Captain Defenestrator

3rd Apr 2017

Family Guy (1999)

Chitty Chitty Death Bang - S1-E3

Question: In the flashback where Lois gives birth to Stewie. The doctor says they aren't done, and she says "Oh my God, is it twins?" With this episode being made in the late 90s, would it even be possible for a twin to go undetected until birth?

Answer: Parents can request to not know the results of an ultrasound if they want to be surprised about the baby's gender. The doctor still would have let them know whether or not to expect twins, though, so the doctor is just as puzzled as Lois to find something else in there.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: The doctor says we aren't done as a joke meaning, there was a historical map that came out after Stewie was born and because he said that, Lois asked if it was twins.

Question: How did the demolition woman who is shown on a monitor shooting herself get the gun in the first place? After all, she isn't a security guard.

Answer: With all the monsters being kept in captivity, it would make sense for the facility to have an armory as well. Guns may have been handed out once the cages were opened.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: Why is Anakin's prosthetic arm so low-quality compared to the hand that Luke gets in Episode V? It seems that Luke and the Rebellion would have less money to spend on doctors and a more realistic hand.

Answer: As far as the timeline of the Star Wars universe, 22 years pass between Attack of the Clones and Empire Strikes Back, and wars advance technology. So, by the time Luke loses his hand, prostheses may become cheaper and more realistic than in the Republic Era.

Captain Defenestrator

30th Jan 2017

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Question: After Pyle's "blanket party", Joker notices that he's slowly losing his sanity by talking to his rifle constantly. Why didn't Joker report this to Hartman?

Answer: Nobody liked him before and he's no longer causing problems for everyone else, so they simply don't care.

Captain Defenestrator

But Joker was very concerned as he was actually friendly with Pyle and was hesitant to participate in the blanket party.

I don't think Joker actually wanted to hurt Pyle - as you said he tried to help him but to not participate as a squad leader would reflect cowardliness, and therefore it seems his hand was sort of forced.

He was friendly with him because Hartmann ordered him to be. He had a moment of guilt before participating, but he still did it.

Answer: When Joker first notices Pyle talking to his rifle, he says, "I don't think Leonard can hack it. He's a section 8," so he probably figured Pyle would get kicked out of the Marines. Besides, Hartman wasn't exactly Mr. Approachable. Regardless, in the scenes right after that, Pyle shows he's an expert marksman and perfect Marine (the sixth general order questioning scene where Joker is the one who admits he forgot some information).

Question: Were they able to get ANY character from Hannah-Barbara? I am fully aware of the "discovery" logic of toons existing in that world before their official "premiere", so it seems possible. Was there a licensing difficulty?

dizzyd

Chosen answer: Likely, after all the negotiation in getting Disney and Warner Brothers toons into the same film (characters from both studios were required to have the same amount of screen time and the same number of lines, etc.) the producers decided not to push their luck and try to incorporate Hanna-Barbera as well. Also, Hanna-Barbera won't exist for 20 years until after the time of the film. Yogi Bear is a cub right now, and Fred Flintstone is washing dishes in a Hollywood Diner, so maybe we just didn't see them.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: What does Anakin means when he tells to Padme that if it not were for the kidnapping of Palpatine, they would be separated "for a lifetime"? He also says that "they" wouldn't have brought them back from the outer rim sieges, who are they and how does the Chancellor's situation affects theirs?

ricardoglez22

Chosen answer: Palpatine had his eye on Anakin as an apprentice since after the Battle of Naboo. The kidnapping and rescue provided a legitimate justification for Palpatine to request that Anakin be kept close at hand as a "personal favorite Jedi" rather than being sent to the Outer Rim to fight the Separatists, which could have kept him away from Palpatine's influence for years.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: It was the same test that he gave Luke in "Return of the Jedi." Strike down an unarmed, unresisting man, and he's got The Right Stuff to be a Sith. Luke failed the test by refusing to kill him. Anakin did not.

Question: If Sifo Dyas was really the one that ordered the clone army, why would Obi Wan and possibly other people think he died before?

ricardoglez22

Chosen answer: Because he had. Sifo-Dyas was a Jedi Master with the power of foresight who'd foreseen a galactic war breaking out and secretly ordered production of the clone army 10 years before the events of the film. Count Dooku had him killed and finished the job, posing as his representative. Despite the similar-sounding names, Sifo-Dyas and Darth Sidious are not the same person.

