Best mystery TV questions of all time

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The Twilight Zone picture

Deaths-Head Revisited - S3-E9

Question: When Becker is reading the list of indictments to Lutze, what were indictments four and five? Lutze was screaming so loudly I couldn't hear them.

Answer: #4: That he did personally murder at least 14 (Jews). The last word I couldn't quite hear because of the screams, but I hear an "-oz" sound at the end, so it's an educated guess. #5: That he did sign and put into effect specific orders calling for the gassing and cremating of one million human beings.

Bishop73

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Matlock picture

The Temptation - S8-E14

Question: A couple of scenes show Leanne at the beach. At the end, Ben in his usual suit, is walking on the beach, saying, "I thought I might find you here." If Ben has a practice in Atlanta, lives in an Atlanta suburb, isn't the beach a bit of a drive - about 2-3 hours from Atlanta? Of course, it's not impossible. I just don't see Ben or his daughter taking a quick jaunt to the beach.

Answer: Leanne often went to the beach whenever she was upset about something. In this episode, Leanne realised that Kevin, the guy she had been seeing, had broken into her home and taken her diary in hopes of learning everything about her. This upset her because her privacy had been invaded and Kevin thought that the entries in her diary described the kind of man she was looking for. Ben drove down to the beach to comfort Leanne.

Only problem with that is that earlier in the episode LeeAnn went for a jog on the beach. She drives three hours to jog?

She didn't go for a jog. She went there because she was upset.

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Chosen answer: Her agent/manager negotiated a special billing as part of her contract. It distinguishes her from the rest of the cast, probably when she became a producer on the show.

JC Fernandez

Answer: She became a producer.

Incorrect. Her billing changed in season 4 but she didn't become a producer until season 5.

Bishop73

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The X-Files picture

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Question: In a vast majority of the episodes, whenever Mulder and Scully investigate some mysterious or paranormal phenomenon, Mulder believes that some unknown force is responsible but Scully always has a rational explanation for what is happening. In other episodes, when Scully herself is caught up in something mysterious, she is the believer but Mulder is the skeptic. In those episodes, why would Mulder be skeptical about an unexplained phenomenon considering that he a was witness to his own sisters abduction and he saw many strange things that defied explanation while working for the F.B.I.?

Answer: As he stated many times throughout the series, Mulder needed Scully to be sober and skeptical. Whenever Scully's skepticism wavered and she started questioning her own rationality, Mulder would try to restore her sense of skepticism, because he needed her to be clear-thinking.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: A variety of reasons. Just because Scully saw something unusual does not mean that it was. Mulder always needs concrete proof before he'll believe there's some otherworldly explanation for unexplained phenomena. He's too experienced to take a novice's explanation as fact. It is also a plot by device by the writers to switch the tables on the characters to make it more interesting and to let viewers see another side of their relationship.

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Bones picture

The Girl in the Mask - S4-E23

Question: When Doctor Brennan is examining the victim's skull, she states that a "straight suture across the palatine bone" indicates that the victim was a native Japanese speaker. I've studied linguistics, but I've never heard of a person's native language actually affecting their anatomy. So, for example: would a person of Japanese heritage who was born and raised in the US and spoke only English be distinguishable from a person who grew up in Japan and spoke only Japanese, purely by their palatine bones? (00:06:10)

tinsmith

Answer: Since the palatine bone is a bone that helps form the mouth it has a lot to do with speaking. The shape of it differs a lot depending on your ethnic background. I would guess that they, in the show, meant that the person's bone tells that they were Japanese and that it was "made for the purpose of speaking Japanese." That's what I'd assume anyway. I've studied molecular biology though, so I'm not an expert on bones.

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House, M.D. picture

Occam's Razor - S1-E3

Question: I apologize I guessed at the episode, it was the one which featured Brandon, the boy who had the pills mix up and had sex with his fiancée at the beginning. I'm a little confused as to the ending, what was the significance of the letters on the pills? Why did the two doctors make a big deal about it when Brandon told them about it? Why was House so pleased to find those two pills in the inventory? It seemed like a sudden end to me.

