Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Can someone please explain how exactly a Watcher knows who the chosen one is? In the season 2 episode "What's my line" Kendra explains that her parents gave her away to her watcher when she was young because they believed it would be best for her. How did they know about the slayer mythos and how did they know Kendra could be one? I always thought that when a new slayer is born it could be anyone; and that was no discernible factor in who would be the next one to become the slayer.

Azureth

Chosen answer: From what we see in the series, certain girls are identifiable as potential Slayers - Kendra clearly fell into this category. The identification method is presumably mystical in nature, but the Watchers' Council are pretty effective at that sort of thing, so they're quite good at tracking down the potentials ahead of time. Not perfect, though - it does appear that Buffy herself may have slipped through the net - certainly she had no inkling of what she was until she'd already taken on the role of Slayer. It is possible, however, that this was actually cultural - an American family would hardly be likely to turn over their daughter to some strange man for 'training', so the Watchers might have chosen to keep an eye on her covertly, whereas some other cultures (like Kendra's Jamaican parents) might be more willing to believe.

Tailkinker

Question: I seem to remember there was an episode of 'Spaced' where Tim (Pegg's character) plays 'Resident Evil 2' for too long and starts seeing zombies everywhere as a result. Did that influence this film in any way or is it just an interesting coincidence?

Answer: In an interview I saw recently they stated that the Resident Evil scene in Spaced was the beginning point of the film but not the inspiration. They decided to use the idea of zombies in a full length film.

Lummie

Question: In the scene in the car just before the car crash, we see Tyler driving and the Narrator in the front passenger seat. Since we know that they are the same person, we know that the Narrator must be driving, with no-one in the passenger seat. However, during the conversation between the two of them, the crew members in the back seat seem to be reacting to the questions that the Narrator is asking Tyler by repeating "The first rule of...", and the Narrator keeps telling them to shut up, which they do. If the crew members only see the Narrator driving, with nobody in the passenger seat, how is it that they are taking part in a conversation that is not even happening, except for in the Narrator's mind?

Answer: The Narrator when talking to Tyler in the film is obviously talking to himself out loud, so the crew members would know that because he talks to himself that if they are asked a question they must answer. Also the conversations he has could not be in his mind as they would not answer his questions unless he said it out loud. The image of Tyler is in his mind, but the conversations are real. Like a schizophrenic talking to himself.

Lummie

Question: How do the agents get the police and swat team to work for them? Do they pose as FBI or something like that?

Answer: Sure. Agents are perfectly equipped to hand the local police force any kind of identification whatsoever to prove that the Agents are federal officers and the locals would be compelled to assist.

Phoenix

Question: When Ian Malcolm visits Hammond in the beginning, the two kids are very, very happy to see him. But, in the first film, they hardly had anything to do with each other. Why are they so happy to see a man they hardly know?

Answer: It's highly unlikely that their contact with him was limited to just what we see in the film - they obviously spent a considerable amount of time together after those events.

Tailkinker

Foul Balled / The Boy Who Would Be Queen - S2-E7

Question: I want to make sure that what I'm thinking and what my little sister said is right: Trixie said she wanted to date a certain boy with a pink hat who isn't afraid to admit he liked "Kissy Kissy Goo Goo" and "Skull Squisher". But at her birthday party, when Timmy says these types of things, Trixie suddenly denies it. Why? (And to repeat, I want to make sure.).

Answer: Because Timmy is not popular. Even though that is what she really wants, she has her popular image to protect.

Grumpy Scot

Question: This is sort of a question for the three movies, I just don't know where to put it...In the first movie, Emma Watson's (Hermione) hair is very thick and bushy, where as in the next two movies, her hair is a bit more straight and neat. In the first movie, was that her real hair, or did she have hair extensions or something?

Answer: It has always been her natural hair, she just seemed to 'grow' into it. It has also been styled differently in each subsequent movie, presumably for the maturity of the character.

Macalou

Season 5 generally

Question: I'm still not sure on the Dawn idea. She's a key and the monks gave Buffy and her friends memories. But where was she supposed to be every episode before the one where she is revealed? And don't they remember that she was never "in the way" before? Maybe I just think its a stupid idea but I just don't understand where she was and how she came from nowhere.

Answer: This is explained throughout season 5 - Dawn was created by the monks during the season 5 episode "Buffy Vs. Dracula" (as evidenced by Joyce's comments about the house being quiet early on in the episode, before Dawn's appearance in the final moments) and they implanted false memories about her life up until now in her head and the heads of her friends. The reason we never saw her before then was that she hadn't been created yet. She came from nowhere - the Key was just a swirling ball of green energy before the monks turned it into Dawn. The reason no one notices her any more now is that, while the memories aren't perfect (Buffy mentions in "Real Me" that Dawn seems to be getting in the way more often lately), they are good enough to fool everyone enough to accept her.

Shay

Question: Maybe I'm misunderstanding something here but how can the transformers be deemed unique to Cybertron (according to the opening prologue) when every other planet seen in this movie has transformers on it?

