Question: After Clarice and Jack both find out that Jame Gumb is really Buffalo Bill, Jack tells Clarice that they want him for kidnapping, not murder. Shouldn't the F.B.I. want him for the murder of numerous women besides the kidnapping of Catherine Martin?
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: Where does Kimble's money come from? We only see him get whatever pocket money Nichols had on him at the time, but the next thing we see, he's renting an apartment and living his life and starting his investigation. Is the assumption that the wealthy doctor had a stash of cash at home or something?
Answer: The assumption is actually that Nichols gave him quite a bit of money. When asked about how much money he gave Kimble, Nichols downplays the amount as just "pocket change, whatever I had on me" but in reality it was probably a few hundred dollars. Renting the room was probably only a few dollars a day, it was in an un-finished basement in a bad neighborhood. He also didn't live there for very long.
Question: When Eddie takes a face full of projectile sludge from the leper, is there any significance to the song "Angel of the Morning" playing, or was it just a random attempt at a joke?
Answer: I think it's more of an attempt at a silly joke, juxtaposing the insane imagery with a tender song. But I've also seen the suggestion that it was an Easter Egg/reference to the book "The Langoliers," in which the song is mentioned. (And given the "It" films have some general Stephen King Easter Eggs referencing things from his other books, that makes sense).
Question: Why does Ralphie's father win a weird lamp instead of money and why is his mother jealous of it? Why not tell him how she feels about it? He might've listened.
Answer: The weird lamp was the prize, there was no cash prize. Just the hideous lamp. The mother is not jealous of the lamp at all, it is tacky and ugly and she doesn't want it displayed in her home. The dad only says she is jealous because he is being defensive and argumentative after the lamp is broken. The dad was very proud of his prize so telling him how she felt about it would hurt his feelings. Whether or not she intentionally broke the lamp is a mystery.
Question: Considering Patchy the Pirate made a special guest appearance and he once met SpongeBob personally, would this mean that "Big Time Rush" is canon to the cartoon?
Question: Why does the Doctor not generally travel with children? I mean 5 had Adric, and 11 was going to take Amy with him when she was just 7. Is there an in-show reason or is it because of how the show is made e.g. filming on location, maybe long hours shooting etc?
Answer: He doesn't, some may have been young, a few teenagers, but he's never taken anyone under 15 years of age.
Question: What was with the ending? He melts down to a regular looking boy when in the original he was shown as deformed. I hate this ending, consider it the weakest and worst of the franchise.
Answer: The side effects of being washed away with toxic waste?
Question: Why didn't they immediately send Padme to Naboo when they knew she was in danger from the assassins instead of waiting until the next day and sending Anakin and Obi-Wan to watch over her for that one night Coruscant?
Answer: They were going out undercover on civilian transport (like a Greyhound bus). Apparently the next ship wasn't scheduled to leave until the next day.
As a follow up, Padme wanted to stay in Coruscant to participate in the vote. She only left after the second attempt on her life and the Jedi decided to launch an investigation, ordering Anakin to take her to Naboo and keep her safe.
Valentine's Day / The Paper - S1-E16
Question: I wasn't the one who originally thought about this, but in "The Paper," why didn't Squidward just get another piece of wrapped gum and keep the wrapper of it or buy another one and keep its paper instead of trading SpongeBob everything he owned for the one he promised he could keep? Also, how could SpongeBob make the paper do everything he was able to make it to but Squidward couldn't?
Answer: Because it's a Spongebob cartoon. Nothing makes logical sense.
Question: Something I've always wondered: I haven't quite read all of the comics, so this may be addressed in them given they are considered canonical, but is Patience ever mentioned again? I kind of always assumed she was likely killed by the Reavers since they were still near the planet surface at the end of the episode, but obviously that was never confirmed.
Question: Henry VIII was over 300 pounds through much of his reign. Why was Jonathan Rhys Myers not padded more realistically to portray him?
Answer: While he was obese for much of his life, Henry VIII didn't gain significant weight until after the death of Jane Seymour when he fell into a deep depression and succumbed to the pain of a leg injury he obtained from a jousting accident. He should've been heavier but he wasn't obese for his whole life, especially during his younger years. He was known to be 210 pounds, standing at 6'2", and to have a 32" inch waist for much of his life.
Answer: Although the series claimed to be historically accurate, there were many factual discrepancies throughout, including the extent of Henry's physical health and morbid obesity. As to why this was changed, the creators apparently felt they could better dramatize the story with a more physically fit and mobile Henry. In the real Henry VIII's later years, he was so incapacitated by weight and other maladies, that he literally had to be carried around by attendants.
Question: Did humans at any point on the show ever reverse engineer any of the alien technology?
Question: The Lima produces surges that disrupt electronics. Why isn't the Lima affected?
Question: Why did Cmdr. Gifford (John Wayne) give Ens.Caldwell a bad look when he said it was the first time he had seen a sub knocked off?
The One With The Dirty Girl - S4-E6
Question: Monica: "I can cook and you can take care of the money." Phoebe: "Oh! It will be like I have a wife in the 50's!" What did Phoebe mean? (00:18:50)
Answer: Exactly as she said - in the 50s it was near-universal for husbands to work and be the sole breadwinner/handle finances, while their wives stayed home and managed the house, including cooking.
Question: Why send only one enforcer? Hera surely know what he can do so why not send a dozen to be sure? She can't have been that arrogant.
Answer: It's a matter of plot. Having multiple characters who basically would have the same purpose, to kill Hercules, complicates and confuses the story line. It would lose the focus on the characters themselves and the interaction between them. In film and literaturea, characters, plots, scenes, etc. have to be crafted in a way that serves the story in an understandable and satisfying way for the viewer.
Question: Why doesn't Ralphie's father realise he's the one who unintentionally taught his son how to cuss, much less buy his lame excuse?
Answer: Because it's a funny look at real life. It's common for parents to cuss around their children, then be shocked when the kids start using the language themselves.
Exactly right. My parents cussed quite a bit when I was a child, but the first time I ever swore in front of my mother, she thought I learned it from watching The Real World with my sister.
True. I'd forgotten I learned how to cuss from my folks.
Answer: I think he did know. When he tells Ralphie to get in the car after saying the bad word, he kinda laughs to himself. It's only after Mom razzes him about taking too long to change the tire that he decides to share that Ralphie swore.
Question: How can Jason go into the lake in Parts 6 and 7 if he's afraid of water due to drowning? He'd freeze up from the sight right?
Answer: Jason being afraid of water is not portrayed consistently throughout the series. Continuity between sequels was not a major concern when making this series.
Answer: I think that Jason is actually afraid of unpredictable situations with water. He is familiar with Crystal Lake after living in the forest for so long. He might be less hesitant to enter this lake sometimes.
Question: When the Joneses crash land the plane they stole from the zeppelin and steal that guy's car, where are they? Turkey? Hatay?
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: You're misunderstanding what Jack means. He means they want to arrest him before he kills the girl he's holding in the pit. Of course he'll eventually be charged with the other murders, but they don't want to tip him off and take the chance that he kills this girl.