Best comedy TV questions of all time

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Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman picture

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Question: Whenever Clark uses his X-ray vision, why does he lower his glasses? Lowering them when he uses heat vision is understandable but there's no need to do it when Clark uses X-ray vision.

Answer: I don't recall if it was ever mentioned in an episode, but it's possible that the frames and/or lenses of his glasses are lined with lead, the one compound his X-ray vision can't penetrate. Speculative, of course, but it likely would have been done at a point in his youth when he wasn't in complete control of his powers.

Cubs Fan

I think the other answer has good speculation. I would add it could also just be an "acting gesture" that Dean Cain utilizes as part of his Superman character and not because there's any practical reason. That way, the audience immediately recognizes what he is doing.

raywest

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Answer: "One boring day, Phineas recognizes an important truth; Summer vacation will end, and the teachers will want to know what they did on their summer vacation. And with these two kids, it has to be something extravagant..." http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0852863/.

Rlvlk

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Chosen answer: The Beat.

MasterOfAll

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy picture

Episode 6 - S1-E6

Question: When Marvin is left behind in the Disaster Area ship as the others teleport away, he says, "I'm so intelligent I've probably got time to go through the five." before he is cut off. Is there anything in the books or rest of the series which suggests what we was about to say?

Moose

Chosen answer: That seems to be an error in the subtitling of the episode. What Marvin actually says is: "I may just be a menial robot, but I'm far too intelligent to expect to think of me for a moment... far too intelligent..."

Sierra1

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Answer: As noted elsewhere here Jeannie is speaking Farsi.

What are the several things she says in Farsi? Please translate.

Answer: Regarding the three wishes, there was never any set-in-stone rule or belief. This appears to originate from "The Ridiculous Wishes" or "The Three Ridiculous Wishes" that is a French literary fairy tale written by Charles Perrault and was published in 1697. It sort of set the standard for genie rules that later appeared in other folk tales and then in movies and TV shows. Like vampire lore, common details can be changed by any author to suit their story.

raywest

Answer: She's speaking Persian. And there was never a 3 wish rule. When Tony freed her, he became her master, and she'd do anything for him (i.e. grant his every wish).

Bishop73

More I Dream of Jeannie questions

Answer: Just think about your own life, I am sure you do not act the same with your siblings or close friends as you do with a stranger (because that is what the Buchmans essentially are to Ursula). In Mad About You, she is an extremely bad waitress and in Friends she is a jerk - those are not mutually exclusive character traits. This can also be seen in the Friends episode when Jamie and Fran are in Central Perk and run into Phoebe who answers their questions in an aloof manner and they assume it's Ursula. Is Phoebe always aloof? No. But she was to strangers asking her weird questions. Also, Ursula has been aloof with Phoebe as well (like in the one where they all turn 30 or the one where the grandmother passes away, etc).

Answer: The writers have the freedom develop the character to suit the different shows' plots. They wanted to create a certain dynamic between Phoebe and Ursula that was rather contentious and strained because it made for more tension and conflict and showcased the differences that kept the sisters estranged.

raywest

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Brooklyn Nine-Nine picture

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Question: Over several episodes we see Captain Holt in competition with other Captains for the position of Commissioner. However, we have seen several Deputy Commissioners on the show. Is Commissioner a position that only Captains are eligible for? Are Deputy Commissioners ineligible? How realistic is this?

Answer: In reality, the Commissioner is a civilian administrator, appointed by the mayor of New York City. He (as of this writing, the role has always been filled by a man; the show gets that part right) is usually someone who has risen through the ranks of the NYPD, but upon becoming Commissioner, is no longer a sworn member of the force (the highest sworn rank is that of Chief). Since Commissioners are appointed, technically anyone can serve in the position, including Deputy Commissioners (who are appointed, in turn, by the Commissioner himself).

Update: On 1 January 2022, Keechant Sewell became the first ever female commissioner of the NYPD.

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The Addams Family picture

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Question: Ted (Lurch) Cassidy was a total of six feet nine inches tall. A number of times, especially in Season 2 Episode 6, "Cousin Itt's Problem", it seems the top of his head barely clears to top of the door jamb. Were the doors seven feet tall back then?

Movie Nut

Chosen answer: Being that this was filmed in a TV studio, the set would have been specially designed and built to accommodate Cassidy's height. Also, I live in an older house (100 years-old), and all the inner and outer doors are eight feet tall.

raywest

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The Drew Carey Show picture

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Question: A best of set(Best Buy exclusive) is being released. Are there any plans to release more signifigant DVD's for this?

Answer: Yes, Warner Bros. announced at the end of December that Season 1 will be out in the United States on April 24, 2007.

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Viva La Bam picture

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Question: I don't understand how to get to the easter egg. I have several episodes and I tried it on all of them but it doesn't work on any - even the ones that say disc 2. So if someone could help me out or give me specific instructions that would be great.

Answer: This only works with the first season. Simply follow the directions in the Easter Egg section of the Viva La Bam page. Unless for some reason the easter egg was removed from your particular copy.

