Best drama TV questions of all time

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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation picture

Suckers - S4-E13

Question: After finding out that Ty was committing insurance fraud, why did Grissom walk away instead of arresting him?

Answer: He doesn't have the authority to arrest him - when anyone is arrested in the show, a police officer does it. Also he tells Ty that he is going to be submitting his case findings to Ty's insurance company, who would no doubt contact the IRS, who then would have him arrested for fraud etc.

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Chosen answer: Because he's an idiot. From the story point of view, they needed the vault to actually be physically open so that the release of the virus would be a credible threat. Unfortunately, this required that Peter conveniently forget that he could simply walk through The Wall and use his telekinesis to tear the door open instead. Peter's increasingly large arsenal of abilities, where he ended up having pretty much any ability required for any situation, led to a situation where it became necessary to either have Peter apparently forget that he had a given power, as with the vault door scene, or become naively trusting, as with his refusal to scan Adam's mind to confirm his good intent. This problem, which simply made Peter look increasingly dumb as the show progressed, may well have been a key factor in the decision to severely reduce his ability during season three.

Tailkinker

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Stargate: Atlantis picture

Hot Zone - S1-E13

Question: The protective suits Teyla & Sheppard put on to keep them from getting infected have a "helmet" piece that does not appear to have an airtight seal; the bottom of the hood just sort of lies on top of the body suit (it's not even tucked in). Is there some way they would be protected from the airborne virus even with what appears to be a very viable opening?

Answer: Those are actually suits that protect from hazardous chemicals. They are cheaper for the prop department and look nearly the same as biohazard suits. A real biohazard suit would indeed have a helmet that seals to the neck.

Grumpy Scot

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Fringe picture

The No-Brainer - S1-E12

Question: Why would Luke Dempsey be arrested along with his father? He had no idea what his father was doing, never aided him in any way and only found out the truth after catching him in the act.

Answer: He helped his father evade capture, impeding the investigation.

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Buffy The Vampire Slayer picture

The Yoko Factor (1) - S4-E20

Question: At the last moment before leaving for good, Angel pauses to tell Buffy "I don't like him" [Riley], to which she replies with a large smile "Thank you." Why does she take this comment surprisingly well? From an ex boyfriend to her new boyfriend? It's not like it sounds like a friendly warning of any sort, nor a joke given the tense situation between the two guys in the episode. And the smile on Buffy's face does not make her response look ironic either, more like loving/caring. Is that a cross over reference to another dialogue in the Angel series?

AnthonyA

Chosen answer: Angel is saying that he is still jealous and Buffy recognizes that this is his way of saying he wishes that they could be together. That is why they both smile.

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Nash Bridges picture

Show generally

Question: In one episode, Nash sees that the hood to his 'Cuda is missing. Sometime later, he sees the hood in a display window of a store and proceeds to tell the proprietor that it was stolen from his car. The end of the episode has Nash buying the hood back. 1. What is the name of this episode? 2. Why didn't Nash arrest the proprietor for receiving stolen property? 3. Why did Nash buy the hood back instead of simply taking it with him?

Answer: The show is "Rip Off." Season 5 Episode 11. The "Cuda" hood is a subplot. A separate storyline for recurring character, Boz Bishop. Nash is busy trying to catch a robber/con artist.

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CSI: Miami picture

Season 1 generally

Question: In the last few episodes of series 1, Horatio tells a few people that they will be spending the next few years a jail. But sometimes he says a 6x6 cell and others a 6x9 cell. So I was wondering do the sizes of cells usually differ or was it just a slip of the tongue?

Answer: Yes, sizes of jails differ.

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Answer: According to the IMDb, his middle name is Quincy.

Tailkinker

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Breaking Bad picture

Caballo sin Nombre - S3-E2

Question: When Saul buys Jesse's house from his parents, he said that he showed their lawyer, Mr. Gardner, "all the pertinent financials", meaning $875,000 in cash available to buy the house. Jesse only had $450,000 and that money was not in any account. How did Saul show Mr. Gardner that he had $875,000 in cash?

dweezel7

Answer: Saul is a criminal himself. It's not past his capabilities to forge some documents to show the 857k is available.