Answer: I believe the story goes that after being created on Cybertron, ancient transformers migrated to other various planets, where they then "evolved" over time to different forms of transformers (just like ancient peoples of this planet migrating and "evolving").

Bruce Minnick

Question: Does anyone know the name of the song Alice sings after she's walking through the forest and some creature is wiping away her path? She's crying when she sings it.

Answer: It is called 'Very Good Advice.'

Hamster

Answer: The adverts showed Rowan Atkinson as a bungling secret agent, similar to Johnny English, who would mess up various assignments and need to make use of Barclaycard features to bail himself out (eg, being in a foreign country without local currency, breaking expensive items that were Barclaycard insured, etc.)

Moose

Question: Can someone please explain how the apes ended up taking over present-day Earth since the future apes never got hold of the time machine? I can't find anyone who can make heads or tails of it.

Krista

Chosen answer: Tim Burton has been quoted MANY times as saying it isn't supposed to make sense. Best guess is Leo travelled not just into the future, but into another dimension as well. Ironically, this ending is far more true to Peirre Boulle's original ending than the first Apes movie.

Grumpy Scot

Answer: I have, if not an answer, then a sharpening of the question. A number of fanboys have suggested Thade retrieved Leo's pod from the bottom of the lake, then used it to travel into the MagnaStorm, thereby reaching Earth centuries before Leo's arrival, and inciting Earth Apes to rebel. The problem with This explanation is, once you get past how helpless the Apes are in water, How did Thade, a person who comes from a society without even gunpowder level technology, Repair A Spaceship?! Nevermind learn to use it?!?!?.

dizzyd

Answer: Assuming it's the same technique used for Gary Sinse in Forrest Gump, Mr. Branagh was probably wearing blue leggings which was used to digitize out his legs.

Lisa T Ellis

Show generally

Question: In the first main movie, Baltaar the traitor (as a human) is executed before the Cylon's supreme ruler; yet in the later movies (and probably the TV series, which I did not get to watch) he reappears. How can this be possible?

Answer: The original BSG has something of a complex version history. Several versions exist, but the rationale behind what you're referring to is as follows. BSG, before anything else, was a TV series - the 'pilot episode' was a three-part tale called "Saga of a Star World". In that three-parter, a last-minute alteration to the script meant that Baltar was ultimately spared execution, because Glen A. Larson, the series producer, decided that he liked the Baltar character enough to keep him around for the rest of the series. The theatrical version, which was edited down from the three-parter and was shown in some countries before the US TV broadcast, lost quite a number of scenes, including the one where Baltar is spared. The real continuity of the series can only be found in the TV version - the movies, all of which were created by editing together existing episodes, miss out scenes leading to such apparent continuity errors.

Tailkinker

Answer: Baltar wasn't executed... the supreme leader decided to spare him to send him on a peace mission with the humans. I have every episode... just watched it again.

Answer: Strange... given I saw Battlestar Galactica at the movies when I was a kid. Aka the 'pilot' you refer to (which WAS a movie shown at the cinema).

Yes, there was a theatrical release of the film, which was released after the original 1978 series ended. This 1979 film is the edited compilation of the 1978 series "Saga of a Star World" episode.

Bishop73

Answer: It was the license plate of the killer's car. GCE-15P.

Lisa T Ellis

Question: Han Solo is famous for his Kessel Run, but can anyone explain to me what it is?

Answer: Near the planet of Kessel (the prison planet), there is a cluster of black holes (called the Maw). Smugglers will skirt by the black holes as an escape route, this route is called the Kessel Run. For further details (including an explination of parsecs), view this page: http://www.starwars.com/community/askjc/jocasta/askjc20020221.html.

Bruce Minnick

If you watch the movie, Solo, you will see the Kessel run, as it is an important moment in the film.

Shawn M. Milburn

Answer: It would probably be breaking copyright (and rather long) to post them here, but here's a link to the author's website where they are listed: http://www.wbrucecameron.com/columns/8rules.htm.

Myridon

Question: How did they do the deserted London scenes? I mean, it is practically impossible to do, right? Are they real shots of London, or is it a set or was it done somehow different?

Hamster

Chosen answer: According to the making of documentary, they cleared relatively small portions of London early in the morning (with the help of the Police of course) and filmed the shots using a digital camera, which is incredibly easy and fast to set up, meaning they could go in and do a take in a remarkably short time. So it is the real London (as well as the motorway scenes), but only small portions at a time are deserted.

Gary O'Reilly

Question: What sort of fabric is Neo's trench coat made of? I would guess wool, but can anyone be more specific?

Answer: It was a custom-length black wool garbardine coat. In an interview with the costume designers, they stated a need for a lighter fabric, but still light and sleek for the actors to wear. About half of Morpheus's crew wear black wool gabardine when they jack into the Matrix. The rest use PVC, leather, or a combination of both.

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