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: There is a running theory that Becky actually did not survive, and that her father was imagining reuniting with her was actually his brain reacting to him seeing her body, whether or not first responders were on scene. So, if Becky actually was rescued, how could the helicopter have gotten close enough to reach her without the satellite collapsing due to the helicopter's downwash or the propellers hitting the tower itself?

Answer: There's no indication that the ending is anything but real; the other twist in the film is heavily foreshadowed through dialogue, camera framing, and so on, none of which applies to the ending. A helicopter could have hovered above the tower and lowered a rescue basket/rope to Becky, as she's less than 100 feet from the very top. Given that the tower was probably constructed using a helicopter to position the final pieces of the structure (a common practice for communications towers of this height), there's no reason why it couldn't have held up. The tower itself is never shown to be weakened or compromised, only the ladder affixed to the outside.

Question: What's the music playing at the end of the basketball game when the Medfield Squirrels win?

Answer: "Get Down Tonight," originally released by KC and the Sunshine Band.

raywest

Answer: I've searched the Internet for any Star Wars references in this movie, and I didn't see anything listed. If there is something, fans usually spot and post things pretty quickly on different websites. There may well be some SW references that are so well hidden, that no-one's spotted them yet. I'd love to know if there is something. If I ever find anything, I'll update this, or hopefully someone else will spot something and post it.

raywest

Question: When Sue Ellen is shown heading to work, wouldn't she be headed into the city, since Kenny says they live in "the boonies"? But she is shown leaving the city, envying the group of teens in the car next to her, who appear to be headed to the beach (also leaving the city).

Answer: People in LA commute in all sorts of directions for work. And the freeway you see is the 405 in West LA (not the "city" - or Downtown where she worked). This freeway would not even be her direct route anyway. All just made up in the film.

Question: When Riley and Cole miss the hit on Hooker, and it's given to Salino, Cole's still looking. Wouldn't he see Hooker with Shaw?

Answer: If he did, it likely wouldn't matter. Neither he nor Salino know about the main plot, they're just on an assignment to kill the grifter who worked with Luther. Even if they saw Hooker with Gondorff, they'd have no reason to suspect anything or to report it to Lonnegan or anyone else; they're only interested in the hit.

Thanks – makes sense.

Chirp - S2-E7

Question: I tried looking for the title of the children's book mentioned in this episode (something about a big day for biscuit), but couldn't find it. Was it made up by the episode's writers or does it actually exist?

Answer: I'm not sure if it helps, but there's a children's book series about Biscuit, the little yellow puppy by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. They're books mostly for 3-6 year olds. There's a lot of books in the series and I'm not sure if there's one about a "big day", but it may have been said in the text of the book and not the title. There is a book called "Biscuit and the Great Fall Day." So maybe the line was flubbed or it was written by someone familiar with the Biscuit books and just assumed there must be one about a big day.

Bishop73

Answer: Yes and no. After the body dies, it loses about 1.5°C per hour until it reaches ambient temperature (i.e. the temperature where the body is found). But there are factors affecting the rate of loss, and one has to assume a starting temperature of 98.6°F. In this case, after factoring in the time from when the police were called to when the body temperature was checked, it would have been determined some time had passed, just not a lot, before Beth saw Moira standing over Megan. Really, what they were saying is Moira's story is believable: that she found her sister dead and picked up the hammer right as the garage door opened.

Bishop73

Question: How did the guy know Maddie couldn't access the neighbors' WiFi and call for help? Yes, it was password protected, but there was no way he could've known she didn't know the password. If I go round my friends, I have their WiFi password. If they come round mine, they have mine. It would make sense that at some point in time, the two neighbors would've shared their details with each other.