Ssiscool

Forged documents by Saul is most likely the correct answer.

The_Iceman

Answer: Saul has a stash of cash himself, hidden in his office. It's possible he used some of that instead as part of the scheme instead of having to go through the effort of falsifying documents.

Phaneron

Answer: In all likelihood, he sold some more meth.

Captain Defenestrator

At the time, they were not producing enough Meth to get that much money in the time frame of the events.

Ssiscool

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Quantum Leap picture

Leaping of the Shrew - September 27, 1956 - S5-E3

Question: Shortly after Sam throws some items off the life raft, Al appears and tells him that because of what Sam had done, neither he nor Vanessa would be saved for quite a while. If Sam had not done anything, both of them would have been rescued within an hour. I might be wrong about this next part so further verification will help. Al also said that because of Sam throwing stuff into the ocean, that somehow, instead if only being stranded in the lifeboat for a few minutes, four whole hours have passed. How could tossing anything into the ocean have made time move so rapidly?

Answer: Sam threw items off the raft to lighten the load, so it wouldn't sink, in doing so he made the raft less heavy. Which made easier to float with the currents, if it was heavy the raft would have moved slower and not moved so far.

Except that Al said that immediately after throwing stuff out of the boat four hours passed and it was shown that they didn't really move from where they were. They were still in the same spot. Forgot to ask this too. When Sam and Vanessa are stranded on the island, one of them, can't remember who, did something and when Al appears, he tells them that because of it, time had suddenly skipped several more hours and if the event hadn't been interrupted, they would have been rescued by a boat. So, what happened on the island that once again caused time to speed up? It seems kind of strange that time could move so quickly on the island, especially since it was still day time and it never showed any sort of changes like the sun or clouds moving.

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Arrow picture

Pilot - S1-E1

Question: What is the song the kicks in when Tommy says, "Have you noticed how hot your sister has gotten?", and then plays on when Tommy and Oliver are driving around in the SLR?

Friso94

Chosen answer: "C'mon Doll" by My Goodness.

Bishop73

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H2O: Just Add Water picture

Show generally

Question: Is it true that this show was originally supposed to have only two seasons but its popularity was so big that they created a third season?

Answer: That is true.

raywest

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Answer: In the show, he was already a Lieutenant. A promotion would put him in the next rank up, which for the L.A.P.D. would be Captain. However, some of a Captain's duties would be overseeing other officers and ensuring they're compliant with policies, regulations, and standards. It would also most likely take him out of the field. This is something Columbo has no desire for as he rarely goes to police HQ's. Nor does he show interest in compliance and standards (for example, not going to his semi-annual evaluation at the firing range). However, he could still be assigned to a higher pay grade based on expertise, which is a form of promotion that does not include rank advancement. This would be going from Lieutenant I to Lieutenant II. I don't believe in the show it's ever started what his pay grade is. Although, in s02e01 (I believe) he mentions making $11K a year. Whether or not this was a true statement on his part, if you could find pay scale information for an LAPD Lieutenant in the 70's, it could give you an idea of his pay grade.

Bishop73

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Manifest picture

Show generally

Question: Does it seem like this show took from LOST in the sense that a phenomenal event starting with a plane crash changed people's lives?

Rob245

Answer: Only superficially. Manifest doesn't even begin with a plane crash, but rather a plane disappearing for 5 years with the assumption that it crashed, which turns out not to be true.

BaconIsMyBFF

In the particulars it seems different, but the overall plot is the same. A seemingly random group on an airplane experience a weird event and spend years trying to figure out what happened. Let's hope the reveal in the final episode is not as disappointing as "LOST" - they're actually all dead.

Answer: Yes, I see the larger connection. There are a lot of movies and shows where people come back from somewhere like car, train, and bus crashes, or even space, war, or who knows where, then try to figure out why. We probably should consider a new genre for plots where the departed or missing return and try to figure out why. Needs a name though. Maybe "Come-back Conundrums" or "Put-back Puzzlers"?

Answer: "The major" is a major general, no major general would go by a title implying a lower rank. Her official DOD photo shows her (and a bunch of other women in uniform) with long loose hair below their collar. Women's hair has to be above the collar or put up, until VERY recently, and if this show is set in 2018 the hair is out of regulations. No major general would have an official photo with hair out of regs.

