Best mystery TV questions of all time

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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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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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Criminal Minds picture

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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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Dexter picture

Father Knows Best - S1-E9

Question: The DNA test is a match, but later in the 2-3rd season we discover that Harry (foster father) had an affair with the real mother. Is Harry the real father and takes him but not his brother in because of that or not?

Answer: No, Harry is not the real father. While he did have an affair with Dexter's biological mother (Laura Moser), this was when she was his C.I. Dexter was already born at that point.

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Answer: It was cancelled. Originally, the show was supposed to have five seasons, with the fifth season having Jack discovering a spell that would remove the curses on all of the items that were collected during the show's run.

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Chosen answer: Probably to broaden the scope of the show's plot and give the audience a chance to see the characters in a different setting, People act differently at home from the way they do at their workplace. By the ninth season, the characters would have become overly familiar and predictable. It gives the writers a chance to do something different with them.

raywest

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Kyle XY picture

Season 2 generally

Question: Why don't Amanda and Jessi like each other in the second part of season 2? In the episode "Ghost in the Machine", Jessi was interested in Kyle because Madacorp programmed her to go after him. But why doesn't she like Amanda later on, after she is free from Madacorp?

Answer: Jessi is jealous of how close Amanda is to Kyle. Kyle and Jessi have a psychic link and Jessi feels no one should be closer to Kyle than she is.

Grumpy Scot

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Eureka picture

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Question: I've been re-watching this show, and have noticed this in nearly every episode. In scenes inside GD, there's always one person, a background extra, who seems to have clear plastic wrap over their clothes. Do you know what that is all about?

Holly Halfman

Chosen answer: It's basically just a type of suit that's made for whatever special project they're working on. No different than a lab coat, hazmat suit, fire coat, etc.

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Answer: A more complex and complete answer probably isn't possible here, since we're dealing with fluid dynamics, pressure, boundary levels, etc. A simply answer would the air in the bed is kept there by the fast moving air coming off the roof of the cab. If there was no "secondary bubble" of air, you would have a vacuum in the bed. When air comes off the roof, it needs a place to touch down, which it is able to do with the top of the tailgate. The fast flowing air moving over the bed keeps the air that's already inside the bed from "escaping." However, the air in the bed is still moving and creates a vortex in the bed, which is described as a bubble. When the tailgate is down, the air coming off the roof will gather at the back of the cab and create drag.

Bishop73

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Answer: It was never revealed what caused Frank's death.

raywest

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Foyle's War picture

Show generally

Question: Why does Foyle wear an overcoat at all times of the year? I know that the English summer is temperate, but always a long, floppy overcoat?

Macxlii

Answer: He doesn't actually wear it all the time even in summer. In some episodes in the summer he simply wears his suit with jacket.

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24 (2001)

24 picture

Season 1 generally

Question: Was Nina recruited as a spy before she joined CTU or after? Also, as she wasn't working just for the Drazens, what was her primary mission?

Answer: According to Jack in season 5, Nina was "deep cover" before the pair ever met, so it's safe to assume she was recruited before she joined CTU. As for what her primary mission was, who knows? Perhaps it was to gather sensitive intel and pass it on to her superiors. Given that she worked for an intelligence agency, it's not a stretch. Or perhaps we may find out in season seven.

Cubs Fan

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Answer: Poisoned food, heart attack from eating too much food, or he slipped in the shower. The list is endless.

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Dark Shadows picture

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Question: Which 1967 episode or what specific story line has Louis Edmonds in close-up because he didn't have time to put his pants back on?

Pkelly

Answer: It's probably episode 193 (even though the slate at the beginning says 58). It's the episode with Sam demanding that Roger return his paintings. Three clues from the Dark Shadows Companion and from the comments of Kathryn Leigh Scott and Louis Edmonds all agree that 1) Scott is in the episode and is done for the day prior to Edmonds without his pants; 2) Edmonds is wearing a smoking jacket, and 3) Edmonds is leaning on the mantle (which is actually the cabinet where the liquor is, because the fireplace mantle is too high to lean on and the bench in front of it prevents getting too close to). There are several "breaks" in the lengthy scene where commercial were probably inserted, and all of the shots are above the waist. The previously mentioned episode 54 has Edmonds in a suit and Scott isn't in the episode; episode 54 doesn't have Edmonds or Scott; and episode 86 only has Edmonds in a suit.