Answer: It was probably an assumption. I doubt most people know their neighbour's WiFi password. I don't know any of my neighbours' passwords, regardless of how well acquainted we are. That's different from friends who are visiting from some distance away from their home WiFi signal. Even if a neighbour is in your house with their own electronic device, they would still be close enough to their own Internet service to get a signal.

raywest

Show generally

Question: I vaguely remember one or two promo ads for this show, which quoted reviews by critics, basically saying that it was better than "The Simpsons" and a refreshing change. However, many sitcoms have come and gone throughout the run of "The Simpsons." Is there some reason why this particular show was being promoted as an alternative?

Answer: I wouldn't read into it too much. It's not uncommon for a few critics to really love a particular film or TV show and compare it to other works in their reviews. ("It's better than XXX!" or "The best show/movie of its genre since XXX!") And since it makes for a great piece of promotion, a lot of times commercials will use these quotes in advertisements as a way to get publicity. Again, something that happens all the time. I've seen plenty of commercials for different films, TV shows, video games, etc. like the one you're describing.

TedStixon

Answer: It's an obvious and typical advertising ploy designed to catch people's attention and entice them to tune into the show and see if reviewers' claims are true. New shows need good ratings early on to avoid cancellation.

raywest

Question: Why did Desmond's father show up to the hearing in his Great War uniform instead of a suit and tie?

Answer: Likely an act to support his son by showing his solidarity, patriotism, and his own war service. It also makes a visual statement to the audience about a father standing by his son.

raywest

Question: By what means did the pirates intend to escape from the ship when they originally boarded it, and before they were told about the lifeboat?

Paulspurs

Answer: They intended to sail the ship to Somalia, where they would hold the ship, cargo, and the crew for ransom. The crew managed to power down the ship, rendering it inoperative. This meant their only option was to use the lifeboat.

Question: When the bus enters the airport and drives over the spike strip, the tyres should have been shredded. Why did the bus not lose speed and therefore blow up?

DEvans

Answer: Also, when the bus runs over the spikes, the camera is more close-up on it, and possibly some of the tires may have just missed hitting the spikes out of view of the camera. So, that would keep it speeding OK with just SOME of the tires shredded (but not all).

Answer: You wouldn't necessarily lose speed just because you've got a deflating tyre. It would become harder to control as the tyre deflated, but with an engine that can produce a lot of torque, there is no reason why it should slow down much, if at all. Also, as a heavy vehicle, it featured dual tyres on the rear which would've aided the drivability of the bus.

Answer: To add to the other answers, larger trucks and buses use different types of tires. Regular cars and light trucks usually have tires lined with two steel belts. Heavier vehicles use tires with four steel belts, making them more durable.

raywest

Answer: Spike strips are designed to deflate a tyre over a short time, not instantly, so as to avoid a blowout and possible accident. The tyres are going down over time as they should. That's why Jack has to tie the steering wheel in place, as it's harder to control the bus with the tyre shredding.

Ssiscool

Question: Why didn't the Japanese just cut the rope net off the cliff side to prevent the Americans from climbing up and attacking? Common sense would have been to inhibit their advance any way they could.

Answer: I'd classify it as a deliberate mistake or choice on the moviemakers' part. It fit the plot to have it play out that way and have the Japanese being attacked.

raywest

A deliberate mistake is something like using an 8-month-old baby as a newborn, something done intentionally for filming purposes. Writing in a plot contrivance isn't a deliberate mistake. At best, it could be considered a character mistake if it's something a real person would do in the character's position or a stupidity, a stupid act by a character for the sake of the plot.

Bishop73

I have seen so many movies and TV shows where some contrived plot device is thrown in solely to make the story work, even though it makes little sense in a real-world context. If you're going to make an issue about it, you can call it whatever you want.

raywest

It was a plot mechanic. Unfortunately, resulting in a massive, obvious plot hole.

Question: Apart from the chaotic evacuation at the pier, why does everyone in the city seem to be walking and driving like nothing is happening when they are in the middle of Ground Zero of a catastrophic viral outbreak?

Answer: Not everyone understands that the infection is airborne yet. People are mostly not fully aware of the dangers just yet, it seems. Even the dark seekers are uncommon at this time.