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Mission: Impossible picture

Show generally

Question: At the start of each episode of Mission Impossible Briggs or Phelps received details of the mission from a tape recording that was 'hidden in plain sight', say a telephone booth displaying a poster saying 'Telephone Out Of Order. Do Not Use'. So, what would happen if somebody went into the kiosk before Briggs or Phelps, picked up the telephone and got the secret message ahead of the Mission Impossible team?

Rob Halliday

Answer: We don't know what would happen because the show never addressed this issue. Any answer would be speculation. This is a TV show, and the plot is structured so that only IMF team will retrieve the secret message.

raywest

Answer: This is not really a serious question. When I posted this question I was fully aware that Mission Impossible is only a television programme. Like many espionage thrillers (Man From Uncle, The Avengers, James Bond) it is meant to entertain, it is never meant to be taken literally seriously. It was essential to the story that Briggs or Phelps received a secret message, which would give them a mission to accomplish. If they did not receive the message you would not have had the story. When I used to watch Mission Impossible it just used to amuse me to wonder what might have happened had somebody picked up the phone containing the secret message ahead of Briggs or Phelps. I even considered writing to a comedian and suggesting that they devise a comedy sketch in which this happened. My question was only meant to be a joke, that I posted to amuse people.

Rob Halliday

The Lucy Show or Here's Lucy did an episode of exactly this scenario.

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Answer: Because he is a great cop and gets the job done better than anyone.

Answer: Also, if you watch Season 1 of Chicago Fire it gives a little history of Voight before he goes to jail when he was actually a "dirty cop" and Antonio Dawson is actually the one who takes him down. I found it interesting and was surprised by his character back then.

Answer: And cuz he's only dirty to the bad guys. He takes care of the victims.

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Answer: Window tool.

Answer: This hardly seem to be an automatic center punch. Standard tool for technical rescue from car accidents.

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Criminal Minds picture

Show generally

Question: The crew takes a private jet to most locations but always have the same black S.U.V.s. How do the vehicles get there as fast as the crew?

RGW

Chosen answer: Black SUVs are common police, military and dignitary vehicles around the world. It is not too much to assume they could be rented or owned by the police forces in the areas.

kristenlouise3

Other people have explained it but fore more information, federal cars would most likely be brought to the airport from the nearest agency, so they can drive out to their locations especially in rural situations.

Answer: There is only one BAU (or that's the impression the show gives, in reality there's 5 teams within the BAU), and they're based out of Quantico. However, the FBI has 56 field offices, each with their own vehicles leased from the over 200,000 vehicles that make up the Federal motor fleet. There are long term leases to federal agencies on these cars, in addition to there always being vehicles being made available to lease on an ad hoc basis for assignments. Plus, local and state police likely also have their own unmarked fleets, but due to the vehicles being mostly the same make/model/color in most episodes, they'd likely be borrowed from the nearest field office or other local federal office or ad hoc leased from the fleet for the assignment.

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Six Feet Under picture

Show generally

Question: At the end of the last ever episode, when Claire is taking the family photo, Nate whispers in her ear 'You can't take a picture unless it's already gone.' What does he mean by that?

Answer: Nate actually say "You can't take a picture of this, it's already gone." It's kinda hard to explain, but he's referring to the fact that the moment Claire wants to take a picture of is over already, and she can't take a photo of it, just a different, lesser moment.

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Doctor Who picture

Season 1 generally

Question: 1. Why was Rose not allowed to touch her past self without creating a paradox and causing those creatures to appear and eat everyone, but Amy was allowed to touch her younger self without any repercussions? 2. Why was Rose able to have the time vortex in her head for a few minutes and it only knocked her unconscious whereas the Doctor had it inside him for about 30 seconds and it basically killed him and caused his regeneration?

strikeand

Chosen answer: 1) When Stephen Moffat took over he ignored a lot of what had been developed before (there is not in-universe answer). 2) It would have killed Rose, so the Doctor absorbed the energy. His body regenerated before the energy could do a significant amount of damage that would prevent regeneration.

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