Captain Defenestrator

6th Jan 2017

Toy Story (1995)

Question: Near the ending, Woody says to the Mutant toys that they'll have to break the rules. What rules do they break?

Roman Curiel

Chosen answer: Revealing to Sid that toys are alive and can talk and move on their own.

Captain Defenestrator

9th Dec 2016

Seven (1995)

Question: What did John Doe do to Tracy before he killed her? He says that he "tried to play husband." What does that imply?

Answer: It implies that he may have raped her, but it's never said outright.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: This is one of those moments in film and storytelling where leaving it up to the viewer's imagination is 10x's worse than showing anything on screen.

30th Nov 2016

Night Court (1984)

A Day in the Life - S4-E15

Question: I'm not familiar with the law so if someone could answer two questions I would be very thankful. 1. In the very last case, the defendant discovers that anyone not arraigned before midnight is set free which causes him to waive the right to refuse the reading of the information. What exactly does this mean? 2. Dan immediately starts reading off the list of information getting the case turned over to a grand jury. How can Dan reading the information get the case turned over to a grand jury if the defendant waived the rights?

Answer: The jails are overcrowded, so any petty offenders whose case isn't heard by midnight will be let go. The defendant wants the details of his case read (Instead of just the typical summary of the case that Mack gives Harry) because he knows it'll take a while and run out the clock on the midnight deadline, also sparing him the grand jury trial. Dan speed-recites the document quickly enough for Harry to rule on the case and bang his gavel just at the stroke of midnight.

Captain Defenestrator

6th Nov 2016

Die Hard 2 (1990)

Question: Just watched "Die Hard 2" for the ten-thousandth time. Finally occurred to me, WHY would a pilot use a burning plane crash as a landing light? "Oh, there's a burning plane crash down there! Must be a good place to land!" As far as I know, all air traffic is diverted to other airports when an aircraft crashes.

Charles Austin Miller

Chosen answer: The trail of fire from McClane lighting the jet fuel creates a visual marker that the pilots can aim for. Not the best situation, however, considering that they're low on fuel and that one other plane has crashed that evening already, the pilots decided to settle for the less-than-ideal method of guiding their planes in.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: How does Arturo Marquez end up on the boat in the custody of the Argentinians?

Answer: Marquez was the one that Keyser Soze let go after he killed his family so that he could tell the story. Presumably, he ran far from Hungary to flee Soze's wrath and ended up going to the Argentinians for protection.

Captain Defenestrator

16th Oct 2016

Hogan's Heroes (1965)

The Antique - S5-E12

Question: When Hogan gives Klink $100 for the cuckoo clock, the bill handed over was a crisp American $100 note. How did Hogan get an American $100 note? At best, in this time period, he should only have Reich Marks. And how would he have 333 Marks, 33 pfennigs? Unless he had a side businesses going, this seems unlikely.

Movie Nut

Answer: It's a comedy, not a documentary.

stiiggy

Perhaps it was counterfeit. There are numerous episodes where they deal in counterfeit monies.

Chosen answer: Hogan and his men are running a spy ring out of the camp, they have access to supplies from outside. (In another episode, they have to convince a defecting German officer that they're legitimately working for the Allies by arranging a specific personal ad to run in the next day's London Times, so a new $100 bill is not beyond their capabilities).

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Werner Klemperer fled Nazi Germany as a teenager. His two conditions for taking the role of Colonel Klink were that he had to be a bumbling idiot and he always had to lose. It would then be a character mistake that if Hogan offers him a fresh American hundred-dollar bill, he's not going to ask questions, he's going to take the deal. The fact that he's Commandant and could just confiscate the money from Hogan would never occur to him because, again, he's a bumbling idiot who, by the actor's contract, always has to lose.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Rightfully, Hogan should not have any money at all. POW were stripped of all cash they carried. The intention was to make escape more difficult. The fact that Hogan has what is the equivalent of a third of the price of a KdF-Wagen (You'd probably know it as a Volkswagen Beetle) in cash should rightfully make Klink more than a litle suspicious.

16th Oct 2016

Die Another Day (2002)

Question: In the hotel scene in China, Bond throws the ashtray at what is believed to be a mirror but is actually a 1 way mirror where the guys had cameras. Were they trying to shoot a sex tape or something?

