Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Thomas knew about being tagged. Why didn't he (and the others) have it removed earlier? It didn't appear to be that delicate or complicated a procedure to have it removed. Am I missing something?

Answer: They were too busy to have it removed.

Bunch Son

Answer: She wanted to use them to discourage Lisa from playing hockey and probably felt ashamed/embarrassed for keeping them when Milhouse asked if she had them.

Phaneron

Question: Spence reveals at the end that he stole the T-virus and got onto the train where he was knocked unconscious due to the red queen's defences. How did the train return to the mansion by itself without a loco pilot - its power and plugs go off automatically. Was there any other train from mansion to the hive? How did Spence reach the mansion anyway without driving, as he was unconscious at the hive when the red queen released halon gas?

Answer: It's possible the USS unit brought the train up to the mansion even before they entered it or shortly after. They needed it to get down to the hive.

lionhead

I don't know if the USS team brought the train back because they break through to enter the mansion once they got the news of the red queen going homicidal. Even if the train reaches the mansion automatically, there is no explanation why the power goes off or the train switches get unplugged. It shows that the train was in the mansion from the beginning. When Rain (Michelle Rodriguez) gets down to start the engine's power, she hears some weird noises as she flashes her torch light to some broken grid. That is left unexplained.

But that doesn't explain the sockets being undone under the carriage, Or how Spence ended up in essentially, a closet.

Ssiscool

It's possible he got on the train and got up to the mansion but then the security system kicked in, locking him inside the train and he tried to open the doors by disconnecting the power. Then the gas hit and he tried to hide from it by climbing in a closet, then succumbed.

lionhead

Question: There is something I don't get about the bad guys. Why would they kidnap a teenage boy?

Answer: If you're talking about why they kidnapped Zack, Zack is the younger brother of Jake. Jake still owed Johnny money, but when Johnny and his gang go look for Jake, they can't find him. They see Zack and kidnap him, essentially for ransom, until Jake fully pays Johnny back.

Bishop73

It's also important to remember that this is a film based on true events, the kidnapping and murder of Nicolas Markowitz. All the names in the film have been changed.

Why did they murder Nick?

Although this should be posted as a different question, in real life, Jesse (the one Nick's brother owed money to) had decided to let Nick go home. However, Jesse found out what kind of legal consequences he'd face for kidnapping Nick and decided to have Nick killed instead (obviously thinking he could get away with murder and deny any kidnapping allegations).

Bishop73

Now What? - S10-E1

Question: At the end of season 9 Pratt finishes his final shift as he has been matched with Northwestern. He returns season 10 with no explanation why. Have I missed something?

Answer: No there was no explanation.

Bowling255

Question: At the end Paul makes it rain on Arrakis - wouldn't this harm the sandworms? If so, it seems like a mean move on his part, especially considering the role they played in his coup.

Answer: Arrakis did, at one time, have lakes and oceans, and the Fremen (desert people) have an ongoing secret project to restore the surface water of Arrakis (they have multi-million-liter water reservoirs all over the place beneath the planet's surface). Additionally, in the first novel it is mentioned that attempts to drill wells on Arrakis fail because they are inexplicably "plugged up" soon after they start producing water. All of this implies that the Fremen and the worms are working together to protect and hoard a great deal of the water that already exists on Arrakis. If this is the case, then the worms may value the return of surface water as much as everyone else.

Charles Austin Miller

Later on in the Dune universe the worms are limited to a large desert on the very fertile world of Arrakis, where they still produce the spice.

lionhead

Question: In Aech's workshop after she shuts the lunchbox with the miniature spaceships in it, and says to excuse Parzival who gets nervous around pretty girls. Aech then snaps her fingers towards Art3mis who responds by pulling out her broken bike for a heads-up display and tosses it to Aech. Only, if you watch closely, the screen that pops up in front of Art3mis appears as Aech snaps her fingers before Art3mis even moves. My question is were Aech's fingers controlling Art3mis inventory screen? Or am I seeing a mistake here that the screen appeared before Art3mis actually summons it? Cause there is a slight delay between the screen appearing in front of Art3mis before she actually moves or reacts to Aech's finger snaps. (00:17:40)

Quantom X

Answer: Because Aech is in control of the garage, its possible Aech creates a way for Art3mis to allow her bike to appear inside it. Art3mis only then puts her bike into the screen (window) which then becomes corporeal and throws it at Aech. Aech sort of allows Art3mis to spawn her bike in the garage, so Aech can fix it. I guess in a way Art3mis gives ownership of the bike to Aech so Aech can fix it.

lionhead

Question: It seems like a minor plot hole, but I can't be certain in case I don't understand or missed something. After Ellie turns the main power back on and activates the individual park systems, the electrified fences turn back on. When she flees the shed, she runs through the gate of a fence that has a "danger: high voltage" warning sign, and she even touches part of the fence that's not the gate. Shouldn't the fence have become electrified?