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The Nanny picture

The Producers (1) - S6-E16

Question: At the beginning of the episode, I've never got what Niles meant to this question by Fran. Does this mean he always liked C.C. or maybe that, but didn't know it? "Are you telling me all those years you put dishwasher water in her coffee, you changed her lip balm for glue stick and called her a COW you were FLIRTING?!" "What, no good?"

*BleuFever

Chosen answer: Fran is still incredulous at the idea of Niles being in love with C.C. Niles' response is his typical sarcasm.

LorgSkyegon

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Melissa & Joey picture

The Mel Word - S1-E18

Question: When Joey and Melissa tried to catch Bianca cheating on camera, why did she suddenly refuse their advances after she already "made a pass" at each of them? She says that this is her wedding day, but then she has sex with her two stylists. So cheating on the day of her wedding is not an issue for her.

Answer: Apparently, she already planned the encounter with the stylists, so she doesn't have time to be with Joey and/or Melissa now.

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Moonlighting picture

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Question: What's with the show's title and why does their receptionist rhyme, and why'd she hire such a dork for a partner?

Rob245

Answer: The show's title, "Moonlighting" was a take-off the agency's name, the "Blue Moon Detective Agency." The owner, Maddie Hays, a former model, renamed it after a shampoo brand she was once a spokesperson for. She did not hire her partner, David Addison. He already worked at the agency when Maddie took it over. The agency was struggling financially, and David convinced Maddie, who knew nothing about being a detective, that if she made him a partner, they could make it successful. Agnes, the receptionist, had a very quirky personality, and simply chose to use rhymes when answering the phone.

raywest

Also, the term "moonlighting" refers to someone who works a secondary job, usually at night. Maddie was a former model whose career had waned and the detective agency became her other career.

raywest

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Weeds picture

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Question: How is it that Stevie is so old when Nancy gets out of prison? He was an infant when she went in and she did 3 years.

Answer: It's not uncommon for TV shows to suddenly "age up" baby/toddler characters in order for them to have more narrative purpose. Other examples of shows I can think of that did this are "Step by Step," "Last Man Standing," "Boy Meets World," and possibly "Dexter."

Phaneron

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My Name Is Earl picture

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Question: TV Tropes says there's an episode where multiple tornadoes come down on Earl's hometown, one after another - anybody know what that episode was?

Answer: Sounds like s04e11, "Nature's Game Show."

Bishop73

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Who's the Boss? picture

Roomies - S7-E8

Question: In this episode, Samantha moves out of her too noisy dorm room and into a professor's empty house along with an engaged couple, Beth and Benjamin. Benjamin is played by Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing on Friends. My question is whether this is the role used to create the Chandler character, because they are so similar.

stormy602

Chosen answer: Most likely this is a type of character he excels at playing and when Friends was being cast he fit the part.

raywest

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One Piece picture

The Pirates Are Coming - S1-E4

Question: Luffy says to the crew, "From now on, it's all gonna be smooth sailing," and then an explosion is heard outside. Nami says to Luffy, "You had to open your mouth." What does she mean by this? I'm a non-native English speaker who studies English by watching shows. Shouldn't she have said, "You shouldn't have opened your mouth"? (00:57:00)

Bunch Son

Chosen answer: "You had to" or "you just had to" is a sarcastic way of saying "you shouldn't have".

BaconIsMyBFF

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Answer: Yes, Gloria and Michael have friends, but when they got married they decided it was best to live *rent free* with Edith and Archie, while Mike was going to college. Living with friends rent free, for quite a few years, is not an easy thing no matter how close the friends are with them. Since the Stivics needed their money to pay for the tuition and its other costs, their living arrangement made it all easier to deal with. Hence the Archie and Mike scenarios.

Super Grover

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Wizards of Waverly Place picture

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Question: Where do the stairs in the substation lead? It has been said multiple times that they lead to the living room of their loft but they are never seen. There are stairs on the sides but the ones going down are to their basement.

Answer: Honestly I've been confused too. Thought the ones going down went to Justin's bedroom or to the station. Then the ones out the door went maybe to an elevator to those stairs I guess. Then the one to the side went to the lair But the freezer also leads to the lair or a secret spot sometimes too.

I think the ones in the sub shop go right up to a hallway in front of the loft, then the ones in the lair go to the bedrooms upstairs. Now there's a way to get to the lair from the loft and I believe it would be past the kitchen down to the hallway where we don't really see except in like one episode. Now what confuses me the most is the lair because when Harper finds out you see Alex using magic to open it into the lair but in every other episode you open it and it's the lair.

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The Monkees picture

Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers - S1-E4

Question: When the Monkees are locked in the downstairs bedroom and they are planning to escape, where does Mick get the lab coat and the chemical bottle from which he plans to use to scare the evil people into letting them all leave?

Answer: The Monkees TV series was very much a fantasy (this was the "groovy" psychedelic 60s, after all). Impossible things, such as items appearing out of nowhere, happened on their show without explanation all the time.

Jean G

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