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.

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Question: Does anyone know which episode it was when Steven decided to grow a beard, or why he decided to grow one? I never watched the show in order and still can't figure out why he suddenly has one in the second half of the show's run.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Steven Keaton (Michael Gross) did not grow the beard for an episode. He grew it between season 1 and season 2 as a character he was playing in an Off-Broadway play. When the show began taping for season 2, it was decided to have him keep it. It never was a plot point on the show.

jairodrigue

Chosen answer: Nope, nothing official was ever said. There are very few truly original film storylines these days; a close examination of most films would allow one to swiftly note plot similarities to any one of a number of preceding movies. Both Cars and Doc Hollywood fit neatly in a very standard storyline of an outsider coming into an unfamiliar cultural group, which they learn to appreciate and benefit from, while their presence likewise benefits the group they encounter. While the two are unusually similar, no comment on the subject was ever made.

Tailkinker

Question: When Venkman is on the phone with Egon, he says that he shot Dana/Zuul up with 300 cc of Thorazine. Since Thorazine is a powerful anti-psychotic drug, it's unlikely that Dana had some in her medicine cabinet. If she didn't already have some on hand, then where did Venkman get it? He said that he has a PhD in psychology, so is he able to prescribe medications for anyone?

Answer: They're all three doctors in that field, so it's not unlikely at all that they could acquire the medication. The question then becomes: why did he have it on him at the time?

Phixius

Indeed, it's hilarious when you ask yourself that question, and the movie does not have any of the characters question that! Which would have been comedy gold. As the original poster said though; Venkman has a PhD in Psychology, so he can't prescribe the drug, and the other 2 are physicists, so no, I wouldn't say they are doctors in the field?

Sammo

A Psychologist could have studied medicine. If you have a medical licence you can prescribe medicine to a patient. This doesn't automatically make a Venkman a psychiatrist, but he is more likely more trained in the actual clinical practise. Doesn't make it less unethical though and if anyone finds out he would have his license revoked immediately.

lionhead

Question: This applies to both Madagascar movies. Does anybody know why Sasha Baron Cohen (Julian the lemur) never shows his face and is barely mentioned in the DVDs for these movies?

Answer: Sacha Baron Cohen is a very private man; he is rarely seen in public, and when he is in public, he is usually dressed as some of his other movie roles (Borat, Bruno, etc.) He has even mentioned once that he wants his characters to be famous, but he wants to live a normal life, so he is rarely interviewed by press.

Chosen answer: Jake and Neytiri were holding hands and Neytiri had her hair unbraided. It is also possible that when Na'vi mate, their appearance changes slightly in a way that only other Na'vi could see.

Question: When Woody and Buzz are at Sid's house, at one point the baby with the spider legs taps something in Morse code to Sid's other toys. Is he really tapping something in Morse code or is it just a random jumble of dots and dashes?

Answer: Baby face taps RR TOYS COME OUT. Telling the other toys to come out from hiding. Pixar stated this in their Toy Story character overview.

But why "RR"?

"RR" is shorthand for "Message Received." Babyface is telling Woody that he understands Woody's problem and then taps out to the other toys to come out.

Question: I know I already asked this, but my question wasn't answered correctly. Supposedly, some member of a band lost a bet and appeared as one of Hook's pirates. It definitely was not Phil Collins, David Crosby, or Jimmy Buffett, but definitely somebody else. The best I can come up with is that it was a band from either the 70's or 80's, but even that fact is pretty pointless considering the movie was made in 1990. It is quite possible that this person could have had no lines or was uncredited, but I know for sure that I'm not making this up. Can somebody find out for me?

Answer: I don't know how you can say it was answered incorrectly when you don't know the answer yourself. I also don't know how you "know for sure" when you also say it "supposedly" is true. In any case, I can't speak to any kind of bet... but along with Phil Collins, Genesis band members Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford appear in the same scene. Perhaps if you reference the initial source of this information someone might be able to help more.