Answer: You have the right episode. The big deal at the end about the letters on the pills was to show that Brandon had the wrong pills all along. House was smiling because he was right.

MoonFaery

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit picture

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Question: Why does Oliver Gates come up with ridiculous reasons for the people he defends whenever they commit murder? In the episode "Hate", Sean Webster was killing Muslims and Oliver claims that his hatred was genetic but, it was found out that Sean had been raised to hate Muslims after his dad left his mom and married a muslim. In the episode "Game" a guy is murdering people the exact same way that's done in a video game when it's clear the suspect is using the video game as a scapegoat for his crimes.

Answer: His clients are guilty and won't take a plea. He's using desperate defenses in hopes of swaying a juror or two. Also makes for better television. "Temporary insanity" isn't nearly as compelling as "the video games made me do it."

Brian Katcher

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Monk picture

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Question: If Monk is afraid of germs, then why does he keep touching things that could possibly have germs on them like parking meters or books?

Answer: Notice also that in the opening credits scene when he is touching parking meters her also wipes his hand on his clothes each time he does it.

Answer: That's the thing about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's not something rational. He just has to touch things like that. It's not something he can rationally think through. However, since part of his disorder includes an obsession with cleanliness, he also has an assistant walk around handing him wipes periodically. It's like when he gets a cold and uses both a humidifier (because that's what you use when you're congested) and a dehumidifier (to counteract the effects of the humidifier). He may spout rationalizations after he does something, but his compulsions exist outside of any rational thought whatever.

Garlonuss

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Answer: Because he stole a chemical from his lab.

But Batman knew that with it, Clayface could permanently retain his shape and Clayface desperately wanted to be Matt Hagen again. In a sense, Batman stopped Clayface from becoming human.

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Answer: Over the next few episodes, it is revealed that something is not quite right with Sam - that his soul is missing since he returned from Hell, and he does not feel any emotion or attachment to his brother.

Sierra1

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Answer: In a flashback scene, it was shown that he had a violent temper, so it stands to reason that he finally killed her in a fit of rage.

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Chosen answer: "Policing your brass", means to pick up your expended shell casings, after firing your rifle, or pistol.

pross79

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Answer: He believed that she had become too empathetic towards the defendant they had been prosecuting, and that her actions were driven by her emotions instead of facts. While empathy is a good quality in general, a certain degree of detachment is required in order for a prosecutor to do one's job effectively.

Cubs Fan

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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

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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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Nash Bridges picture

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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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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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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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Lost picture

The End (2) - S6-E18

Question: I recently submitted a question about whether everyone died on the plane or on the island. The answer I got was unsatisfactory. The answer was they did not all die in the plane crash but on the island where the events in the show really did happen. If this is the case, everyone in purgatory at the end makes no sense. If they all died on the island, then where were other characters like Michael, Ecko, etc. Also how did Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Ben, etc. end up dead and in purgatory at the end of the series? Last we saw them they were still alive on the island. Are we to assume that everyone died at the end of last season when the bomb went off? I need more info here.

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: None of the main characters died in the plane crash. Many died on the island after the crash (Jack, Charlie, Sun, Jin, Daniel, Juliet, others), some lived on the island for an apparently long time after the crash (Hurley, Ben, Bernard, Rose) but some lived lives off the island after the crash (Sawyer, Kate, Claire, Miles, Aplert, and Lapidus). Remember that Christian tells Jack that "time has no meaning here," (in Purgatory). When everyone meets at the church, they are at the end of their lives however long that may have been and will now "move on" together. They look like they did on the island because that is the way they best remember each other.

Guy

That has to be the clearest explanation of the ending I've ever read.

Ssiscool

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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation picture

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Question: Is there an episode in which someone gets impaled by an icicle? I seem to recall the team not being able to find the murder weapon, and then someone realized that it had melted. This could also be CSI: New York.

Answer: The episode on CSI:NY was called "Love Runs Cold" and first aired on October 4, 2006 (Season 3, Episode 3) and involves the investigation of a model found stabbed to death by an ice dagger.

OneHappyHusky

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