why is there another flight of stairs going up from the Fat Lady's portrait when there are only supposed to be 7 floors on the Grand Staircase? There's also another flight of stairs going up higher in the background (behind Harry and the others) when the Fat Lady won't allow the students in until she's broken the glass with her voice. Is there an 8th floor we're not hearing about?

Answer: We are constantly told that the staircases move by themselves and often lead no-where. It is very easy to assume that these stairs are ones that go no-where.

Ssiscool

Question: I'm not sure about this, but didn't Grim's tires get blown out? If so, right after the next scene, where 14K hits Grim's car, the tires appear intact. It also looked new despite getting blown by a missile.

soptter

Chosen answer: Yes the tires do appear to be shot out so that would make it a mistake.

Ssiscool

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