JC Fernandez

Question: Jake's paralyzed legs really look small and thin and weak. How did they make the actor's legs look like that, since he's not really paralyzed? Or did they edit a pair of fake legs in?

Mithcoriel

Chosen answer: It would have been done with digital effects.

GalahadFairlight

Answer: They used prosthetics.

Indeed. They used prosthetics, the mould of which was taken from a real paraplegic person.

Sammo

Question: I'm assuming that floating rocks are made from Unobtanium - thus able to fly. But where did they get all the water to supply the waterfalls?

Answer: It's never stated that the floating mountains are made from any particular substance. And it's doubtful they're made from unobtanium, otherwise why would they need to mine it from underneath the Na'vi's tree? The mountains float because of some magnetic properties in that area of the planet. As for the water, I imagine it comes from the same place water comes from on mountains on Planet Earth -- melting snow.

JC Fernandez

This is an incredibly lush place, probably very rainy, therefore the water could have come from there.

dizzyd

Question: How did Benedict have time to visit all of Ocean's 11 without them informing each other? (That is, only Danny should have been surprised to see Benedict.) He had to travel to Connecticut, Utah, Miami, London, New Jersey, Chicago, New York, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. As soon as Danny knew, he was on the phone (presumably calling the others).

Answer: He probably warned all of them not to contact any of the others or there will be consequences. They all seemed very scared when they met with him, so they all didn't dare to. Except for Danny, who probably did not get warned.

lionhead

Question: What exactly did 9 accomplish by getting 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8 out of the beast? I didn't understand the ending, as they would still be dead whether or not they were inside the beast.

Answer: So glad you asked this! He releases their spirits because they are life. Life from the scientist. Preserved life. Small bacteria probably. So the world can start over. Yes, it's sad that they won't get to interact with the physical bodies of their friends, but in a way, 1,2,5,6 and 8 will always be with them. They are the fathers of the world's new organisms. The beast was corrupt so it was trying to prevent life from happening. It hated the humans because it was turned into a war machine. It captured them but could not kill them. The reason the dolls were created, their sole purpose, was to release the life that they were preserving into the sky and across the world. So, that in time and very slowly, things could begin again. they AREN'T dead and they never were. Life was just trapped. And now it is free.

YellowBird

This was beautifully explained and I can see your love for this movie in it. I have loved this movie so much, it is nice to see others enjoy it as well. Really wish we got a sequel.

Answer: He needs to retrieve their bodies from the beast so he can release their sprits with the talisman.

raywest

Question: 1) I remember reading online once that some person in a band (not any of the ones mentioned in the trivia for this movie) lost a bet and appeared as one of Hook's pirates in this movie. Is this true and if yes who was it? 2) I also once read online that it is a tradition for Peter Pan movies to have the same actor to play Hook and somebody else in the movie. I don't remember Dustin Hoffman as anybody else in this movie. Was he somebody else in the movie?

Answer: (1) David Crosby and Jimmy Buffett both appear as part of Hook's crew - whether either of them is there as a result of losing a bet is unknown. (2) Traditionally, in stage productions of Peter Pan, the actor who plays Hook will also take on the minor role of Mr Darling, Wendy's father. As, in the story presented in the film, Wendy is now elderly, her father is likely long dead, and thus no opportunity exists to maintain the tradition. However, you can hear Dustin Hoffman as the voice of the pilot on the plane ride to London, giving a nod to the tradition.

Tailkinker

Answer: Actress Glenn Close is a pirate too. The first pirate that Hook goes to on deck and puts in the Boo Box. Https://youtu.be/TCx-M8dcDhk.

Answer: It's Phil Collins - he's the police officer.

Question: A few character and song names are based on the Swahili language. Does Timon or Pumba mean anything in Swahili?

Answer: Pumbaa means "to be foolish, weak-minded or negligent". Timon has no apparent meaning in Swahili, but is historically a Greek name, meaning "respectful", a slightly ironic choice given his usual sarcastic attitude.