Answer: This was the 20th Bond film and there are a number of references to previous films throughout. This scene references From Russia With Love, where agents of SPECTRE film Bond and Tatiana for their blackmail/murder/suicide plot to both kill Bond and steal the Lektor decoder. Bond sees it coming this time, though - it's most likely just the Chinese security service keeping him under surveillance.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Since the Chinese government agent at the reception area recognized Bond as a British spy, they wanted to keep tabs on his activities and understand why he was patronizing the hotel and showing up in the area unannounced.

Timothy Conard

29th Sep 2016

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Question: Why was only one officer (Captain Willard) sent to assassinate Colonel Kurtz? Isn't it very unlikely for a captain like Willard to be able to kill a powerful and influential and "insane" colonel like Kurtz?

L0gical

Chosen answer: Kurtz was protected by political connections and his military record from being relieved of command, and the Montagnard people whose village he was in were considered American allies, so they couldn't just send a force in to kill him or relieve him of command, but an individual assassin. (The US Government's "official" policy is that they do not engage in assassination, which is why "this mission does not exist, nor will it ever exist").

Captain Defenestrator

26th Sep 2016

King of the Hill (1997)

It's Not Easy Being Green - S5-E16

Question: How could Bobby and the rest of Mr. McKay's class have showed up at Strickland Propane without Hank knowing? Surely the students would not have been allowed to go on a field trip without a parent's permission. If Peggy had signed a form at some point, she mostly likely would have mentioned to Hank that Bobby would be at his workplace.

Answer: Peggy is a substitute teacher. She may have been teaching at the school the day the permission slips were sent out and Bobby could have just walked to her classroom, had her sign it, and taken it back to his teacher and both just forgot to tell Hank when they got home. ("There are ways" is my point).

Captain Defenestrator

9th Sep 2016

South Park (1997)

My Future Self n' Me - S6-E16

Question: When they get back at Motivation Corp at the end, how did Cartman manage to get into the building, along with his Mexican painting crew, and also how did they manage to paint the whole place in crap so quickly before any of the staff came in for the day?

Heather Benton

Chosen answer: Cartman has a knack for getting into places he's not supposed to be. We don't need the details. As for how they worked so quickly, either Cartman worked them mercilessly or it's a cartoon, your pick.

Captain Defenestrator

9th Sep 2016

South Park (1997)

Show generally

Question: In the intro of some episodes, Timmy says "Livin' a lie." What is the lie that he is living?

Answer: It's a lyric from Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld's self-titled one hit.

Captain Defenestrator

8th Sep 2016

V for Vendetta (2005)

Question: This question is more about the comic, but I didn't know where else to ask. At the end of vol. VII, "V" is stealing some sort of file about Valerie Page, what's the meaning of that? what did he needed it for? Also, right after that, the man in the entrance of the building holds the door open for him to escape. Is it because he knew about "V" and agreed whit his ideals, or is there another explanation?

Answer: Valerie was the woman in Room 4, so he wants to know more about her. The man at the entrance is simply caught off guard. He just saw someone coming and held the door. By the time he registered who it was, V was gone.

Captain Defenestrator

8th Sep 2016

Star Trek (1966)

Show generally

Question: It's generally accepted that Warp Drive makes a bubble of space around the vessel and accelerates the outer bubble around the space surrounding the ship. Given the nature of the warp drive enveloping a pocket of space, can the warp drive be used offensively to capture part of another vessel in the space surrounding the Enterprise and use the acceleration to tear the enemy ship apart?

Answer: It's never been stated how far outside the ship the warp field can extend. Excessive use of warp technology can cause subspace rifts, which is why maximum speed in non-emergency situations is Warp 5. So, whether out of impracticability or potentially a criminal act, nobody uses warp fields offensively. Proton Torpedoes travel at warp, but they don't go past Warp 5 either.

Captain Defenestrator

This is a TOS thread. There was no Warp 5 speed limit then, and it would be pointless, since warp numbers are completely different speeds for TOS and TNG. In the Technical Manual, it suggests that Warp 9.99 in TOS equates to about 0.9999 in TNG. This would fit with Kirk's assertion that Warp 10 lets them travel back in time, which would be exactly Warp 1 or the speed of light in TNG terms.

Answer: There IS mention in TNG of warp used offensively, albeit not directly. The REAL "Picard Manoeuvre" is not Patrick Stewart tugging at his shirt, it is moving the ship at exactly the speed of light, at precise distances and angles, so that to the enemy, the ship appears to be in multiple places at the same time (since the light is arriving at the enemy's location at precisely the same time from all the different positions the ship was moved to).

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