Bishop73

Chosen answer: The "danger: high Voltage" sign is for the electrical equipment inside the shed, not the fence itself.

lionhead

Question: Is there any mention in the films or books about how the extinct plants were grown (or recreated/cloned)? I've already suspended disbelief that their extraction of viable DNA is possible and I know seeds can lay dormant for thousands of years, so I can accept whatever made-up technique they claim. I'm not looking for speculation or "it's just a movie" type responses.

Bishop73

Chosen answer: It is never explained in any of the films or the novels. In the novel The Lost World it is very briefly mentioned that InGen maintains a facility where they house prehistoric plants but that is literally the only time it is brought up. It isn't mentioned in the films at all.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: As the DNA came from fossilized tree sap, Probably an offscreen procedure of removing plant DNA directly from that.

dizzyd

Question: When Agent Tucker tells the air operator that their helicopter altitude is "about 18 Inches", why did she hang up on him? Is it suppose to mean anything sexual? I found this in the "sex and nudity" category on parents guide and I just wonder.

Answer: I don't think it was intended as something sexual. Tucker tells the operator that their altitude is about 18 inches because they were 18 inches over the ground. The operator hung up because they were piloting the helicopter ridiculously close to the ground. She likely thought that they were joking around with her, or weren't taking the situation that seriously, so she just gave up on them.

Casual Person

Question: When Reginald says to Cecil "You really think he (Larry) is the one?" and then Cecil replies "Oh yes, he's the one", are we already suppose to know that Cecil, Reginald and Gus are the villains?

Answer: Not necessarily know it, but it's a clue that foreshadows their culpability.

raywest

Question: Was this film a box office hit, did it flop or simply break even? I have heard nothing about it being a huge money-maker. And of all James Cameron's films, it seems to have gotten the least mention (the controversial strip tease scene might be one reason). So I was wondering if someone could clarify it once and for all?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: True Lies did well, earning about $379m worldwide from a $100m+ budget, the first movie to have a production budget that high. It was the third highest grossing movie of 1994.

Jon Sandys

Answer: There was supposed to be a sequel but after 9/11. Middle East Terrorism seemed in poor taste to James Cameron.

Question: My question is the fact of Davy Jones, and now Will Turner, not being able to step on land except for once every ten years. What exactly is physically stopping them? It is hinted at in Dead Men Tell No Tales, that he would turn to ash, however, my question is, if that were to happen, the Dutchman would have no captain and the Dutchman must always have a captain. That is said repeatedly. So, unless there is some physical boundary, which, to me would make the buckets in the meeting in At World's End, be not possible, why can they not walk on land? Also, this one kinda ties in to the first, the Dutchman must always have a captain, so why did the soldiers' of the East India Trading Company point the cannons at it? There must be a captain. So, that couldn't actually work because then who would be captain? And I understand that it was the Mercer showing his power over Davy Jones, but they both had to know that it does not follow the logic of the Dutchman having to have a captain. Any ideas?

Answer: It's never definitively explained why the Dutchman's captain cannot step on land, but it has to do with the fact that he was supposed to remain in the underworld and ferry lost souls to the 'other side.' The "stepping on land" is a generalized reference that refers to him being allowed to return to the living world once every ten years. Jones abandoned his true purpose by leaving the underworld to stay among the living, thus becoming cursed. He was apparently able to withstand being on solid ground as long as he was not directly in contact with it (hence the bucket). As to Jones' relationship with the East India Company, Lord Becket would only maintain a pact with Jones as long as it was useful and Jones remained loyal. If Jones violated their agreement, Becket would not have hesitated to destroy him, his ship, and the crew.

raywest

Question: In the 'War Room' scene, there appeared to be a sheet of plastic or acetate covering the wall with the map of the enemy's movements. Was that premature for plastic to be available in that size for that time frame?