Tailkinker

Question: Before the Seamstress is attacking, there was a quick shot of 8. His mouth was sewed so he couldn't scream for help. Why didn't the Seamstress sew 1's mouth closed?

Answer: Simply a character choice to not sew 1's mouth.

Question: Before Alan takes the sword to help Peter, he says something that I can't understand. I can't check subtitles, as I have the VHS of the movie. What is Alan saying?

Answer: He is saying "Sorry, Angus" to his ancestor who founded the town Allen lives in, Brantford, New Hampshire.

In that same scene, after breaking the case, grabbing the sword, and removing it from its sheath, Alan says something additional which I could not fully make out. His statement sounds like he is surprised in some way by the sword. All I could make out from what he said is "all this time." Not sure if that is what he really said, but was curious if you knew what he says and if there is anything he may be reacting to. Thanks.

He says "whoa" when the sheath comes off. Then he says "harvest time."

Bishop73

Question: In 1955, after Biff gets knocked out by George, there is one man who repeatedly mentions that Biff might have had his wallet stolen. In this movie, we have seen many past, present, and future versions of people. I was just wondering if this man is also seen in 1985 or 2015?

Answer: According to the actor's page on imdb.com, Wesley Mann's appearance as the "CPR kid" is his only role in the entire trilogy. He could be in another time period in an uncredited role, but it's more likely than not that his only appearance is in 1955.

Question: When Ron, Hermione and Harry are in the Three Broomsticks, and Ron mentions to Hermione about how she has a bit of foam from her butterbeer above her lip, why does she seem so upset and embarrassed?

gcfreak5945

Chosen answer: Because she doesn't want to look silly in front of Ron, who she's in love with. Teenage romance, it's a minefield...

Tailkinker

Answer: Because at the start of the film, she gets all flustered when she has a bit of toothpaste on her mouth, and Ron leans over to wipe it from her face. She obviously thinks about this moment a lot because when she smells the love potion during Slughorn's class, she mentions spearmint toothpaste. In the Three Broomsticks she's upset because she has foam on her mouth and instead of maybe wiping it away like he had done at the Burrow, he just gestures to her that she has something on her mouth.

Answer: Hermione is a perfectionist and dislikes having anyone, particularly Ron, pointing out that she erred, slipped up, or did something embarrassing.

raywest

Question: If Sasha really is blind and she is Alex Trusk but she IS a computer hacker.What good is a computer hacker that blind wouldn't she not be able to see the screen or anything of the sort?

link8265

Chosen answer: Blind people use computers all the time. There are Braille monitors that interpret the visual images on the screen into Braille. They can also use speech synthesisers to convert the images into audible information.

Tailkinker

Question: Why didn't Tim Robbins tell Penn FROM THE BEGINNING that he killed a pedophile not his daughter? Penn's character was a gangster from the old days, so he would have known what to do and not to.

katzen

Chosen answer: He was afraid to admit he'd murdered someone. And since he was innocent about the daughter he assumed the real killer would be found. He also assumed nobody would believe him, which they didn't.

Answer: Dave kills the pedophile because he sees himself in him. His experience as a child has led him to have thoughts about harming children himself. He would rather die than have anyone know the shame of these secret thoughts.

This is way off. He was protecting the child from enduring what he had to endure when he was younger. He killed the pedophile to protect the child.

Answer: He killed him because he believed that the pedophile was a evil and didn't want anyone to go threw what he went threw as a kid. So he saved the boy and killed the pedophile.He said they were vampires and werewolves remember the conversation he was having with his wife.

Question: When they get the injured Grace to the Tree of Souls, she's naked, just covered in vines. How did they get those plants to cover her and hold onto her like that? And why use plants, and not common human underwear? And come to think of it, why does she need to be naked in the first place? Sure, the roots need to access her body, but wouldn't it do to just access her head?

Mithcoriel

Chosen answer: It's a semi-religious ritual being performed by a deeply spiritual alien race. As a result, the answer to any question along the lines of "Why does it have to be like this?" can only be "Because it just does".

Tailkinker

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