Lou Edmonds was a consummate actor and would not forget that he had a lengthy scene to perform. Rather, in Episode 86, Edmonds more understandably forgot that he had to perform one last 15-second scene (a simple toast). He had removed his shoes and pants before he was reminded of the final, brief shot, and he hurried back to complete it.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: There seems to be some confusion among Dark Shadows fans as to the episode: Some claim it was Episode 54, while others claim it was Episode 85. However, the scene actually appeared in Episode 86. Louis Edmonds (as Roger Collins) thought he had completed all his shots for the day and was removing his costume when he was reminded that he had one more shot. With only seconds to spare, Edmonds hurried back to the set without his pants or shoes (some whispering and shuffling is heard in the background just before the camera goes live). Whereupon, with an amused expression, Edmonds pours himself a brandy and strolls across the study before delivering his last line, a toast: "Miss Victoria Winters, no matter where you are." The shot was slightly adjusted to only cover Edmonds from the elbows-up.

Charles Austin Miller

Thank you so much! I had it narrowed down to 3 episodes and the actual one was among them. Thank you again.

Answer: Yes...episode 193 is the only episode to include all three clues (character Maggie appears earlier, character Roger is in a smoking jacket, and lastly, he has brandy in hand and elbows are atop the liquor cabinet. It the last scene in the black and whit episode where Sam Evans is demanding that his paintings back from Roger. And if you keep your eyes on Sam, you will see him glance downward twice at Roger. This eoisode is in Collection 6, disk 2 and even though it's listed in the Dark Shadows Companion as episode 193, the slate at the very beginning says episode 58.

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Alias picture

Doppelganger - S1-E5

Question: When discussing the bomb plot, there's something odd with the audio. When Sloane's talking, at two points he says "UCO", but it's obviously been dubbed over - the shot's from behind but the tone is different. Arguably just post-production looping, but because the pitch is so noticeably different I'm assuming they mentioned some organisation they couldn't refer to, so changed it. Can't be the UN, as they mention that earlier in the scene. Anyone know why that was changed? (00:35:05)

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: It does sound overdubbed, but there was no change in the organization. UCO is United Commission Organization. There are signs when Patel is coming that say UCO so obviously it wasn't changed.

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American Horror Story picture

Halloween: Part 1 - S1-E4

Question: One thing I do not understand is this... "if" the souls of the deceased (that die within the walls of "Murder House") are trapped there for eternity then how does the maid get to go see her mother (obviously off premises) and Tate get to meet up with Dr. Harmon for coffee for his appointment?

AmberMac420

Chosen answer: Because on Halloween, the souls of The Dead are said to roam the Earth. That includes those souls that are trapped within the walls of the "Murder House".

THGhost

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Answer: They're both muscle cars, but that's about the extent of the similarities. But the 70's were filled with a lot of muscle cars, so some car models may look a bit like another's. Billy's car is a late 70's Chevy Camaro (probably a ‘79). Mad Max's car is a 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT. Incidentally, the Ford Falcon was produced by Ford Australia and wasn't an American car, or even sold in America (as in not sold at dealerships).

Bishop73

According to the experts its a Camaro '78 with added vented side fenders.

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Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! picture

Spooky Space Kook - S1-E15

Question: We never found out what the ham and chicken bones had to do with anything. They were ham and chicken until Scooby ate them. Afterwards, Shaggy wonders why the ghost would keep ham and chicken in the fridge. This was never answered in the episode. Why were they important?

Piemanmoo

Chosen answer: A ghost wouldn't have to keep any food in the fridge - they don't need to eat. So it is one thing that proves the ghost is not a ghost.

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Answer: From technogenius Wade. There's at least one scene in the show where she gets some new gadgets from him.

Kathy Tjarks

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Sherlock picture

Show generally

Question: Which episode contains the line "I'm not insulting you, I'm describing you?" Google searches turn up nothing but the quote itself, and no further information on the episode or the rest of the scene. If anyone knows the line that led up to it, that would be even better.

Captain Defenestrator

Chosen answer: That line of dialogue has never actually been spoken in any of the Sherlock episodes, during seasons 1-4. However, that line is written in someone's fan-fiction story online, where it's said by Sherlock and directed at Anderson.

Super Grover

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