A Devil of My Word - S3-E24

Question: What is the red stuff on Lucifer's wings? I first thought it was Chloe's blood, but there was too much and she wasn't bleeding anyway. Lucifer had his wings out to stop the bullets, so he wasn't hit. So, what was on his wings?

The_Iceman

Answer: It's Lucifer's blood from when his wings got hit by the bullets. As Lucifer spreads his wings, they're white, and before he wraps them around Chloe, you see a bullet hit his wing above his right shoulder, and the spot turns red. After that, he continues to get shot in the wings before fleeing.

Bishop73

Agreed. His wings take damage and "bleed" similar to how he bleeds when Decker is around.

Ssiscool

Question: When the girls got stuck at the top of the tower on the first night, why didn't they think to climb to the very top to screw and unscrew the light bulb back and forth in an SOS pattern at alternate speeds? That surely would have been seen as out of place, and the SOS is universally known as a distress signal that would have alerted motorists and people on the ground. No doubt that would have been strenuous to perform, but at least they would have been trying everything to get help.

Answer: Most likely, that never occurred to them, or they had no idea about how to do that. Not to mention, it would be extremely dangerous, physically difficult, with no guarantee it would be successful.

raywest

Answer: To add to the other answer, while "SOS" as a distress signal is widely known, the Morse code equivalent (... - - -...) is not. So, unless they were educated in such signals, anyone seeing it probably wouldn't interpret it as a deliberate call for help...even law enforcement in this day and age couldn't be guaranteed to understand it correctly.

Question: While Hicks and Vasquez are sealing the door during the attack, you get a good look at the magazine on Hudson's rifle while he is using the motion tracker. On the bottom of the magazine a large letter "D" is visible. Does anyone have any idea why that letter is there? Is this a prop designation?

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: The prop designation theory is probably right. It could stand for "Dummy" rounds. We can only speculate about future military conventions and best practices, but it's not likely that a magazine would be marked in such a manner because the ammunition it contained could be easily changed depending on the mission requirements. In our time, the ammunition itself is color coded so that it can be identified at a glance.

Question: How was membership passed down for the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies? How was the torch passed from the members in the first Grease to the eventual members in Grease 2?

Answer: It's never explained in the films how membership is gained, but from the tight bond between its members, we can assume they're friends prior to joining. So maybe it's just that - a group of friends who take up the mantle.

Good theory, but we know through dialogue at the bowling alley that there is a code to follow for both the T-Birds and Pink Ladies, so there must be initiation requirements.

Question: Why did Jim, Kim, and the others want Edward to wear a hat and jacket for the fake burglary? His "hands" are not covered, so if he stepped into any light, his disguise would be pointless.

Answer: Because the rest of them wore disguises, I think they wanted him to feel "included" in their group so he would continue to help with the fake burglary.

Question: How does Ted have so much time on his hands when he is a solo dad? He is able to attend his son's karate class, no problem. He has the time to shop for his son and make Howard look like a bad father. Also, he lives in a rather nice house, something that wouldn't be affordable if you were just working part-time, so Ted probably works full time. Howard, on the other hand, looks to be working hard to get ahead in life. He has the support of his wife, who also appears to be a stay-at-home mum.

Blair Howden

Answer: Since it's never explained in the film, everything would be speculation. There's a number of things Ted could do to have the type of lifestyle seen in the film. For example, he could be getting child support from his ex-wife if he has primary custody. He could even be getting alimony from his ex-wife. Ted could also be earning passive income (e.g. rental property or other types of investments). It also seem Howard is working a lot of overtime where Ted may have a regular full time job, but has hours set that make it look like he has a lot more free time.

Bishop73

Answer: As Bishop73 basically said, people have different circumstances and situations. It doesn't make sense to say that one single parent should, or should not, be able to do something, judging by the life of another single parent. Life happens to everyone differently. My husband and his five siblings had a single mother. She still attended some school events, worked part-time or temporary jobs, went shopping, and went on dates.

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