Myke

Answer: It was probably Perspex, an acrylic plastic commonly available at the time, used for, amongst other things, fighter plane cockpit canopies and windscreens.

stiiggy

Answer: It may be polyethylene, which was in wide use by the 1930s. Other plastics were also available at that time.

raywest

Question: Seems like a petty, trivial question, but it has been bugging me. Throughout the film, events that are taking place on one level have a profound impact on the the level below. One example is the scene with Arthur fighting the with the 'bad guys' while floating without gravitational pull. This is a result of the van being in mid air in the 1st level. How come Nolan chose this approach? It's like saying that if we sleep during a flight, we will definitely dream that we are in the air. Or if we get slapped while dreaming, we will be tossed aside aggressively. We all know that is not the case. There isn't such a direct connection between what happens in reality and what happens in a dream. Seems to me that Nolan traded the integrity of the whole dream eco system for some stunning visuals. Or am I very wrong?

Adi

Answer: Dreams can be and are often influenced by what's happening around us. There's been plenty of research on the topic and some interesting findings. Yes, Nolan exaggerates it for the purpose of drama, but it's based on reality to some extent. You also have to remember, the film's rules establish that the deeper levels of dreams are quite different, what with time being greatly extended, the subconscious playing a bigger role, etc. So it'd stand to reason that smaller things in the level above would have a large and consistent impact on lower levels, since it'd be messing with your mind. Also, and most importantly... it's a sci-fi movie. It can alter the rules of reality a bit for the sake of the story being told.

TedStixon

Thanks a lot TedStixon. You've put my mind at ease :).

Question: While en route to Miller's planet, Romilly explains that due to relativity, for each hour they spend on the surface, 23 years will have passed on earth. Romilly stays aboard the ship, orbiting the planet. The crew goes in, has a tragic accident, then goes back to the ship. Now, this is what I don't get - Romilly has aged 23 years while they explored the planet for a couple of hours. How come Romilly aged at all? He was just outside the planet. Not on earth. There should be no major time difference between the crew and Romilly.

Adi

Answer: It was stated that the time dilation on Miller's planet was a result of its close proximity to Gargantua, the black hole. Romilly kept the Endurance out of range of Gargantua, whilst Cooper, Brand and Doyle went to Miller's planet, so he was not affected by the time dilation, and aged consistently with Earth. Had Romilly gotten the Endurance any closer towards Miller's planet, he would have been affected by the time dilation in the same way Cooper and Brand were, but he did not.

Casual Person

Thanks a lot :).

Adi

Answer: It was actually 1 hour on the planet was 7 years outside of the time slippage. They spent a little over 3 hours on the planet, these a little over 23 years passed for Romilly. As an added interest, in the scene there is a "tick" in the background soundtrack. Each tick is the passage of 1 hour of Earth time.

Show generally

Question: I have recently bet my friend that at some point in the series the boys were playing penny football. Am I right? And if I'm right when did they play?

Answer: I know Friends pretty well - at least off the top of my head I can't think of a time when they did.

Jon Sandys

In season 5, episode 10: The One With The Inappropriate Sister, Chandler is playing a game on their kitchen peninsula where he launches a spoon into a large bowl while Joey sits in the living room trying to write a screenplay. Joey chastises Chandler for playing with the target so close and tells him to move it further back. They then go on to invent the game Fire Ball. Could this be what you are thinking of?

Answer: Because despite whatever unresolved issues there are between them, he still cares about his son, and probably hopes for reconciliation one day.

raywest

Question: As popular as Dusty was, wouldn't you think one of the Tuckers would have heard of him, since they go to the country bar, and recognized him.

Question: A bit puzzled as to why Ash tried to kill Ripley by stuffing a rolled up magazine in her mouth when he could have strangled her in seconds.

Answer: I believe this was another subtle way for the film to depict that Ash was malfunctioning or at least not fully processing correctly and having problems. It was showing a brutal savagery to his motions as well as an artistic choice for the moment.

Quantom X

Answer: This is just one possibility among many, but Ridley Scott suggested Ash may have been developing latent sexuality that he was not equipped to handle through his programming, and perhaps not physically either; his use of a rolled-up magazine may have come about because he was not constructed with a penis (I had to stop myself from making a pun about "hardware").

TonyPH

I always wondered about this. It always struck me as a little Freudian. Also, notice the picture of the topless lady on the wall - an interesting detail when combined with the phallic paper.

Jack Vaughan

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